Onto Review - WAIT! Don't buy an EV yet

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Have you ever heard the saying? The moment you buy a car & drive it off the dealership's forecourt, the value of that vehicle drops by 40%. Well, what if we cut the forecourt out of the equation & what if I told you! Wait don't want to buy an electric car just yet.

Because you know…just like I know…and like all things tech. There will be a bigger, better next-gen version of the car you're looking at next year.

Well, listen here real quick. You could rent or lease a car. That's an option. You could get Uber everywhere. That's expensive, or you could… take public transport…which, as you know, is a fast way to catch a cold…or start another pandemic or even worse than that.

…you could ride a bike.

The New Option

So at the time you are watching this, it's the future, and now there are new possibilities & this brings me nicely to OnTo, a new option that you might not be familiar with…yet…

This is a Fiat 500E from a company named Onto, an electric car subscription service provider here in the UK. ONTO has kindly sponsored this video (above) because they want me to tell you about it, and I honestly like what they're doing.

Important disclaimer: there is a dropoff and pickup fee to factor in…which I'll come back to.

In my opinion, what makes OnTo's service superior to leasing, for example, is your insurance, your tax, your MOT, your services, and even the electricity their cars run on are all inclusive as part of the subscription price…kind of like a package holiday. And their smartphone app helps you keep track. One crucial need to know. That Onto does have a mileage per month limitation of 750 miles. But like a phone contract, there are bolt-ons which can be added at any time using the ONTO app. You can even add additional drivers on the fly via the app & I did get a physical key, but you can also use your phone as a digital key for the vehicle. And that digital can be transferred to your additional driver's phones when needed.

Now the word subscription might get you thinking…why haven't I seen & subscribed to WhatGear reviews before & also, you might be thinking.

How The Subscription Works

"Wait a minute, how long is this Onto subscription? 36 months, 24 years?" Unlike so many costly subscription services today, there's no fixed term… It's a minimum one-month contract. So you can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel the vehicle subscription whenever you feel like it…at which point, the only cost to you, if you're downgrading or upgrading the car, there would be the delivery and pickup fee to factor into the price. The minimum term is just one month.

So three key features of the service stand out about ONTO's subscription services. It's a convenience, flexibility, and like Mel Gibson once said in a bad Scottish accent... freedom.

And here's a fourth bonus one. If you care about our place in the universe, all Ontos cars are electric & technically more environmentally friendly. So if you do use onto instead of buying a high-polluting tank… You'll be saving some polar bears.

The Fiat 500e

So let's talk about this. The Fiat 500E is The most affordable option from the current OnTo lineup. In 1957, the world of compact cars was transformed by Dante Giacosa when he launched the FIAT Nuova 500. It gained popularity not only for its Italian style but also because of its excellent fuel efficiency…but this model is no fossil….the 500e, and the model runs on a brilliant futuristic state-of-the-art 24kWh lithium-ion battery, which revolves up a permanent-magnet, three-phase synchronous drive motor. And it is this that allows the 500e to output 111 horsepower.

So it's pretty swift, and if someone tailing ya… You could likely escape swiftly with a zero to 60mph in 9 seconds. And if someone is chasing you around a roundabout, you can run circles around most people because the turning process on the Fiat 500E is incredibly tight. And because the batteries are heavy and located in the vehicle's base. The Fiat 500E sticks to the road a piece of perfectly cooked spaghetti… see what I did there…because it's Italian.

I've been using Onto's services for a few days now, and what I can tell from my experience with this particular car is. Is that it's just as fun to drive as it is convenient. The intelligent displays on the 500E consist of dual screens. And it's not entry-level. It has the more significant 10 ¼ in main and changeable display for your speedometer & trip data and stuff like that. And it does support Android and Apple CarPlay. So all your smartphone's Ai intelligence is available.

First Thoughts On Driving An EV


This is my first experience driving an EV, and my immediate thoughts were, this is great, but where and, when and how often am I going to have to stop to recharge & how long will it take.

So with ONTOs, you have access to over 11 thousand charging points in the UK. AND onto provide 3 pre-paid cards. Instavolt, BP pulse & the Shell recharge card. Instavolt and BP pulse can only be used on those specific chargers, But the shell one is the wild card because you can use it on all the chargers you see on the screen now, and the onto's app should help you with this.

So Fiat 500 E's 24Kw battery can get you around 118 miles… It can recharge with up to 50 KW.

So if you're planning to go on a road trip to Scotland 430 miles from London, you would have to stop and recharge around 4 times. And from my experience, I will say the recharge times with a fast charger are better than expected. Last night I decided to stop and get some Nando's chicken, so I hooked the 500E up to a BP Pulse charger, and in just 37 mins and 14 seconds, the car gained 63% battery.

This vehicle is not built for long-distance driving, but there are some interesting long-distance features. The range mode triggers a regenerative braking mode…and kind of doubles up an auto braking system. So when you lift your foot from the accelerator at the right time. You might not need to touch the break…and that's what the key to great tech is all about. Minimum user input…delivering the same or better results.

There is also a sherpa mode, named after the Tibetan mountain climbing tour guides who assist you in completing your journey to the top…of a mountain. The sherpa mode here is kind of like the last resort. As it limits your speed to 50 MPH and turns off all climate controls, so If you feel you might need this mode. You may want to pack a jacket.

This brings me nicely to the storage space now. Remember, ONTO has a full range of vehicles & this is the smallest of them all. The boot space is 185L…three small cabin bags and a warm jacket could easily fit here. The back seat space is compact, probably better suited for a large suitcase than passengers. But in reality, you could seat a family of four, two adults and two children… but if your legs are long like mine, maybe on three adults…

So I know what you might be thinking. Your looking at this fiat 500 and saying, "The Fiat 500E is not my style. I need something a little bigger, a little more stylish, that can do more miles on a single charge." well, onto have an excellent selection of EV's to choose from starting with the fiat 500E at £489 per month all the way up to £1299 per month for an Audi E-Tron or Tesla Model 3. If you want to check out & book any of Ontos vehicles, I recommend you check them out on the website & not the app. It's just easier.

All you need to do is provide your driver's licence & a photo of you holding your licence & a bank card for the subscription fee. Agree to the T&C, and that's it. Onto will drop it at your front door.

Who is Onto for?

Let's say you're visiting the UK for a month, or maybe you've a work contract for a few months here in England Or perhaps you want to do a grand tour of the country for leisure…

Yes, you could rent a classic car, But once you factor in the fuel costs, the congestion charges, the toll bridges, the deposits & all the admin charges…the emissions, AMD, the polar bears & not to mention the headache you get from trying to figure everything out. With ONTO, you could avoid all that. It's an all-inclusive deal…

And here's another use case. Let's say you've had your eye on a Tesla Model 3 or Audi E Tron, but maybe you're still determining if you want to lock yourself into a short-term deal because your circumstances could change.

With Onto, you can try the desired car out for a month and see how it fits into your daily life before committing to an expensive deal…if you're using the vehicle for your business, the cost is tax deductible. Maybe that could benefit you. And if you do try Onto, rest assured the customer service is spot, and they have real people here in the UK available to take your calls 24hrs a day.

So unlike getting on public transport or worse, riding a bike. With Onto minimum effort is required. You need to buy spandex or deal with sweaty armpits in your face on public transport.

You simply provide a copy of your driver's licence and a photo of you holding your licence. So that ONTO knows you're actually signing up to use one of their vehicles. Provide a payment card to Pay the monthly subscription with. And Onto will deliver the car to your door.