• BYD Test drive

    From Daryl@3:633/10 to All on Monday, April 13, 2026 21:55:46
    Today I test drove a BYD Dolphin BEV and a BYD Sealion 5 PHEV, each
    drive was less than 30mins so not a big test but good enough to get a reasonable impression of both.
    I found the Sealion 5 to be a pretty boring ordinary SUV, nothing all
    that wrong with it, it just failed to impress, on the other hand the
    Dolphin was a fun car that was very enjoyable to drive, it was very well equipped for the money.
    At this point in time I would take the BEV Dolphin over the Sealion, the
    lane keep assist was noticeable but not bad enough that I was looking
    for the switch to turn it off and I hardly even noticed it beeping at me
    when I went over the speed limit.
    Only negative I noticed was the road/wind noise although it changed a
    lot depending on the road surface, most likely the road noise was much
    more noticeable because of the lack of engine exhaust noise, on a smooth
    road at moderate speed it was very quiet.
    Under hard acceleration there was a bit of torque steer and a bit of
    wheel spin but no where near as bad as the Hyundai Kona EV I drove a few
    years ago, it reminded me of driving a fast original Mini.
    Just waiting on my wife to make a decision although there is no rush,
    there is an approx 3 month wait on the Dolphin:-)

    --
    Daryl


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Noddy@3:633/10 to All on Monday, April 13, 2026 23:00:41
    On 13/04/2026 9:55 pm, Daryl wrote:
    Today I test drove a BYD Dolphin BEV and a BYD Sealion 5 PHEV, each
    drive was less than 30mins so not a big test but good enough to get a reasonable impression of both.
    I found the Sealion 5 to be a pretty boring ordinary SUV, nothing all
    that wrong with it, it just failed to impress, on the other hand the
    Dolphin was a fun car that was very enjoyable to drive, it was very well equipped for the money.
    At this point in time I would take the BEV Dolphin over the Sealion, the lane keep assist was noticeable but not bad enough that I was looking
    for the switch to turn it off and I hardly even noticed it beeping at me when I went over the speed limit.
    Only negative I noticed was the road/wind noise although it changed a
    lot depending on the road surface, most likely the road noise was much
    more noticeable because of the lack of engine exhaust noise, on a smooth road at moderate speed it was very quiet.
    Under hard acceleration there was a bit of torque steer and a bit of
    wheel spin but no where near as bad as the Hyundai Kona EV I drove a few years ago, it reminded me of driving a fast original Mini.
    Just waiting on my wife to make a decision although there is no rush,
    there is an approx 3 month wait on the Dolphin:-)

    Nice write up. Looked at any other notable EV's or is this your short list?




    --
    --
    --
    Regards,
    Noddy.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Daryl@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 09:02:17
    On 13/4/2026 11:00 pm, Noddy wrote:
    On 13/04/2026 9:55 pm, Daryl wrote:
    Today I test drove a BYD Dolphin BEV and a BYD Sealion 5 PHEV, each
    drive was less than 30mins so not a big test but good enough to get a
    reasonable impression of both.
    I found the Sealion 5 to be a pretty boring ordinary SUV, nothing all
    that wrong with it, it just failed to impress, on the other hand the
    Dolphin was a fun car that was very enjoyable to drive, it was very
    well equipped for the money.
    At this point in time I would take the BEV Dolphin over the Sealion,
    the lane keep assist was noticeable but not bad enough that I was
    looking for the switch to turn it off and I hardly even noticed it
    beeping at me when I went over the speed limit.
    Only negative I noticed was the road/wind noise although it changed a
    lot depending on the road surface, most likely the road noise was much
    more noticeable because of the lack of engine exhaust noise, on a
    smooth road at moderate speed it was very quiet.
    Under hard acceleration there was a bit of torque steer and a bit of
    wheel spin but no where near as bad as the Hyundai Kona EV I drove a
    few years ago, it reminded me of driving a fast original Mini.
    Just waiting on my wife to make a decision although there is no rush,
    there is an approx 3 month wait on the Dolphin:-)

    Nice write up. Looked at any other notable EV's or is this your short list?




    Not yet, the other PHEV possible is the Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid but
    we haven't seen one in the flesh yet and after yesterdays test drive of
    the BYD PHEV which I found to be rather disappointing I'm not sure we
    will bother looking at it.
    We don't want to spend much more than $40k and that poses a problem
    because it limits whats available, if we had another $20k to spend then
    there would be a lot more options.
    The MG 4 EV is slightly cheaper and probably the closest competitor to
    the BYD Dolphin but on paper the BYD is better, both get very good reviews.
    Its early days and I've only driven the one new EV and one PHEV but at
    this point in time I'm liking the EV much more than the PHEV.

    --
    Daryl

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Trevor Wilson@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 09:52:07
    On 14/04/2026 9:02 am, Daryl wrote:
    On 13/4/2026 11:00 pm, Noddy wrote:
    On 13/04/2026 9:55 pm, Daryl wrote:
    Today I test drove a BYD Dolphin BEV and a BYD Sealion 5 PHEV, each
    drive was less than 30mins so not a big test but good enough to get a
    reasonable impression of both.
    I found the Sealion 5 to be a pretty boring ordinary SUV, nothing all
    that wrong with it, it just failed to impress, on the other hand the
    Dolphin was a fun car that was very enjoyable to drive, it was very
    well equipped for the money.
    At this point in time I would take the BEV Dolphin over the Sealion,
    the lane keep assist was noticeable but not bad enough that I was
    looking for the switch to turn it off and I hardly even noticed it
    beeping at me when I went over the speed limit.
    Only negative I noticed was the road/wind noise although it changed a
    lot depending on the road surface, most likely the road noise was
    much more noticeable because of the lack of engine exhaust noise, on
    a smooth road at moderate speed it was very quiet.
    Under hard acceleration there was a bit of torque steer and a bit of
    wheel spin but no where near as bad as the Hyundai Kona EV I drove a
    few years ago, it reminded me of driving a fast original Mini.
    Just waiting on my wife to make a decision although there is no rush,
    there is an approx 3 month wait on the Dolphin:-)

    Nice write up. Looked at any other notable EV's or is this your short
    list?




    Not yet, the other PHEV possible is the Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid but
    we haven't seen one in the flesh yet and after yesterdays test drive of
    the BYD PHEV which I found to be rather disappointing I'm not sure we
    will bother looking at it.
    We don't want to spend much more than $40k and that poses a problem
    because it limits whats available, if we had another $20k to spend then there would be a lot more options.
    The MG 4 EV is slightly cheaper and probably the closest competitor to
    the BYD Dolphin but on paper the BYD is better, both get very good reviews. Its early days and I've only driven the one new EV and one PHEV but at
    this point in time I'm liking the EV much more than the PHEV.


    **Don't trust reviews of Chinese cars, UNLESS you know the bona fides of
    the reviewer/s. The Chinese are well known for bribing reviewers.

    --
    This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. www.avast.com

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Axel@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 11:00:42
    Daryl wrote:
    On 13/4/2026 11:00 pm, Noddy wrote:
    On 13/04/2026 9:55 pm, Daryl wrote:
    Today I test drove a BYD Dolphin BEV and a BYD Sealion 5 PHEV, each
    drive was less than 30mins so not a big test but good enough to get
    a reasonable impression of both.
    I found the Sealion 5 to be a pretty boring ordinary SUV, nothing
    all that wrong with it, it just failed to impress, on the other hand
    the Dolphin was a fun car that was very enjoyable to drive, it was
    very well equipped for the money.
    At this point in time I would take the BEV Dolphin over the Sealion,
    the lane keep assist was noticeable but not bad enough that I was
    looking for the switch to turn it off and I hardly even noticed it
    beeping at me when I went over the speed limit.
    Only negative I noticed was the road/wind noise although it changed
    a lot depending on the road surface, most likely the road noise was
    much more noticeable because of the lack of engine exhaust noise, on
    a smooth road at moderate speed it was very quiet.
    Under hard acceleration there was a bit of torque steer and a bit of
    wheel spin but no where near as bad as the Hyundai Kona EV I drove a
    few years ago, it reminded me of driving a fast original Mini.
    Just waiting on my wife to make a decision although there is no
    rush, there is an approx 3 month wait on the Dolphin:-)

    Nice write up. Looked at any other notable EV's or is this your short
    list?




    Not yet, the other PHEV possible is the Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid but
    we haven't seen one in the flesh yet and after yesterdays test drive
    of the BYD PHEV which I found to be rather disappointing I'm not sure
    we will bother looking at it.
    We don't want to spend much more than $40k and that poses a problem
    because it limits whats available,

    wait awhile. availability will increase due to new makes/models entering
    the market, and price reductions of existing vehicles

    if we had another $20k to spend then there would be a lot more options.
    The MG 4 EV is slightly cheaper and probably the closest competitor to
    the BYD Dolphin but on paper the BYD is better, both get very good
    reviews.

    just buy what you want/like, ignore the specs. but test drive the MG if
    you're considering it to see what the ride is like

    Its early days and I've only driven the one new EV and one PHEV but at
    this point in time I'm liking the EV much more than the PHEV.


    I wouldn't buy an EV

    --
    Linux Mint 22.3


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Noddy@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 11:23:26
    On 14/04/2026 9:02 am, Daryl wrote:
    On 13/4/2026 11:00 pm, Noddy wrote:

    Nice write up. Looked at any other notable EV's or is this your short
    list?




    Not yet, the other PHEV possible is the Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid but
    we haven't seen one in the flesh yet and after yesterdays test drive of
    the BYD PHEV which I found to be rather disappointing I'm not sure we
    will bother looking at it.
    We don't want to spend much more than $40k and that poses a problem
    because it limits whats available, if we had another $20k to spend then there would be a lot more options.
    The MG 4 EV is slightly cheaper and probably the closest competitor to
    the BYD Dolphin but on paper the BYD is better, both get very good reviews. Its early days and I've only driven the one new EV and one PHEV but at
    this point in time I'm liking the EV much more than the PHEV.

    Interesting.

    I've not seen a Cherry Tiggo 7 up close either, but it certainly looks
    like a lot of car for the money. I know the kid's driving instructor
    uses a Chery something or other and she loved it. No hassles with
    service and/or reliability and it was pretty easy and basic.

    BYD are interesting on the other hand. The only thing from them I've had anything to do with is a Shark ute, and while it looked like a great bus
    for the money the interior styling is garish and would be hard to live
    with in my opinion. They also have a pretty average reputation for
    service and parts availability at the moment, so I would do my homework
    well.





    --
    --
    --
    Regards,
    Noddy.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Noddy@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 11:24:35
    On 14/04/2026 9:52 am, Trevor Wilson wrote:
    On 14/04/2026 9:02 am, Daryl wrote:

    Its early days and I've only driven the one new EV and one PHEV but at
    this point in time I'm liking the EV much more than the PHEV.


    **Don't trust reviews of Chinese cars, UNLESS you know the bona fides of
    the reviewer/s. The Chinese are well known for bribing reviewers.

    Can you cite some examples of that, or is this another "Trevor" fact? :)



    --
    --
    --
    Regards,
    Noddy.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Noddy@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 11:27:45
    On 14/04/2026 11:00 am, Axel wrote:
    Daryl wrote:

    Not yet, the other PHEV possible is the Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid but
    we haven't seen one in the flesh yet and after yesterdays test drive
    of the BYD PHEV which I found to be rather disappointing I'm not sure
    we will bother looking at it.
    We don't want to spend much more than $40k and that poses a problem
    because it limits whats available,

    wait awhile. availability will increase due to new makes/models entering
    the market, and price reductions of existing vehicles

    Which is something that happens all the time Felix, and if you continue
    to wait for the best price you'll end up waiting forever. Not everyone
    wants to drive a discontinued "run-out" for the sake of saving a couple
    of grand....

    if we had another $20k to spend then there would be a lot more options.
    The MG 4 EV is slightly cheaper and probably the closest competitor to
    the BYD Dolphin but on paper the BYD is better, both get very good
    reviews.

    just buy what you want/like, ignore the specs. but test drive the MG if you're considering it to see what the ride is like

    Sound advice. Not :)

    Its early days and I've only driven the one new EV and one PHEV but at
    this point in time I'm liking the EV much more than the PHEV.


    I wouldn't buy an EV

    But you'd buy an MG ZS though :)



    --
    --
    --
    Regards,
    Noddy.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Axel@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 12:27:43
    Noddy wrote:
    On 14/04/2026 11:00 am, Axel wrote:
    Daryl wrote:

    Not yet, the other PHEV possible is the Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid
    but we haven't seen one in the flesh yet and after yesterdays test
    drive of the BYD PHEV which I found to be rather disappointing I'm
    not sure we will bother looking at it.
    We don't want to spend much more than $40k and that poses a problem
    because it limits whats available,

    wait awhile. availability will increase due to new makes/models
    entering the market, and price reductions of existing vehicles

    Which is something that happens all the time Felix, and if you
    continue to wait for the best price you'll end up waiting forever.

    I never said anything about waiting for the best price dumbass. Daryl
    had a price ceiling so what I said is entirely relevant

    Not everyone wants to drive a discontinued "run-out" for the sake of
    saving a couple of grand....

    and I never said anything about buying a discontinued model either


    if we had another $20k to spend then there would be a lot more options.
    The MG 4 EV is slightly cheaper and probably the closest competitor
    to the BYD Dolphin but on paper the BYD is better, both get very
    good reviews.

    just buy what you want/like, ignore the specs. but test drive the MG
    if you're considering it to see what the ride is like

    Sound advice. Not :)

    makes no sense to buy a car just because the specs are good if you don't
    like it


    Its early days and I've only driven the one new EV and one PHEV but
    at this point in time I'm liking the EV much more than the PHEV.


    I wouldn't buy an EV

    But you'd buy an MG ZS though :)


    FYI the ZS in not an EV

    --
    Linux Mint 22.3


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Daryl@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 12:59:54
    On 14/4/2026 9:52 am, Trevor Wilson wrote:
    On 14/04/2026 9:02 am, Daryl wrote:
    On 13/4/2026 11:00 pm, Noddy wrote:
    On 13/04/2026 9:55 pm, Daryl wrote:
    Today I test drove a BYD Dolphin BEV and a BYD Sealion 5 PHEV, each
    drive was less than 30mins so not a big test but good enough to get
    a reasonable impression of both.
    I found the Sealion 5 to be a pretty boring ordinary SUV, nothing
    all that wrong with it, it just failed to impress, on the other hand
    the Dolphin was a fun car that was very enjoyable to drive, it was
    very well equipped for the money.
    At this point in time I would take the BEV Dolphin over the Sealion,
    the lane keep assist was noticeable but not bad enough that I was
    looking for the switch to turn it off and I hardly even noticed it
    beeping at me when I went over the speed limit.
    Only negative I noticed was the road/wind noise although it changed
    a lot depending on the road surface, most likely the road noise was
    much more noticeable because of the lack of engine exhaust noise, on
    a smooth road at moderate speed it was very quiet.
    Under hard acceleration there was a bit of torque steer and a bit of
    wheel spin but no where near as bad as the Hyundai Kona EV I drove a
    few years ago, it reminded me of driving a fast original Mini.
    Just waiting on my wife to make a decision although there is no
    rush, there is an approx 3 month wait on the Dolphin:-)

    Nice write up. Looked at any other notable EV's or is this your short
    list?




    Not yet, the other PHEV possible is the Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid but
    we haven't seen one in the flesh yet and after yesterdays test drive
    of the BYD PHEV which I found to be rather disappointing I'm not sure
    we will bother looking at it.
    We don't want to spend much more than $40k and that poses a problem
    because it limits whats available, if we had another $20k to spend
    then there would be a lot more options.
    The MG 4 EV is slightly cheaper and probably the closest competitor to
    the BYD Dolphin but on paper the BYD is better, both get very good
    reviews.
    Its early days and I've only driven the one new EV and one PHEV but at
    this point in time I'm liking the EV much more than the PHEV.


    **Don't trust reviews of Chinese cars, UNLESS you know the bona fides of
    the reviewer/s. The Chinese are well known for bribing reviewers.

    I don't doubt that but there are lots of reviews so I doubt that all of
    them are dodgy.
    Most reviews generally agree that they like the Dolphin but they usually
    have a few things they dislike.


    --
    Daryl

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Daryl@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 13:04:01
    On 14/4/2026 11:23 am, Noddy wrote:
    On 14/04/2026 9:02 am, Daryl wrote:
    On 13/4/2026 11:00 pm, Noddy wrote:

    Nice write up. Looked at any other notable EV's or is this your short
    list?




    Not yet, the other PHEV possible is the Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid but
    we haven't seen one in the flesh yet and after yesterdays test drive
    of the BYD PHEV which I found to be rather disappointing I'm not sure
    we will bother looking at it.
    We don't want to spend much more than $40k and that poses a problem
    because it limits whats available, if we had another $20k to spend
    then there would be a lot more options.
    The MG 4 EV is slightly cheaper and probably the closest competitor to
    the BYD Dolphin but on paper the BYD is better, both get very good
    reviews.
    Its early days and I've only driven the one new EV and one PHEV but at
    this point in time I'm liking the EV much more than the PHEV.

    Interesting.

    I've not seen a Cherry Tiggo 7 up close either, but it certainly looks
    like a lot of car for the money. I know the kid's driving instructor
    uses a Chery something or other and she loved it. No hassles with
    service and/or reliability and it was pretty easy and basic.

    BYD are interesting on the other hand. The only thing from them I've had anything to do with is a Shark ute, and while it looked like a great bus
    for the money the interior styling is garish and would be hard to live
    with in my opinion. They also have a pretty average reputation for
    service and parts availability at the moment, so I would do my homework well.





    I've heard that about BYD as well.
    Mate in Qld has a Shark and so far he's very happy with it, don't think
    its old enough yet to have needed a service but I will call him to ask
    what he thinks of BYD.
    There are 2 BYD Seals in my neighborhood, one just across the road so I
    might go and ask the owners what their experience is with the brand.

    --
    Daryl

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Daryl@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 13:07:34
    On 14/4/2026 11:27 am, Noddy wrote:
    On 14/04/2026 11:00 am, Axel wrote:
    Daryl wrote:

    Not yet, the other PHEV possible is the Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid
    but we haven't seen one in the flesh yet and after yesterdays test
    drive of the BYD PHEV which I found to be rather disappointing I'm
    not sure we will bother looking at it.
    We don't want to spend much more than $40k and that poses a problem
    because it limits whats available,

    wait awhile. availability will increase due to new makes/models
    entering the market, and price reductions of existing vehicles

    Which is something that happens all the time Felix, and if you continue
    to wait for the best price you'll end up waiting forever. Not everyone
    wants to drive a discontinued "run-out" for the sake of saving a couple
    of grand....

    if we had another $20k to spend then there would be a lot more options.
    The MG 4 EV is slightly cheaper and probably the closest competitor
    to the BYD Dolphin but on paper the BYD is better, both get very good
    reviews.

    just buy what you want/like, ignore the specs. but test drive the MG
    if you're considering it to see what the ride is like

    Sound advice. Not :)

    Its early days and I've only driven the one new EV and one PHEV but
    at this point in time I'm liking the EV much more than the PHEV.


    I wouldn't buy an EV

    But you'd buy an MG ZS though :)



    I get why people don't want EV's and I'm not a huge fan but when you
    have 11.2 kw of solar panels and a 40kWh battery an EV starts to make a
    lot of sense.

    --
    Daryl

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Xeno@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 13:48:54
    On 14/4/2026 11:24 am, Noddy wrote:
    On 14/04/2026 9:52 am, Trevor Wilson wrote:
    On 14/04/2026 9:02 am, Daryl wrote:

    Its early days and I've only driven the one new EV and one PHEV but
    at this point in time I'm liking the EV much more than the PHEV.


    **Don't trust reviews of Chinese cars, UNLESS you know the bona fides
    of the reviewer/s. The Chinese are well known for bribing reviewers.

    Can you cite some examples of that, or is this another "Trevor" fact? :)

    Actually, it is a well known *fact* in the media industry. Most car
    reviewers would be out of a job if they gave honest reviews.


    --
    Xeno

    Nothing astonishes Noddy so much as common sense and plain dealing.
    (with apologies to Ralph Waldo Emerson)

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Xeno@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 13:53:12
    On 14/4/2026 12:27 pm, Axel wrote:
    Noddy wrote:
    On 14/04/2026 11:00 am, Axel wrote:
    Daryl wrote:

    Not yet, the other PHEV possible is the Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid
    but we haven't seen one in the flesh yet and after yesterdays test
    drive of the BYD PHEV which I found to be rather disappointing I'm
    not sure we will bother looking at it.
    We don't want to spend much more than $40k and that poses a problem
    because it limits whats available,

    wait awhile. availability will increase due to new makes/models
    entering the market, and price reductions of existing vehicles

    Which is something that happens all the time Felix, and if you
    continue to wait for the best price you'll end up waiting forever.

    I never said anything about waiting for the best price dumbass. Daryl
    had a price ceiling so what I said is entirely relevant

    When I bought the Corolla I had a price ceiling, $65k, was thinking
    about a Lexus but of the two in stock at the local Lexus dealer, both
    were colours I couldn't abide.

    Not everyone wants to drive a discontinued "run-out" for the sake of
    saving a couple of grand....

    and I never said anything about buying a discontinued model either



    if we had another $20k to spend then there would be a lot more options. >>>> The MG 4 EV is slightly cheaper and probably the closest competitor
    to the BYD Dolphin but on paper the BYD is better, both get very
    good reviews.

    just buy what you want/like, ignore the specs. but test drive the MG
    if you're considering it to see what the ride is like

    Sound advice. Not :)

    makes no sense to buy a car just because the specs are good if you don't like it


    Its early days and I've only driven the one new EV and one PHEV but
    at this point in time I'm liking the EV much more than the PHEV.


    I wouldn't buy an EV

    But you'd buy an MG ZS though :)


    FYI the ZS in not an EV



    --
    Xeno

    Nothing astonishes Noddy so much as common sense and plain dealing.
    (with apologies to Ralph Waldo Emerson)

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Axel@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 15:14:06
    Xeno wrote:
    On 14/4/2026 12:27 pm, Axel wrote:
    Noddy wrote:
    On 14/04/2026 11:00 am, Axel wrote:
    Daryl wrote:

    Not yet, the other PHEV possible is the Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid
    but we haven't seen one in the flesh yet and after yesterdays test
    drive of the BYD PHEV which I found to be rather disappointing I'm
    not sure we will bother looking at it.
    We don't want to spend much more than $40k and that poses a
    problem because it limits whats available,

    wait awhile. availability will increase due to new makes/models
    entering the market, and price reductions of existing vehicles

    Which is something that happens all the time Felix, and if you
    continue to wait for the best price you'll end up waiting forever.

    I never said anything about waiting for the best price dumbass. Daryl
    had a price ceiling so what I said is entirely relevant

    When I bought the Corolla I had a price ceiling, $65k,

    is yours a hatch or a sedan? didn't want a SUV?

    was thinking about a Lexus but of the two in stock at the local Lexus dealer, both were colours I couldn't abide.

    Lexus=overpriced Toyota


    Not everyone wants to drive a discontinued "run-out" for the sake of
    saving a couple of grand....

    and I never said anything about buying a discontinued model either



    if we had another $20k to spend then there would be a lot more
    options.
    The MG 4 EV is slightly cheaper and probably the closest
    competitor to the BYD Dolphin but on paper the BYD is better, both
    get very good reviews.

    just buy what you want/like, ignore the specs. but test drive the
    MG if you're considering it to see what the ride is like

    Sound advice. Not :)

    makes no sense to buy a car just because the specs are good if you
    don't like it


    Its early days and I've only driven the one new EV and one PHEV
    but at this point in time I'm liking the EV much more than the PHEV. >>>>>

    I wouldn't buy an EV

    But you'd buy an MG ZS though :)


    FYI the ZS in not an EV





    --
    Linux Mint 22.3


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Xeno@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 15:55:36
    On 14/4/2026 3:14 pm, Axel wrote:
    Xeno wrote:
    On 14/4/2026 12:27 pm, Axel wrote:
    Noddy wrote:
    On 14/04/2026 11:00 am, Axel wrote:
    Daryl wrote:

    Not yet, the other PHEV possible is the Chery Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid >>>>>> but we haven't seen one in the flesh yet and after yesterdays test >>>>>> drive of the BYD PHEV which I found to be rather disappointing I'm >>>>>> not sure we will bother looking at it.
    We don't want to spend much more than $40k and that poses a
    problem because it limits whats available,

    wait awhile. availability will increase due to new makes/models
    entering the market, and price reductions of existing vehicles

    Which is something that happens all the time Felix, and if you
    continue to wait for the best price you'll end up waiting forever.

    I never said anything about waiting for the best price dumbass. Daryl
    had a price ceiling so what I said is entirely relevant

    When I bought the Corolla I had a price ceiling, $65k,

    is yours a hatch or a sedan? didn't want a SUV?

    Sedan. I was looking at the Lexus LBX SUV

    This one; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbr7b-ms52M

    Same colour too. Very nice looking colour when you see it on the metal.
    Not sure I'd want to own one that colour.

    I was initially looking at a Yaris Cross. That's what the LBX above is
    based on. Only had them in AWD, no 2WD in stock. Problem with AWD, not
    much boot space due to the rear drive motor, oh and an inflator instead
    of any spare.
    Then I looked at the ES 300H. Might have needed to up the ceiling to
    $70k, doable but, again, nil stock and a waitlist. They had one there
    but it was top of the line and $90k ish! I prefer the Pov Pack models.

    was thinking about a Lexus but of the two in stock at the local Lexus
    dealer, both were colours I couldn't abide.

    Lexus=overpriced Toyota

    Maybe so but damn nice drives.

    Not everyone wants to drive a discontinued "run-out" for the sake of
    saving a couple of grand....

    and I never said anything about buying a discontinued model either



    if we had another $20k to spend then there would be a lot more
    options.
    The MG 4 EV is slightly cheaper and probably the closest
    competitor to the BYD Dolphin but on paper the BYD is better, both >>>>>> get very good reviews.

    just buy what you want/like, ignore the specs. but test drive the
    MG if you're considering it to see what the ride is like

    Sound advice. Not :)

    makes no sense to buy a car just because the specs are good if you
    don't like it


    Its early days and I've only driven the one new EV and one PHEV
    but at this point in time I'm liking the EV much more than the PHEV. >>>>>>

    I wouldn't buy an EV

    But you'd buy an MG ZS though :)


    FYI the ZS in not an EV







    --
    Xeno

    Nothing astonishes Noddy so much as common sense and plain dealing.
    (with apologies to Ralph Waldo Emerson)

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Noddy@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 20:44:59
    On 14/04/2026 12:27 pm, Axel wrote:
    Noddy wrote:

    wait awhile. availability will increase due to new makes/models
    entering the market, and price reductions of existing vehicles

    Which is something that happens all the time Felix, and if you
    continue to wait for the best price you'll end up waiting forever.

    I never said anything about waiting for the best price dumbass. Daryl
    had a price ceiling so what I said is entirely relevant

    Ah. My mistake. When you said "wait awhile" you didn't mean wait at all.

    Not everyone wants to drive a discontinued "run-out" for the sake of
    saving a couple of grand....

    and I never said anything about buying a discontinued model either

    Yeah, that was a whoosh moment for you, Mr I bought a new 10 year old
    Lancer :)

    just buy what you want/like, ignore the specs. but test drive the MG
    if you're considering it to see what the ride is like

    Sound advice. Not :)

    makes no sense to buy a car just because the specs are good if you don't like it

    No one said otherwise. But it makes no sense to completely ignore specs
    just because you enjoyed a punt around the block on a test drive.

    I wouldn't buy an EV

    But you'd buy an MG ZS though :)


    FYI the ZS in not an EV

    No shit? :)



    --
    --
    --
    Regards,
    Noddy.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Noddy@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 20:47:16
    On 14/04/2026 1:07 pm, Daryl wrote:

    I get why people don't want EV's and I'm not a huge fan but when you
    have 11.2 kw of solar panels and a 40kWh battery an EV starts to make a
    lot of sense.

    It does indeed. How's the battery going?





    --
    --
    --
    Regards,
    Noddy.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Daryl@3:633/10 to All on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 21:56:50
    On 14/4/2026 8:47 pm, Noddy wrote:
    On 14/04/2026 1:07 pm, Daryl wrote:

    I get why people don't want EV's and I'm not a huge fan but when you
    have 11.2 kw of solar panels and a 40kWh battery an EV starts to make
    a lot of sense.

    It does indeed. How's the battery going?





    So far very good, since it was installed on the 30th March we have only imported 6.96kWh's from the grid and have exported 262.66 kWh's which is hopefully enough to offset the daily charge or possibly giving us a
    small credit.
    So far we haven't discharged the battery below 65% even on a poor solar
    day when we have used lots of power such as washing and drying clothes
    and having the heater (split system) on, usually by lunch time the solar
    has charged it back to 100%.
    Interesting to observe via the ap how much power gets used in the approx
    8hrs from midnight when the ap resets to when I wake up and check it in
    the morning, somewhere between 3.5-3.0 kWhs, the fridge and freezer, 2
    TV's on stand by etc uses more than I thought they would, every little
    bit adds up.
    I was told that it only uses power from the grid as a "reference", its
    as if it needs to check that the grid is still there.
    As a test we turned the main switch off and the switch to just battery
    power was so quick there was no indication that it happened, not even a flicker of the lights.


    --
    Daryl

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Noddy@3:633/10 to All on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 00:20:55
    On 14/04/2026 9:56 pm, Daryl wrote:
    On 14/4/2026 8:47 pm, Noddy wrote:
    On 14/04/2026 1:07 pm, Daryl wrote:

    I get why people don't want EV's and I'm not a huge fan but when you
    have 11.2 kw of solar panels and a 40kWh battery an EV starts to make
    a lot of sense.

    It does indeed. How's the battery going?





    So far very good, since it was installed on the 30th March we have only imported 6.96kWh's from the grid and have exported 262.66 kWh's which is hopefully enough to offset the daily charge or possibly giving us a
    small credit.
    So far we haven't discharged the battery below 65% even on a poor solar
    day when we have used lots of power such as washing and drying clothes
    and having the heater (split system) on, usually by lunch time the solar
    has charged it back to 100%.
    Interesting to observe via the ap how much power gets used in the approx 8hrs from midnight when the ap resets to when I wake up and check it in
    the morning, somewhere between 3.5-3.0 kWhs, the fridge and freezer, 2
    TV's on stand by etc uses more than I thought they would, every little
    bit adds up.
    I was told that it only uses power from the grid as a "reference", its
    as if it needs to check that the grid is still there.
    As a test we turned the main switch off and the switch to just battery
    power was so quick there was no indication that it happened, not even a flicker of the lights.

    That's pretty impressive.


    --
    --
    --
    Regards,
    Noddy.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Daryl@3:633/10 to All on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 08:31:41
    On 15/4/2026 12:20 am, Noddy wrote:
    On 14/04/2026 9:56 pm, Daryl wrote:
    On 14/4/2026 8:47 pm, Noddy wrote:
    On 14/04/2026 1:07 pm, Daryl wrote:

    I get why people don't want EV's and I'm not a huge fan but when you
    have 11.2 kw of solar panels and a 40kWh battery an EV starts to
    make a lot of sense.

    It does indeed. How's the battery going?





    So far very good, since it was installed on the 30th March we have
    only imported 6.96kWh's from the grid and have exported 262.66 kWh's
    which is hopefully enough to offset the daily charge or possibly
    giving us a small credit.
    So far we haven't discharged the battery below 65% even on a poor
    solar day when we have used lots of power such as washing and drying
    clothes and having the heater (split system) on, usually by lunch time
    the solar has charged it back to 100%.
    Interesting to observe via the ap how much power gets used in the
    approx 8hrs from midnight when the ap resets to when I wake up and
    check it in the morning, somewhere between 3.5-3.0 kWhs, the fridge
    and freezer, 2 TV's on stand by etc uses more than I thought they
    would, every little bit adds up.
    I was told that it only uses power from the grid as a "reference", its
    as if it needs to check that the grid is still there.
    As a test we turned the main switch off and the switch to just battery
    power was so quick there was no indication that it happened, not even
    a flicker of the lights.

    That's pretty impressive.


    Sure is, we get very few power outages here, maybe 2 in 6 yrs and the
    worst only a couple of hours so its not as if that feature will be used
    all that often.
    It may even be possible with our system to go fully off grid but to do
    that we would have to pay the power company something like $1500 for
    them to remove the meter so it makes no financial sense.

    --
    Daryl

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From lindsay@3:633/10 to All on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 18:06:10
    On 14/04/2026 3:55 pm, Xeno wrote:
    On 14/4/2026 3:14 pm, Axel wrote:
    Xeno wrote:
    On 14/4/2026 12:27 pm, Axel wrote:
    Noddy wrote:
    On 14/04/2026 11:00 am, Axel wrote:
    Daryl wrote:

    Not yet, the other PHEV possible is the Chery Tiggo 7 Super
    Hybrid but we haven't seen one in the flesh yet and after
    yesterdays test drive of the BYD PHEV which I found to be rather >>>>>>> disappointing I'm not sure we will bother looking at it.
    We don't want to spend much more than $40k and that poses a
    problem because it limits whats available,

    wait awhile. availability will increase due to new makes/models
    entering the market, and price reductions of existing vehicles

    Which is something that happens all the time Felix, and if you
    continue to wait for the best price you'll end up waiting forever.

    I never said anything about waiting for the best price dumbass.
    Daryl had a price ceiling so what I said is entirely relevant

    When I bought the Corolla I had a price ceiling, $65k,

    is yours a hatch or a sedan? didn't want a SUV?

    Sedan. I was looking at the Lexus LBX SUV

    This one;ÿ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbr7b-ms52M

    fuck, thats ugly.


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Daryl@3:633/10 to All on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 20:53:04
    On 15/4/2026 6:06 pm, lindsay wrote:
    On 14/04/2026 3:55 pm, Xeno wrote:
    On 14/4/2026 3:14 pm, Axel wrote:
    Xeno wrote:
    On 14/4/2026 12:27 pm, Axel wrote:
    Noddy wrote:
    On 14/04/2026 11:00 am, Axel wrote:
    Daryl wrote:

    Not yet, the other PHEV possible is the Chery Tiggo 7 Super
    Hybrid but we haven't seen one in the flesh yet and after
    yesterdays test drive of the BYD PHEV which I found to be rather >>>>>>>> disappointing I'm not sure we will bother looking at it.
    We don't want to spend much more than $40k and that poses a
    problem because it limits whats available,

    wait awhile. availability will increase due to new makes/models >>>>>>> entering the market, and price reductions of existing vehicles

    Which is something that happens all the time Felix, and if you
    continue to wait for the best price you'll end up waiting forever. >>>>>
    I never said anything about waiting for the best price dumbass.
    Daryl had a price ceiling so what I said is entirely relevant

    When I bought the Corolla I had a price ceiling, $65k,

    is yours a hatch or a sedan? didn't want a SUV?

    Sedan. I was looking at the Lexus LBX SUV

    This one;ÿ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbr7b-ms52M

    fuck, thats ugly.


    It is but not much worse than many of the Chinese SUV's.

    --
    Daryl

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Noddy@3:633/10 to All on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 21:00:40
    On 15/04/2026 8:31 am, Daryl wrote:
    On 15/4/2026 12:20 am, Noddy wrote:

    As a test we turned the main switch off and the switch to just
    battery power was so quick there was no indication that it happened,
    not even a flicker of the lights.

    That's pretty impressive.


    Sure is, we get very few power outages here, maybe 2 in 6 yrs and the
    worst only a couple of hours so its not as if that feature will be used
    all that often.
    It may even be possible with our system to go fully off grid but to do
    that we would have to pay the power company something like $1500 for
    them to remove the meter so it makes no financial sense.

    I'm still playing with the numbers.

    I can't get away from the grid as I need three phase power for a lot of
    my machinery, and as much as I'd like to get a battery the cost is still
    in the region of not being economically viable in terms of buy price
    versus life span.

    Perhaps it will change, but at present it's hard to justify.



    --
    --
    --
    Regards,
    Noddy.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Noddy@3:633/10 to All on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 21:02:05
    On 15/04/2026 6:06 pm, lindsay wrote:
    On 14/04/2026 3:55 pm, Xeno wrote:

    Sedan. I was looking at the Lexus LBX SUV

    This one;ÿ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbr7b-ms52M

    fuck, thats ugly.

    It's not pretty, and who the fuck buys a sedan? :)



    --
    --
    --
    Regards,
    Noddy.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)