Going Electric... Richard's EV thread.

[BossFox]

Giving the KIA back in the morning.

 

Have to say I've enjoyed it.

Did 262 miles in a day at the weekend.

 

My test drive has ended up being around 700 miles... will nearly have 1,000 on the clock when it goes back.

 

 

 

 

I think I want one. :peek:

[Gwilo]

Sorry for bringing this up, but can someone shed some light on the regenerative charging - does it run in concert with cruise control? 

 

What does the solar spoiler do?

 

 

Just signed up for a 7 day trial of a Leaf starting next week, as the fuel saving figures are compelling, and depending on purchase payments, might be a no brainer - curently forking out £300 per month diesel, £400 per year servicing (1 minor and 1 major  due to 24K a year) and £200 a year VED, plus £400 insurance)

 

Leaf - insurance is sub £300, no VED, cheap servicing at longer intervals, charging point free to use at work (Whoooo!) pennies at night with cheap point installed........

[Toxicvrs]

Sorry for bringing this up, but can someone shed some light on the regenerative charging - does it run in concert with cruise control?

What does the solar spoiler do?

Just signed up for a 7 day trial of a Leaf starting next week, as the fuel saving figures are compelling, and depending on purchase payments, might be a no brainer - curently forking out £300 per month diesel, £400 per year servicing (1 minor and 1 major due to 24K a year) and £200 a year VED, plus £400 insurance)

Leaf - insurance is sub £300, no VED, cheap servicing at longer intervals, charging point free to use at work (Whoooo!) pennies at night with cheap point installed........

Not sure about regen braking but if anything like the Toyota system I'd guess it's always operative and the solar panel is to charge smaller battery for odd bits like stereo and 12v systems

[BossFox]

The solar spoiler looks nice but is ultimately pointless.

It trickle charges the 12v car battery that runs the lights/wipers etc.

The drain from those compared to the big battery that moves the car is tiny.

It's not worth paying extra for.

The regen braking works when you lift you foot off the accelerator, effectively the car behaves like it's got engine braking and that resistance is the car using the motion to top up the batteries a bit so you can go further.

Better than burning the extra energy off with brakes.

On cruise control the regen braking will only work when going down a fairly steep hill, that being when the car needs no extra power to maintain it's speed.

[Skoda_Saint]

How was it like to find charge points Richard?

[BossFox]

How was it like to find charge points Richard?

Easy, I've done it all before.

Lot more out there than 9 months ago, they've really put some effort in during 2014.

www.zap-map.com

[Toxicvrs]

Easy, I've done it all before.

Lot more out there than 9 months ago, they've really put some effort in during 2014.

www.zap-map.com

Up towards Forest of Dean again like earlier in the thread?

[Gwilo]

Thanks for clarifying BossFox.

I'll scratch those options.

Will be sitting down with the dealer next week to see what can be made to work..... I'm going to need the 6.6kw charger in the car and at home.

Note sure if the heated seats are worth paying extra in the trek a over the Acenta though.

Or is there something a little less obvious lurking in the spec sheet ?

[BossFox]

Thanks for clarifying BossFox.

I'll scratch those options.

Will be sitting down with the dealer next week to see what can be made to work..... I'm going to need the 6.6kw charger in the car and at home.

Note sure if the heated seats are worth paying extra in the trek a over the Acenta though.

Or is there something a little less obvious lurking in the spec sheet ?

The LEAF can be warmed up remotely from a smartphone app.

I've never seen the point in heated cloth seats in the Accenta so never paid the extra for them.

Make more sense with leather, but still rarely used.

Make sure you get a good deal.

Next version of the LEAF is rumoured to be about 3 or 4 months away with a possibility of more range of you option a bigger battery.

As it's near the end of it's model life some dealers have great deals.

You don't want to pay top money for a car that's the old model a month or two after you get it.

Crazy Nissan still want over £800 extra for 6.6kW charging. Now standard on other decent EVs like the KIA and BMW i3.

Being able to charge at your house in 3.5 hours instead of 7 can be handy.

I spec all the work ones with this.

If you want a one year old Acenta with the 6.6kW onboard charger ours are £13k, but I think you are looking at leasing.

Just make sure you get a good deal as I said, Nissan are trying to keep the sales figures up as they want to remain the no1 EV seller.

[Gwilo]

If I had £13K lying around, I'd probably snap your hand off, as I know it's been looked after with "one careful owner."

 

But yes, leasing would be the only way to make it work.

 

Top tip on the model upgrade/revisions coming.  Would actually be a good thing - larger deposit down, lower cost pcm.

Edited 13 January, 2015 by Gwilo

[BossFox]

Not short of LEAFs this morning, and this isn't all of them...

 

 

Trying out the van version too.

 

[Skoda_Saint]

Let me know how the van version works out... could be a possibility of our fleet changing going forward.

[BossFox]

Let me know how the van version works out... could be a possibility of our fleet changing going forward.

 

If your deliveries are within 30 miles it's ideal.

Any more and you might not make it back...

 

Heaven knows what it's like if you load to it's 700kg capacity.

 

Same batery as the LEAF, but it's less aerodynamic and heavier once loaded.

It seems to have a usable range of 60 miles.

[Gwilo]

Shame the deals on the Soul EV don't appear to be quite as attractive as the LEAF at the moment......

Might have to try one of those next, though I'm collecting the LEAF tonight......should be an interesting few days.

[sigarland1987]

The infrastructure for electric cars is slowly improving, I have seen charging points popping up quite a lot recently. 

[Paul007]

From Nissan's Press Office today...

The all-electric Nissan LEAF has smashed its own sales record with a 33 percent increase in European sales in 2014 over the previous year, taking more than a quarter of the burgeoning electric car market with 14,658 sales.

This year the Nissan LEAF has been joined by an unprecedented number of new entrants into the EV market and has emerged as the leader on a global, US and European basis. Last year was the fourth year in a row that the electric family car has topped the zero-emission sales charts in Europe.

Moreover, the all-electric LEAF clocked up 4,051 sales in the UK, more than doubling the volume sold in 2013 (1,812). The British-built Nissan LEAF remains the nation's electric model of choice, boasting 55% of the pure EV market and outselling its nearest competitor by more than 2:1.

 

Ranking January-December 2014 Volume EV Passenger Car Segment share -

Total  Pure EV Passenger Car Volume 56,393 100%

1 Nissan LEAF                                                 14,658  26%

2 Renault Zoe                                                          11,227    20%

3 Tesla Model S                                                         8,734   15%

4 BMW i3                                                                    5,804   10%

5 Volkswagen e- Up!                                                  5,365    10%

6 Volkswagen e-Golf                                                  3,328      6%

[BossFox]

Nissan were very keen to stay as no.1 EV seller.

Hence some of the deals on offer, like the subsidised monthly PCPs.

And the odd dealer selling off £25k versions for £19,995 from time to time...

With new more talented rivals Nissan either need to get a new version of the LEAF to market, or offer some serious incentives in 2015.

[gadgetman]

How long does it take to charge the Soul?

[BossFox]

How long does it take to charge the Soul?

 

Fractionally longer than a LEAF, as it's battery is about 10% bigger.

It comes with the 32A onboard charger so around 4 hours from empty.

30-35 minutes to 80% on a Rapid Charger.

[gadgetman]

Does continually rapid charging screw the batteries up?

[Dedders]

Giving the KIA back in the morning.

Have to say I've enjoyed it.

Did 262 miles in a day at the weekend.

My test drive has ended up being around 700 miles... will nearly have 1,000 on the clock when it goes back.

I think I want one. :peek:

So the big question is do you think you will get one for your fleet?

[BossFox]

So the big question is do you think you will get one for your fleet?

I ordered two today.

[Toxicvrs]

I ordered two today.

Personal or works?

[BossFox]

Does continually rapid charging screw the batteries up?

Depends what you mean by continually I guess.

I drove back from Devon to Essex in a day non-stop and it had zero effect.

An early LEAF driver I know covered 50,000 miles in three years and over half his charging was on Rapids.

He lost his first battery bar (15% capacity gone) after he passed the 60k mark... which seems perfectly normal to me.

Suggests that used a lot the car will do over 100k easily without issue. You just lose some range as you expect.

The reason Rapids charge very quickly up to 80% and then slow drastically is to protect the battery.

Cars that are little used and never rapid charged seem to suffer battery loss at about the same rate.

What the car doesn't like is being left fully charged all the time if you are not using it.

Hence Nissan store them at 90%.

[Tomote]

For the next week I shall be driving a KIA Soul EV... which I picked up this evening.

 

 

First off, it isn't as odd looking as people seem to make out as a reason for criticising it.

It's certainly no more odd looking than a LEAF.

Anway, KIA have done a good job in my opinion.

A lot of things that are good on the LEAF are here.

A number of things that are not good on the LEAF are improved.  Such as:

1.The steering adjusts for reach and rake, just like a modern car has for years. So I can get more comfortable due to the better ergonomics.

2. You can have a battery range, and a gauge of how much electric is left like with a car that uses fuel. And a percentage battery meter.

3. The sat nav is good, and up to date. The dash is more modern and nicer. The large touchscreen is easy to use.

4. I personally found the seat more comfortable and the headrests in a better place.

5. The charging door is designed to not shut of you leave a charging port cover open.

6. The 32A charger is standard. As are both charging cables for 32A and the household plug! (£1,000 extra from Nissan?)

I picked it up today fully charged from North West London and drove 57 miles home.

Addmitedly I did drive sensibly (between 60-65 on the M25) but with the air-con and heating on (+7c outside) I got home with 51% of the battery remaining and a predicted range of 47 to go.

Will see how it goes.

It's nice to be able to compare directly as I have a LEAF or two at work.

We have have Leaf pool car at work at this seriously annoys me, luckily all I have to do with them is move them 500 yards, but gah!