# Nissan Leaf 7 day test drive



## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

Picked up a Leaf yesterday courtesy of the Nissan 7 day test drive offer

I'm very experienced with hybrid but all electric is completely new to me and wanted to experience for myself to form an opinion rather than basing my views on journalists

The car itself - typically Nissan, not luxurious but very solidly put together - feels like it will be squeak / rattle free for many years. Very spacious and good sized boot, certainly no battery pack penalty, clearly due to being created as an all electric car rather than an adaptation.

The drive experience - very light steering, not much feel but very direct

Performance is very strong if left out of Eco mode which noticeably dulls throttle response but does not seem to increase the amount of regenerative braking 

Initial step off its very easy to spin the wheels, it certainly surprised several people alongside me at the traffic lights

You do have to keep your eye on the speedo, being so quiet its very easy for the speed to creep up, can honestly say I have never been in so quiet a car at 70mph

Modes are really simple, Reverse, Drive and B, Drive has no regenerative braking when you come off the throttle, B has very strong regenerative braking, it actually decelerates when coasting downhill, found it useful to select this when you know you're going to come to a standstill. There is an Eco mode, selectable via the steering wheel, really dulls throttle response but does not appear o noticeably improve range, after 10 miles or so I turned it off

Normal braking is fine, I was expecting the brakes to be very grabby but felt absolutely like any normal car, very easy to modulate

The biggie is obviously range. I collected it with 98% charge and showing a range of 92 miles - without driving any slower than I normally would its showing 65 miles and 64% battery charge remaining, despite me doing 56 miles yesterday - if its correct then that would give me 121 miles on a charge

Would I buy one - I'd give serious consideration to one actually, strong performance for town driving, incredibly quiet and refined at motorway speeds, spacious, well built, some good finance offers - as a car to have alongside the Jag it makes a huge amount of sense

For those who say electric is a dead end or not for you but have not actually driven one I'd suggest you try it - it might just surprise you


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

One of the guys on another forum has just bought one and been giving updates how he is getting on. 

He was mentioning the huge discounts that are available at the moment. It was a massive reduction. 

It does sound that the running costs are really low.


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## ardandy (Aug 18, 2006)

Bmw i3 much better option due to range extender. 

You know you can always get home. More expensive of course.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

How are you charging it Andy ?


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

SteveTDCi said:


> How are you charging it Andy ?


Normal 3 pin plug, garage is on a separate circuit (as required in the offer terms and conditions) - just using it locally for the week so probably need to charge it just the once

Home charging stations now done to £199 fully installed which is obviously the way to go if you were buying

I agree about i3 being better due to no range anxiety but I would not buy a Leaf as the main family car so range really would not be an issue


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

I thought you could get a charger fitted at home for free? 

There is quite a few charging stations around Aberdeen and the Shire. I don't think I've ever seen one being used.


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## SBM (Jul 4, 2013)

Great right up Andy665 and interesting to see an independent real world report that has some empathy to normal driving routine.

On the charging, how long does it take to charge? Do garages have a cost/charge for charging up?

Ben


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## Dannbodge (Sep 26, 2010)

A guy on e90post has just traded in his 335i for one.
He charges it at a local car park as parking and the electricity is free.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

That's good then, the Zoe I had couldn't be charged by the domestic supply on a 3 pin which made using it during the demo much more hard work. I had to go into town one day (parking was free as was the electric) and use the renault dealer too.

I really think for short trips of less than 40 miles a day they are brilliant, the quietness and the performance is great. I also love the idea of being able to heat the car from your mobile while it's charging as a great idea.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Also it looks like you get 14 days "combustion engine rental" free of charge per year with a leaf, you just need 7 days notice and insurance.


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

SBM said:


> Great right up Andy665 and interesting to see an independent real world report that has some empathy to normal driving routine.
> 
> On the charging, how long does it take to charge? Do garages have a cost/charge for charging up?
> 
> Ben


On a normal 3 pin plug the recharge time is 8 hours from empty, the fast chargers do it in about 3 hours

Cost of recharge depends on where you are recharging, tariff etc. On an off peak domestic tariff I think its about £1.20, many of the charging points around the country are still free of charge but many more chargeable ones are being installed.

Telford for example has 6 chargeable points and 4 free of charge

Its a nice feeling driving round knowing that its practically free of charge (excuse the pun)


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## pantypoos (Aug 7, 2014)

andy665 said:


> Performance is very strong if left out of Eco mode which noticeably dulls throttle response but does not seem to increase the amount of regenerative braking
> 
> Modes are really simple, Reverse, Drive and B, Drive has no regenerative braking when you come off the throttle, B has very strong regenerative braking, it actually decelerates when coasting downhill, found it useful to select this when you know you're going to come to a standstill.


You do get some regen in the normal drive mode, but you only really notice it when the battery has less than about 65% left as the car doesn't want to over charge the battery with the regen when it is almost fully charged.

If you use the energy monitoring screen you'll see a tiny bit of regen, and you'll see the amount increase as the charge in the battery gets lower.

One thing you will really appreciate is the lack of brake dust on the wheels, as a lot of the braking uses the motor rather than the brakes.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Found one for as little as £99 per month with £1400 deposit .... Over two years.


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

SteveTDCi said:


> Found one for as little as £99 per month with £1400 deposit .... Over two years.


If you can find one for £130-140 per month with 200-300 down then let me know - even the base spec is well enough equipped for what I'd use it for


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## robertdon777 (Nov 3, 2005)

SteveTDCi said:


> Found one for as little as £99 per month with £1400 deposit .... Over two years.


Where's that from I thought most were about £250 with £1.5k down (10k miles) prices include VAT.

At £99 its cheaper than my fuel per month on a 35mile round commute.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Andy, looks like there was one ...

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/nis...-deposit-129pm-2-year-pcp-trentonhull-2165948

The £99 offer excludes battery rental

http://www.chorleynissan.co.uk/New-Cars/New-Nissan-Leaf.asp


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Or a Zoe ? Again excludes battery

http://www.arnoldclark.com/new-cars...-5dr-auto/brand-new/ref/blk_ga6zymccsp37u7q8/

I like the Zoe, no idea how it compares to the leaf.


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## ardandy (Aug 18, 2006)

So with battery rental you're prob looking at around £200pm.


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## davies20 (Feb 22, 2009)

I have a 12mile round commute every day. And would love to use an electric for this journey - makes complete sense. However, the cost of these things is a massive put off!

My £500 Saxo will have to do!


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

It looks like there were some offers on the Zoe that worked out just over £100 per month inc battery rental.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

How about 99p a month + battery rental and deposit ?

Or £160 with no deposit ?

https://speakev.com/threads/leaf-vi...or-only-99p-x-24-months-0-limited-offer.7921/

I'm off to do some calculations.


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## SBM (Jul 4, 2013)

Sorry can someone just explain to me what/why there is a separate battery rental?

Thanks Ben


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## robertdon777 (Nov 3, 2005)

SBM said:


> Sorry can someone just explain to me what/why there is a separate battery rental?
> 
> Thanks Ben


I think its more of an insurance for the car companies incase it goes wrong, I can imagine they are £££££££'s to replace. And they will need replacing eventually.

Its just a better way of wording it. Rather than one day it goes in for a service and they say "oh you need a new battery sir - that will be £4000!"

By renting it, it's their problem if there is a problem, this stops the consumer worry about battery replacement costs etc.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

It reduces the price of the car, by leasing the battery I'm assuming it lowers the p11d value of the car. Individual cells can be replaced so you wouldn't end up with a massive bill. It also removes the uncertainty ( I assume ) the customers may have around battery life.

Both renault and nissan now allow you to buy the car including the battery, nissan class it as flex (also known as non flex with the battery )


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## SBM (Jul 4, 2013)

Must admit - i'm curiously tempted...be the complete opposite of my S4!
but I'd need to work out whether its worth doing this or buying a cheap runaround for say £1 to £1.5K and just do the fuel... then sell the car when done with it. overall annual cost may be cheaper (would have to do the numbers)

hmmm have to have a think.. I am a fan of Nissan and renault...


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

This is an unbelievable deal!!!! £160 a month with no deposit and negligible running costs. 

I might just sell Mrs Cookie Monster and save the rest lol....

Please don't tell her I said that or my cookies will be crumbled. 

Seriously tempted as I, like Ben, am a fan of Nissan and Renault. 

Cooks


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

A friend and I had a drive in one a while back. Very strange when the salesman said go. There was no noise whatsoever, just a few lights on the instrument cluster. 

So I asked my chum to make broom broom noises . Worked a treat lol. 

Cooks


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

I had the Zoe on an extended demo and loved it, the charging infrastructure wasn't there and you really need the home charger to make use of the Zoe. By all accounts the Zoe is more technologically advance but the Leaf less fussy about charging, the fact that you can charge it over night from a 3 pin plug is a bonus

Electricity wise its around £225 for 7500 miles, if comparing (which is what i'm doing at the minute) against a banger factor in the running costs, road tax and fuel and it swings in favour of the Leaf, you also get a brand new car that possibly won't need a service and will have a full warranty. Downside is you don't own it and it needs to go back in good shape.

An old pug diesel should come in at a grand, but then you have servicing to include tyres, etc the benefit is you own it outright so after 2 years its effectively free. I'm going to look at the figures shortly as the leaf would be perfect for the wife, the fact that its automatic is a benefit.


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## RedUntilDead (Feb 10, 2009)

Keep us updated Steve:thumb:
I use our banger for my 32 mile daily commute. It's a 2005 fiesta 1.4 petrol and costs about £35 a week in fuel, tax is £140 a year I think and my insurance was about £350 last time.
Would love a new car but don't have the money to put down for mine so this might be an idea.
My mate has just left Nissan too


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## Crafoo (Oct 27, 2013)

I still can't get past the time it takes to charge these cars up, that for me is the main issue.

If the charging time was the same as it takes to fill up with fuel, then the range (for the most part) wouldn't be an issue.

I can see how there's a benefit to people who do short journeys to the shops, but for anything even remotely long distance it's pointless. You'd have to plan things so carefully that one wrong move could see you being stranded and having to book into a hotel overnight!


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## pantypoos (Aug 7, 2014)

Crafoo said:


> You'd have to plan things so carefully that one wrong move could see you being stranded and having to book into a hotel overnight!


Planning ahead really isn't as difficult or as tedious as you'd expect, i certainly found it much easier than i expected.

And as a back up, if you buy a new Leaf you can borrow a petrol Nissan for up to 14 days a year for those longer journeys and you also get 3 years breakdown cover included that is valid even if you run out of charge. Which incidentally i've never done in the year/11,000 miles that i've had my Leaf for.


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## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

All electric is interesting.....I don't think it's quite there yet though. Once you take into account the cost of battery rental (or take the risk of replacing it at something like £5k) and limited range it falls into the gaps where battery rental/risk is more expensive than the savings you can make on fuel. You can't do 15K+ miles a year in them due to the range / recharge times.

For cost savings a little diesel car is still the way to go, it has infinite range as it only takes 2 minutes to 'recharge' at thousands or petrol stations all over the country and the technology / R&D is has been paid back, even with the govt £5k contribution (don't get me started on this!!) the cars don't look like good value IMHO.


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## minnis (Apr 4, 2014)

My main issue is the battery rental.
Over 36 months, battery hire is £70 a month for up to 7500 miles. Over a year, that is £840.

Doing 7500 miles in a petrol car averaging 45mpg with fuel in my area at 110.9 will cost me around £840, which costs the same. Yet with an electric car I still have to pay for electricity and cope with the short range.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Electric would work out around £200 on 7500 miles, however you won't have road tax, you rarely have to pay for parking in council car parks and if you charge wisely that's free too.

How many long trips a year do you do ? The leaf comes with 14 days petrol engine car hire, you could effectivly argue that you can run a leaf on £160 per year including fuel and the car itself, it has plenty of toys and is bigger than a fiesta.


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## ardandy (Aug 18, 2006)

Most eco dervs are zero road tax.


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## robertdon777 (Nov 3, 2005)

Once the range goes to an easy 200miles on a 1hr charge at home Electric will make lots and lots of sense to lots of consumers


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

ardandy said:


> Most eco dervs are zero road tax.


They are,but I would rather drive a nissan leaf than a 1.6 diesel golf/focus .... All the people that say the range is an issue I wonder how often they cover more than 100 miles in a trip.


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## minnis (Apr 4, 2014)

SteveTDCi said:


> Electric would work out around £200 on 7500 miles, however you won't have road tax, you rarely have to pay for parking in council car parks and if you charge wisely that's free too.
> 
> How many long trips a year do you do ? The leaf comes with 14 days petrol engine car hire, you could effectivly argue that you can run a leaf on £160 per year including fuel and the car itself, it has plenty of toys and is bigger than a fiesta.


Yes, so I'll ignore the electricity costs, and I'll waive the road tax costs because some petrols are cheap or even free road tax - it depends on what you're comparing it too, and it won't make much of a difference anyway.

I'd argue that it will cost about the same to run as any similarly sized car, so the only way it could save you money is if the car itself is cheaper to buy in the first place, which it isn't.

EDIT: I'll admit, the range isn't a deal breaker personally (even before I knew about the 14 day hire car) but what do you gain over a petrol car?


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Try and find a ford focus or golf or equivalent and run it, including fuel for a period of 2 years including tax and the car itself with no deposit for £160 per month (I'll agree this doesn't work if you run a 10 year old fiesta)


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## minnis (Apr 4, 2014)

SteveTDCi said:


> Try and find a ford focus or golf or equivalent and run it, including fuel for a period of 2 years including tax and the car itself with no deposit for £160 per month (I'll agree this doesn't work if you run a 10 year old fiesta)


The leaf has an OTR price of £16,490 after the government grant but before the battery lease. This will get you a SEAT Leon, Focus etc with change. 
As I pointed out above, battery hire and fuel costs will be similar. The money saving in the £160/month is down to the deal, not the car - a combination of a dealer deposit and 0% finance.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

The £160 includes the battery hire, if you want it's £80 for the car £80 for the battery. If you lease a focus for £160 per month with no deposit - if you can find one, you will still have to find another £80 per month for the fuel. With lease/pcp otr price is irrespective. You can buy the leaf with a battery if you want and that's the way to go if your mileage is above 10k a year.


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## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

In a world where there convenience rules, and people plan less EV does not add up for most.

Many years ago if you wanted to meet a friend somewhere you would be writing letters back and forth for a couple weeks....then came the telephone where you would call and arrange a time to meet at a specific location....now with mobile phones people think nothing of being 30minutes late, or cancelling at the last minute or changing the meeting place on route. 15 years ago this was not an option, you would be there...and you would be on time! And is the same with many things, Pre-grated cheese in supermarkets? Paying twice as much for fruit that's been put in a bag?

With an electric car you NEED to plan.....and plan carefully.

Did you remember to plug it in AND switch it on last night?
Where can you go.....does that location have a charger?
What if someone is using that charger?
What if my mother get sick.....and lives 120miles away?

14 day free hire car is just admitting the current failings.....14 days...so cover for an annual or 2 annual holidays I'm guessing?

Who wants to~: -

Call up
Arrange a hire car
Drive to pick it up
Do the inspection
Sign the paperwork....no doubt they'll encourage you to take overpriced accident cover
Move all your kids, kids seats, luggage into the vehicle that uses 100yr old technology that's actually fit for purpose
Do your trip, and go through the reverse to get back home.

Yes you could pick the car up the day before but that eats into your free days....or the morning of the trip....but who wants to do that. Most like to have the car packed the day before and set off nice and early.

EV is interesting....but not good enough yet.

And the Govt' contribution is a joke. Car companies don't create a car and add an arbitrary margin on top of their cost. The create a car and sell it for whatever they THINK the public will pay. If they think the public will pay £16k that's what they sell it for....if the govt pays them £5k for each car they sell they price it at £21k and 'discount' it down to £16k. The Govt gets screwed out of money, the car company profits go up and Joe Public are no better off!

It's the same with all these govt 1st time buyer/shared equity/help to buy schemes.....it does NOT help people at all, it only helps house BUILDERS...but I digress :lol:


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## Crafoo (Oct 27, 2013)

Bero said:


> In a world where there convenience rules, and people plan less EV does not add up for most.
> 
> Many years ago if you wanted to meet a friend somewhere you would be writing letters back and forth for a couple weeks....then came the telephone where you would call and arrange a time to meet at a specific location....now with mobile phones people think nothing of being 30minutes late, or cancelling at the last minute or changing the meeting place on route. 15 years ago this was not an option, you would be there...and you would be on time! And is the same with many things, Pre-grated cheese in supermarkets? Paying twice as much for fruit that's been put in a bag?
> 
> ...


Pretty much what I was touching on in a previous comment regarding having to plan more than you realise.

The biggest issue in my eyes is the lack of charging facilities and the length of time it takes to charge, 8 hours is just a nonsense imo.

The range is only really an issue because of the length of time it takes to charge your car up, if the range was only 60 miles but it only took 10 minutes to fully charge back up it wouldn't be that much of a big deal, it'd be monotonous yes, but it would be more acceptable given the much lower running costs.

Until the charging time can be brought down to something sensible like 10 minutes (which will probably never happen with batteries because you'll fry them) it'll never be a replacement for what we have currently.


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

If you intend to drive beyond the maximum range then yes you need to plan ahead, however just like petrol stations you can search for charging stations, you can also see what type of charger they have and if someone is using it or if it's broken. The electricity is usually free unlike petrol/diesel.

Should you want to go out I the middle of the night then it should have charge, equally you might have no fuel in the tank and live 20 miles from a petrol station that shuts at 8 and opens at 8 in the morning

You might forget to charge it, just like you might forget to fill a car up with petrol, however you fall into a routine where you would put it on charge, just like you have to with your mobile phone that lasts 1day. Yes there are arguments against it, and if you cover more than 100 miles in a day they require some forward thinking, but if you are covering 500 miles a week then a diesel would be your better option.

However if like most people you cover less than 50 miles per day, can use a fast charger at your house or fast charger on a motorway (30 mins on average) or go for overnight charging then an electric car is a viable option. Throw in free parking and the parking is usually in a prime place then the electric car isn't a bad propersition. Sadly people will always see the range as a barrier and not look past the positives an electric car can bring.

Oh and I don't own one but I'm giving it serious consideration.


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## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

If you forget to fill your car it's no hassle, a 'recharge' only takes 2 minutes, and there are approximately 1 gazillion places nationally to do it.

Practically zero chance of them being out of service or having to wait hours for the one of one or two 'recharging' points to free up before you start your recharge. Even once the fuel light comes on in an economic car you have 50+ miles to find a pump, that's 50% of the range on an EV.

Their day will come, I'm sure of it....just not yet.


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## pantypoos (Aug 7, 2014)

A lot of people have these concerns when looking into the practicalities of EVs, it is completely normal to dismiss them when you don't know how they work or have any experience of using them. Having owned one for over a year now, here are my thoughts.



Bero said:


> With an electric car you NEED to plan.....and plan carefully.


You do need to plan, but only as far as how far away do i need to go, i use a rule of if my destination is more than 40 miles away (80 mile round trip) i check if there is a charger along the route, they are found at every M'way service station, Nissan dealerships, Car Parks, Ikeas etc. i use www.zap-map.com to check where the 8226 chargers in the 3172 locations in the UK are, and these numbers are only going to increase.



Bero said:


> Did you remember to plug it in AND switch it on last night?


We have a routine where we park up, pop open the charge flap and plug the car in. It takes around an extra 10 seconds to do this and just becomes normal routine when you return home. And you don't need to turn it on or do anything else, just pop the flap and plug it in. (Less time than it took me to type this!)



Bero said:


> Where can you go.....does that location have a charger?


Anywhere that has electricity and 3 pin plug sockets.



Bero said:


> What if someone is using that charger?


Use the other one, wait or find a different location to charge at.



Bero said:


> What if my mother get sick.....and lives 120miles away?


Go and see her, either charge the car up en route or i would take our petrol car if i didn't have 30 mins extra to charge en route.



Bero said:


> 14 day free hire car is just admitting the current failings.....14 days...so cover for an annual or 2 annual holidays I'm guessing?


I've never used the loan scheme, but then we have a petrol car in the household, admittedly this does make owning an electric car easier because we have that option where the EV doesn't suit, which is probably about 5% of all our journeys. We had 2 petrol cars before, but since owning the EV the petrol car now does only 3k miles per year and is only used when both me and Mrs P need a car at the same time, and then we argue about who gets to use the EV, the person who is going the furthest wins due to the fuel saving.

So you do have to do some planning and you do have to make sure the car is charged when required, but this really isn't rocket science. All the small problems are really not a problem and are much easier to swallow when you consider that we have saved in the region of £2500 (compared to my last petrol car) in the first year of ownership.

We bought the Leaf thinking it would be our second car, but we quickly came to realise that it suited the vast majority of our journeys and it soon became the main car in the household, covering over 11,000 miles last year compared to 3,000 in the petrol car.

Plus the Leaf is environmentally friendly and you can't really put a price on helping save the earth. (even though i was more interested in saving my wallet!)


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## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

pantypoos said:


> snip!


All good and valid points, but all the minor draw backs do add up......for me at least, although you have a second car which hugely helps (I do as well, but that's another matter), you have one car that fills the 95% of the need and one fit for all other purposes.

I'm surprised you're saving £2,500 a year, that IS huge. Can you break that down at all, I'm genuinely interested? I'm sure there are are a few different areas of saving, but looking solely at fuel, and even if all your electricity is free, £2,500 is the equivalent of 500 gallons of fuel saving....you would have to do 25,000 miles a year in EV on free electricity to save that compared to a 50mpg car.

I'm getting my garage wired this year and have considered the ease of adding a dedicated circuit for charging a car in the future...I will probably hide a dedicated 6mm^2 cable behind the wall that can be connected up in the future if needed.

Living in North East Scotland you just don't see many charging points....but that's probably because I'm not looking. As you say the number of charging points will continue to rise, it just needs to maintain or exceed the growth of EV cars...but I'm sure it will.

Of course you CAN put a price on saving the environment, do you donate the £2,500 saved to environmental causes? Will you leave everything in your will to environmental causes? :lol:


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## pantypoos (Aug 7, 2014)

Bero said:


> I'm surprised you're saving £2,500 a year, that IS huge. Can you break that down at all, I'm genuinely interested?


No problem, it shocked me too when i worked it all out, not all is purely because it is an EV, as some of the savings would have come with any new car. Also my old car was possibly a bit more costly to service due to it being a 17 year old Lotus.

We're saving around £120 per month in petrol costs, plus £250 per year in tax, then my insurance has dropped from £690 per year to just £170, so a £520 saving there. As it is a new car i've had no MOT to pay for anther £50 saving. I used to average around £500 for my annual service and the first service on the leaf was £180, so another £320, then there is a load free parking and free charging to take into account.



Bero said:


> Of course you CAN put a price on saving the environment, do you donate the £2,500 saved to environmental causes? Will you leave everything in your will to environmental causes? :lol:


I've spent it all on detailing products


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## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

pantypoos said:


> No problem, it shocked me too when i worked it all out, not all is purely because it is an EV, as some of the savings would have come with any new car. Also my old car was possibly a bit more costly to service due to it being a 17 year old Lotus.
> 
> We're saving around £120 per month in petrol costs, plus £250 per year in tax, then my insurance has dropped from £690 per year to just £170, so a £520 saving there. As it is a new car i've had no MOT to pay for anther £50 saving. I used to average around £500 for my annual service and the first service on the leaf was £180, so another £320, then there is a load free parking and free charging to take into account.
> 
> I've spent it all on detailing products


Thanks, that makes sense, although a 17yr old sports car versus an new EV is not really apples with apples. I'd bet the leaf is depreciating at least £2,500 a year more than your Elise or Exige....they're both holding their money really well....Exige especially. :thumb::thumb:

Saving after the earth can come after you have all the detailing products you need......

.....when the number you need is N+1 where N equals the number you currently have :lol:


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

On a pcp depreciation is negligible, if you compare a new golf on pcp v leaf on pcp then savings will be there, compare it to our current saab 9-5 estate what we spend on fuel and tax is the same as the pcp on a new leaf, granted I'm not saving money but for what I spend I could have a new car. Yes I could get a cheap diesel but I hate them, I could save money if I just take fuel costs into consideration but if I throw in tax, mot and running costs it could work out equal

I agree electric cars are only just at the beginning and if they became too popular the current charging infrastructure could not cope. I would happily have a leaf and a v8 kind of good/bad balance


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## pantypoos (Aug 7, 2014)

Bero said:


> Thanks, that makes sense, although a 17yr old sports car versus an new EV is not really apples with apples. I'd bet the leaf is depreciating at least £2,500 a year more than your Elise or Exige....they're both holding their money really well....Exige especially. :thumb::thumb:
> 
> Saving after the earth can come after you have all the detailing products you need......
> 
> .....when the number you need is N+1 where N equals the number you currently have :lol:


LOL, agreed not quite the same, i really miss the Lotus, it was an early (97) Elise, i had it for 10 years so it was time to change, and what a change it was! I'll admit though i did just want a car that was comfortable, not noisey, didn't leak and cost loads to keep running, i think i went from one extreme to the other.

The Elise was brilliant in terms of depreciation, in the 10 years i had it i only lost 3K on it, and i think it was starting to appreciate.

I got an amazing deal on the Leaf, it was a pre registered car with 16 miles on the clock when i bought it for £11,000 in March 2014, now according to Parkers it is worth £10,495, so only a £500 loss after a year. So not bad going, but probably not typical.


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## pantypoos (Aug 7, 2014)

SteveTDCi said:


> On a pcp depreciation is negligible, if you compare a new golf on pcp v leaf on pcp then savings will be there, compare it to our current saab 9-5 estate what we spend on fuel and tax is the same as the pcp on a new leaf, granted I'm not saving money but for what I spend I could have a new car. Yes I could get a cheap diesel but I hate them, I could save money if I just take fuel costs into consideration but if I throw in tax, mot and running costs it could work out equal


This is what started me looking at them, the fact that i could have a new car for the same money as my old car cost to run.


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

The Leaf was returned this morning and genuinely sorry to see it go - used it as I would normally use a car all week and it fitted in perfectly, cost me £1.40 in electricity

Getting back into an ICE car to come home made me realise just how much energy is wasted through braking, coating etc - also just how unrefined normal cars are

I have asked for figures, was told they could offer 22% discount plus £850 deposit contribution - to be honest that doesn't matter - its the monthly figure - if it stacks up then I'm going to seriously consider one


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Andy, I was quoted £500 deposit, £149 per month over 2 years inc battery rental with 7500miles per year in a solid red on the accenta model no options.


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## Focusaddict (May 31, 2010)

Funnily enough my work mate just got a used one, he did buy a better cable for fast charging, we have chargers at work and he has access to them outside as well. He is using the 3 pin while at home as he has no charger installed yet.


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

SteveTDCi said:


> Andy, I was quoted £500 deposit, £149 per month over 2 years inc battery rental with 7500miles per year in a solid red on the accenta model no options.


I'm pushing for a slightly better deal. My line was unite simple "No bull****, I spend my life training car sales people how to sell - you have one chance - offer me the best deal you can and you will get a straight yes or no"

Hope to have figures next week when I'm back fromTurkey


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

Let us know how you get on, I didn't establish if the £500 deposit was just to secure the order and would then form part of the payments - making £0 deposit, or if it was £500 then 24x£149. 

I actually prefer the look of the Zoe but reliability seems to be an issue. Also if you know someone at nissan, tesco or waitrose you might be able to get something off.


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## pantypoos (Aug 7, 2014)

For anyone who is thinking of moving into the world of electric motoring there is (for 5 days only) a free book available to download from amazon on the subject.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Electric-Ca...=1429784503&sr=8-1&keywords=nissan+leaf+guide


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## Jdudley90 (Mar 13, 2011)

If anyone wants any advice on a Nissan Leaf i would be more than happy to get my fiancé to answer any questions. They have three in their household. She has one, her sister has one and so does her mum. Plus her father is the manager at the Nissan dealership in Stourbridge.


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## pantypoos (Aug 7, 2014)

Jdudley90 said:


> If anyone wants any advice on a Nissan Leaf i would be more than happy to get my fiancé to answer any questions. They have three in their household. She has one, her sister has one and so does her mum. Plus her father is the manager at the Nissan dealership in Stourbridge.


How do they get on with charging 3 Leafs? Do they have more than one fitted charger or do they use the 3 pin plug chargers?


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## Jdudley90 (Mar 13, 2011)

pantypoos said:


> How do they get on with charging 3 Leafs? Do they have more than one fitted charger or do they use the 3 pin plug chargers?


They do have a charger fitted at home which I believe came from there electricity supplier but they try not to charge at home if possible because this takes around 8 hours I believe but only costs a couple of quid when they do. My fiancé and her mum both work at the hospital in Coventry which has installed fast charge points so charge while in work which is result and only costs them a membership to ecotricity or the like every year. Her little sister works at Starbucks at the service station which also has a charge point. Because they are all lucky enough to work near charge points it is relatively easy for them. We do find ourselves taking trips to local charge points leaving the car for an hour and having a coffee though.


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## pantypoos (Aug 7, 2014)

Is that University hospital (aka Walsgrave)in Cov? I didn't know they had a rapid.

Thanks

Edit: just checked zapmap and can see they are the type2 chargers.


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