Would you rather a new VW e-Up or a used BMW i3?

By thoriq, 31 January 2020
VW e-Up
BMW i3

Volkswagen’s refreshed e-Up has finally gone on sale in the UK, with prices starting at £19,695 including the Government’s plug-in car grant.

Not bad, you might be thinking, especially with the e-Up’s new range of 159 miles (256km) from a more power-dense 32.3kWh battery – far better than the previous version’s sub-18kWh job that meant an ambitious maximum of 118 miles (190km). But the recent issue of TG magazine had us thinking – is there anything on the second-hand market that’ll provide the Up with some tough competition?

Well, it turns out that not only can you get a used BMW i3 for e-Up money, but you could actually have 2017’s updated 94Ah (33kWh) model. That’s a wonderfully-interesting, carbon-tubbed, 10,000-mile (16,093km) EV for the same outlay as a new Yorkshire Up.

Sure, the i3 could only manage a real-world range of 120 miles when new, but that shouldn’t have diminished too much in a couple of years, and it also has 170bhp compared to the Up’s 83bhp.

The e-Up is distinguished from its ICE counterpart by 15-inch wheels, bespoke bumpers and C-shaped daytime running lights. The i3 is distinguished by being a properly cool little thing.

So, what do you reckon Internet? Would you go for new or used in this battle of the city-EVs?