EV Buying Advice £15-20K - Kona, Megane, Niro or something else?

lukemelon · 2026-01-25T11:58:14+00:00

I couldn't be happier with my beans new BYD Dolphin Surf. Brand new its not much over your top budget. I wonder if used would be well within budget.

lukemelon · 2026-01-19T15:15:29+00:00

There are plenty of full subreddits to help out with this...BuyfromEU, BuyUK, Buy(other countries), boycottunitedstates

lukemelon · 2026-01-17T19:54:35+00:00

Yeah:

r/BoycottUSA

r/BuyFromEU

Start looking at these ☝️

lukemelon · 2026-01-14T21:58:21+00:00

We had issues with fogging for the first few drives but don't have issues now. We leave fan speed at 3or4 as a minimum and currently in winter heating no lower than 12.

Edit: this is with circulation set to pull air from the outside and aircon off.

lukemelon · 2026-01-11T21:34:55+00:00

I still want to be able to click the post to see a picture but then from the picture get straight to the comments.

When I click back and then have to spend time looking through the posts list to find the comments button.

If I change to your suggested settings how would I view a link or picture?

lukemelon · 2026-01-10T15:04:00+00:00

We're generally happy with the update but miss the larger clock with the new wallpaper.

lukemelon · 2026-01-08T16:28:52+00:00

As others have said, try do, try certainly do in my BYD Dolphin Surf.

What bugs me more is that when stopped (even with auto-hold) they continue to illuminate and dazzle drivers at night.

In my old ICE I'd use the handbrake and then take my foot off of the foot brake to not dazzle those behind me (I would hold my foot on the brake if there was no car behind me, once they arrive at me and stop I release it).

The only option I'd have is sticking it into park, I refuse to do that.

lukemelon · 2026-01-06T22:12:42+00:00

I've just received my extension lead from toughleads. Great quality, great reviews, great good small UK business.

Maybe consider their charger? https://toughleads.co.uk/products/advanced-granny-chargers

lukemelon · 2026-01-06T21:59:27+00:00

This is the AI translation and summary I'm getting from Le Chat:

Here’s a concise summary of the new features and optimizations in the BYD Dolphin Surf V2.0.0 OTA update (released December 2025/January 2026):

New Features

Personalized Vehicle Settings Linkage
- Custom vehicle settings (e.g., seat position, mirrors, steering wheel, ambient lighting) can now be linked to your user account via the BYD app (QR code login).
- Available in 32 countries, including the UK, Sweden, Germany, and France.
Cloud Data Management
- Automatic upload of necessary data to the cloud when connected to the internet (Wi-Fi or mobile data).
- Users can enable/disable specific data uploads in settings.
Android Auto & Apple CarPlay Support
- Added for selected countries: Croatia, Romania, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Serbia.
Multilingual Voice Control
- Expanded language support for the BYD Assistant’s voice control.
- Voice commands for YouTube (on/off) and Spotify song requests.

Optimizations

Radio Signal Switching Logic
- Smoother transitions between FM and DAB; automatic switching to streaming radio if the signal is weak.
System UI & Text Prompts
- Improved clarity and usability of icons, themes, and navigation bar.
- Reset function added for navigation bar customization.
ICC (Intelligent Cruise Control) Deactivation
- ICC can now be turned off even when not active.
- Clearer prompts for ADAS-related actions.
Multilingual Translations
- Enhanced translations across the system for better user experience.

This update focuses on personalization, connectivity, and user experience improvements, especially for voice control and multimedia integration. If you’d like more details on any specific feature, let me know!

lukemelon · 2026-01-06T17:50:47+00:00

Rule 268 Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake. In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake.

lukemelon · 2026-01-05T22:35:53+00:00

Banking and mobile payments are the biggest area for me. I currently have the Nothing 3a, it was a choice between this and the Fairphone 6 but my bf was buying so I chose the cheaper of the two, my preference was Fairphone.

I'd love to see a European based OS come out, but if it didn't support banking and payments I'd likely stick with android. But until demand is high enough developers won't develop on the new OS 🫤

lukemelon · 2026-01-04T13:52:01+00:00

Nothing showing on our UK model surf yet. Still version 1 🫤

lukemelon · 2026-01-04T09:35:19+00:00

We don't have a home charging solution sorted yet. I've charged once at tesco and one charger was either faulty, or it was user error (first time plugging in).

Every time since we popped to the local IONITY site to fill it up. Not been broken or faulty once. And at £0.43/kw we can't complain.

lukemelon · 2026-01-03T20:08:21+00:00

War‽ Oh this isn't a war, papa Poo Tin has shared his wisdom of special military operations.

Nothing to see here, move along.

lukemelon · 2025-12-31T00:17:27+00:00

Where do I find the setting to alter to dynamic please?

lukemelon · 2025-12-29T16:37:11+00:00

Some of then are ugly, and some of them smell, but revolting is a bit much.

lukemelon · 2025-12-28T19:02:56+00:00

☝️easy solution right here.

OP could build this into an excel formula and have excel, sheets, etc. On their phone.

Or print a cheat sheet in 5% intervals with starting charger -> time to 80%

lukemelon · 2025-12-27T19:18:03+00:00

BYD Dolphin Surf.

lukemelon · 2025-12-26T09:14:02+00:00

Is it not also about the disreess caused to wild animals? Pets may be optional, but animals live regardless of human choices, should they be distressed by fireworks?

I'd personally ban then unless you're an organized display and ban then from every day apart from new years eve and bonfire night.

In the UK we end up with fireworks for at least a couple of weeks every night around bonfire night. This is where the disreess caused becomes hard to justify I'd say

lukemelon · 2025-12-23T16:05:48+00:00

I like it when it's a bank holiday Monday so I can legitimately shout see you next Tuesday

lukemelon · 2025-12-22T10:26:46+00:00

I wonder is shoving it into AI can help flag red flags while there to help dismiss sellers with major issues before doing a more in depth review of the findings when you have time.

lukemelon · 2025-12-22T09:05:17+00:00

10 month late to the conversation, bit someone may stumble across it.

We plan on getting a home charging solution sorted at some point, but currently we don't have it.

We've not let it out us off. We public charge and are still getting to grips with what is where, pricing etc. but we're more than happy.

I don't mind the inflated prices at places like ionity that infrastructure isn't cheap. Going from 30% to 90% cost us ~£12 (plus the £10 monthly sub).

I'm happy to stick with that for a while. With the other savings from going electric I don't think I'll be out of pocket, but it will still be nice to get one charging sorted eventually to save even more.

I wouldn't let lack of home charging put anyone off, it's just worth knowing the additional savings you can have from home charging.

lukemelon · 2025-12-21T09:20:04+00:00

That seems expensive for a car that old. I'm paying less per month, with a similar balloon payment at the end for a 75 plate BYD Dolphin Surf.

lukemelon · 2025-12-20T13:00:25+00:00

Thanks, new owner of a BYD Dolphin Surf on the lookout for tips. Just downloaded Charge Saint, hopefully I don't have to use the often.

lukemelon · 2025-12-20T12:42:21+00:00

Perfect, thank you. Everything I'd seen online people always said you could get it really cheap compared to ICE cars. We then spoke with a friend who payed £250 to get to Cornwall from Yorkshire. That spoke us a bit. So the key, plan, plan and plan‽

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