Leaf 7 Day Test Drive - Questions.
Discussion
Spoken to the guy from npower who looks after the charging point nearest to where I work.
I can charge and park for free which is good news.
It will take maybe 6 hours to charge.
He seems to think 60 miles is doable in a Leaf with maybe 75-80 mile max. range in this weather and a gentle right foot.
I am going to try it. I have the rapid charger points on the M1 to top up if its obvious that it won't manage the 60 miles in one go.
I will report back :-)
I can charge and park for free which is good news.
It will take maybe 6 hours to charge.
He seems to think 60 miles is doable in a Leaf with maybe 75-80 mile max. range in this weather and a gentle right foot.
I am going to try it. I have the rapid charger points on the M1 to top up if its obvious that it won't manage the 60 miles in one go.
I will report back :-)
GreatGranny said:
In hindsight would you have still bought the I3?
Any other similar sized electric cars that can realistically do 80 miles on one charge on a cold day?
It's the benefit of the Rex - 99% of my miles have been electric. I couldn't rely on a pure electric i3. Any other similar sized electric cars that can realistically do 80 miles on one charge on a cold day?
Check out the Zoe, I think that has the longest range of the current crop of EVs (except the Model S).
Amateurish said:
It's the benefit of the Rex - 99% of my miles have been electric. I couldn't rely on a pure electric i3.
Check out the Zoe, I think that has the longest range of the current crop of EVs (except the Model S).
Sorry missed that about the Rex.Check out the Zoe, I think that has the longest range of the current crop of EVs (except the Model S).
Definitely a life saver.
Love the looks and the tech in the Ampera but its still quite expensive and only 4 seats. I have 3 kids.
Amateurish said:
Why are you considering a Leaf? Is it a company car, and you want the tax savings? Is it the fuel savings you are after? Or do you just want an EV?
TBH partly curiosity to see if its practical for my use and then reducing my commuting costs is the main priority.Rough back of fag packet calcs I will get my money back about 18 months after purchase. This is selling my present car and buying a 2nd hand Leaf.
I'm liking the look of these too now.
We currently have a Ford Galaxy for ferrying the kids about and it does that job really rather well.
Second car is a Citroen C5 2.0HDI. Acquired off my dad who's had it from new so didn't cost a fortune and apart from a few niggles with the suspenion (getting sorted on friday) it's pretty cheap to run. But. My wife hates is with a passion and her run to work is only 10miles on B-roads so she doesn't want (or need) a large car.
A Leaf/Zoe or similar would be perfect for this situation I reckon. We also have 3 kids and I'd like them to be comfy in it too though; I'd imagine that if it was big enough it would be used to ferry the kids about and the Galaxy will be relegated for use on longer trips (saving more on fuel).
It's usually cheaper to keep the car you've got though, so they say!
I admire your tenacity here OP and will be interested to hear how your 7 day test drive goes.
For info - I can lease a Leaf through work for £300/month.
No deposit, includes insurance and maintenance over 3yrs. That's still a fair wedge for me me though.
We currently have a Ford Galaxy for ferrying the kids about and it does that job really rather well.
Second car is a Citroen C5 2.0HDI. Acquired off my dad who's had it from new so didn't cost a fortune and apart from a few niggles with the suspenion (getting sorted on friday) it's pretty cheap to run. But. My wife hates is with a passion and her run to work is only 10miles on B-roads so she doesn't want (or need) a large car.
A Leaf/Zoe or similar would be perfect for this situation I reckon. We also have 3 kids and I'd like them to be comfy in it too though; I'd imagine that if it was big enough it would be used to ferry the kids about and the Galaxy will be relegated for use on longer trips (saving more on fuel).
It's usually cheaper to keep the car you've got though, so they say!
I admire your tenacity here OP and will be interested to hear how your 7 day test drive goes.
For info - I can lease a Leaf through work for £300/month.
No deposit, includes insurance and maintenance over 3yrs. That's still a fair wedge for me me though.
If it's cost savings you are after, then the Zoe might be worth a look. On another thread, they've got top spec Zoes on a 2 year PCP for less than £200 all in. If you buy a Leaf, it will have to be a Mk2 with the more efficient heater. You may find that the depreciation on the Leaf will be more than the PCP costs for the Zoe.
Good point.
Looked at the Zoe website.
Their Selections finance option would be approx. £225 per month for 12k miles.
Excess mileage only 4.5ppm so an extra 8k miles would be £360, total £255 pcm.
So about the same as my existing car costs to commute.
However add in depreciation and repairs etc.. my existing car would cost more.
Also I would be able to sell my existing car to free up some cash.
Forgot about charging costs at home.
£2 per charge? adding £40 pcm.
Looked at the Zoe website.
Their Selections finance option would be approx. £225 per month for 12k miles.
Excess mileage only 4.5ppm so an extra 8k miles would be £360, total £255 pcm.
So about the same as my existing car costs to commute.
However add in depreciation and repairs etc.. my existing car would cost more.
Also I would be able to sell my existing car to free up some cash.
Forgot about charging costs at home.
£2 per charge? adding £40 pcm.
I have a battery only i3 and a commute of 42 miles. We also have a charger at work. This works for me and I've done nearly 10,000 miles in it so far.
Although I appreciate the efforts you are going to, I don't think it's going to work for you. What if the charger you want to use during the day is in use or unavailable?
Also, as others have said you may well be on the limit of range when it's cold just on one leg.
If I was you I'd buy something else.
Although I appreciate the efforts you are going to, I don't think it's going to work for you. What if the charger you want to use during the day is in use or unavailable?
Also, as others have said you may well be on the limit of range when it's cold just on one leg.
If I was you I'd buy something else.
RossP said:
I have a battery only i3 and a commute of 42 miles. We also have a charger at work. This works for me and I've done nearly 10,000 miles in it so far.
Although I appreciate the efforts you are going to, I don't think it's going to work for you. What if the charger you want to use during the day is in use or unavailable?
Also, as others have said you may well be on the limit of range when it's cold just on one leg.
If I was you I'd buy something else.
If an EV isn't suitable I will just keep my current car.Although I appreciate the efforts you are going to, I don't think it's going to work for you. What if the charger you want to use during the day is in use or unavailable?
Also, as others have said you may well be on the limit of range when it's cold just on one leg.
If I was you I'd buy something else.
It costs peanuts to run (55mpg, £20 tax, £180 insurance, lastest service £160).
An EV potentially could have massively cut my commuting costs.
The guy I spoke to re. the charging point says he's only had 2 other people ring up about it. Think its been there maybe 12-18 months? So hopefully for that week it will be free.
Fallback is the Nissan dealer who are approx. 2 miles away.
Amateurish said:
It might well do. Bear in mind that if you put 20k/year onto a used Leaf you will start experiencing a loss in battery capacity, such that 60 miles might not be achievable in winter.
Google for C&C Taxis of St. Austell. They run a fleet of Leafs, all racking up a fair old mileage, but are claiming no noticeable degradation in range even after 60k in 2 years.Nissan engineers I've spoken to have made similar comments. I guess just because they guarantee 85% usable capacity after 5 years (or whatever the figures are!) doesn't mean that after 5 years you'll only have 85% usable capacity. Much like your ICE car 60k/3 year warranty doesn't mean the engine blows up at 61k.
amstrange1 said:
Amateurish said:
It might well do. Bear in mind that if you put 20k/year onto a used Leaf you will start experiencing a loss in battery capacity, such that 60 miles might not be achievable in winter.
Google for C&C Taxis of St. Austell. They run a fleet of Leafs, all racking up a fair old mileage, but are claiming no noticeable degradation in range even after 60k in 2 years.Nissan engineers I've spoken to have made similar comments. I guess just because they guarantee 85% usable capacity after 5 years (or whatever the figures are!) doesn't mean that after 5 years you'll only have 85% usable capacity. Much like your ICE car 60k/3 year warranty doesn't mean the engine blows up at 61k.
Check out this wiki which shows when Leaf owners have lost their first battery bar (15% capacity loss)
http://www.electricvehiclewiki.com/Real_World_Batt...
9/12 bars (so 75%) and 5 years/60k now according to their website, but anyway - that Wiki is interesting info. What'd be interesting is to understand vehicle age; drive cycle and charging behaviour too. I note that there's a lot of hot climate states on that Wiki - is that mainly due to the website's demographic, or indicative of more rapid degradation in a hotter climate?
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