Test driving in Belgium

PeterL

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I've been looking for a car for some time now, test driving from time to time when covid restrictions allowed. After looking at a PHEV for some time, I decided to go all in on electricity. I test drove a Kia e-Niro, a VW ID.3 and a Polestar 2 (twice) and I also know the Renault Zoe pretty well. Here are my impressions:

Kia e-Niro
The car is a throwback to older cars in many respects, which isn't bad by definition. But I found it confusing in general. Too many buttons, mixed functions, ... It took me half the ride to enable the CC, for example, and I've driven plenty of cars with CC before. It kept giving me a warning it couldn’t enable CC without any more info. The wheels also spin a lot when accelerating, which is rather disconcerting. It has traction control, but it kicks in rather late. But the real deal breaker is the charging speed. As it charges only at 77kW, it takes twice as much time as modern cars.

VW ID.3
The ID.3 is basically a cheap car with a huge battery slapped under it. Controls are confusing, again, and I kept turning up the volume while trying to set the heating, because of the pretty badly placed controls under the touch screen. It really felt like a cheap Polo, while it's targeted to be an upper range Golf. It's also a bit small for me and my family, while the ID.4 is much too large. Nothing between the barge and the canoe, so VW is out.

Polestar 2
I really wanted to like this car and I really did. Despite the huge amounts of power, it sticks to the road. Having a separate Android on the infotainment screen is great: no hassle to couple the phone. There's some teething problems, but the car has huge potential. The ACC is super smooth, too. It's a great driver's experience. But the middle tunnel that contains the battery results in a huge jump right next to the driver's seat. I guess if you're used to rally cars, it's quite comfortable. But together with the rather hard seats, I never really found a comfortable seating position. It's a shame, really.

So, that brings me back to the Mustang Mach-E. I had the ER RWD version on my radar before I drove the Polestar. In Belgium, that model seems to come with limited options, so I'm looking at the Technology Pack + to add the B&O sound system, ACC, cameras, electrically adjustable seats and the glass roof. Not decided on the colour yet - black is nice and free, but midnight blue or carbon grey look pretty nice. Is the latter matte? It seems that way sometimes.

Unfortunately, we can't test drive the Mach-E yet. I will visit it in person on Saturday, but I can't drive it... It's a bit silly and I'm wondering how much I will be able to feel the driving position when not driving. But it will have to do. Probably deciding next week then, after I arrange insurance and financing.
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