I've given up on LPG - the future is Electric.

Following on the death of my LPG Audi TT, I had to get a more sensible car.

I now work from home, and most of my driving is around locally - picking the kids up from school, dropping them off at parents etc. I also do a 90 mile commute each way once a week. Also, I have quite a large bank of solar panels on the roof.

I looked at alternatives, but decided on a Nissan Leaf. Mostly based on them being a steal 2nd hand. I read a lot about the cars, batteries, technology etc and test drove and sat in a few at the local Nissan dealer. I decided to up my original budget by a bit so that I could get a Gen 2 Tekna. Mostly as I wanted the more efficient heater and the leather seats.

I toyed between a PCP deal for a 1 year old car with 38k on the clock via a local Nissan dealership and a car up north that was 3 years old with 8k on the clock. Both would be exactly the same per month over the same period - but the PCP would have a final £2.5k payment. So, I went to look at the one up north.



The car was exactly as advertised - ie like new. However this meant my first drive of the car was a 268 mile journey.

at which point you ran out of electric...?

thats got to be at least three extended stays in service stations... how'd you get on?

Have you posted this from the hard shoulder of the m11 whilst using your phone to power your hazard lights?

Be interesting to see what your actual running costs work out at.

Would be ideal for my 5 mile commute to work (and work has 2 charging points now) but concerned about battery life and "hidden" costs like charger installation at home.

I would love an electric car but only when they can manage ~300 miles comfortably in one go and are fairly affordable. I am sure they will get there soon (in fact isn't a Tesla S pushing nearly 300 already?).

Waiting for fusion reactor so you can power your car from a CR2032 battery

90 mile each way in a leaf once a week, even I think you are mad. Interested to see how you get on with it though.

Hideous looking car think of what epic motors you could have had instead of that overpriced electric Micra
Why do most average electric cars look like they are aimed at Women in terms of styling? The Renault Zoe springs to mind also.

I'd made a plan A and a plan B - but both centred around my first 'hop' which was 68 miles. After the trip meter saying I had 91 range, I was a bit dissapointed when I got there with the car flashing warnings at me saying I only had 10 miles left.

From there it went downhill, as what I hadn't factored in is that a quick charge only gets you to about 85%, so my original plan had to be revised as I realised my next hops would have to be shorter.

However, as I found, the M1 is actually really well catered for for quick chargers. Although it's £6 a pop, it's better than running dry.




I only had to wait longer than 30 minutes at one charge point when a family in another leaf go to the only working one as I turned up - so had to wait an hour in total there. The bonus was I got to chat with the owner, who'd been driving it for a few years and got a lot of advice on how to drive it etc.

My last hop, I wanted to attempt to get home from Thurrock services to my house, which it 68 miles. A real test based on my previous stops - but if I could make it, it would mean I could use it as a stop on my regular commute (there are a few alternative options).

I used all the new found advice, but it was a real push to actually make it. At one point, the estimated range went down 10 miles shorter than the actual route distance (after a long hill). Fortunately, my parents house is 9 miles closer on the route, so my 'get out of jail free' was to stop there and give a small charge before finishing my journey.

However, by basically driving ridiculously slow (down to 35 in a 50!) I was able to claw it back and at 10 miles to go where I could turn off at my parents house, it said I had 10 miles range. So I went for it.

In short, I made it. Under 9 miles to go, the car stops telling you how far, and just has 3 - symbols. I managed to get home with 3 of them still lit, although it felt way too close for comfort.

I haven't yet fitted a quick charging socket, but did fit a decent external socket with thick core cable the day before - and I was pleased to find that the following morning it has charged fully overnight using a standard 3 pint socket - which means I'm in no immediate rush to get a quick charge point installed.

Now that it's home, I've driven it round locally as a 'normal car' with heating, eco mode turned off etc. It's actually a great drive - and the tech that comes with it is pretty amazing.

However, in some ways, the car IS a huge disappointment. When driven normally - ie without caring about heat, performance etc, the range is probably around 50 miles. 24kw is simply not enough battery. 30kw isn't either. To be a viable proper alternative, I'd say at least 50kw is necessary, maybe even more. If the new 30kw model of Leaf is £1600 more than the 24kw, they should do a 50kw and charge £7000 more.

For us though, this is a second car to take the slack of driving locally - which amount to the majority of our currently driving. It was also incredibly good value - and hopefully will continue to be cheap and good value for many years to come.

That sounds terrible.

What if there's a power cut?

what would be great is when you go into a charge station, a automated system removes your flat battery, and fits a freshly charged pack. So you don't have to wait around for it to charge.

Bit like changing your battery pack in a RC car.

Sounds like a total and utter pain in the rear, what a waste of space, also £6 to do something like 40miles?

Glaucus said:

90 mile each way in a leaf once a week, even I think you are mad. Interested to see how you get on with it though.

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There is a quick charge point 45 miles from me, and a few slow charging points in the council car parks near where I work - all of which are free to charge and free to park if you're charging an electric car.

So, 45 miles - 20 minutes wait to top up (the last 10 doesn't do much), then continue my journey. Don't have to hypermile, or be too fussy on wasting power.

So, it will cost me £12 a week in 'fuel' - or potentially free if I change my electric supplier to Ecotricity, although their quote worked out £100 more a year. Swings in roundabouts.

hornetstinger said:

what would be great is when you go into a charge station, a automated system removes your flat battery, and fits a freshly charged pack. So you don't have to wait around for it to charge.

Bit like changing your battery pack in a RC car.

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TBH I think that is the only way EVs are ever going to be viable. Unless someone comes up with a way to charge the battery as quickly as filling a petrol tank.

Also, it doesn't sound all that cheap. £6 for 40 miles is about what it costs me in petrol for my hot hatch, maybe more actually O_o

hornetstinger said:

what would be great is when you go into a charge station, a automated system removes your flat battery, and fits a freshly charged pack. So you don't have to wait around for it to charge.

Bit like changing your battery pack in a RC car.

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I can't see that happening for a few reasons. The infrastructure to remove a major component and have a lot of them charged and stored ready to go will demand a lot of space and money to be invested. Also as rechargeable batteries degrade over time how would you feel in your brand new electric vehicle to stop and have its battery pack swapped for a five year old unit?

Nasher said:

What if there's a power cut?

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What if the petrol station runs out of fuel which is about as common as long power cuts in most places. Plus the OP has a bank of solar panels so with the right setup he can charge up for fee even if there is a power cut. Once my current car is due for replacement I plan to more to an Electric car.

Nasher said:

Also, it doesn't sound all that cheap. £6 for 40 miles is about what it costs me in petrol for my hot hatch, maybe more actually O_o

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Yep, at that rate, my Fiesta ST is cheaper to run!

Jono8 said:

Yep, at that rate, my Fiesta ST is cheaper to run!

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Not once he gets it home its not. He has free fuel at home.