Hello,
How did I get into the world of electric vehicles? Pretty young, I discovered that tinkering with 220v in a washing machine while it's still on can give quite a shock. Then, when renovating our house and deciding to switch everything to electric with a water-to-water geothermal heat pump 10 years ago. After that, it was while selling electric-assist bicycles that I discovered electric mobility
️
. I then acquired an electric road bike, an electric mountain bike, a small electric vehicle, and in a few days, a big kid's toy.
What drives me towards the world of electric vehicles? Curiosity, a thirst for discovery, the paradox of my pro-ecology actions, and my passion for automobiles, even gasoline-powered ones (to the bonfire
).
Who am I? Woodpecker, of course! A guy who loves to tinker with wood. A poet!
With forty plus three years this year. A hyper-tolerant wife for 20 years and an adorable teenager (yes, they do exist
). We live happily on the west coast between Vendée and Charente Maritime.
Our vehicle? Um, which one? Okay, the one that runs on electrons. To be honest, it's still at the dealership; I'll pick it up next week. It's a bit like the woodpecker, with green plumage and a beautiful orange crest, um no, orange accents.
Okay, it's easy to guess, an MG4 Xpower Hunter Green 435hp. Let's agree that just writing it down is ridiculous. Who puts 435hp and 600nm in a 4.3m car that makes no noise
.
Why the MG4 Xpower? I must admit, I don't have the answer either... When it was launched, I found the MG4 nice, but I was driving a sports car with a combustion engine, and the vehicles I tested didn't excite me. Ionic 28, I3 94, Soul EV... Only the Honda E I tried 2 years ago appealed to me. Great chassis for a small EV but too short range, I needed at least 175km all year round for the Honda E to appeal to me. So since then, I had set my sights on a Renault Sport chassis... The Twizy
Don't laugh, the Twizy chassis is amazing! It's like a kart in the corners of industrial zones when launched at 80km/h. And in the rain, it's even more fun, even though it rains as much inside as outside on a daily basis. It's a four-wheeled motorcycle. Anyway, I switched to an immature child's toy. Yes, no mature man buys an Xpower, despite what he may think, every owner remains a big child whose pleasure outweighs reason outrageously. And I plead guilty
. Twenty test videos, three forums including one German and one English later, I decided to make an appointment with my wife at MG. She senses it's to buy a toy, she knows me. So it's not orange, not blue, not red... That green is nice, sporty but not too much... Yes, but it remains comfortable, it's not like my 21-year-old Mini R53 JCW, which is quite stiff, or the GT86 I drove for two years but too annoying for daily use. It's more like my former DS3 cabriolet Racing, with comfortable upholstery and a softer suspension, not like the Opel Speedster with which I experienced crazy stories (great chassis, by the way). Not like my old Opel Adam S Recaro, fun but underpowered and quickly boring. Not like the dozen other vehicles I've had but whose sporting or automotive interest is less appealing.
Alternatives considered? The list is highly heterogeneous and without coherent links, it's the rest of my automotive wish list in reality. The ones I dream of having and might have one day or not. So a few weeks ago, I almost fell for a fully spec'd Abarth Biposto with a dog box gearbox. I saw it when it came out, missed it twice around 42,000€, but it's still a 500 in use and comfort, it's stiff and annoying. Yet what a stroke of genius this car is. The Abarth 124 or the MX5 ND were in my top picks in recent weeks. But the test drive of the MX5 ND 1.5 that I enjoyed didn't quite excite me either. It's a great car, but I realized I was reaching a turning point. Combustion engines were starting to bore me. Oh, if the Yaris GR, it will remain in my top 5 cars to drive. So yes, between punitive policies and hefty penalties, my savings are going to China and a bit to France with VAT, my dealer's margin, and 0% bonus paid by the state, so I feel less "guilty". In this case, MG gave me a €7,000 discount, which is still crazy for a new model.
My driving profile? Driver, yes, even though I have a few track outings (and trips into gravel traps
) under my belt, I'm a driver, not a pilot. So over the years, it's been more relaxed, with the occasional pleasure within the limits of regulations. I don't like pure speed, more the accelerations, technical sequences, or complex corners. Feeling the trajectories, the placement of the car...
My motivation to join you? To participate a bit after so many years of reading your discussions. I like forums even if they're sometimes a bit too harsh for me. I appreciate both a 4-ton pickup driver and an electric bike or scooter user because we're all right, and it's by trying to understand the reasons of others that I believe we flourish.
What's next? Pick up the future beautiful green car, sell a few toys, drive and discover its characteristics on a daily basis. Share what I can and how I can. Meet a few members, and continue to enjoy all the automotive pleasures around me.
And do a stage at Ladoux track in Xpower to discover this wet track that so many people talk about in France.
See you later, WP