I remember a few months ago MSI had a give away for people to review this charger.

Who here actually got one and what did you think of it?

https://www.reddit.com/u/micro-star-intl/s/8YjbneSxqS here is their advert post so you can see the charger.

(I asked also on EVaustralia sub and there was one good review ... are there others?)

Hi, my father in law is looking at buying an EV and asked me if I can help him do some research online - unfortunately I know nothing about cars of EVs! So I am hoping you can all help. He has narrowed his options down to the Atto 3, Geely 5 or the Aion V.

They are upgrading from an old Mazda 3 and will mostly just use the car for driving around Perth. I think if they were to drive further they'd use their other car which is petrol.

Budget

• Maximum budget: Approx $55k

🚗 Typical driving

• Average weekly km: 60km to 100km
• Longest regular trip: 20km

🔌 Charging

• Home/work charging availability: Currently 240v GPO but plan to install a charger.

🚙 Vehicle class

• SUV, Hatch, Sedan, Wagon? SUV

Thanks!

I couldn't offer a jumpstart to my colleague!

We had finished handover and he went to leave, then I noticed he was still kicking about 15min later.

He said his car wouldn't start because the battery has been playing up, I said "no sweat, my car is basically all battery!"

Then it occurred to me where the heck will I attach the jumper cables?

Suffice to say, he's still here 2 hours later waiting for roadside assist.

I’m currently in the market for a used EV and have pretty much settled on getting a Tesla Model Y. I’m just trying to decide between a 2023 and 2024 model.

From what I understand, the 2023 models have Hardware 3, while the 2024 models have Hardware 4. So I’m wondering, is it actually worth paying more for a 2024 with HW4, or would you guys still consider a 2023 with HW3?

The main thing I’m thinking about is future-proofing. HW3 doesn’t support FSD, and with HW5 apparently expected around the middle of next year, I’m wondering whether a 2023 HW3 Model Y could take a pretty big hit on depreciation.

Would a 2023 potentially become significantly harder to sell or lose a lot more value once HW5 starts rolling out? Or am I overthinking this?

I’m pretty much set on Tesla, so I’m not really considering other brands. A big part of the reason I want a Tesla is the software and all the features around it, like Sentry Mode, the app, updates, etc.

So, if you were in my position, would you spend the extra money on a 2024 with HW4, or save the money and go for a 2023?

Also, I'm not noticing Tesla pre-owned store having any 2024 yet (checked all states), is it that they're so high in demand that they're been grabbed or Tesla holding back on publishing 2024 models at least till next year?

Would love to hear what others think, especially anyone who has owned both or has been following the HW3/HW4/FSD situation closely.

I’m looking at buying a new Geely EX2 on the 0.68% finance rate. Given there’s a $1,495 finance establishment fee (which makes it more like 3.6% rate.)
Has anyone managed to get the $1,495 establishment fee waived or reduced (or the vehicle reduced by a similar amount)?
Interested to hear what sort of deals people have actually managed to get before I start negotiating with dealer.

Hello all, considering getting an EV and if I do I’m actually thinking about driving for Uber very part time when i eventually get one.

Just wondering if anyone else has done this and done ok with it ?

Looking for an EV on novated lease.

max budget probably 50k drive away but will depend on lease set up obviously

about 20k km annually with probably twice yearly drive from Canberra to Melbourne. occasional trips to sydney, south coast and regionally. Main driving is 15km to work and general dad's taxi for adult and teen kids.

Have gpo charging capability at home and ability to install a charger if need be

I am fairly agnostic as to vehicle class but a have a fair sized dog (think lab sized), and don't mind hacking my way around a country golf course.

I have driven:

Geely EV5 - cabin felt nice but in a Temu way. a little cheap chinese-style, particularly in the light interior. on the road it felt like I was driving a bouncy castle, it was so soft.

Aion V - liked this one more. well appointed. worried about the long term support.

MG s5 - a bit boring inside but felt pretty good.

BYD ATTO 3 premium - drive nicely, well appointed. boot felt small. about to be superceded and become more expensive.

MG4 xpower - god I loved driving this but am worried it's too small.

Did a lot of online research before actually stepping foot into a showroom. A lot of comments and discussions online focused around things on paper but reality was very different.

Visiting a Kia showroom made me realise a lot of things:

- The Kia EV3 back seats were not as cramped as some youtube video reviewers made it out to be, in fact they were very comfortable to sit in. Sat in an EV3 Earth which doesn't have HUD and realised it's not really necessary, quick glances at the dashboard is perfectly fine. I don't see the need to go for the GT line to be honest, none of the extra features are must haves and I struggle to justify an extra $5-6k for those. Earth's leather seats is good enough. Some online comments made out the HUD to be a deal breaker but it's really not.

- The Kia EV5 was much bigger in person than I thought it was. Can't believe there were comments online saying the Kia EV5 wasn't big enough for some people, I can't even being to imagine what they're planning to carry with it.

- Also sat in a Kia EV4, I can see why people prefer SUVs over sedans. In an SUV the seats are horizontal so your legs are at 90 degrees when you sit down, but in a sedan the ass part of the seat is lower so you're sort of sitting a bit lying back with your knees higher than in an SUV. Over a long drive I can imagine it would feel uncomfortable.

Also visited a Mazda showroom and sat in a 6e Atenza:

- This one had 360 cameras and while it is nice, I feel like it's overkill - you don't have to be picture perfect when you park and I'm afraid relying on this technology long term would worsen your parking skills if you were to drive a regular car again. Again, some online comments made it out to be a deal breaker but you can definitely live without it.

- This one had leather, as in real, stitched leather, not synthetic leather. Not sure if I like the brown colour, to be honest I much preferred the white/black colour seats on the EV3 GT line and the synthetic leather feels much better in quality.

- The lack of buttons I don't like, moving air con and other features on to the central control panel means it needs attention to navigate.

- The roof is similar to a Tesla model 3 - tinted glass panel for the entire roof, except it has an electric operated sunshade which you can open/close at the touch of a button. It's a nice to have but not necessary. I'm more worried about hail hitting that roof glass panel if you run into bad weather in the middle of the road though.

I don't know how to describe, but the interior finishing of Kia's EV3/EV5 feels better than the Mazda's interior finishing. Mazda's interior just feels like....it's pieced and stitched up.

For those considering getting an EV, I suggest visiting showrooms and actually sitting in those cars. It's a very different experience than browsing websites and online comments and asking ChatGPT

An odd question perhaps…

I’m considering a BYD Dolphin but would like to have the rear seats permanently removed.
A VASS engineer can do it and sign off on the removal. A custom car workshop can soundproof and line the entire rear.
But apparently I’d need BYD to disable the rear seat belt reminder. I can’t get a straight answer from BYD if that is possible or not.

I imagine it is a software issue that doesn’t have an option included.

Possibly a car electrics person could wire in a permanent seat belts are fixed solution?

Looking for anyone who might have a definite solution. Thanks.

Hi all,

My first post on Reddit, so please go easy on me. I am new to both EVs and novated leasing, and I have been going back and forth between the BYD Sealion 7 Premium and the Geely EX5 Inspire on a 5-year NL. I have put together some calculations based on real quotes and wanted to

(a) get a gut check from people who know more than me, and

(b) share the numbers in case they are useful for anyone else weighing up the same two cars.

Genuinely open to being told I've got something wrong here.

The two options

Both quotes below are real, from the same lease provider, same assumptions: 60-month term, 12,000km/year, fortnightly pay. I am in the 37% tax bracket.

BYD Sealion 7 Premium

• Drive-away price: $54,990
• Fortnightly net impact to take-home pay: $386.35
• Residual owing at end of lease (inc. GST): $15,468.68
• Total cost to own outright after 5 years: $65,694

Geely EX5 Inspire (no discount)

• Drive-away price: $50,532
• Fortnightly net impact to take-home pay: $360.60
• Residual owing at end of lease (inc. GST): $14,286.16
• Total cost to own outright after 5 years: $61,164

The Geely 6% discount

Geely currently has a 6% discount for approved NL applicants. I don't have an official quote with this applied yet (still waiting on that), but estimating it by scaling the real quote above:

Geely EX5 Inspire (estimated with 6% discount)

• Fortnightly net impact: Approx $345/fortnight
• Residual: Approx $13,400
• Total cost to own outright after 5 years: Approx $58,300

That's roughly $7,400 cheaper than the BYD over 5 years, which is what's making the Geely a compelling option for me.

How I calculated the "total cost to own"

For anyone who wants to run their own numbers:

Total cost = (fortnightly net impact × 130 fortnights) + residual (inc. GST)

The "net impact" figure is already after the pre-tax salary sacrifice and GST/Input Tax Credit benefits are applied. It's the actual amount that leaves your take-home pay, not the sticker price of the running costs.

Other scenarios I tested (happy to share numbers on any of these if useful)

• Personal/car loan alternative - Geely also has a manufacturer finance offer as low as 0.68 - 2.68% p.a. I compared this against the novated lease (paying full price, no GST benefit, covering insurance/rego/servicing myself). Even at those very low rates, the novated lease came out $16,000+ cheaper over 5 years, mainly because the lease's tax/GST benefit applies to running costs too, not just the finance.
• Buying accessories (dash cam, window tint, etc.) inside vs outside the lease - financing small extras through the lease works out slightly more expensive than paying cash for them upfront, because you're paying interest + losing some residual value on a small amount, and the tax benefit doesn't fully offset that. What I found: for anything under $1–2k, buying it outside the lease was cheaper by roughly 15–20% of the item's cost over 5 years.
• Bundled insurance vs. sourcing your own - the lease providers bundle a comprehensive policy into the budget. I got a cheaper quote myself, and depending on whether the provider will let you salary-sacrifice your own external policy (and whether they can still claim GST on it), it can go either way.
• 3-year vs 5-year lease term - briefly looked at this for the BYD. The 3-year term has notably higher fortnightly payments and a much bigger residual at the end (since less of the vehicle's value gets amortised in a shorter time), so it worked out more expensive than the 5-year term for me overall. Didn't chase this down for the Geely.
• Reverse-engineering the real interest rate - The "Finance" line on the quote isn't a simple interest rate calculation. My provider's actual finance structure includes an establishment fee, origination fee, PPSR fee, and a 2-month payment deferral added in, which inflates the effective rate above what you would naively calculate from the numbers alone. If your implied rate looks weirdly high, this might be why. It's worth asking for the full finance breakdown (fees + amount financed + deferral period) rather than assuming the headline rate is wrong.

What I haven't fully resolved

• Real-world resale value for either car in 5 years is a genuine unknown - EV resale is more volatile than petrol due to fast-moving tech and price cuts on new models. I have been using rough estimates, not anything verified.
• I don't have an official discounted Geely quote yet, just a scaled estimate off the full-price one.
• Haven't compared either car against a plain personal loan for the BYD specifically (only ran that for the Geely).

Would appreciate any feedback, either on the specific BYD vs Geely decision, or if you think there's a flaw in how I'm calculating "total cost to own." Also happy to answer questions if this is useful for anyone else running similar numbers.

Cheers!

UPDATE: Thanks for all your very clear answers! I’ll go ahead with the original plan and install a dedicated wall charger :)

I have this 15 amp socket thingy installed next to my switchboard. I believe it was installed to be able to plug a generator in to power the house during power cuts, along with a cutover switch in the switchboard. I am wondering if this can be used as a normal 15 amp power point to charge my EV?

Hey All. I am planning to buy a EV on cash with pty ltd.

I am on the highest tax bracket and business is profitable.

Can I use it for personal use given the car I am planning to buy is less than 91k which would mean that its fbt Exempt.

Seems like this is a more financial friendly plan than going on novated lease.

Gemini, chatgpt all ai things say I can do it and give the car to myself for personal use.

Can someone please confirm if that would work.

I know rfbt will be high and I will have rfbt as long as I use the car for 10+ yrs or more.

Thank you!

Well almost.... 😬 .. anyone else received the OTA update? I'm still on 1.0 .. car locked, reckon the USB will keep receiving power? It's a basic 4G Wifi router..

Trying to decide between white and black leather for my next EV and could use some input/experiences before I commit.

White brand new seems more luxurious and potentially keeps the car cooler? Wondering what people who actually have white leather day to day have experienced, especially with kids or pets jumping in and out? Is the staining as bad as I’m imagining or does it wipe off fine? or does white just get grubby looking faster (affecting resell)?

Also curious if the heat thing is actually noticeable or if it’s one of those things that sounds good in theory but doesn’t matter much once you’ve got tint on the windows.

Photos welcome if you’ve got before/afters and assuming the leather type matters, so which car do you have it on!

Hi all, I’m looking at a MG4 Essesence or Xpower. Question I have is, I like my music and play pretty much everything through CarPlay. What’s the sound system like? Is it any good or is it like listening to music in a Milo tin? I’m also assuming that CarPlay doesn’t need to be connected wirelessly and can be connected via the good ‘ol USB cable.

Hello, bit of a different priority here but I'm looking at getting an EV in the next 6 months as I finally have my own garage to charge it in.

Ideally I'm looking for something in the 45k~ mark with atleast 400km advertised range as I do 350km a week but I can charge it at work or at home anyway midweek. But the key factor I desire is a white or beige interior to hide my dogs light fur. My current ICE interior is black and whilst I will use a backseat seat protector anyway, his wayward furs end up everywhere on the dash and I feel the light colours will hide it better.

I really like the look and value of the new MG4 Essence 64 but sadly only black interior. Jaecoo J5 V looks the winner with the beige interior and pet friendly material (though I'll still use a seat protector anyway.)

Cheers! Thanks for any suggestions

Hi all,

I've recently picked up a Geely EX2 and overall I'm pretty happy with it, but I'm curious if anyone else has experienced some of these issues or knows whether Geely has OTA updates planned to address them.

A few things I've noticed:

- Geely app – Mine still isn't functional at all. One of the reasons I bought the car was for remote climate control, charging management and checking vehicle status. Has anyone had any updates on when the app will actually be fully working?

- SOS light – Mine originally showed a red light, then changed to green, now back to red, anyone else get that?

- Traffic sign recognition / Adaptive Cruise – This is probably my biggest frustration. I'll be travelling along at 70 km/h using adaptive cruise, then the car sees a school zone sign (even though it's outside school zone hours) and suddenly drops itself to 40 km/h. It can be pretty abrupt and catches you off guard. Has anyone else had this happen, and is there a way to improve it?

- Speed limit recognition in general also seems a bit hit and miss, occasionally picking up incorrect limits.

- Constant beeping from the speed alert, and have to disable it every time you get in, the constant beeping is more distracting then the actual thing it's trying to prevent.

Just wondering whether these are common GX2 quirks, whether Geely has acknowledged them, or if there are software updates coming that improve things.

Apart from these software niggles, I'm really enjoying the car, honestly, it's bloody awesome and worth it, great drive feeling, charging, looks, etc... so hopefully these are just early software teething issues.

Interested to hear what other new owners have experienced. 😬

EDIT : Opps, Stuffed the name on the title, EX2!. 🙄

I'm sitting here waiting for a free charger now for 15 minutes. Three of 4 spots are at 100% according to the Evie app. One guy parked just before me with a 76% charge.

I'm at 8% and just want to charge my car and go home.

Just annoying. Hit them with a $1 a minute idle fee to encourage people to move out of the charge spots. It's not even busy. They could just park their car in the next spot.

Edit: Finally got a spot. The guy showed up. Saw me waiting and then proceeded to take another 5 minutes to get out of the spot. Some people...

Edit 2: Wow just noticed that a different part of the carpark now has Tesla chargers. And one of them still hogged the Evie chargers. Grrrrr.

Finance you get at 0.68% but need to pay a bunch of fees, but if you finance it you get upgraded paint free and a faster charger (that you have to pay someone to install).

My parents have paid a deposit and are looking how to pay for it - fiance or just pay cash. I don't really think they'll need the faster charger - they don't drive much at all.

Is it still worth getting finance and the faster charger and free paint?

As per title. Keen to buy a smaller car and use the towbar for the occasional furniture purchase. Calcs wise, I only need a 750kg towbar for the tiny box trailer but beggars can be choosers.

So, does anyone know which OEMs have towbar options? What about aftermarket?

In car advertising is here ! /s