[jonesanto]

Jan 2022 I was in the verge of being bankrupt because of COVID, 2022 June, purchased used Innova and my family thinks it is our Lucky 15.

Since this is a public forum I don’t want to narrate what exactly happened in my life, long story short, I have business in Kerala and an IT job in Bangalore. I purchased Fortuner AT for highway runs, for city runs I use Innova and I wanted to purchase an EV for city runs, makes perfect sense since I wanted to experience the EV technology. I took a test drive of BYD Atto 3 and Ioniq 5.

Here comes trouble, my family thinks our Innova brought good fortune to our life and no matter what I say, they won’t budge. We purchased a small land right next to our house just to park the Fortuner, I don’t have parking for 3 cars. Wife wanted to use only Innova for her and our sons pickup n drop by our driver when I am out of station.

I have a normal marriage. Which means, when we disagree... Wife wins.

Life is not linear, you have ups and downs. I asked “How long do you think you can car keep a car? 50 years?” The answer was, “Even if it is not running, just keep it on our possession.”

I dropped the new car purchase idea till I can find a secure parking for one more car near home, which is very important. My parents stay 3km from my house and they have ample space for parking but I don’t want to travel 3km just to use one car.

Option 2: Is there any?

Kindly note, I am not looking for financial benefits over this, and Innova does the duty without any issues or niggles as expected from a Toyota.

Car in question

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by jonesanto

for city runs I use Innova and I wanted to purchase an EV for city runs, makes perfect sense since I wanted to experience the EV technology. I took a test drive of BYD Atto 3 and Ioniq 5.

Here comes trouble, my family thinks our Innova brought good fortune to our life and no matter what I say, they won’t budge. The answer was, “Even if it is not running, just keep it on our possession.”

I will keep that Innova Not just because it brought you good times back but also for doing errands or those highway runs where one has to sit in the rear.

What you need is a new car to satisfy your itch in my opinion

Don't worry; you are at the right place. Sell that Fortuner and buy something better. Have you looked at iX? BMW has a special offer under buyback 3/ 4 Years at 4,99%. That's around 12 Lac off if we consider the usual 10% ROI otherwise. You mentioned business, I hope you are aware of the depreciation benefits of EV's. If you buy before 30th, you can claim 40%.

If you find this expensive or don't want to part with Fortuner, do check EV. BMW is running a One-year special offer on the Electric Mini's. You claim 40% depreciation, and buyback is assured. Sample enclosed cost; it comes at less than 30k a month.

[EV Fan]

as @Turbanator said

I will keep that Innova

Both the Ioniq & Atto are quite good for highway's. So, they should be able to take Fortuner's place.
You can also check the:
BYD E6 - bigger range but might need a bit interior overhaul to make it nicer
or
soon to be launched Tata Harrier that might have a big battery pack

Tata launches are to keep an eye on if you are not in a hurry to purchase, especially since they have been sticking to their timelines unlike other manufacturers.

Originally Posted by jonesanto

Option 2: Is there any?

Can you squeeze in a smaller car like the MG Comet or the Tata Tiago as the 3rd car?

[jonesanto]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Don't worry; you are at the right place.

Thanks a lot Turbanator,


Though the iX is an interesting car, I don't think I want to get into 1C plus category. I am comfortable in the 50 lakh range hence took test drive of BYD Atto 3 and Ioniq 5. I am happy to read about Electric Mini and the chart you have provided is super helpful. I already made a call to Navnit Motors and fixed an appointment for this Saturday. Hoping for the best.

I missed to point out my highway usage, 80% of the time, I will be travelling alone, so I do not like to plan my drive, which is necessary when you use an EV? I am used to stopping whenever I feel like and on a good stretch, at times I drive between 3 to 4 hours without taking a break and mostly keeping a steady 120kmph to cover as much distance as possible. My breaks do not exceed more than half an hour and I am not sure how much of an adjustment I have to make if I am to move on to an EV for my highway use.

Really appreciate your inputs.

Originally Posted by EV Fan

Can you squeeze in a smaller car like the MG Comet or the Tata Tiago as the 3rd car?

Hi, EV Fan, thanks for the reply. Yes, I can squeeze in a smaller car like the MG Comet or the Tata Tiago but since I have business in Kerala, I do have lot of local running when I am in town, so I am comfortable with a bigger car.

[EV Fan]

Interesting scenario. Well looks like a 3rd car with its own parking space it is.

If you are willing to adjust to some extent, then there are possibility in both scenario's. But ideally the EV can never be the exact replacement for an ICE as of now.

Originally Posted by jonesanto

I missed to point out my highway usage

Ioniq & Atto have good range but still can't beat this kind of running.
Have tried both a long stop charges (20% to 80%) or few short one's(50/60% to 80%), but either way it always need planning.
My preference is latter. Instead of a big break, i charge for whatever time i am taking a break 15-20 mins but keep charging occasionally. It is usually short charges keeping battery between 80% to 50%.
Worth a rehearsal with your fortuner, if you can accept some basic form of planning...

Originally Posted by jonesanto

I do have lot of local running when I am in town, so I am comfortable with a bigger car.

EX: Tiago LR can easily do 150kms+ in a single charge and can fully charge with the 7.2KW wallbox charger in around 4/5 hours(overnight).
so unless your running is more than 150/day or you are not returning to charger accessible place/home, it might be worth a short.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by jonesanto

I missed to point out my highway usage, 80% of the time, I will be travelling alone, so I do not like to plan my drive, which is necessary when you use an EV?

I had a very short time, but the range on i7 is very good—over 500Km, so we never were short of the charge. If your EV range is practically 400 or even 350+, I don't think you need to bother about anything unless you regularly make 500-600 Km day journeys on some rural highways devoid of EV infrastructure.

My breaks do not exceed more than half an hour, and I am not sure how much of an adjustment I have to make if I am to move on to an EV for my highway use.

It will be a good idea to check the Plugshare app or on the web and find out the charging stations on your regular way. Any chargers about 50Kw are pretty good for topping up in 30-40 minutes. Also, if you travel to your office or factory, you can install a 3-phase charging setup. BMW has a Flexi charger that can charge up to 11 Kw on a 3-phase connection. This charger on single phase supplies between 2-3,5 Kw depending on the cable you use.

Mini EV may not be suitable for highway runs a it has about 200 km range max. BYD or Kia/ Hyundai may be a better choice if you have to travel a lot.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by jonesanto

My parents stay 3km from my house and they have ample space for parking

First of all, let's be honest and stop with the other "reasons" - the need for a an EV is basically an itch for a new car (as rightly pointed out by @Turbanator too). I'm guessing your wife doesn't have the same itch so her argument of not disposing a perfectly good running Innova seem quite logical and not an easy one to argue against .

Do your parents have a car that can be swapped with the Innova (or the Fortuner for just parking)? That way the Innova stays unsold, you have the Fortuner for highway runs and you can respond to the new car itch (let's be honest and stop with the other "reasons") with a new EV.

If Innova is parked there, that's fine; the usage will be reduced once the EV is brought into the house. If Fortuner is parked there; that should be fine as you'll have to do the 3km drive only for those relatively rarer highway runs.

[ASP007]

How about Kia EV 6. Certainly it does alleviate the range concern if you would like to take it for long distance runs, but need a good stretch on the budget. XC40 Recharge can also be considered. Else, try the hybrid ones available. Hycross will be a good choice, bigger vehicle with more of a SUV ish stance. You may also exchange your Fortuner for the same. Just my suggestions.

[nidhikapoor]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

I will keep that Innova

If you find this expensive or don't want to part with Fortuner, do check EV. BMW is running a One-year special offer on the Electric Mini's. You claim 40% depreciation, and buyback is assured.

Is that 40 percent because its an EV? All EVs get the same benefit?

[GoBabyGo]

Hi jonesanto - In your initial post you have mentioned that you need an EV for city run, but you have also mentioned that you will drive your EV primarily on highway since your majority of drive is on highway.

Let me be honest, I don't own an EV, but have colleagues who are using EV in Delhi / Noida / Gurugram. Some of them rarely use their ICE car (one of my colleague own BMW 3 series) because of excellent drive of EV + huge savings on running cost.

Go for IONIC 5 (preferably) or BYD Atto3 (avoid as of now due to future of BYD in India), both are just amazing EVs to drive. I can say it confidently that when you start driving e.g. IONIC 5, you will not drive any of your other ICE cars, be it Innova or Fortuner.

Get yourself IONIC 5 eye closed and install 7.2KW charger at your home. Find out a place to park your Fortuner or Innova, one of which you will eventually sell after some time due to nobody is using it. In the meantime, talk to some Solar Power company and install it on your villa roof and you will be driving your EV for free for next decade or two. Highways down South have ample charging infrastructure and with the help of various apps for EV, you will not be having difficulty finding a charger on highway. A good 25 minutes on 25kW charger are enough to charge your EV for roughly from 30% to 80%, which will give you practical range of 300km. IONIC 5 (or Atto3) can easily give you range of approx. 350km from 100% to 30% which is good enough for human to drive without taking break.

According to me, your need will be very much fulfilled by IONIC 5. All the very best for your purchase

[hybridpetrol]

Considering you like big car feel and your family is quite settled with the current ride and the Innova, though old is in top shape, I agree with your family’s view that the Innova stays.

Now, I understand that you want to move up and experience the torque that EV provides, you really do not have a use case for an EV.

Your main ride is your Fortuner, which you cannot replace due to the drive pattern and the fact that you don’t want to be bothered with charging woes during highway trips. This itself is an indication that you are not ready for EV yet, and you are just smitten by the torque and silent ride the EV offers.

If you desist taking Innova often, why not use Fortuner for your local runs too? Give your family what they like (Innova in this case) and keep them happy. If someone has to rarely take a car, it better be a fill it shut it car, rather than an EV which requires some preparation in advance - this is true even for local runs. If you forget to charge and leave a nearly empty battery, it is useless for emergency runs. Thinking from that perspective, it is better to not disturb their peace of mind by replacing a reliable car with EV.

I consider selling either of them is out of question from your description. So, you have to find a way to get an EV (May be a third parking spot somehow, to accommodate one of the cars). I see which car does not matter before you find parking space for the third one!

[MT_Hyderabad]

Park your Fortuner at your parents place for 1 year.

Buy an EV you like and sell it after an year.

If you are happy with your EV purchase, sell the Fortuner after an year.

Take the Fortuner out for at least a 20 km run once every two weeks.

The above mentioned strategy is exactly what I am following for my third car. Six months are gone and I was missing my second car. Drove it for two consecutive weeks recently.

[helios9406]

Originally Posted by MT_Hyderabad

Park your Fortuner at your parents place for 1 year.

Buy an EV you like and sell it after an year.

If you are happy with your EV purchase, sell the Fortuner after an year.

You almost stole my words.

To the OP: A big ev with a big battery should cater to your EVs itch and solar panel installation would make your city runabouts practically "free".

All the very best for your future EV acquisition. Your mind looks already set. You are just looking for other point views.

[dmaheshkumar]

Hi,
Voting for Innova. And its not only because of good fortune, Its also will have reliability.
Even your children's got married and they become parents, this INNOVA will run with out issues if maintained properly and still willing to run more.

I like a sentence in your write up.

I have a normal marriage. Which means, when we disagree... Wife wins.