First ev , which one

[Ghs]

My 1.0 focus at 90,000 is still running fine but needs a cam belt at £1,500 so I think it’s probably the time to move it on , in the not to distant future we will goto one car , but for now we will just change mine , we want to try a ev but not spend a lot of money until we’re sure it’s the right decision for us , thoughts on these please , which one , or is there something better at this price point , or cheaper would be good , if it helps I do apx 20,000 miles p/a , work is a 60 mile r/ trip but that could end soon as retirement is due .
Nissan leaf 40 kWh n- connecta , 3,800 miles ,2020 , £10,059
Same car but , 20,795 miles ,2022 ,£10,304
Vauxhall corsa e 50 kWh elite prem ,38,000 ,2022 ,£10,304
I’m leaning more towards the leaf for size , but range looks an issue , looks like I might be able to make 2 days commuting at a push , but could be tight .
Thankyou

[SWoll]

If you can charge at home, which for me is a must for any EV ownership prospect, then there's no issue with your commute as will get up every morning to a full battery?

And if you're just focussing on trying an EV initially don't worry so much about getting a low mileage example?



£2k cheaper, larger battery, 3 years and 28k of battery capacity warranty remaining.

Edited by SWoll on Friday 12th June 11:52

[JQ]

Personally I'd get the Leaf in Tekna trim.

[MinchCS]

i3. If you can live with the looks, it's light, efficient, reliable (avoid Rex), fun and years ahead of its time.

[SWoll]

MinchCS said:

i3. If you can live with the looks, it's light, efficient, reliable (avoid Rex), fun and years ahead of its time.

Loved ours but potentially a bit quirky as a first EV? The Leaf a lot more "normal"

[Herbs]

i3 was my first one and it set the benchmark

[Quattr04.]

Lease a new model 3 for 2 years at less than £300 a month, will probably work out cheaper than running a leaf then selling it

You will have zero issues with charging, range etc and will soon realise there is no issues with driving a good EV

Brand new car so under warrantee etc and once you live with a Tesla you see how seemless EV life can be

Edited by Quattr04. on Friday 12th June 16:27

[occasionalranter]

Also, you don't need to get a dedicated charger installed straight away, a granny charger will be fine for your commute usage, very happy with the 10m version of this one:
https://amzn.eu/d/03bfK0L9

Just make sure the socket and the wiring to it will cope with sustained 10-13A load.

[Ghs]

SWoll said:

If you can charge at home, which for me is a must for any EV ownership prospect, then there's no issue with your commute as will get up every morning to a full battery?

And if you're just focussing on trying an EV initially don't worry so much about getting a low mileage example?



£2k cheaper, larger battery, 3 years and 28k of battery capacity warranty remaining.

Edited by SWoll on Friday 12th June 11:52

Thankyou , no issue with charging as have off street parking , looks a good car , I just looked locally , but will have a good look around .

[Ghs]

JQ said:

Personally I'd get the Leaf in Tekna trim.

Thankyou , I just looked locally , but will look into the tekna .

[Ghs]

MinchCS said:

i3. If you can live with the looks, it's light, efficient, reliable (avoid Rex), fun and years ahead of its time.

Thankyou but 1/2 brother had one & I did struggle with the looks .

[biggbn]

SWoll said:

MinchCS said:

i3. If you can live with the looks, it's light, efficient, reliable (avoid Rex), fun and years ahead of its time.

Loved ours but potentially a bit quirky as a first EV? The Leaf a lot more "normal"

My dad just bought his first ev and first BMW, an i3, at the ripe old age of 79...he adores it

[Ghs]

SWoll said:

Loved ours but potentially a bit quirky as a first EV? The Leaf a lot more "normal"

Thankyou , I’m not sure it’s for us looks wise , but no doubt it would be a good drive .

[Ghs]

Quattr04. said:

Lease a new model 3 for 2 years at less than £300 a month, will probably work out cheaper than running a leaf then selling it

You will have zero issues with charging, range etc and will soon realise there is no issues with driving a good EV

Brand new car so under warrantee etc and once you live with a Tesla you see how seemless EV life can be

Edited by Quattr04. on Friday 12th June 16:27

I’ve not had a lease , but how would the mileage I do a week / year fit with one , 400 miles pw average , 20,000 Pa , in a idea world I’d run the present cars until retirement , then buy a car , but with retirement I’d rather buy the car outright , but the £1500 cam belt has me thinking change now . The problem is if I buy a nice ev , Tesla , polestar etc I’d be using it , putting the miles on it , that was the idea in buying a cheap ish ev , then get one we really like on retirement , we’d then be doing 4/5 , 000 Pa , thankyou

[Ghs]

occasionalranter said:

Also, you don't need to get a dedicated charger installed straight away, a granny charger will be fine for your commute usage, very happy with the 10m version of this one:
https://amzn.eu/d/03bfK0L9

Just make sure the socket and the wiring to it will cope with sustained 10-13A load.

Thankyou , house is being rewired now ( 1950,s ) so hopefully should be ok , I was thinking just a granny charger for now .

[carinaman]

Are there any specialists doing the wet belt for less than £1500? If it's otherwise a good car, get it done and run it til it expires?

[Quattr04.]

Ghs said:

I ve not had a lease , but how would the mileage I do a week / year fit with one , 400 miles pw average , 20,000 Pa , in a idea world I d run the present cars until retirement , then buy a car , but with retirement I d rather buy the car outright , but the £1500 cam belt has me thinking change now . The problem is if I buy a nice ev , Tesla , polestar etc I d be using it , putting the miles on it , that was the idea in buying a cheap ish ev , then get one we really like on retirement , we d then be doing 4/5 , 000 Pa , thankyou

[url]|https://forums-
images.pistonheads.com/698967/202606127309177[/url]

Bumps the cost up by £98 a month for 20k


You say you might retire soon, so could just be worth going for one with 8k and paying the excess mileage at the end if needs be

[paul_c123]

With a £10k budget you can afford a "1st gen" EV - which will have a short range - like the Nissan Leaf; or you could afford an economy EV like the Vaux Corsa (and its siblings). The other option is to spend more money; and/or go for a higher mileage, but more competent electric car.

I fear that once there's many more on the road, the values of those with range or other issues will drop like a stone.

[Ghs]

carinaman said:

Are there any specialists doing the wet belt for less than £1500? If it's otherwise a good car, get it done and run it til it expires?

Possibly , I’ve approached 2 garages & they’ve both come up with £1500 , I could try a few others though , thanks cairiman

[Ghs]

Quattr04. said:

[url]|https://forums-
images.pistonheads.com/698967/202606127309177[/url]

Bumps the cost up by £98 a month for 20k


You say you might retire soon, so could just be worth going for one with 8k and paying the excess mileage at the end if needs be

Thankyou , I still think with retirement looming we would be better to buy a car outright , if I was working I’d feel more comfortable with £300 + per month .