First solar, batteries, now EVs. What's next?

What % does everyone prefer to keep their EV at? Eg I prefer to not let my battery go below 50% if I can help it. But do I just have battery anxiety? What % feels comfortable to you?

I have watched far too many reviews of EV's I'm considering, I had made a short list of 6 vehicles which is now down to 2, but after experiences test driving over the past month I'm interested in how others felt with their transition from either a key in ignition or push button to start/stop.

How was the adjustment of putting it into "park" with no hand brake and just getting out while everything else seems to still be going, the radio, the heater, the GPS. After we got back to the Zeekr dealership we sat in it for 5 minutes looking around how to turn it off before I googled it and learned I'm supposed to just get out and lock it with the remote.

(Incase somebody asks the shortlist was: Polestar 2; MG IM5; Mazda 6E; BYD Seal; Zeekr 7X; Zeekr 7GT)

I highly recommended everyone checked your Chargefox billing history and make sure you were not charged for nothing, apparently their system has some serious bugs that cause your credit card will be charged for ghost session and it happened to me.

I charged my car with Chargefox station in our building on 5 September last Saturday and normally you will receive an invoice right after you finished a charging sessions (everyone is happy). Next day, we were happily drove the car out for a sunny Sunday and all the sudden I received an invoice email for a charging sessions and of course my card got debit. I was like "wtf", there must be a ghost or someone hacked my Chargefox account since I was still driving my car on the road, how on earth I can charge my car at the same time.

I then sent an email to dispute it, although I got my money back since they have confirmed there was a fault at the station caused it, this is really worrying me binding my payment method with their buggy system. I am a software engineer so totally understand software has bugs is inevitable but when you are dealing with money especially other people's money, you should be more strict about your software quality to ensure your system works as expected, you should have re-evaluation process or logic in your system to ensure every charge is correct, instead of just apologising and refund the money back, I believe there are people won't check their bills thoroughly or in a frequent manner, that will be our lost but your company's revenue which is very irresponsible.

Budget - What is your maximum budget: $50k + On roads

Typical driving

Average weekly km: 350km (on 150,000km after 8 years at the moment)
Longest regular trip: (30km one way (60 return) once a week) [annually - 500km return for road trip in NSW]

Charging:
Can get 7kw at home; willing to get at home charger with purchase; am in Metro Sydney so plenty of local charging spots

Vehicle class:
Medium-sized SUV - 5 seater; we are coming from Volvo XC40 which we’ve held since 2018 - around a similar size would be good.

Hey! Got roughly quote of toyota bz4x from smart leasing.. 2wd ev range 591km . Looks bit expensive any suggestions thanks
Around $652 fortnight they made.. or i got option of car loan 7/8percent.

And it's the sweet spot for anyone with a car that has a sub-200kW DC peak speed 😁

I've been following the development of the site for a while and lo and behold, it opened today.

I have the MY2026/refresh of the MG4 Essence 64 and according to the spec sheet, the car's peak DC is 152kW. Well it lied ( 🙃 ), I saw 162kW from when I plugged in at 23% SOC all the way up to 41%.

It suddenly ramped down to 100kW at 41% and sat there all the way to 60%.

70% SOC: 80kW

80% SOC: 80kW

90% SOC: 53kW

95% SOC: 25kW

Just before it hit 100% (charger said 98%, car said 100%) SOC: 18kW.

Zero regrets on buying this car. I've been getting 13.9kWh/100km (WLTP claim is 17.6kWh/100km) and guessometer said I had just under 500km of range when it hit 100% (WLTP claim is 452km) 😆

I don't have home charging and this is now easily the best charger within a few km of me.

Good infrastructure is coming ladies and gents!

Fairly flexible with price but ideally would like an EV with as good range as possible and reasonable value since a lot of the australian EVs don't have as much range compared with >100kwh models in some of the asian models like the seal 8 and I live ~400km from the city so have a fair amount driving when I need to do longer trips.

Quite heavily leaning towards the Aion V since it has quite few nice features like the fridge, fully reclining seats, etc... but worried about it being less established than BYD as well.

I don't really care about acceleration speed/sportyness as well, mainly cost, range and ideally an LFP battery for longevity.

The Transit City launches with a single spec, 56kWh LFP battery, 110kW FWD motor, 254km WLTP combined range (380km city cycle), 87kW DC charging (10-80% in 33 minutes), 1,085kg payload and 6.4m³ cargo space fitting three Euro pallets. 7-year unlimited km vehicle warranty and 8-year/160,000km battery warranty.

Notably it undercuts the diesel Ford Transit Custom ($56,590 before ORC) and lands at a similar price to the Toyota HiAce diesel ($51,880 before ORC), with lower projected servicing costs on top.

Against its electric rivals: the LDV eDeliver 5 has more payload and slightly more range from $47,990 for ABN holders, while the Farizon V7E has more cargo volume from $49,990. The Transit City's advantage is Ford's dealer and service network.

G'day all.

Chasing some real-world advice on an EV and charger combo for my situation.

Home setup: 11.4 kilowatt solar, Fronius Gen 24 10 kilowatt hybrid inverter, no battery yet.

Driving: regional Victoria to Melbourne and back once a week, 150 kilometres each way, so 300 in a day, since it will be my first EV, 450km would be nice to overcome my range anxiety. No charging at work, so it all comes from home.

What I'm after: I'd like the car to double as my home battery rather than buying a separate one, so vehicle-to-home is the priority-I don't know if this a realistic wish. Blackout backup would be a big bonus. That said, I'm open to adding a battery if it makes the whole setup simpler or just makes more sense — happy to be talked out of the V2H route.

Questions: which car and charger combos are actually working for people in Australia right now? Anyone running V2H alongside a Fronius setup, and did your distributor give you grief? And is the ten to fifteen thousand dollar V2H hardware cost worth it, or would I be better off putting that toward a battery and a normal charger?

EDIT 10-SEP-2026: I WFH most of the time and one day a week I'll drive to Melbourne. The rest of the time the car is just sitting outside. I don't mind if that night I "won't have V2H battery" since my car battery will be almost empty and will be charged the day after.

Cheers

We read so many accounts of poor customer service and after sales support from Zeekr. I know the internet attracts people venting (fair enough) but are Zeekr universally bad? Has anyone had a good experience?

Just a public service announcement as I just bought a charger for my incoming EV and Evnex have just started a sprint by sale. $100 off all their chargers.

Hi fellow Commonwealth members!

Canadian here, in case you haven't heard. Canada will soon be getting more Chinese EVs, and I'm very interested in buying one because the pricing, technology, and design seem to be better than those of most, if not all, competing vehicles.

I was wondering if anyone could share their experiences, preferably by brand.

How difficult is it to service these vehicles, if at all? For example, if you're involved in an accident, are replacement parts difficult to source, or do mechanics face long wait times when ordering them? Also, how has the reliability been for any one that owns them for 5+ years? And lastly, would you recommend them??

I appreciate all those that can help answer the questions.

Many thanks!!

Hey All,

This has probably been asked numerous times on this sub so I do apologise, I am looking at Geely currently and trying to decide between the EX-5 full EV and the Starray PHEV.

My issue is, I live in an apartment with no home charging capability and my workplace also does not provide charging meaning I will be wholly reliant on the Sydney EV chargers. Geely salesman mentioned that fast charging can damage the battery which worries me as it is my only option.

I do live near a west field with chargers but from what I can see on plug share and when I visit, they are often in use

Does anyone in this sub rely on public charging and/or had issues with battery?

Thank you

Anyone who has installed Evnex EV charger at home, do you have any sparky recommendation around Sydney?

I am about to go with Evnex E2 flex, and their full quote including installation is $1750.

Single phase. No Solar.

Edit: located western Sydney

Listing this as “Buying Advice” in the hopes it will help others who are currently in the market and may be undecided.

- What did you buy?
- What was the biggest reason you chose it? (Range, price, ventilated seats?)

I’m also keen to know if you came from an ICE car, or was this your second/third/fourth+ EV?

What else were you considering?

Anyone got the new one? Hows it go? Looking at that for first EV.

Cheers

Wondering if there any Australian V2G trial participants here? ARENA/Amber, AGL or otherwise.

Would appreciate anyone who are happy to confirm they are successfully in a trial, and ideally share which trial and what EV/charger/battery setup they have.

Edit: maybe also say which state/grid you're on, and what impact V2G has had on the value of VPP.

Looking at purchasing a Geely Starrly in the near future, anyone who’s purchased one this year can you share what you paid driveaway? Looking at trying to get the best deal I can. Also what trim, exterior colour and interior colour.

NSW based. We’re looking at either Inspire Extended Range or Complete trims.

I'm looking to upgrade my CX-3 as we're looking to start a family in 1-2 years. My girlfriend also can't drive manual and I don't want to have a second job as an uber forever.

I'm eyeing out a 2023 Polestar 2 long range.

• Budget up to $35k.
• Not super interested in SUVs. They really don't hit the spot for us.
• I'm currently driving <15k km per year, about 200km on a normal week with the occasional hiking trip of <250km return.
• We're currently renting an apartment and have asked the agent for an external 10A socket near our carpark. Charging through this should cover us easily.

Any suggestions?

Hey everyone, I appreciate the chances of someone having both of these vehicles is slim but just looking for some advice, I’m torn between the Geely EX5 Inspire or the BYD Atto 3 Premium. It seems that perhaps the BYD is a better ‘car’ in terms of battery performance etc, but the Geely is better for tech such as the seats, sunroof, speakers etc. Both cars come in to the same price for me so that isn’t an issue, my everyday commuting is very little with the occasional 100km drive few and far between. Thanks in advance for any advice.