Should I buy an EV and if so, which one

Not sure why you think you need to have the range to get to Limerick and back without a charge. I assume you're staying there for at least long enough to charge the car back up. And there are plenty of fast chargers in and around Limerick. A 50kWh battery would fast charge in about 20 minutes from 0 to 100%, something you wouldn't actually need to do. A 50kWh charger (pretty much found in every Lidl and Tesco car park) will charge you to full in an hour or so.

You didn't mention a budget, but for something with a 40-50kWh battery the cost would be less than 20k second hand.

As far as I know nothing for 15k will do 400kms reliably

Closest would be Hyundai kona and ID3, ID3 58kwh still just over your budget but maybe a kina might be available for 15, I don't keep an eye on their prices at all.

If you wait it out a little bit and ID3 77kwh might come into budget then you have your 400kms range in all but the worst conditions

I regularly do Dublin to Annacotty in a 58kwh Cupra born which is the same as an id3 and I take about 20 mins stop on return leg to top up enough to get home

Edit: a 64kwh kona should be achievable for your budget, people with more experience of them might comment on range.

Ignoring the 400km limit since it's not really necessary, you'd be talking about a 40kWh Leaf, Hyundai Ioniq, BMW i3, VW E-Golf and Opel Corsa-E that would fit inside your budget and get you to Limerick and back with a charge up in Limerick.

Probably more than that, but a decent selection.

Something like this if all the checks come back ok. https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/202-hyundai-kona-ev-premium/37262454

Well we won't mislead him with 0 to 100 charges in 20 mins which isn't in any way the reality. Not even close.

Manufacturers wouldn't even say that with a straight face. They don't even quote 0 to 100, it's always 10 to 80 or 20 to 80. And will still be well above 20 mins.

You can subtract at least 25% range for motorway driving. So Dublin to Limerick, you are likely going to have to recharge in Limerick, so just be aware of that if the EV you buy has less than 400k range.

If I was you I'd wait another year or two and some 400km range cars might be coming onto market at your budget.

Regardless who you buy from, do the usual checks and you should be ok.

As an ioniq 38 owner I wouldn't be confident in recommending an ioniq for this use case. While it should do one leg of the journey, I'm not 100% sure it would make one 200km all motorway trip in winter, this paired with its very slow fast charging (45 mins from 20-80% I think) would make it a bad choice for the op

Yeah, here's a screen grab from Plugshare showing the chargers in and en route to Limerick. As you can see, there's no shortage of them. I take what @witnessmenow says above about the Ioniq, but it's one of the nicer cars in that price range and worth a look if you can get a decent one. 38kWh models are hard to come by in your price range, but wouldn't write it off yet.

Second hand is probably the only option you have within your budget, but you're buying at a great time, so it's very possible that you could get a 2021 car inside that price range. Certainly a few 21 Leafs and Zoes around.

Aside from the fact that there will be a dealer loading on the asking price of a few grand over and above a private sale, It depends when they took them in- there were some over inflated asking prices towards the start of the year as dealers took in stock at X price but then the prices of some new models fell considerably meaning they couldn’t realistically achieve that price - you’ll have the reassurance of a dealer warranty and for given your budget and likely age of the car that’s probably not a bad thing- just make sure the dealer you’re buying from is well established and possibly close by to you as well - otherwise you may not be in a position to get the car to them if something goes wrong -

Edit- sorry just re read post - 2-3 years old- a lot of cars like the ID3 for example are due an upgrade in 2025 I think or late /024 - some other manufacturers are releasing updated models this year - so there may well be some “value” in buying up a previous model about to be discontinued

And sorry I just updated my post above on cars 2-3 years old

Yeah totally- dive in, pick a few cars you think you’d like or live with and give them a test drive - you might find you don’t actually like them as I did with a basic model ID3 - just didn’t feel any love for the interior cabin at all but yet I think it’s a nice looking car on the road and drives well

yes, the one you like most.

No-one ever mentions the Kia Soul EV in these threads, its like the black sheep of the family for some reason! 😁

Great car, very comfortable and will do the trip to Limerick with ease (even in winter) as it has a 64KWh battery. They can be had for less than 20k nowadays and a bit of a left field choice to the usual Kona, ID3 et al. As above, how much space do you need if it is just yourself in the car? Most of the suggestions will take 4 adults with relative comfort anyway (the Corsa-e may be a squeeze). With all of these cars, you may be able to "granny" charge at your destination, depending on what it is and how long you're there, but there are also plenty of chargers in and around Limerick that you could use.

Best advice is to take a look at some of the cars that have been suggested and take them for a test drive. You may decide that an EV is not for you in the long run but only you can make that decision.

None taken, taste is subjective. The Op can make up their own mind, I'm sure.🙂

Bingo!… but I'm biased because I own one 😂

It has a higher spec than the equivalent Kona for sure plus it has more space in the rear for passengers if needed. It was the main reason why I went for one over the Kona at the time and I would still make the same choice today. I also happen to like how it looks.

The Soul has a cd of 0.35 vs 0.27 for the Niro.

That doesn't really matter. I think the Soul WLTP range is similar or maybe 5km off the eNiro.