No. Completely different cars.
The Leaf is about the same size as the Focus. The Zoe is slightly larger than a Clio.
Electric Car
- Thread starter Psycho Sonny
- Start date
No. Completely different cars.
The Leaf is about the same size as the Focus. The Zoe is slightly larger than a Clio.
As others have said no one pays £30k for a Leaf. For starts a fully loaded one is 'only' £28k The government gives you £4,500 before any 'discounts' you get from Nissan and the dealer its self so the maximum you could pay is £24k. Given a new model is already announced I bet you could get one for less than £20k as they need to shift them quick.
Lets be honest running costs are next to nothing so you can get away with a higher initial purchase price.
Lets be honest running costs are next to nothing so you can get away with a higher initial purchase price.
Will battery packs be replaceable? How durable will the motors be?
A second hand ICE car you can reasonably determine potential pitfalls, but with second hand electric cars is there any way to determine how worn parts are, motors, charging circuitry etc? And will motors etc be replaceable? Can they be rebuilt or are electric cars built in such a way that when the main parts fail the car gets scrapped?
Just curious really.
A second hand ICE car you can reasonably determine potential pitfalls, but with second hand electric cars is there any way to determine how worn parts are, motors, charging circuitry etc? And will motors etc be replaceable? Can they be rebuilt or are electric cars built in such a way that when the main parts fail the car gets scrapped?
Just curious really.
The only thing that worry me about running costs is the battery replacement over a 10+ year period. That could bump the running costs higher then my ICE car I want to get rid off.
Yep, batteries are still super expensive. If you have to replace them at your own expense it will cost about the same as replacing a whole engine. Maybe more.
To think it will massively reduce costs in future is a bit of a dream though. Manufacturers and the government will make sure it won't. Right now they are waiting for everyone to buy one, then they will cash in on it...
To think it will massively reduce costs in future is a bit of a dream though. Manufacturers and the government will make sure it won't. Right now they are waiting for everyone to buy one, then they will cash in on it...
Last edited:
Could you expand on how manufacturers will 'cash in' on electric cars please? Costs will come down which will make them cheaper for consumers. At the moment they all lose money. I dont see manufacturers putting up the prices of electric cars in order to 'cash in' on the increased demand. In fact I think the opposite is true.
Soldato
- Joined
- 4 Aug 2007
- Posts
- 22,397
- Location
- Wilds of suffolk
Realistically I dont think you will replace batteries in bulk in the cars such as the Tesla, you will trade in, it will be recycled and start again
They distribute the batteries so they aren't a "simple" pull out and replace yet
My biggest concern about elec is tech currently, its completely un-standardised we need that to improve. I am holding off as I think in 3-5 years there will be far better infrastructure and it will be clearer if replaceable batteries etc are taking off, or if faster charging of your battery is the way to go
They distribute the batteries so they aren't a "simple" pull out and replace yet
My biggest concern about elec is tech currently, its completely un-standardised we need that to improve. I am holding off as I think in 3-5 years there will be far better infrastructure and it will be clearer if replaceable batteries etc are taking off, or if faster charging of your battery is the way to go
Soldato
- Joined
- 22 Aug 2004
- Posts
- 7,607
I love the look of the new Honda Urban EV, the style matches my C5 too! 
You can't order the old model any more. Supply dried up in Q3. They didn't have a firesale. In fact, the price rose in Q3 because of decreased supply.
The motors seem to be very reliable. I can't think of a single case I've heard about where they've been replaced. As a result, I've got no idea about how much replacements cost.
Batteries have proven to be a lot more reliable and durable than expected. Battery warranties are now typically 8 years, 100k miles, to 75% of capacity. If the battery drops below 75% capacity, the damaged cells would be replaced, rather than the whole pack. The cost of this is far less; maybe £1k-£2k depending on the number of cells that need to be replaced, instead of £4k+ for a new battery.
Charging circuit faults can be something of a problem. They're rare, but the out-of-warranty cost for a Leaf is about £2k. It is, however, covered under the Plug-in Car Grant terms for 5 years. On the Zoe, the cost is even higher. As an AC charging car, the circuitry is simpler, and the cost should be cheaper. But Renault are a bunch of muppets. They put the charging circuit (and all other drive train electronics) in a factory sealed box. If anything in that box breaks, the whole unit has to be replaced with a reconditioned one. They want £4500 for that repair. I wouldn't touch an out-of-warranty Zoe.
Elsewhere, reliability is good. EVs have their quirks, just like other cars. But there's no moderately expensive wear-and-tear parts that break every few years. An extended warranty would be a prudent buy, as it'll cover pretty much every likely fault over £100.
As a word of warning, don't buy a battery lease Zoe outright. One owner recently investigated how he'd go about scrapping the car as it was beyond economic repair. RCI (the battery's owner) quoted a cost of £2k to remove the battery and ship it back to France. In the end, it was a non-issue as the car was repaired under warranty after all. But it's a little concerning that someone at some point is going to be presented by that lovely bill.
Last edited:
FTFY
I love the look of the new Honda Urban EV, the style matches my C5 too!
yeah the look is very retro which is great, however as its advertised as urban it will be rubbish range, which would be fine if its cheap enough. But i'm fully expecting it to be expensive with low mileage and low charge rate, time will tell.
https://electrek.co/2016/11/01/tesla-battery-degradation/
https://www.tesla.com/blog/teslas-closed-loop-battery-recycling-program?redirect=no
Who knows?
There's a large percentage of early EVs still on the road. But those cars are only 6 years old, rather than 20.
I expect a lot will go off the road due to an uneconomical repair, helped along by the high scrap value of some of the components.
Someone local to me has one in blue, looks nice but they are very rare. There needs to be more EVs like that (and for a sensible price) if they are going to temp petrolheads to convert though.
As most of my mileage is within the 31 mile battery range my display is maxed out at 99.9 mpg.
On a 400 mile round trip using it in hybrid mode I got 95 mpg last week.
I would love an electric car, the big problem for me, and many people who live in towns and cities, is that I don't have a garage or driveway, so without destroying my back garden to put one in, k have nowhere to charge it.
Until they solve this problem, adoption is going to be a problem.
Until they solve this problem, adoption is going to be a problem.
That also my problem no garage or driveway so my car parked on the street/road
Am always wondering how there going to get around this problem. Just on the single road where I park there most be around 75 cars