Content by Bam Bam in December, 2025

Turned out we had a timer on our dishwasher so could time it to be ready when we got up. Noise doesn't seem to be a problem as we are at the opposite end of the house.

You guys have gone early! I'll probably be on here Xmas day, knowing me. Addicted. (More seriously - Merry Xmas to all)

Yeah, the stereotype is that women tend to prefer EVs more than men because men like the "macho" noise and grease and fumes and things. On the other hand some men are really into getting the latest 'tech' and stuff so tend to be into EVs for that reason. Pebbles wasn't really interested in...

It sounds like the decision has been made, but I note that Bjorn has bought a second hand ZS in Thailand recently. I think it is for his Thai relatives, or for when they stay there. Don't know if this would make your wife feel more comfortable about it or not, but it is his second one which is...

You can now get the Contact C in the UK. I saw it available when getting our last tyre to replace an original with a nail in it. https://www.continental-tyres.co.uk/products/car/tyres/premiumcontact-c/

Makes sense... Smaller car = lighter and more aerodynamic = longer range. 56kWh is a sensible battery size. Enough to make a long journey viable but not carrying around excess weight all the time. Maybe they were waiting for battery costs to come down enough that it wouldn't have to be...

We previously bought two Seat Ibizas and so if the Raval had been out several years ago there is a fair chance we would have got that instead of the MG4. VW have been far too slow, but great that they are getting there.

Welcome to the future! (and this helpful forum) Some good advice already. We got the 7kW EV charger (though wish we had got a Hypervolt one to qualify for Intelligent Oct Go) because it will be something that all houses need in the future. Plus it means you've got the option to do a full...

Another reason to get a European car, then. Renault, VW Group or the new Nissan leaf (battery and car assembled in Sun'land).

Very stoical of you. Why worry about things you can't change? You are in the capable hands of the NHS now. I can understand that.

Sorry to hear that, mate. Good luck with the treatment Good advice! And to you and yours, hopefully possible despite your news.

Bargains to be had for used EVs as new models come out constantly. Will cost peanuts to run it if you can charge at home. No idea about the ZS specifically but good luck with your search!

Yeah, for the last 18 months or so in the UK it has been better to charge on cheap overnight tariff and export the solar during the day. That will probably end in a few years and we will go back to self-consumption. If you don't have the generous export tariff then I guess you will be trying...

I've used the type 2 much more than the granny charger (which I only used as a test before we got our wall unit fitted). Mostly used at cottages on holidays. (though perhaps the owner of the cottage could have lent us one if I had asked). The other place I use it is in the local town centre...

Others can confirm but my understanding is that if it is a UK SE it won't have three phase charging. Some early trophies had this.

如果你正在读这段话，那么你我都已经死了。

Price is based on supply and demand. If MG want to have a limited edition product they have to keep them back. But they want to sell more cars, so they are importing them even if there isn't demand. These deals destroy the competition, who have to drop their prices (make a loss) or sell...

The only sustainable fuels are hydrogen (unavailable, costs a packet) or synthetic e-fuels (unavailable, will cost even more of a packet). Your comments are all over the place, mate, which makes it very hard to take you seriously.

Saw a Red at the Edison Roundabout, Dorcan just before noon. Didn't notice any other MG4s, used to see a Tango parked on Oxford Road when driving along there but didn't today. Later on saw two blacks around Chilton, Oxfordshire. One I overtook on the A34 and then it followed me for a while...

People use PCP or lease because they want a newer car than they can afford to buy with cash. I suppose it also takes away some of risk of depreciation but then the depreciation costs are built into the monthly amount so you are still paying what they assume the depreciation will be. Up to the...

I assume the concern was along the lines of this... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyvee57xz5o Though I suppose it would then be your car being cloned to con someone else into thinking it was a legitimate purchase. Don't want to make things too easy for these scamming scum.

Since this is an EV-focused site I just thought I would mention that EVs are very helpful dealing with the intermittency of renewables. Octopus are showing the way with their 'greener nights' score and Agile tariff which shows the link between renewable surplus and low prices. BEVs have a...

I agree e-fuels are a terrible idea. Biofuels are a scandal - US corn being used to supplement "gasoline" which means huge amount of land and water are being used to power inefficient vehicles. And it's all to push up the income for US farmers/landowners. Though I should say I was suggesting...

For us today our heat pump app reports roughly 400% efficiency for hot water, though I'm not sure it is totally accurate. It essentially claims to have used 26% of the energy that an immersion heater would because 74% of the energy was harvested from the environment. (1.6kWh for 6.3kWh of water...

I think our deals are much better because many are pre-reg'd rather than new.

Andy has stolen our idea (which we might have stolen from him)

Personally I wouldn't mind so much allowing combustion car sales if they were forced to use synthetic e-fuels made from renewable electricity and not fossil fuel from under the ground. Of course no one would want one because synthetic e-fuels are always going to cost a fortune. Even then...

Inster with smaller battery for £18,250 https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202504101186673 A long-range brand new Inster for under £19k https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202511177943643

Fiat 600e in Wales for under £18k https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507314992557

Depressing news, though on the other hand hopefully buying a combustion car in 2035 would be like buying one of these would today...

Only MG4s really if you want a looker! Corsa for £16,450 https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202510026823890 E-C3 for a similar price https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202506293978992

Not coming up with many lookers here... Citroen e-c4 with 10 miles for under £20k. https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202511107789083

Basic Dolphin with 10 miles for £17,500... https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202510016804466

I think the problem with this thread idea is that there will be too many! I found some great deals on that GMW Great Ora Cat 03 thing from a Smart Dealership down in Exeter...

Private Pension investments are given a significant tax break. That's a good idea to encourage people to save for their future. But then if the returns on those investments (during the payment of the pension) aren't taxed then that is double-non-taxation. I haven't looked into what the...

Got a wave and a smile this lunchtime, from a fellow grey, 24 plate. Central car park, Didcot. Always nice! Have seen a few around and about without us both driving at the time. Often when I'm walking the dog. But today Pebbles noticed a red with a private plate parked outside the...

Hey, what's wrong with my beagle anecdote? Do I need to add pictures?

"Rolf dealership" - suspicious if you ask me. Anyone seen any cats in Santa hats prowling around Moscow?

We had a naughty beagle in the back of our car a while back. Got left on its own and apparently freaked out. Left loads of scratches all over the inside of the back door (under the window). Certainly left a mark. Chewed my baseball cap peak as well.

Yeah, the problem I have with the commenter in question is that they are seeking to generalise from a single experience. That is why we have science and not anecdote. Yet for some reason it isn't legitimate for those of us with a positive experience to generalise. The fact is that all cars...

Pebbles says she is happy with it how it is, so we will stick to that. What you haven't experienced you cannot miss!

These are reduced at amazon at the moment. Can I ask what the advantage is? Is it just that they provide extra light? Or do they provide extra light while also using less energy? Or is it nicer light?

Oh dear. Hope it is a straightforward fix, or they accept that the car is unfixable. Shame that cars get written off so easily these days, but you can see why... Indeed, we had minor damage and it took the appointed bodyshop three weeks to sort it. We had an expensive courtesy car (as indeed...

At the more budget end I've noticed today that this garage in Exeter is offering £12k off pre-registered GMW Ora Cat 03's (or whatever they are called now). One with the bigger battery, two with the smaller (though colours not confirmed on the smaller batteries, so it might just be a ruse to get...

Yeah we've got at least two discussions going on in parallel! One about home batteries and one about Intelligent Octopus Greener nights changes. The theme I suppose is that both are related to the cheap overnight tariffs and making the most of these.

Maybe just destroying the competition with low prices like Leapmotor and other Chinese firms.

If it is such a simple software fix then why can't they just do it ASAP and hand it back to you fully functional?

Was that a question to me? We've got the 9.5kWh. Have realised it takes nearly 4 hours to charge within our 5 hour charging window there would be no point getting another big one. However, another smaller one might be worth it, like a 5kWh. It would be useful for Summer when we sell off...

I had assumed our metal bowl (a key bowl made of old keys melted/soldered together) would do the job but it seems not. Perhaps because it didn't have a lid on it.

I thought you were going to say you'd just left the car unlocked! We got one of those faraday boxes after realising that you could open the car by pressing the door button!

We are on Octopus Go. We've now replaced our boiler with an air-source heat pump, so run one of the hot water cycles during the cheap overnight. The heat pump also doesn't let the house go below its 'set back' temperature which we have set at 18 degrees, so it does a bit of work overnight...

I have a '23 reg SE with tinted rear windows. Must be much older than the registration date!

In fact the previous owner had already turned it into an EV much earlier, but the old motor failed when he took it on the freeway [motorway] and the battery was old so he had to replace them.

I am also too lazy/busy @Everest

I've seen these listed on autotrader. £99,000 and it doesn't have a particularly large battery! https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?channel=cars&make=RBW&postcode=OX11%207SL&sort=price-asc Meanwhile this guy is just DIY converting an old one...

I subscribe to this podcast and listen avidly so I no doubt heard it when it came out. This is the discussion I was referring to on hydrogen for long term storage... Leibreich is well known hydrogen bubble burster/sceptic:

You are right to be sceptical about hydrogen. People like the idea because they think it saves them from having to change from their hydrocarbon ways, but it is not that simple and it not at all appealing. It will cost a fortune and has been used as an excuse to continue burning fossil fuels...

We aren't quite the 'lucky country' like Australia, who have both wind and solar on tap seemingly all year round (at least in South Australia). Instead we have wind for most of the year (though less in the Summer) and solar for a few months. So we will need to install lots of solar but it won't...

Especially because there is a rumour that with an extra battery and a software update the Givenergy systems like ours might be able to output at higher rates in the future.

I'm sure the price has come down as these things get more common. I got this added when the car charger was put in. Didn't want to be stuck with a non-working potential backup system and regrets during a future power outage. We shouldn't get power outages in Didcot given we are in the middle...

According to an internet blog post I just read an oil burning boiler will use about 0.9kWh a day so not nothing but also not a huge amount.

Rolfe already had an expensive system that has a backup power option built in. Why add an extra, separate, technology?

Which option did you go for? I went for the one where you have to manually switch it over, so I'd have to go outside. It isn't automatic, which would be more convenient but that was much more expensive to add and I'm hoping not to have to use it often, all being well. Oh I see - you've got...

It was bodywork after a prang. Brake pedal seems strange but it works fine so I guess I just got used to the very different brake action on the hire car.

Perhaps after all this ordeal you'll appreciate the car all the more?!? We got ours back from three weeks at the fixers recently and it is nice to have it back on the drive.

A reduction will happen at some point, so don't bank on the current rates, but I'm not sure we are at that point just yet. Most likely when there is sufficient grid scale solar capacity to provide for the country. These solar developments are taking a long time because there is such a big...