Automotive

And with new battery technology they will get increasingly better 😊👍🏻

Not really sure about that mon ami. I have already heard some horror stories about people with their BMW X5 45e ... batteries going crap after a couple of years just out of warranty. The dealer told them it was better to buy a new car than have the battery changed (for over 15K) LOL .
Also other hybrids' batteries are damn expensive, 120.000 Euros for the LaFerrari !!! And that was the price 10 years ago.
Moral of the story ? For that amount of money one can buy an Alpine A110 R !!!!! Eat that mon ami !!!!

And those batteries easily lasted for about 15 years.

You know I do like the new A290, it would be a fun extra car next to the Clio and Megane.
You know my Clio is almost 15 years old now and it is still as fresh as the day I bought it, thanks to good use and maintenance off course.
So now start thinking about that Clio AND the A290 in the next 15 years, the Clio will have had some big repairs but the A290 might be in for it's third (and VERY expensive) battery replacement.

Third battery would be excessive IMHO - in principle it should still be on its first…

In my case the electrical charging is about the same per mile as petrol, if not higher

In Europe this is the key question - if you use public fast chargers they are comparable in price per mile, at home it’s quite a bit cheaper, and practically free if you have your own solar panels (a steadily increasing share of households, given the rapid drop in cost of the panels).

That is currently an issue especially for the more expensive ones. In the transitional phase, where each new generation brings significant performance improvements it’s understandable that people are reluctant to saddle themselves with what could be old technology.
Car manufacturers subsidized this initially through attractive leasing conditions and guaranteed buyback prices (common practices when new vehicle types are introduced - same as has long been done for SUVs in Europe to get people into them) but the increasing dearth of other profit pools from which to do this (such as the Chinese business, which was traditionally much more profitable) and concurrent market expectations regarding profitability make this more and more difficult. Sadly stopping this often means that the same manufacturers get further and further behind the experience curve and are increasingly less competitive 🤷🏻‍♂️

Seriously, very nice review. But next time, how about something utterly 'silly' 😎

By sensible I actually meant something that would be likely fun to drive. Whether it’s sensible having something with so much performance is another question altogether. As for silly electric vehicles not that many around. Something like Tesla’s Model S Plaid will have sillier acceleration but will not be as fun to drive. The two seater versions of the Taycan are probably silly, though. And great fun I imagine 😉

I heard exactly what you said: IMPRESSIVE! 

The Ionia 6N will come. Now its looks are also not conventional but it’s a car that’s much lower and with better aerodynamics, so that should make it an even more natural drive and aid the range somewhat, too.
And as you said, others will definitely come as well 😊👍🏻

Otherwise it looks not much different from a 3 series on the road The much lower seating positing and centre of gravity will definitely help further.

When I requested the info last time, they were around 4.50m.

And yes, you’re fully right. The cars all seem to have undergone decades of elephantiasis 🤷🏻‍♂️ Said 3 series in the M3 Touring version weighs 1,9 tons, far removed from where things started. 

My neighbor drives the standard version, and I've always wondered what it was like.... I also enjoy that type of retro design, and totally agree this iteration has something favorably in common with the Lancia Delta.... Thanks a lot for the write up and quality photography. Cheers, Filip

And too kind on the photography - I really just used the mobile phone and didn’t have that much time to take proper shots 😊🤷🏻‍♂️

.. handle this well, so now just imagine how much better a 220 hp 1480 kilo A290 will handle and drive.

The possibilities for making heavy cars handle are certainly being used - I mean the new M5 comes in at 2,5 tonnes and still handles well. F you make cars fully electric this allows you so many more options for optimizing handling on top, not just with individual motors but also by replacing many of the standard suspension components with more modern, better ones.
Curious to try out the A290 as well 👍🏻

If I find the time .....

Maybe next week, we'll see.