T03

Deeply impressive - punches well above it's weight

After a lifetime of second hand weird and wonderful cars (last car and Alfa Romeo), the need for something dependable and inoffensive grew stronger.

This is my first ever new car, and first EV. So far, I'm nearly 7000 miles in.

I settled on this after a lot of research, and the car has exceeded my expectations in ways I didn't expect. Given the lukewarm press reviews, I wonder if they drove the same car.

It doesn't have the fashionable charm of the Fiat 500 etc, instead it's more sensible and practical.

It's taller than most small cars, so roomy and airy inside. Space is very well utilised inside and you can genuinely get normal sized people in the back for daily duties. The boot is often criticized for being small, but it's very deep, and can easily accommodate a weekly shop - it's bigger than it looks.

It's loaded with equipment, things that used to be the preserve of luxury cars - adaptive cruise control, lane departure, all electric windows, electric panoramic roof blind (!), voice control, phone app...

Build quality seems good for a small car, it's no BMW but it's solid, and the main touch points and controls are solid and good quality. Seats are comfortable and fabric seems durable.

But the main thing, drivability, is where it's at. It's plenty quick enough, and easily keeps up with most riad conditions. I'd say it's like driving a 1.6 petrol, plenty of get up and go to keep up with the daily flow.

Efficiency is the car's star feature - I average about 5.5 mpKh on a mix of urban and dual carriageway, many owners can get much more if mainly town driving. The car is officially rated at 165 miles, currently I'm achieving about 180+ with some reports of nearer 200 miles achieved. There's nothing anywhere near the price point with the same range and equipment.

Downsides? Nothing that really bothers me. It doesn't come with Android Auto, which seems to wind many people up, it doesn't bother me as the car's satnav is quite good, and Bluetooth connection for your music and phone works well. The voice control is r******...but who cares.

Many of the functions are controlled via the central touch screen - not my favoured thing, but you get used to it, and it's worked fine, with no discernable lag or freezing. The reversing camera is excellent quality.

There were lots of criticisms about intrusive driver alerts and safety aids, but an OTA update has improved that loads, and you can just press a button on the steering wheel to turn them off. I don't bother, because I find the systems actually work quite well with little intrusions, so I just leave them on all the time.

The car has the trick of driving like a larger car, and you forget how small it is until you get out! I've done several longer journeys and a fast charge at a service station will take about 35-40 min - perfectly acceptable, and time for a toilet and coffee break.

I've had almost fault free motoring, only once did the phone system stop working - a 12v battery disconnect for a few minutes reset everything and it's been fine since. Cars are mobile computers these days really...

The car gets a lot of curious attention, so be prepared to get started at!

I highly recommend this surprising car - it may lack the cheeky, fun personality of some small cars, but it's strength is it's maturity and usability. I'd seriously recommend a close look.

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