Launch of electric Austin

[Dave Mann]

Such a nice car but given our weather I'll stick with my RN saloon and at £31000 for a dry day car forget it.

[andrew34ruby]

If we ignore the politics I feel this little car could be fun. It's an open 2 seater with similar styling to many specials based on the Austin 7. It has good brakes, steering and everything is brand new. Even wire wheels painted black! No clutch pedal, so despite her gammy left foot my wife could drive it.
Yes the price is a bit sky-high, but the car looks fun for local trips out and about on a sunny day.

   

[Stephencrisp360]

I received a quote by phone this week. Today's on the road price is a little higher but given that any conversion "or" nice E.V. starts around this price . It is what it is. I really like it. Its def on my. One day list. (Along with a V8 Mustang GT)

[Bluebird7]

I received a quote by phone this week. Today's on the road price is a little higher but given that any conversion on nice E.V. starts around this price . It is what it is. I really like it. Its def on my. One day list. (Along with a V8 Mustang GT)

It's not a EV conversion, its built as an EV from scratch. So not on my shopping list, EVer !!!!!

[`Gordonhbm]

“Our first car, the Arrow, is half a kilo lighter than the original 1922 car,” said Stubbs, 57.  Stubbs web site  quotes weight 605 kg i.e 11.9 cwt! But the weight of the car is 445 kg and the battery is 160kg. Stubbs statement is correct if you say the battery weight is really equivalent to petrol. So to be equivalent an original Austin 7 would need a full tank of petrol that holds nearly 50 gallons!  How to mislead the public!

[Andy Bennett]

Lots of comments about it being 'sky high' pricing. I beg to differ.
Having just bought a new car I have been looking at car prices. A Fiat 500 electric is £31K and perhaps more equivalent to the Arrow, a fun track day, fair weather car, the Aerial Atom, well I quote from their website: 'Prices for the Atom 4R start at £64,950 + VAT.'.
You could buy 2 Arrows for that.
Come on nay sayers. Take a look in the mirror. We are a group of largely men who own cars most see as ridiculously impractical, dangerous to drive in modern traffic, impossible to drive on motorways and which shouldn't be allowed on roads due to their lack of safety features and poor brakes. Who are we to judge the Arrow?
I didn't buy an electric car and have no plans to, but the government begs to differ for cars purchased in a few years time. We should be cheering this man on.

[Ian Wegg]

The Morgan EV3, the electric version of their previous 3-wheeler model, was projected to sell at £30K - and that was in 2016. 

Of course, it never happened so perhaps more relevant: Morgan's upcoming electric "Super 3" will be priced "just north" of the petrol version - i.e. over £43K.

If I was in the fortunate position to have the choice, I'd go for the Austin. Cheaper and an extra wheel.

[Dave Mann]

That's a bit harsh Andy, I was out in the Seven yesterday in the evening rush hour, rush is hardly the correct word more like snail crawl and my RN saloon had no trouble keeping up, as for poor brakes I've twice been nearly rammed by a Police car on stopping at traffic lights. I guess the Police driver didn't expect me to stop. As for safety equipment I've not required it in 63 years however the safety equipment doesn't seem able to stop young drivers from killing themselves.

[Ivor Hawkins]

Well said Andy and Ian, I think we are all of an age where we are way out of date on real world prices because we were brought up in the “make do and mend” era.

I still wear leather soled shoes and have them repaired, like many of you I service and repair my car, unless it’s something I really can’t manage on the modern, because I’m not physically strong enough to do it any more.

We look at the prices of things like Hadley Cranks and suck our teeth about the expense, but in the real world they are great value compared to modern cars.

A pal of mine had a stone kicked up in front of him and it smashed the near side headlamp on his Mercedes…price of the new lamp? £1,100.00.

So perhaps the Austin EV is better value than we think!

[Malcolm Parker]

I know a chap who had a modern Aston Martin a few years ago.   He needed a new headlamp, a mere £5000!