Nissan leaf

I've just organised a 7 day Nissan Leaf test drive. While the leaf would not be my first choice for an EV,.. cough cough Tesla Model S, cough cough, I'm interested in what it offers for £16k and above, as opposed to £50k and above for the Tesla.

I watch Robert Llewellyn's YouTube productions, and his enthusiasm for EV's is infectious.

Currently the only thing putting me off an EV is the purchase price (versus my current frugal A2) and the range. Range is more of an issue with the Leaf, with 90 miles being a real world maximum on a full charge.

So in theory where the A2 could get me to my parents' house in N Wales (~90 miles) AND back in one day for a fuel cost of ~£18 (60mpg if driving around 70 mph), the Leaf will cost ~£3.60 in fuel but crucially will NOT be able to get me back in the same day, needing charging overnight unless I can find some fast chargers on or around my journey.


Anyway, I'll be sure to take photos and give a little write up of my findings from the 7 days. Fortunately for me I won't be in work or at Uni when I have the car, but this also means I may not be putting the car through a particularly exhaustive test.


All the best, John.

On this page there are some realistic range charts for electric cars:
http://www.elbil.no/kjope-elbil/kjopeveiledning

It is in Norwegian but the chart is quite useful but is in KM's not miles.

I would suggest that the range would be best at this time of year and probably would not be so great in the winter when it is cold and damp.

The electricity to charge electric cars is also not so cheap. The BBC recently suggested that an electric car (I think they used the Nissan Leaf) cost more to charge than the fuel required to send a diesel Golf the same range in the UK.
I saw the charge cost for a leaf being somewhere above £7 in some recent articles and the fast chargers also charged quite a lot each time.

In the test in the Norwegian automobile association found the real world range for the Leaf was less than 100 miles and if you plan the diversions to plan somewhere to charge could make any journey more than 20 miles long a bit difficult.

The chart here suggests a range of 68 from a full battery at 70mph.
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=101293

The leaf seems to take a huge hit for speed very low down on the speed scale.

John

John L said:

The electricity to charge electric cars is also not so cheap. The BBC recently suggested that an electric car (I think they used the Nissan Leaf) cost more to charge than the fuel required to send a diesel Golf the same range in the UK.
I saw the charge cost for a leaf being somewhere above £7 in some recent articles and the fast chargers also charged quite a lot each time.

John

Click to expand...

Hi John,

This is because the providers are now charging for rapid chargers; it was free until recently. The cost doesn't reflect the amount of electricity used. Charging at home would be much cheaper. Without a bigger range, this will kill the electric car fad!

RAB

Unless you live in london and have to contend with the congestion charge I can see no point in a full electric. If the green issue is important go down the hybrid route, nobody gets anywhere near the published economy figures but you can kid yourself you are doing your bit to save the planet. Or you could just keep your A2 and save a bucket load of emissions used making yet another new car. Cheers Colin

You should try the BMW i3 as well. I'm told it's a hoot to drive and it bears a resemblance to the A2 plus is far more technologically interesting than the Leaf (and has better range).

The i3 is a bit chunky next to an A2 but looked nicer in the summer than the first one I saw in winter...
I still prefer the look of the A2!

My A2 is going nowhere!

I'm not buying a Leaf, and while the i3 with range extender would be great, I'm not buying that either. Ultimately a Tesla model S would suit me just fine.

Anyway, I'm interested in the technological side of things. I saw on the Nissan website they had a 24 hr test drive, and thought I'd give it a go. When I rang up they offered a 7 day trial. So, that's even better. I've got nothing to lose, and may well learn something from the experience.