Advice needed: Buy 2 electric cars or 1 EV & 1 ICE car?

Both cars are for city use predominantly with multiple trips around the city daily. We don't anticipate using these cars out of the city as we have another one for this.

BHPian Kid-ney recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hi Team-BHP !

I am a new member and am grateful to be admitted to the Team-BHP family. I have gained plenty of wisdom from you over the years, but this is my first post. I need to ask your opinion on owning 2 EVs as family cars (and no ICE).

Here is some background information:

Family: We are a family of 4 (parents + 2 school-going teenagers) in Bangalore. We have grandparents and kids' friends occasionally in the car, but mostly just the 4 of us.

Vehicle needs & usage: We require 2 cars, what with both parents working out of the home and kids back in school and extra-curriculars (thankfully!). Both cars are for city use predominantly with multiple trips around the city daily. We don't anticipate using these cars out of the city as we have another one for this.

The question: We would like to have 2 EVs instead of any ICE cars. This make economic and environmental sense to us. We will charge at home (independent house) using a 15 A plug at present (see Nexon EV below). Senior family thinks this is not a good idea, but is unable to give us clear reasons why other than EVs being new technology in India. Barring a disaster where electricity is not available for an extended period, are there any reasons you all think having 2 EVs is inadvisable?

Our history with cars:

VW Jetta and Acura MDX: when we lived in the US until 2013. We had 12 years of use on the Jetta and 5 on the MDX and were sad to sell them!
Honda Brio (AT) and Honda City until 2022: Both 2013 models, now 9 years old. The City was the daily driver and clocked around 80,000Km when we sold it last month to Spinny. Excellent car but the suspension was giving up the ghost. The Brio is still with us and has 35000Km on it. It drives well but its poor comfort factor and small size makes it unsuitable as a family car.

Tata Nexon EV XZ+: Given the sky high petrol prices and our daily run-around, of 20-30km in traffic, we decided on an EV. We Test-drove the MG ZS EV first and booked it right away. However we were told there would be a wait until the 2022 facelift became available. We then took a TD of the Nexon and enjoyed its 'zoom' factor. A white one was available in a week and we took delivery 2 weeks ago and it's being put to use! We are planning to make this our work-horse which the driver will mainly use to ferry kids to school etc.

Toyota Corolla: This has 120,000km on it and runs well and is the extended family's car. This is available for other road-tips. Although we are travellers we don't take road-trips too often.

Our Choices: Our budget for the next car is < 30 lakhs. The 2nd car we would like to buy is for us to enjoy - Safety is most important, followed by the enjoyability of the drive, looks and the interior quality.

1. 2 EVs - Nexon EV + buy the MG ZS EV when available. Sell the Brio.

2. 2 EVs - Nexon + Buy the MG ZS EV and keep the Brio for emergencies.Will have to figure out where to keep it!

3. 1 EV (Nexon EV ) + buy a petrol car. We haven't looked into this yet, so would appreciate your suggestions if this is the route you suggest.

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

Since you have access to an ICE car for the rare road-trips you will do, I think you can get away with two EVs. Especially since this is the option you are clearly more keen on. With the Nexon EV & MG ZS EV, you'll have two of the best mainstream EVs in your garage. Wait for the Nexon's updated version, there's lots of chatter on the same.

What I will suggest to you is to buy 1 EV in 2022, and another in 2023 or 2024. Reasons:

• It's a fast developing technology and just like smartphones, this year's EV is better than last years.

• You'll have a wider choice. Many more EVs are on the way, including the Altroz, XUV300 and who knows what else (Renault Zoe? Kia??).

Updated ZS EV is almost here and it's a superior car to the Nexon. Go for the ZS EV right now, and buy your next EV after a year or two.

Here's what BHPian pram_ind had to say on the matter:

Go for 2 EV's.

As you are a Nexon owner, you realize how enjoying it is to drive. Both have good range and can be used for Highway travel too. As you are from bangalore, you have good Fast charger network on all highways.

Only challenge I see is charging both cars at same time.

Here's what BHPian mac187 had to say on the matter:

If I were you, I would go for one EV for now. As Hyundai is expected to launch the Ioniq 5 in India, KIA will follow suit. Tesla, VW ID series is also in the pipeline. Better to buy a proper EV car with bells and whistles.

You can retain the Brio as its just 35k kms old. Else sell the Brio, add some cash and get a second hand car which you can remap and have a hoot, as a last hurrah for ICE cars.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.