Nissan Leaf E+ Tekna 62kW

[mazdajason]

After a bit of umming and ahhing, I’ve chosen the leaf over an I3. Mainly because I couldn’t get a test drive of an I3 for live nor money!

On the flip side, it’s not my money - it’ll be a company car so the BIK appealed hugely come April time.

I was wondering if anyone else had one? I’m having a 7kW podpoint charger installed this month and the car is due in Feb. Anything to look out for or best practices? I’ve test driven a lower spec Leaf and was impressed, not a thorough or long rest drive but I’ll be doing a 75 mile trip each work to and from work. Will I make it without charging? There’s a point near to my work but it’s a council one so anyone could be using it and I can’t trust it’ll always be working.

Appreciate any information for an EV newbie!

[caziques]

Shouldn't be a problem.

Even in winter you should manage 4 miles per kWhr, theoretically 240 miles.

Low temperatures, high speed and using the heater chews through the power, if necessary drive slower!.

[jjwilde]

It's... an OK Car. It will do your journey. Was a cool car back in 2011. It's still a 2011 car with a body kit and slightly upgraded tech. There are better EVs for a similar price, but I guess the Leaf has no waiting list?

Isn't the 62 about the same price as a Tesla? Or did you get a good deal?

[HalcyonRichard]

mazdajason said:

Abut I’ll be doing a 75 mile trip each work to and from work. Will I make it without charging?

So that's 150 mile trip and the cars range is 239 miles on the WLTP cycle.

I had a gen 2 - 24 kWh Leaf. Its range was quoted as 84 mile EPA rating. From my experience and not driving the car hard or fast it would do + 25% in the summer and - 25% in winter. So to 63 to 105.

Applying this to the new Leaf would be 180 to 300. So plenty of spare. In very cold wet conditions it may be less. But the new Leaf is better in efficiency and battery use/regen. So I think t will be fine.

[anonymous-user]

jjwilde said:

It's... an OK Car. It will do your journey. Was a cool car back in 2011. It's still a 2011 car with a body kit and slightly upgraded tech. There are better EVs for a similar price, but I guess the Leaf has no waiting list?

Isn't the 62 about the same price as a Tesla? Or did you get a good deal?

The second generation model was launched in 2018 and is by all accounts a much better car than the 2011 original.

The 62 is pretty close to base Model 3 money, but they are doing huge discounts and Tesla..... aren't

Hopefully the OP got a good deal as a quick search shows them available for £32k

[romeogolf]

We have a 40kwh Zoe and in the winter, on the motorway, will still get a good 120 miles of range from a full charge. Your 150 should be more than doable with a 30% larger battery if your commute isn't 100% motorway-based.

[modeller]

Assume if you're on this site you enjoy driving?? If so, try and get a demo of an i3S - it's a blast. I'd also look at the Model 3 SR+ ..

[mazdajason]

Evening all, thanks for the feedback, greatly appreciated.
The commute is going to be 90% dual carriageway both ways with just a short amount of city driving. Sadly the Tesla isn’t available at my grade, the grade above it is but not mine. It was the leaf, I3 (not the s) or the zoe which I wrote off due to the mileage and size.

Glad to hear my worries about the mileage aren’t warranted, it really was my biggest concern coming from combustion engines and I guess it’s most peoples main worry.

[RobDickinson]

Leaf is fine esp if you are not buying it yourself

Only real issue is the pack cooling, repeated fast charging etc otherwise its a decent motor

[mazdajason]

My home charger is going to be a 7kW Pod Point job which seems fine to my untrained eye!
Is there specialty electric companies that I should look at? I’m sure I’d read about people using specific ones as they offer cheaper electricity in the evening and overnight?

[RobDickinson]

yeah 7kw will be fine charge it overnight no issues.

its fine for a single fast charge too, subsequent ones will be slower.

Fast charging or living in extreme climates hurt the leaf packs(soh) but doesnt look like that will be an issue for you

[jamiehamy]

I've ordered one today - on a whim really. £3k down, £172 a month, 24month lease. What's not to like? (it's a 40kwh one, so assuming old stock they want rid of).

[romeogolf]

mazdajason said:

My home charger is going to be a 7kW Pod Point job which seems fine to my untrained eye!
Is there specialty electric companies that I should look at? I’m sure I’d read about people using specific ones as they offer cheaper electricity in the evening and overnight?

A few do it, we're with Octopus on their "Go Faster" tariff which offers us 3 hours of super cheap electricity from 20:30 - 23:30 each day. It's invitation only, but their standard "Go" tariff does similar at a slightly higher rate for 4 hours between midnight and 4am (from memory). Our EV mileage is lower, but 3hrs/night should be plenty to keep you topped up.

Obligatory referral link should you need it: https://share.octopus.energy/sunny-goat-745

[CooperS]

I'm going from an i3 to Leaf 62+ as its better on my company car scheme. I do a 120 mile commute.

A couple of things:

An i3s wont do 150 miles relaibly especially if your mostly motorway speeds I get 3.8kw per mile efficiency. So unless you like having range anxiety that's a no go.

I've just been told that my car which was due beginning of Feb is now mid March. Number of owners been told the same due to Nissan stopping production. No reason given so not sure if its seasonal or technical

The i3 is the nicer car, better to drive, nice environment
etc and I'll miss it but the nissan is a free car for me (literally) so no more £500 per month PCP my i3

[mazdajason]

Interesting. I was told i'd been given a February delivery slot so i'll follow that up with our Fleet team. Who is your car through? Ours are all through LexAutoLease. Good to hear about the I3 and if I had a shorter commute I definitely would have tried harder to get a seat in an I3.
Went to the site i'll be starting at in February permanently and the charging point had two vehicles at it already so it's good to know that if I can't get to charge it during the day then I could get to work and home each day without having to stop somewhere on the way home for a few extra kW.

Also realised today I didn't get a colour choice so presume it'll be white, that'll be a surprise when it turns up on the driveway.

[CooperS]

Surprises are always good haha.

Mines through Arval - as a factory fresh order. Unfortunately they cant tap into the consumer pre built cars which is a shame as I too didn't care what colour (well the Grandma silver / green might of taken a while to get use to)

[ElectricSoup]

You will realise very quickly that it's the best motoring decision you've ever taken. I've had a 24kwh Leaf for over two years, a second hand private purchase. Never had a hint of range anxiety, even with such a poor range. I don't see the need to look to upgrade to a car with a bigger range. I'll probably keep it until the battery degrades to such an extent that it becomes unusable, but there's no sign of any degradation at all yet.

Enjoy.

[MrLou]

Another happy leaf owner here.

My 2015 24kWh is the cheapest car I have ever run. Bought for about £9k in late 2017, bought two new tyres and that's it. It's done 15k miles in that time.

If you rarely drive more than 60 miles, or have access to a second car, they're great.

[granada203028]

Another contented enough leaf owner here.

My 2012 24kWh is the cheapest car I have ever run. Bought for about £17k in mid 2013, bought loads of new tyres and an AC pump. It's done 75k miles in that time.

If you rarely drive more than 30 miles, or have access to a second car, they're great.

[MrLou]

granada203028 said:

Another contented enough leaf owner here.

My 2012 24kWh is the cheapest car I have ever run. Bought for about £17k in mid 2013, bought loads of new tyres and an AC pump. It's done 75k miles in that time.

If you rarely drive more than 30 miles, or have access to a second car, they're great.

I'm looking forward to the next 50k of cheap as chips mobility!