Which Car Would You Pick out of This FBT Exempt EV List?

pixpotato on 08/01/2024 - 12:03

I have an opportunity to get an FBT exempt EV from this list - am after something that's convenient more than anything else.

I'm not a huge car nuffy so don't know the ins and outs of a lot of these cars. A couple of friends have Tesla's and a Telsa would be overkill for me. An imaginary dream car would be a Corolla that's fully EV for $30K or under haha - so you get the gist of what I'm after.

I've heard people mention BYD Seagull which is not available in Australia - this would have been amazing.

Keen to hear people's thoughts on what the best purchase would be.

Automotive Electric Vehicle

Comments

  • Brick Tamland on 08/01/2024 - 12:12
    +5

    Cupra Born or Ioniq6 would be my choices.

    Born is a smart looking and good performance small to midsize hatch back (corolla sort of)

    Ioniq6 is a sedan that has awesome efficiency and super fast recharge.

    • pegaxs on 08/01/2024 - 12:33
      +9

      I liked the Ionic 6 till I saw one pass me on the highway and I caught a look at that tail end JFC, what were they thinking? One can only hope they had to do this for the aerodynamics and not because someone thought "hey, this looks good…"

      • Unorthodox on 08/01/2024 - 12:37
        +8

        Feel like they tried to "take inspiration" from the Porsche GT end and the i30N sedan ends haha

      • Brick Tamland on 08/01/2024 - 12:38

        I like it, maybe its not attractive but its interesting to look at.

      • Euphemistic on 08/01/2024 - 12:40

        Looks are all personal. I love the look of the ioniq5 but really don’t like the EV6 enough that I wouldn’t even consider buying. Ionic6 looks pretty good IMO.

      • saltypete on 09/01/2024 - 08:28
        +1

        I’m sure they had OZ in mind. It has echoes of the AU Falcon……

      • LFO on 09/01/2024 - 11:28

        someone thought "hey, this looks good…"

        Hate to be repetitive but … have you seen the front? … and back? … and sides? … of a RAM pickup!!!
        And yet it sells like the proverbial hot bread ! ! !

        Looks are soooo personal that it is not funny …

        • serpserpserp on 10/01/2024 - 08:37

          RAM pickups looks so bad.

        • derrida derider on 10/01/2024 - 16:31

          Yeah - reminds me of Enzo Ferrari's reaction on being shown a Triumph TR7 (famously ill-proportioned when all the previous TR series were beautiful cars). He looked at it from the side, frowned, walked around to the other side and exclaimed "Dio! They've done it to the other side too!".

          One of my personal hates is yuuuuuge front grilles trying to look ultra-butch and intimidating at the expense of both aerodynamics and proportions for the car - I can't help but think that their owners are trying to compensate for something. At least with an EV the lack of a radiator and the need for respectable aoeodynamics avoids that particular folly.

      • Crammed on 09/01/2024 - 13:51

        I actually saw one of these on the road just yesterday for the first time. It is indeed the ugliest back side I have seen in awhile!! Yikes!! haha

      • danyool on 10/01/2024 - 16:12

        Yeah, reminds me of a clip from Top Gear where they compared the sloping back end of some car to a dog popping!! Haha

        • TheLurker on 10/01/2024 - 19:48
          +1

          Chrysler Crossfire IIRC. I reckon he made a good point

    • kerfuffle on 08/01/2024 - 13:18
      -1

      As someone who’s driven both the Born and the Corolla hatch (and also own a Corolla sedan), Born is great. Lacking a few features though e.g. app connectivity

    • jimbobaus on 08/01/2024 - 20:29
      +2

      Watch car advice reviews on the Cupra.
      Not a good car overall.
      Ioniq is well regarded but very overpriced.

      • Brick Tamland on 08/01/2024 - 21:15
        +2

        Maybe I missed the caradvice review. My impression was that they were pretty good.

      • Hasbulla on 09/01/2024 - 10:48
        +2

        car (paid advertising) advice?

    • thrillhouse on 09/01/2024 - 07:40
      +1

      I’ve driven the Born, and I actually love the Cupra brand a lot. It just didn’t wow me compared to something like a Tesla.

      If you want a traditional hatchback feel, electrified, then it’s a good option. The tech is lacking and it feels a bit more dated than it should (it is based on an almost 5 year old car now).

    • dealsucker on 09/01/2024 - 15:31

      Cupra Born would be a terrible choice. The software just doesnt work

      • Brick Tamland on 09/01/2024 - 16:50
        -7

        Seems to be the issue people are commenting on. I don’t really understand though. It’s a car not a computer of smart phone. Who cares about software on a car…

        • kerfuffle on 09/01/2024 - 20:54
          -1

          Software is pretty important on a car. I got put off buying a Subuaru because their infotainment software when using Android Auto constantly crashed. Not ideal when you’re in the middle of navigating and can’t readily pull over to reset everything.

        • keejoonc on 10/01/2024 - 00:21
          +4

          What a weird comment when a lot of features on today's cars are run through software.

            • brynj on 10/01/2024 - 22:38

              @Brick Tamland: This isn't the issue. Consider the absolute mess that is OEM hardware, components and wiring that complete your traditional ICE car. No traditional car maker has been able to compete with the new EV startups because EVs are building from the ground up, starting with completely integrated software. They're also building new wiring looms that connect everything with ethernet cabling, in to a single hub that literally controls everything. New EV thinking is completely different to petrol, and the shit happening at the moment disrupts this old school thinking.

              Don't get me wrong, I have a '01 BMW that I love. I also have a Tesla. You need to drive or own one to start to understand it.

              • Brick Tamland on 11/01/2024 - 10:21

                @brynj:

                they're also building new wiring looms that connect everything with ethernet cabling, in to a single hub that literally controls everything.

                No different to ICE cars. Everything uses a CANBUS system these days. Nothing special about Ethernet its just a different name for what is a cable. The only diff with Ethernet is that it's a standard.

                But you are right about some EV (Tesla) building systems from the ground up as an integrated controller for everything.

                Seems it will be almost impossible for older car makers to adopt because they rely on third parties like Bosch to make indepenadat controllers

      • Gnostikos on 10/01/2024 - 15:36

        The software just doesnt work

        Virtually all modern cars have this problem to some degree because the infotainment systems in the majority of them are basically the equivalent of $500 dollar tablets running proprietary manufacturer firmware/OSes developed on shoestring budgets with piss-poor QA and support compared to market-leading mobile OSes like Android or iOS (and even Android and iOS have their fair share of issues too but at least Google/Apple fix them eventually).

        If you're wondering why your infotainment system lags, freezes or refuses to function randomly it's because most of them are powered by the sh*tty internals of a mid-range mobile phone or tablet and the much higher operating temperatures found inside a car's centre console housing cause the CPUs to have to throttle themselves constantly and reduce performance in order to prevent overheating.

        This is especially true of the infotainment systems found in low-to-mid range cars from poor quality manufacturers.

        • derrida derider on 10/01/2024 - 16:44

          I've got a 2022 Suzuki. While I'm very happy with everything else in this car I'd be really pissed if I paid $500 for a tablet as bad as the infotainment in this car - a $150 one from Alibaba is more the standard. But while the screen on the Alibaba one might be as crap as the Suzuki's, and the hardware's performance very bottom end, at least the Android OS would be reliable and navigable.

          You really have to drive a Tesla or one of the upmarket Chinese ones to understand just how far behind the legacy carmakers are - their hardware and software is consistently 20 years out of date, especially in mindset (non-networked proprietary operating systems are SO 1995).

          I think they are so far behind in mindset that many of them will be broke in another decade or two.

          • Gnostikos on 10/01/2024 - 16:57
            +2

            @derrida derider: I said all modern cars. Teslas are certainly not immune from such issues (just Google "Tesla software issues/bugs" or "Tesla infotainment system slow"), they're just more responsive in fixing them because their cars constantly phone home and send telemetry back to Tesla of every single thing their entire fleet of vehicles is doing or that the drivers in those vehicles are doing, which is a whole other can of worms to accept with Teslas.

            The problem of car software/OSes being unreliable is just a part of the larger problem of all modern software development across all platforms and industries being rushed, poorly-planned, insufficiently-funded and poorly-tested garbage and that is a 100% intentional paradigm on the part of the developers, to maximise profits.

            It's why every computing device you use and interact with on a daily basis from your phone, smart watch, smart TV, PC/laptop, home CCTV/IoT/automation hardware and car as well ATMs, self-service checkouts and interactive kiosks at cinemas/airports/fast food chains are all unreliable pieces of sh*t for the most part that cannot maintain error-free, reliable operation and full functionality for more than a few weeks at the very maximum (and that's a very generous timeframe for most of these devices) and also require unreasonably high man-hours of servicing/troubleshooting each year to maintain.

            There's no solution to this problem which is only getting progressively worse and worse without overhauling modern software development as we know it and introducing strictly-enforced standards with legislative penalties for companies that fail to comply with them, which will never happen.

            When you turn a formerly, mostly-mechanical machine operating on the predictable parameters of Newtonian physics into what is essentially a computer on wheels, guess what? It inherits all of the problems and fundamental insecurity/risks of modern-day computers and if these issues haven't ever been taken seriously or rectified in personal computing devices over the past 40 years, then there's no hope in hell of them being rectified them in the automotive industry where the operating environments are far more complicated.

    • Mintee on 10/01/2024 - 08:03
      -3

      Please please please do NOT 'invest
      ' in CUPRA, THEY were rated one of the most unreliable car brands of 2023. The amount of poor experiences online is just incredible. Research before you buy!!

  • WreckTangle on 08/01/2024 - 12:17
    +4

    Tesla, BYD or Polestar for me

    • Odin on 09/01/2024 - 09:08
      +15

      10000% Polestar

      One of the best looking cars on the road today

      • mountaineer on 09/01/2024 - 14:19
        +6

        Really? I have the opposite view, not the most ugly one but very bland and plain outlook wise.

        • Odin on 09/01/2024 - 15:03
          +6

          Sure they're plain but damn good looking. Not a bad angle on them.

          If they made a 2 door version it'd look like a understated classic muscle car

          • Gaz1 on 09/01/2024 - 15:58

            @Odin: Hmmm…. just looks like all other SUV's to me….
            Going to a classic car show it is unlikely that anyone there I would ever say the Polestar is "One of the best looking cars on the road today".
            Even if you just look at modern cars, there are so many cars that I prefer the look of.

            • Odin on 09/01/2024 - 16:27

              @Gaz1: What're you favourites?

              • Gaz1 on 09/01/2024 - 16:30

                @Odin: Wow - that's a tough call.
                Modern or classic? Within a particular budget?

                It would be interesting to see a poll with "Is the Polestar one of the best looking cars on the road today".

                • Odin on 09/01/2024 - 17:42

                  @Gaz1: Modern of course. I mean competition to the polestar?

                  • Gaz1 on 09/01/2024 - 17:57

                    @Odin: Aaah, so you don't mean the Polestar "is one of the best looking cars on the road today".
                    Fair enough.
                    Whilst not directly comparable, if you are talking current model EV's then I think the Porsche Taycan is much better looking thatn the Polestar.

          • charlierg on 09/01/2024 - 19:48

            @Odin: Wow a polestar coupe would be amazing!

            • grr1701 on 10/01/2024 - 10:26

              @charlierg: Have a look at the predicted future version of the Polestar 6,

          • rentonc on 10/01/2024 - 15:59

            @Odin: They used to. Polestar 1 was their first car. Was a hybrid. Had exactly the looks you are talking about.

            • Odin on 10/01/2024 - 19:01

              @rentonc: Yeah that's exactly what I'm talking about. Looks great

      • rentonc on 10/01/2024 - 15:57

        I took a Polestar 2 (Long Range, Dual Motor) for a test drive last week. Very impressed.

      • Sans-Serif on 12/01/2024 - 09:42

        Tried the polestar which is nice but once you add packages (features standard on most cars) the polestar cost was over the FTB threshold. Went for the xc40 for space and better standard features and love it.

    • derrida derider on 10/01/2024 - 16:45

      Every one of which is made in Shanghai. Chinese manufacturing has come a long way.

  • sumyungguy on 08/01/2024 - 12:22
    +3

    Fiat 500e 1,290kg

    • Mechz on 08/01/2024 - 17:28
      -1

      Everybody loves a chubby dude.

  • Drakesy on 08/01/2024 - 12:22
    +2

    Byd Atto3 if needing an SUV
    MG5 otherwise.

    Both ge the biggest benefit/cost ratios (BYD's dolphin and GWM Ora look like trash imho).

    • pegaxs on 08/01/2024 - 12:31

      MG4?? Or did you actually mean the MG5? Because there is no EV version of the MG5 that I can see on any list.

      • Drakesy on 08/01/2024 - 13:18
        +1

        *MG4,

        Yep, you're bang on

      • justdigi on 08/01/2024 - 14:46

        There is an EV MG5 overseas (MG5SW wagon), but it's not available in Australia.

    • Brick Tamland on 08/01/2024 - 12:39

      MG5 isnt FBT exempt

    • EitherWayUp on 09/01/2024 - 10:36
      +10

      BYD easily has one of the stupidest vehicle names in the history of vehicle names. Chinese translations now literally making it onto cars.

      • mountaineer on 09/01/2024 - 14:21
        +10

        Who cares about names… Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft is not the sexiset car brand name but now one of the most sexiest car maker.

        • EitherWayUp on 09/01/2024 - 14:58
          +6

          That sounds exponentially more hardcore and impressive than “Build Your Dreams”… I can barely keep a straight face.

          BMW is at least referring to its origins.

        • Gnostikos on 10/01/2024 - 15:51
          +2

          Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft is not the sexiset car brand name but now one of the most sexiest car maker.

          BMW never actually uses the company's full legal name in German on their vehicles' badging and the German name of BMW translates into English while maintaining the same acronym and meaning: Bavarian Motor Works. So it's a perfectly logical, matter-of-fact name/acronym that works globally and is in line with almost all other car brands globally whose names derive from their earliest history/founders/geographical origins (e.g. Fiat = Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, meaning 'Italian Automobile Factory of Turin' Saab = Svenska Aeroplan Aktie Bolag, meaning 'Swedish Aeroplane Company Limited' or GMC = General Motors Truck Company, etc).

          BYD is a "backronym" that originally had no meaning when the company was founded in 2003 and now they've gone back to removing the "Build Your Dreams" badging from their cars sold to export markets due to negative customer feedback.

          It's just more incomprehensible Chinese Chinglish marketing that's borne from an industry of technological incubators or more accurately duplicators that have zero imagination or true creative ability, along the lines of Haval's utterly bizarre model names like Jolion, Big Dog, Cool Dog, Divine Beast (lol), etc.

          • mountaineer on 10/01/2024 - 23:25

            @Gnostikos: My point is not to defend or advocate BYD or any Chinese car name at all. My point is, it is the car itself matters, the value, the quality and other underlying stuff. As long as the name is not offensive or derogatory, it matters nothing (to some people shall I say) in the longer term. I doubt every BMW owner knows the meaning of it like you do but it doesn't stop them appreciating the brand, clearly not becomes BMW sounds logical or making sense etc. Some even belittled KIA"" as killed in action" which might be really bad luck for car owner but who cares now?

            • May4th on 12/01/2024 - 09:48

              @mountaineer: I mean if your ego is worth 20k that you can't stomach driving a vehicle with an "embarassing name" with a similar value proposition then who are we to judge

              • mountaineer on 12/01/2024 - 13:04

                @May4th: Looks like I have a deeper ego than you then, lolz

  • pegaxs on 08/01/2024 - 12:25
    +11

    BYD Seal if I was going sedan.
    Cupra Born if I was going hatchback.
    Tesla Model Y for SUV.

    But my all time top pick from that list, for sheer fun, excitement and a hand full of (fropanity) YOU! I would 100% go the Fiat 500e…

    • Brick Tamland on 08/01/2024 - 12:42
      +4

      Oh god you are correct. I looked up the 500E. Cool. If it was a company provided car or paid by an allowance (not my money) I'd go the 500E for sure.

      • pixpotato on 08/01/2024 - 12:43
        +2

        Lmao why fiat 500e? What am I missing here haha

        • Brick Tamland on 08/01/2024 - 12:48
          +3

          Just love at first sight, the fiat 500e on the front page of their website in Ocean Green is kind of spectacular.

          https://www.fiat.com.au/500e.html

          • pjetson on 08/01/2024 - 17:30
            +1

            @Brick Tamland: I checked that web site, and found this quote:

            using the right-hand pedal to both accelerate and decelerate. Any time the driver lifts the right foot from the pedal the car slows down

            Just like an ICE car with a manual transmission? Or just like many other electric cars?

            And it must still have a brake pedal, surely?

            love at first sight

            Beauty is clearly in the eye of the beholder :-)

            • Brick Tamland on 08/01/2024 - 18:38

              @pjetson:

              Just like an ICE car with a manual transmission? Or just like many other electric cars?

              Similar to a manual. One pedal driving uses more aggressive re-gen to slow down the car with the electric motors. Some other EV's have this feature but I dont think it's super common. Still has regular brakes.

              Beauty is clearly in the eye of the beholder :-)

              “The customer is always right in matters of taste,"

        • Muzeeb on 08/01/2024 - 12:59

          You've already told us what you're missing…

          I'm not a huge car nuffy

        • sumyungguy on 08/01/2024 - 13:09

          Nobody in motorsport (or aviation or cycling or human nutrition) ever says "we need more weight"

    • spackbace on 08/01/2024 - 18:04

      I would 100% go the Fiat 500e…

      Of course you would… ;)

  • Euphemistic on 08/01/2024 - 12:41
    +1

    Beggars can’t be choosers. You’ll either need to buy what’s available and pay - or not.

  • Muzeeb on 08/01/2024 - 12:58
    -1

    What's wrong with your current car?

    • Brick Tamland on 08/01/2024 - 13:09
      +16

      Not on the list

      • Serapis on 11/01/2024 - 21:12
        +1

        I love lamp!

    • pixpotato on 08/01/2024 - 13:43
      +10

      dont got one.

        • Salty Pretzel on 09/01/2024 - 12:18

          He'll have one soon enough and he wouldn't have improved his grammar skills

  • kerfuffle on 08/01/2024 - 13:19
    +1

    The days of Corollas being $30K or less are over. They’re more $35K these days if you want hybrid or a mid-spec petrol

  • lordra on 08/01/2024 - 13:46
    +7

    Check insurance on these.
    The $$ you save on FBT will go on insurance.

    • revhead on 08/01/2024 - 14:35
      +6

      AFAIK insurance and other running costs (tires, service, rego, and even some charging credits) are included in the novated lease payment. So unless OP aims for a short lease and buyback strategy - insurance isn't a concern.

      • lordra on 08/01/2024 - 16:36

        Ah, yes, true, if OP chooses to package them together (why won't he/she).

      • Gaz1 on 09/01/2024 - 16:01
        +1

        Surely the insurance is still factored into the lease costs?

    • JIMB0 on 08/01/2024 - 18:00
      +3

      The salary packaging companies also like to help themselves to a large chunk of your savings whilst highlighting the meagre amount you're still saving. Maxxia

      • Ade99 on 09/01/2024 - 07:34
        +4

        Maxxia……….very long wait times when calling them to be able to talk to a human, plus 2 or 3 rounds of talking with said humans to get their mistakes corrected…..all of this whilst paying high fees for non service.

        • JIMB0 on 10/01/2024 - 19:40
          +1

          We got through pretty quick when enquiring about setting up a lease. Didn't take it up after seeing how much of the tax savings they were charging in admin. Hardly worth the headache for what little savings we were going to get.

          • timothy2 on 11/01/2024 - 08:15

            @JIMB0: Lucky Maxxia allow you to self manage so you can go with any of the cheaper options on the market

    • jhaley3180 on 09/01/2024 - 08:59
      +2

      In my experience you can sort the insurance out yourself. If you are suggesting EV insurance is more expensive that ICE insurance, again my EV insured by RACV is ever so slightly less than my Commodore for comprehensive agreed value insurance. Despite the EV being agreed value at more than 2.5 times the value of the Commodore.

    • surg3on on 09/01/2024 - 11:03
      +1

      This is incorrect. I own a BYD atto 3. Insurance cost was similar to a normal boring corolla. This is if you do the insurance yourself. DO NOT LET THE LEASE COMPANY DO IT (for any car)

      • dasher86 on 09/01/2024 - 12:41
        +1

        just make sure you put agreed value at the total payout cost for lease and vehicle and not just vehicle value.
        This is after any new for old period (usually 1-2 years).
        You will be crying otherwise if your car is written off and they pay you out a market value of vehicle and you need to front the remaining lease costs.
        New for old period you will usually have to to pay a fee to the NL company to switch the vehicle.

    • Dsiee on 11/01/2024 - 09:58
      +1

      Just avoid the optional Bullshit insurances and get your own comprehensive insurance paid out of the lease. It even worked out cheaper than just paying cash for a car when you take the FBT into account.

    • Rally Dave on 13/01/2024 - 14:39

      No where near that. Sounds like some of the facebook misinformation stories.

  • apple2016 on 08/01/2024 - 13:55
    -3

    Below is few missing on the list, but should qualify for FBT exemption
    BMW ix3
    Volvo XC 60 plugin hybrid

  • noone on 08/01/2024 - 13:59
    +4

    The closest car to your criteria would be MG4 Excite 51, a basic no frill EV car

  • pao2x on 08/01/2024 - 15:01
    +2

    MG4 or Model Y depending on your budget. MG4 fits your preferences best

  • jedimaster on 08/01/2024 - 15:49
    +3

    I think you should create a poll of the cars you are interested in instead of giving this massive EV list

  • Temjin on 08/01/2024 - 17:00
    +4

    I just bought myself an MG HS EV PLUS Essence (Plug-in Hybrid) on the cheap. It will be shipped from Tasmania. Demo car, <50 km, $38k. (brand new is $51k) You can find second hand ones from 2021/2022 for low $30k.

    Perfect for my use case since most of my daily trips (including some weekends) are less than 55 km. Slow charge it once per two days while WFH. Go auto/hybrid mode on longer trips, which would happen once in a blue moon.

    Sad thing is, EV FBT exemption on plug-in hybrid will end on 1 April 2025. (existing contract executed before that date will still have FBT exemption until end of lease) I wish the government would extend the exemption on these as most people, like myself, would use EV mode for most of our daily trips, which probably account for 80%+ of the total km travelled per year.

    • Jasongood on 09/01/2024 - 11:02

      Interesting found for your MG and congrats on the good deal! How do you search for such demo deals? keen to know as I am interested in a Outlander PHEV as well

      • MKBHD on 09/01/2024 - 14:36

        Isn't outlander phev like $65k+?

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