What to buy to replace the ZB?

[87VLCALAIS]

Sorry not sorry for the thread necro but this is as good a place as any to post this:

For me, the time has come to start thinking about replacing my car. My budget has gone up by a shitload because there is nothing and I repeat, nothing in the same price range that provides similar bang for buck any more. This SUV fad has all but destroyed the performance sedan market so there's precious few options left if you want to stay with ICE cars.

Yes I considered going EV but there are several factors that tell me it's not a good idea to replace an ICE touring car with an EV right now. One, the next NZ government is likely to not only remove the clean car discount but hasten the introduction of road user charges for EVs further reducing their running cost advantage over ICE cars. The still really piss poor charging infrastructure in NZ outside the main centres, the high initial purchase price, questionable depreciation and fact that there still isn't a real drivers EV available in our market all add up to a hard pass. No the Tesla doesn't count because it isn't a drivers car, it's a one trick go fast pony with poor ergonomics, questionable build quality and a CEO whose recent behaviour quite frankly has put me off ever lining his pockets with my cash.

I briefly considered the new WRX but it's not even as fast as my Commodore, drinks a lot more gas, chews through tyres and there are question marks about the new FA24 engine's long term reliability. Then there is a jump in price to VAG cars like Golf R, Skoda Superb Sportline and Cupra Leon VZ Sportstourer (we get it before the Australian market does) which are effectively the same MQB platform underneath. The Golf and the Skoda were ho hum to drive, I'll see if the Cupra is any better but I am not expecting great things. And finally, premium Euro brands for EV level pricing. I test drove an Audi S5, it was nice enough but despite being almost three times the price of my VXR it wasn't even remotely close to being twice the car.

So I am having to look at even higher end cars but it's a good thing I have the money to buy one. What sad times us driving enthusiasts live in.

This is a question I've exercised my mind on too, though only as idle speculation as I have no intention of changing cars.

I haven't test driven any so cannnot make the same level of comparison you have, but I have come to the same conclusions.

Poor choice of suitable vehicles, don't want an SUV with a high C of G. Right now if I had to replace my RSV, say due to an accident/write off the only option that I can think of is a second hand RSV/VXR.

If I had the money I'd look at a Camaro or Corvette.

EV's are not there yet (and may never be), poor charging options away from home plus slow charging. When we go away I don't want to be planning my trip around waiting to recharge and being able to find a place to charge. Tesla isn't on my radar for the same reasons you cite.

One site I visit regularly has a few threads dedicated to EV's. The Tesla guys are real fan bois and don't you ever try to put down a Tesla. They go on about all the "features" without realising a lot of other cars have something similar. I think in quite a few instances they have been attracted by the mirage of low operating costs and have come from an older vehicle without modern tech and don't realise what is in the Tesla is pretty much normal for most new cars. Tesla have just marketed it pretty well.

Based on what some of the EV owners on this site were quoting for running costs I did a comparison with my running costs and added in RUC for the EV's. There was nothing in it. With the imminent introduction of RUC's for EV's you were kidding yourself if you were buying an EV justifying the hefty price based on cheaper running costs.

 

[stooge]

this is just the zb effect...

you are skeptical until you own one because all the badge shiners hate it
once you own it you realize its actually a decent vehicle and you enjoy it
when you think about doing the vehicle change you look around and have trouble finding something that stacks up to what you have in the same price range.



like anything new, evs just need to be around for a while for the technology to improve, charging infrastructure to be built and prices to normalize.
better battery tech is on its way, the blade battery looks interesting but once we develop an inert battery chemistry it will solve all the fud around batteries leaving just the charging infrastructure issue.

i dont think i would buy into the ev ecosystem for another decade or so but someone mentioned the other day that the povo version of the model 3 is around 60k here so there is still some work to do on the prices.
if they can get that down to around 40 where the lower spec ve/vf was then more people might start to transition.

 

[Chalks1971]

So I am having to look at even higher end cars but it's a good thing I have the money to buy one. What sad times us driving enthusiasts live in.

Im in the same boat & looking at the VW Passat at $60K, or the Subaru Outback

 

[hademall]

This is a question I've exercised my mind on too, though only as idle speculation as I have no intention of changing cars.

I haven't test driven any so cannnot make the same level of comparison you have, but I have come to the same conclusions.

Poor choice of suitable vehicles, don't want an SUV with a high C of G. Right now if I had to replace my RSV, say due to an accident/write off the only option that I can think of is a second hand RSV/VXR.

If I had the money I'd look at a Camaro or Corvette.

EV's are not there yet (and may never be), poor charging options away from home plus slow charging. When we go away I don't want to be planning my trip around waiting to recharge and being able to find a place to charge. Tesla isn't on my radar for the same reasons you cite.

One site I visit regularly has a few threads dedicated to EV's. The Tesla guys are real fan bois and don't you ever try to put down a Tesla. They go on about all the "features" without realising a lot of other cars have something similar. I think in quite a few instances they have been attracted by the mirage of low operating costs and have come from an older vehicle without modern tech and don't realise what is in the Tesla is pretty much normal for most new cars. Tesla have just marketed it pretty well.

Based on what some of the EV owners on this site were quoting for running costs I did a comparison with my running costs and added in RUC for the EV's. There was nothing in it. With the imminent introduction of RUC's for EV's you were kidding yourself if you were buying an EV justifying the hefty price based on cheaper running costs.

It's just something I have observed here and there. Governments don't really want people travelling too far and the lack of long-distance range of EV’s and the minimal infrastructure to charge them suits.

 

[VS 5.0]

It's just something I have observed here and there. Governments don't really want people travelling too far and the lack of long-distance range of EV’s and the minimal infrastructure to charge them suits.

Did someone say 15 minute cities ?

 

[hademall]

Did someone say 15 minute cities ?

Yep!