wivenhoe

That’s why all new home chargers must have the capability of tallowing he supplier to throttle back or even terminating charging in the UK !

I have had 4 new PHEV’s since 2015 - initially for tax saving but with the current one personally owned. In my case they suit my mostly local driving and also the acceleration is much better compared to a similar size petrol car. My very heavy RR Velar does 0 to 60 in just over 5s and over 6k miles has returned nearly 90mpg. It dives to about 30 mpg after the 30 mile EV range has been used. I think they are a great compromise as you have all the advantage of EV (including environmental) for local driving but no range anxiety issues on long journeys. I am looking to make my next car an EV mainly due to expected higher residuals in future years as well as great acceleration when needed. Ironically, at a time EV’s are bringing faster driving, local councils are introducing 20 mph limits and I wouldn’t be surprised if 50 mph limits were introduced on motorways. Still, that will add to the range of EV’s. I am looking to buy an RZ as the best car I have had (and kept the longest) was a 2008 GS450h which went like the clappers and at 3 years old looked inside and out brand new. I am hoping the RZ lives up to that.

As my fixed rate until Dec is only 18p and the current cap is about 28p and becoming 52p on 1st Oct I doubt I can get anything more cost effective. EON aren’t offering any fixed tariffs for next year as they say it is (hopefully) possible that you could fix now at a much higher rate than the cap will be.

Many thanks. I’ll look a little nearer when my current fixed price comes to an end.

I had to renew my home charger a few months back (my Rolec failed after 7 years !). The installer told me that from 1st July all chargers had to be “smart” - I thought he meant controllable by an App and a timer - he said yes to those, but the important element was that the supplier could ‘throttle back’ charge rates to even the load on the grid. He said it meant that a full EV driver with a car needing say 10 hours on a home charger could discover that only over night only half a charge has been delivered. He said that was the main reason they brought in the new regulation.

EON doesn’t offer cut price tariffs for EV’s so there is no advantage in charging overnight (my charger and car can set charge times). Hopefully they will introduce them - I am fortunately on a fixed price tariff until Dec (£ 0.18 / kWh ) so charging my PHEV Range Rover Velar saves a fortune compared to petrol.

I have read a number of reports where capped electric tariffs will soon have off-peak rates significantly less than the capped rate - let’s hope so. At the current capped rate of 52p / Kw x say 70kw = £ 36.40 for say 200 miles = 18p / mile. Petrol say £ 1.90 / litre at say 35 mpg = 25p / mile. If they don’t introduce off-peak tariffs then EV’s will probably be more expensive to run than petrol from next Jan. That’ll do the government push for more EV’s a world of good !

I bought 3 PHEV’s as company cars in my own Limited company. They were treated the same as EV’s for Corporation Tax - the whole purchase cost was offset against Corp Tax in the first year. Currently say £72k x 19% = £ 14k. The personal tax for a PHEV is more than than a EV - also dependant on the electric range. A £ 72k EV is a taxable amount of £ 1,400 a PHEV with 60 miles range (say BMW 545e) is £ 5.7k and with a 33 mile range (Range Rover Velar P400e) £8.6k. Worse case is say £ 7k x 40% = £2.8k a year.

This US website indicates it’s not a simple issue to resolve and production of the Toyota has ceased and no resumption date been indicated. Perhaps Lexus are being pessimistic in some dealers saying deliveries next year but maybe not. https://www.electrifying.com/blog/article/toyota-offers-buy-back-option-for-american-drivers-who-bought-recalled-bz4x-suv

I suspect that Exeter want to secure an order and then will drip feed the delays next year in the hope by then you would keep with the order as competitors will still be saying 6 months from new order. I have read somewhere that the wheel issue with the Toyota (same as RZ) is delaying production so that may well be impacting the RZ, hence some dealers being straight and realistically saying last quarter next year.

Deposit is £ 500 fully returnable after a test drive proves unacceptable or before. I doubt £ 500 over 18 months would return more than say £ 20 !! I think the car market will be in an entirely different place next year and so hoping a discount may be available !

My dealer said weeks ago that they had been told no demos until June and delivery from July but likely September.

With a 10% larger battery of 77kw the Genesis GV60 (smaller car) the range calculator for 80% motorways goes from 207 miles at -10c to 248 miles at 20c. 80% City goes from 312 at -10c to 371 at 20c. Genesis are to Hyundai as Lexus is to Toyota so the fit, finish and quality should be similar to the RZ. They are offering the GV 70 SUV for deliveries next year at very similar pricing as the RZ - Sport (only option available at launch) starts at £ 65k and optioned similar to a Takumi circa £ 72k - it’s as if Lexus have used this as a baseline !

All in an exchange of emails so should be ok. I can’t believe they will be selling Takumi’s with at best 250 miles range will sell for £ 73k - might pull that now with new cars being delayed so much but in a years time ?

I told the dealer I would only continue if it was on the strict understanding that I can cancel after a test drive and get my £ 500 back. He agreed. I also told him the car market next July will probably be in an entirely different place so I was hoping there would be a discount to bring the price down. Seems to me that it’s a no brainier - see what the market is like next year and either hang on to see if there is a discount (I’ve never bought a new car without a significant one) or order something else and cancel and get my £500 back. I’m reading good reports about the Genesis electric GV70 SUV which on the motorway has a range of about 300 miles.

Just got a call from the dealers - prices are as above so a Takumi in Copper metallic two tone is £ 73k - delivery will not be before next June. Demos not available until next May / June

At that price for a Takumi I will cancel. I sent the prices to my dealer and he said they have not been told of any prices and don’t expect to for some time. I hope he is right and when they do publish them they are significantly less

Close to £ 80k would be a ridiculous price for a car with a range of really less than 250 miles. A mid optioned EQE with a range of 350+ and definitely in the same league as a Lexus is less than £ 80k. A fully optioned one is £ 85k. Similarly, a BMW iX is around that price. If a Takumi is going to be almost £ 80k then I’ll be cancelling - the dealer indicated a price between an NX and RX so less than £ 70k for a Takumi.

There is an article on the BBC News website reporting a recall for the Toyota BZ & Subaru due to a major defect with the wheel assembly resulting in the wheel possibly coming off. No doubt the same assembly was to be used on the RZ. Also, the report says that Toyota have formally announced that they are having to reduce production due to ongoing chip shortages - doesn’t bode well for our deliveries ! https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61919424

I assumed incorrectly that the RZ as it is AWD would have the same battery as the Toyota BZ AWD. I found a definitive article which confirms that the concerns over charging rates applies to the Chinese battery from CATL in the BZ AWD and not the Panasonic battery which will be in the RZ. https://insideevs.com/news/585939/toyota-bz4x-awd-fast-charging-curve/ The CATL battery seems to be vastly inferior to the Panasonic one and because Toyota are offering the same warranty (90% at 10 years) they are reducing the charge rate to protect the battery life. The CATL battery cars have a home charge max rate of only 6.6kw whereas the Panasonic have 7.4kw

According to Automotive News, the Toyota bZ4X will get its batteries from Chinese battery producer CATL and the joint venture between Toyota and Panasonic known as Prime Planet Energy & Solutions, but the Lexus RZ 450e will only get batteries from Prime Planet Energy & Solutions. https://www.theautopian.com/the-2023-lexus-rz-is-the-toyota-bz4xs-posh-potent-sibling/

Most of the Toyota BZ’s have Chinese batteries so it’s very likely the cars being reviewed have these. The RZ will only have the Toyota / Panasonic produced batteries so they may have considerably better properties. However as the RZ will be AWD I suspect that it will have the same battery as the AWD Toyota which is the subject of a concerning article, albeit American. It reports what Toyota have been formally saying, rather than expressing an opinion. It is reported that Toyota have said - And on the AWD variant of bZ4X, which has a different battery pack than FWD model, Toyota (initially) straight up says DC charging may not work when below 32 degrees Fahrenheit (freezing point)This was later changed to ….. for the bZ4X AWD model, charging may slow down more than other models in weather conditions below 32 degrees Fahrenheit" The full article is here - https://www.motortrend.com/news/2023-toyota-bz4x-charging-speed-cold-temperature/ I’ll be asking my dealer whether this applies to the RZ as the range will plummet when driving in freezing conditions and on a long drive it could take ages to charge on DC, (if at all) precisely when you’ll want to charge and get on your way.

Many thanks. Just what I wanted to hear. I have a RR Velar PHEV currently so used to plenty of headroom.

Has anybody read anywhere what the front headroom is. I’ve trawled the web and can’t find it. The RZ is the same height as the NX and when I sat in one of those with the seat at its lowest there wasn’t anywhere enough headroom. I’m 6’ 1” so not abnormally tall. If the headroom is the same as the NX I was in, I’ll be asking for my £500 back as my eye-line was above the top of the windscreen !