The e-Niro does look an excellent option but for one thing...unfortunately I don't fit. I'd consider something like an e-Berlingo/Rifter/Combo but the range is awful - 120 miles real-world is absolutely terrible when you've got such a huge vehicle to pack batteries into. 180-200 miles real-world is probably the sweet spot.
If I did fit the Niro I'd probably be looking to order one very soon.
I may well be watching closely to see what Ford do with the Tourneo Connect/Courier range and if they can get a better battery capacity into them than PSA has.
Yes, there are some dreadful, limited and very expensive in terms of range per £ options on the market. The Honda E is another one - cute little car, but barely 100 miles real world range, and not cheap. Suspect the residual value will be dreadful too which will make them very expensive to own/lease. I can't fathom why Honda bother making them or why people actually buy them
I was tempted by an e-208 or e-2008, but the WLTP ranges aren't very exciting, and all of the Stellantis options seem to be dreadfully inefficient and don't get anything like the WLTP range in the real world. VAG group cars also seem similarly afflicted.
The Korean and Chinese brands seem to have the right mix of real world range/efficiency at the less expensive end of the market, and Tesla, JLR have the upper end sewn up. Everything is an also-ran at the moment, IMO. VAG could be good if they can sort the efficiency - seems they waste lots of energy actively heating the battery for performance reasons - and actually manage to produce any cars which they seem to be incapable of doing at present.
It wouldn't be for a runaround, but for long journeys (which I do plenty of, not all are by train) it'd be too low for me to be comfortable. I'd never do 200 miles without a break, but with the present availability of chargers I would say that's the sort of range you need just to be sure you'll be able to find one in time, considering also that many such journeys are for camping where I may not have one available at the destination. I'd want a minimum of 180 real-world, ideally 200.
I agree, I was only doing about 60 miles a day in the i3, and there were plenty of (free!) rapid chargers in the area of Scotland I was in. I wouldn't buy an i3 as they are too expensive on a "£ per mile of range" basis in my view.
Good luck with that - car prices have been escalating, probably ahead of inflation for some time. The only reason the motor trade got away with it was (i) company car users aren't as focused on list price as they are CO2 and (ii) private motorists were conned by PCPs. Go back 20 years before PCPs and people had to take out bank loans for the full amount to buy a new car - now far too many are "buying" on PCP (in reality a glorified rent) and changing their car every 3 years. Because they were only "borrowing" half the value of the car, the repayments on PCPs look very attractive.
Actually, you borrow and pay interest on the full amount (less deposit), but pay back only a portion of the principle.
Having said I'd never do a PCP, I have this time. Partly because I will have also to replace car No.2 in the not too distant future, I want to keep some capital available as a buffer given the state of the world, and I wonder if second hand prices and a flood of cheap Chinese EVs will change the landscape in the next few years. With the PCP the residual value risk rests with the manufacturer or their finance company - so I can either pay the balloon payment or throw the keys back as appropriate.
Once my wife is working again and we have more money coming in car No.2 will be replaced with a bank loan or straight hire purchase.
I agree that car prices are unlikely to come back down very quickly. With the crazy situation of used costing the same as or more than new, and high residuals "baked in" to a lot of finance deals, too many in the industry would take a bath if there was significant price deflation.