Nissan Leaf - My Leaf experience

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Mon 23 Nov 2015 13:10
Nissan Leaf - My Leaf experience - daveyjp

I've just had a trip in a Leaf from a company promoting a car club scheme.

The downsides of electric cars such as the Leaf - namely range - have been discussed to death, but as a car to drive for short hops around town - mine was a 5 mile out and back trip to a meeting - it was excellent.

I was first out in it and with a -2 degrees temperature last night the car was frozen over. Not a problem. Gained entry using a card, unhooked the charging cable (which was a pain due to inadequate instructions, all sorted with a call to the car club helpline).

"Started" the car - in effect pressed button and turned it on like a TV - having no noise takes some getting used to. Heated windscreen and rear window, electric heating to cabin so within 2 minutes the windows were defrosted and the interior was warming through.

Foot operated, yet normal cable and ratchet parking brake, released, move small 'i drive' style controller to D and away you go.

Range was stated at 82 miles from a full charge. Pressing eco button increased this to 88 due to reduced power to the motor.

Acceleration is "throw you back in the seat" rapid - true 'point and squirt' driving. With no gears, but full torque from standing 0-40 was reached very quickly. The auto makes driving in queues so easy.

As I was early for my meeting I pulled up to have a look at other controls and pressed the auto parking brake - after that I couldn't get it back in gear. I think "P" is for when you are ready to leave the car as I needed to turn the car off and restart with the footbrake pressed.

Full satnav with camera warnings, rearview reversing camera.

Only downside I found was the seats which aren't very supportive.

I also didn't have time to read the manual and find out what to do when stationary for a lengthy time as I prefer to use neutral and handbrake.

On return it was at 65 mile range, 70 on eco, with an estimated 2 hour charge time on a household 13 amp 3kw supply.

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Mon 23 Nov 2015 13:21
Nissan Leaf - My Leaf experience - Engineer Andy

I bet the range drops like a stone when the weather's cold (batteries don't like cold conditions) and you're using the heater a lot. Similarly in summer if you use the A/C in hot weather.

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Mon 23 Nov 2015 13:37
Nissan Leaf - My Leaf experience - RobJP

So did you do 5 or 10 miles in it ? Sorry, but I'm not sure which you mean.

The range dropped from 82 to 65 in that time. Which indicates that even if you did 10 miles, that the realistic range is more like 50 miles on a full charge.

That's the downside with 'pure' electric cars. You're going back to pre-car personal mobility, where people never leave the county.

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Mon 23 Nov 2015 13:55
Nissan Leaf - My Leaf experience - daveyjp

Total trip was 10 miles - there were plenty of red lights so I did give it the beans just to see how fast it does accelerate - far more than I would normally.

This was without aircon, but internal temp set to 19 degrees where heat was required.

60-70 miles is what most owners report as being a sensible range.

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Mon 23 Nov 2015 14:15
Nissan Leaf - My Leaf experience - craig-pd130

Interesting, thanks for that. I'm looking forward to driving various plug-in hybrids over the next year or so (Passat, Merc C-class, the new BMW 330e etc) as my next company car will almost certainly be a plug-in, because of the tax benefits.

I can see how a pure electric car would be great if you could guarantee access to a charging point at home and at work, etc. However, I saw a Tesla having to queue for one of the charging points at Warwick Services a few months back, which highlighted how you've got to plan trips very carefully if you don't have a range extender (or a 'Mr Fusion' home reactor!)

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Mon 23 Nov 2015 21:00
Nissan Leaf - My Leaf experience - alan1302

If we had two cars in the house I'd love an electric for during the week. Me and the wife do a 30 mile round trip each day which would be ideal for an electric car.

As the prices come down I think a lot more people will gte one for their day to day car in the week for getting to work or dropping kids off at school and then have a petrol/diesel car at home for the weekend trips and holidays.

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Mon 23 Nov 2015 22:58
Nissan Leaf - My Leaf experience - Avant

Good point, Alan - it'll be interesting to see whether the 'pure' EV or the plug-in hybrid becomes the more popular - assuming that prices come down on both and the Government continues the £5,000 grant. (They probably won't if prices come down.)

For our personal needs a plug-in would make more sense, although at the moment prices are too high for private motorists. Most of the time one of our cars is doing only short journeys, but perhaps on average once every other month both SWMBO and I need to do different long journeys at the same time. The car needs to suit the lifestyle rather than the other way round!

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Tue 24 Nov 2015 12:17
Nissan Leaf - My Leaf experience - madf

If pligins become really popular the National Grid will run out of capacity..

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Tue 24 Nov 2015 12:27
Nissan Leaf - My Leaf experience - gordonbennet

What's the attitude from recovery services to running out of steam, which given our deteriorating road network and increasing traffic is increasingly possible, let alone what might happen to an EV when the roads grind to a halt in snow.

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Tue 24 Nov 2015 12:35
Nissan Leaf - My Leaf experience - nortones2

There is an answer. Diesel generator farms. Already happening. Not a good answer, perhaps.

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Tue 24 Nov 2015 12:55
Nissan Leaf - My Leaf experience - RobJP

I'll just add that I agree with Alan and Avant. Four days a week my commute is 6 miles each way. The other day I'll do a minimum of 70 miles, weith no suitable charging point available during the day. Weekend mileage isn't too bad, but we go away in the UK for a week at a time, twice a year. Some of those trips can be 300, 400 miles away.

While an EV would be perfect for that short 'in-week' work, it would be pointless for the longer trips.

I was down in Surrey for work last week. Stopped at Warwick services on the way down. I was sitting there having a coffee, nice and warm, while some poor bloke was standing out there in the rain, on the phone to someone at the charging point company, attempting to get it to charge up his Leaf.

I must admit, I sat and watched for 10 minutes, gradually getting more and more amused. It was chucking it down, and he looked like a drowned rat.

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Tue 24 Nov 2015 12:58
Nissan Leaf - My Leaf experience - alan1302

If pligins become really popular the National Grid will run out of capacity..

Add more to the National Grid then!

Obviously if there were alot more electric cars then we would need more electricity generated. But there is nothing to stop that being done should the people in charge do that.

Also of cousr at the moment we use oil to make petrol and diesel and that will definitely run out!

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Tue 24 Nov 2015 18:42
Nissan Leaf - My Leaf experience - madf

It takes 10 years and a few £million to add a new power station of any significant capacity..

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Tue 24 Nov 2015 18:53
Nissan Leaf - My Leaf experience - gordonbennet

Unfortunately it doesn't take that long for those elected by an increasingly bewildered electorate to shut perfectly serviceable ones down.

Our children will live to regret our choices of leader in the back half of the 20the century and the first quarter of the second.

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Tue 24 Nov 2015 20:24
Nissan Leaf - My Leaf experience - alan1302

It takes 10 years and a few £million to add a new power station of any significant capacity..

If they start now then they will be ready as they start getting more popular and prices come down.

I can sort of imagine what the forumm would have been like if we could go back to when cars were replacing horse and people monaing about how there won't be enough petrol to go round as there isn't the capacity.

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Tue 24 Nov 2015 20:41
Nissan Leaf - My Leaf experience - 72 dudes

I've often thought about the Leaf (also the Renault Zoe and unloved Fluence) as I run a small business where I have to do a lot of short local journeys. Even on busy days I rarely drive more than 60 miles per day.

However, the big killer with these electric cars is that regardless of whether one buys outright or leases, regardless of whether it's new or used, you still have to lease the batteries separately for, IIRC, about £50 per month, depending on mileage. That's what stopped me taking it any further.

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Tue 24 Nov 2015 21:30
Nissan Leaf - My Leaf experience - coopshere
Plugins have two very distinct disadvantages for the average motorist, price to buy and battery technology. They will remain a niche market until both those are overcome. In the meantime hybrids will become more popular specially as diesel is phased out in cars.
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Sat 30 Jul 2016 18:25
Nissan Leaf - My Leaf experience - Tony.T

I've often thought about the Leaf (also the Renault Zoe and unloved Fluence) as I run a small business where I have to do a lot of short local journeys. Even on busy days I rarely drive more than 60 miles per day.

However, the big killer with these electric cars is that regardless of whether one buys outright or leases, regardless of whether it's new or used, you still have to lease the batteries separately for, IIRC, about £50 per month, depending on mileage. That's what stopped me taking it any further.

Really? I bought my Leaf Tekna earlier this year, it was under a year old, 2500 miles on the clock, full factory and dealer warranties, free servicing, free hire car (2 weeks per annum while the leaf is under warranty for long trips) etc all for £12.5k The batteries are paid for, so my motoring is essentially free! Love it to death!
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Wed 25 Nov 2015 10:06
Nissan Leaf - My Leaf experience - madf

It takes 10 years and a few £million to add a new power station of any significant capacity..

If they start now then they will be ready as they start getting more popular and prices come down.

I can sort of imagine what the forumm would have been like if we could go back to when cars were replacing horse and people monaing about how there won't be enough petrol to go round as there isn't the capacity.

100 years ago planning permission was rudimentary - if it existed.

It takes 3- 5 years to get permission to build a power station...or longer if nuclear..

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If you cover no more than 100 miles per day and have easy access to a charging point at home or work, then an EV is ideal for you.

Is an electric car right for me?