The first generation of usable electric cars are fast coming to market, and joining the ranks alongside the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi i-Miev is the Peugeot Ion.
In reality, the Ion is an i-Miev with a Peugeot badge and a claimed 30% increased charge life. It will be available for around £415 a month on lease for four years, 40,000 miles, which includes warranty, service and maintenance for both the battery and car. It will be available to buy, too, although Peugeot won’t name its price, at least publically, claiming that 99.9% of customers will lease the vehicle, which makes quoting a purchase figure irrelevant. By comparison, the i-Miev, and Leaf, cost £23,990.
The boxy Ion isn’t particularly pretty but it does its job well.
Power is instant – as in all electric cars – and it can even be thrown round corners in wet conditions without too much trouble. Steering is balanced although quick to try and centralise itself.
The car will have two trims: a black interior, which Peugeot said is more directed at company drivers, and a ‘bluish’ option with a leather steering wheel and a “soft brush look” that’s apparently more suited to private buyers.
Complete charging takes six hours at home while an on-the-move quick recharge point (as UK infrastructure will hopefully soon demonstrate) will give 80% charge in 30 minutes.
Range is around 93 miles, though this is in optimum driving conditions and the reality is likely to be notably less. For example, driving at 71mph with the heating on would decrease this by half. So, despite fleets expected to make up 90% of sales, businesses using the Ion are most likely to be short-mileage drivers, particularly in the public sector.
Peugeot’s plan to lease the Ion while taking all the risk on an unknown entity seems like a good idea. What’s left to do is to convince the fleet industry, including lease firms and RV experts, that this different way of doing things is the right idea for the electric market.
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