If anyone here was hoping for a cheap Golf-e, dream on.  Look at the price for the electric Ford Focus:

 

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/ford-focus-electric-priced-%C2%A333k

 

£33,500...  And that is for a dowdy looking, with Fisher Price toy looking interior, rental car Ford.

 

I suppose it would depend (in part) on the range of the EV. Personally I'd happily pay a premium over the cost of a Leaf for greater range (I'd want at least 200 miles per charge), although it's purely an academic argument from me anyway until I move house to something where it would be feasible to charge one which may be another 10 years at minimum yet :(

If anyone here was hoping for a cheap Golf-e, dream on.  Look at the price for the electric Ford Focus:

 

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/ford-focus-electric-priced-%C2%A333k

 

£33,500...  And that is for a dowdy looking, with Fisher Price toy looking interior, rental car Ford.

 

Well that's my dreams dashed!  May If it the e-Golf comes in dearer than the GTD then it's a definite no for me!  Hoping they release pricing at this upcoming September show,

 

I do think the Leaf is hideous to look at but, the 2nd gen with black interior and better looking wheels is starting to appeal...

Well that's my dreams dashed!  May If it the e-Golf comes in dearer than the GTD then it's a definite no for me!  Hoping they release pricing at this upcoming September show,

 

I do think the Leaf is hideous to look at but, the 2nd gen with black interior and better looking wheels is starting to appeal...

 

The black and thus normal interior will greatly help to widen the Leaf's appeal.

The black and thus normal interior will greatly help to widen the Leaf's appeal.

 

Having a gen1 with the beige interior I have say it's quite nice.

If I could have had it again I would have, but black is the only choice. (and a bit too normal for a EV... IMO)

 

But then again I'd buy an EV that looked a bit like a spaceship if I could.  I think my car tastes are in the minority.

So what's the 1st electric Skoda?

 

But then again I'd buy an EV that looked a bit like a spaceship if I could.  I think my car tastes are in the minority.

 

You do drive a Yeti, Richard. 

Another question for you Richard...

 

Why make the upgrade to the 2nd gen leaf so soon?  Because you believe it's advanced enough to warrant such an early upgrade or more so to remain immersed in the latest EV technology?

 

Pretty much got my hopes on the e-golf becoming available early 2014 at the top spec 2nd gen leaf pricing.  Given the Focus pricing, I think I'm hoping for too much.  I want to get on the EV bandwagon because a circa 80 mile daily commute is 19K + personal mileage and so makes complete financial sense.  But wondering if I should dip my toes in at the cheaper end of the market.  2011 Leaf's are going for 12-13K with as little as 5K miles on the clock.  At the price, I could afford to keep the Fabia for 'fun' and longer drives to see Family when I can't be bothered to deal with planning to stop and charge.

 

Problem is, now I've latched onto the EV idea, I've got to buy one.  My only real remaining concern is resale value.  Stick 75K miles over 3 years on an EV and what's it worth in comparison to a decent TDI.  New technology, i'd certainly be wary of buying an EV with 75K on the clock wouldn't pay anywhere near the going prices for say, a 3 year old Octavia say with 75K on a TDI.  I guess nobody really knows at present!  I don't want to jump on the bandwagon to find what I've saved in fuel costs I've then lost in resale value.  

 

The risk of early adoption  :think:

 

(I can't believe I'm even contemplating the 1st Gen Leaf.  That beige interior and those wheels!  I think I've realised that I can tolerate the car in black!)

Honestly, because:

1. My Gen1 had a dent in the side.

2. Government incentives and Nissan's cheaper selling price of the Gen1 (as the Gen2 was coming out) actually mean after doing 4000 miles in the car from new I actually make a profit...

I base my figures on a bad resale value.

On annual mileage of 20k a LEAF could save around £3,000+ in fuel every year.

Add in free VED, cheaper servicing and no repairs due to warranty and the resale value becomes almost moot.

You could throw the car away after three/four years and it would still be cheaper than running a regular car, baring in mind that will have some depreciation too.

The costly part is running a regular car too, if you want something that's worth a few pounds as that is costing in insurance, servicing, VED and depreciation even while not being used.

That's why they work very well (IMO) as part of a two car family if they meet your commuting needs.

At 80 miles per day I'd want a charger at/near work though.

Just for security in winter or when the battery capacity drops a little after a few years.

I tend to think, yes you are going to lose a lot in depreciation. But will save more in running costs.

Imagine two one year old cars, used over four years and 80k miles.

Gen1 LEAF. £13k. £13k depreciation + £500 servicing + £800 tyres/brakes + £1000 electric = £15,300.

£13k diesel. £6000 depreciation + £600 servicing + £12000 fuel + £400 timing belt + £80 VED + £800 tyres/brakes = £19,080.

If you keep one and clock up the miles I am pretty convinced they make financial sense.

Remember, unlike most middle of the range diesel cars (as per £13k price above) the Gen1 LEAF has full sat-nav touchscreen, LED headlights. Keyless entry, reversing camera etc... It was well specced as standard and the original selling price was over £25k !!!

So you don't have to drive a cheap basic spec car to save money. PROVIDED it meets your needs.

Worth remembering there will always be some resale value in the car. But using the above figures anything is a bonus!

The warranty covers the battery to 75 or 80%.

Check out how much an 18kW battery pack is for self sufficient types to hook up to their solar panels. Rather expensive!

I don't think it's advised to leave them completely flat for any length of time.

But out of the 24kW battery, only about 20kW is actually usable.

They do this to make sure you can't hurt the battery, even if you mistreat it.

 

The energy use when switched off is very low, a 25% charged battery will last many weeks, possibly months.

Thanks. I wonder how much 'damage' the cells of all the £11,000-£13,000 second hand leafs are suffering sat idle for months at a time at the dealers then. Many have been sitting for over half a year now that Ive been keeping an eye on. The whole EV thing is certainly still appealing to me in general, I think it more likely though that I'd buy an early Leaf for cheap though and just see if it could work in our family routine before putting in 'proper' money.

At 80 miles per day I'd want a charger at/near work though.

Just for security in winter or when the battery capacity drops a little after a few years.

Imagine two one year old cars, used over four years and 80k miles.

Gen1 LEAF. £13k. £13k depreciation + £500 servicing + £800 tyres/brakes + £1000 electric = £15,300.

£13k diesel. £6000 depreciation + £600 servicing + £12000 fuel + £400 timing belt + £80 VED + £800 tyres/brakes = £19,080.

If you keep one and clock up the miles I am pretty convinced they make financial sense.

Remember, unlike most middle of the range diesel cars (as per £13k price above) the Gen1 LEAF has full sat-nav touchscreen, LED headlights. Keyless entry, reversing camera etc... It was well specced as standard and the original selling price was over £25k !!!

So you don't have to drive a cheap basic spec car to save money. PROVIDED it meets your needs.

 

Those numbers do add up quickly.  And if I were to buy a newer VRS, I'd still be looking at more VED and possibly higher general repair costs since the vehicle would be higher mileage (75K+) than a leaf (5K) for the same money.  

 

Yeti_Man may have the answer.  Go used and see how we fare before investing in a Tesla/equivalent (hopefully in several years time).

 

Charging still worries me.  I'd be parking at a park & ride at work as working in Oxford.  They have one slow charger and the assumption it's going to be available/not parked in is a big one.  Although, a 2-3 mile diversion on the way home takes me to a services with a 125 amp and 63 amp charger so I reckon I'd just have to take a 30 minute hit to get the range back up.  

Thanks. I wonder how much 'damage' the cells of all the £11,000-£13,000 second hand leafs are suffering sat idle for months at a time at the dealers then. Many have been sitting for over half a year now that Ive been keeping an eye on. The whole EV thing is certainly still appealing to me in general, I think it more likely though that I'd buy an early Leaf for cheap though and just see if it could work in our family routine before putting in 'proper' money.

Of buying used, insist on a battery report from Nissan.

Then just buy if it's a 5*.

Well, I'm in my new 63 plate LEAF Tekna.

Picked it up at 9:15 this morning.

Just covered 73 miles and arrived with 11% battery range left.

Quite happy considering the first 40 miles were quite hilly A roads.

Soon as I got on the motorway and sat on cruise at 62mph the miles went down quicker and the battery slower.

Well, I'm in my new 63 plate LEAF Tekna.

Picked it up at 9:15 this morning.

Just covered 73 miles and arrived with 11% battery range left.

Quite happy considering the first 40 miles were quite hilly A roads.

Soon as I got on the motorway and sat on cruise at 62mph the miles went down quicker and the battery slower.

Nice.  Be very interested to hear how they compare after you've spent some time in it. The main ones for me would be the firmer dampers and higher speed ride quality and the range improvement due to all the changes... heat pump heating system and more agressive brake regen etc Good luck with it.

I love the new wheels on the 2nd gen.  I really think they make a huge, pleasing aesthetic difference.  Did you trade the old one in to benefit from the £1800 discount DTD mention for doing so?  When I first got my quote for the Tekna spec they said it included that discount and to add £1800 if I wasn't trading a 1st Gen against.  Shame!  But I think thanks to your thread, I'm going to dabble with a used Leaf as my first EV.

No, didn't get the £1,800 off as I'd only had mine a short time (not enough to qualify) and sold it privately.

However I was VERY lucky that bought through DtD before the current deal was announced, so I got a big discount with no clauses.

I had a look on DtD yesterday and the car as mine is more expensive even with the Existing LEAF owner discount.

So had a bit of a result.

My car with the options is £32k, less £5k grant and £4k from DtD.

So I paid £23k for my Tekna with all three options. ( 6.6kW charging, solar spoiler and pearl white paint)

I made my longest leg with a starting charge of 85%.

Thanks to an Argos and Everest lorry for slipstreaming opertunities I covered around 75 miles and still had 9% of the battery left!

Woooo Hoooo !!!

sorry if this is a dumb question, but does it just plug into the mains at home and charge overnight, or did you have to make changes to your home Electrics ?

You can plug into any 3 pin household plug and charge at 10

Amps.

A charging station lets you charge at 16 or 32 Amps, depending on what onboard charger the LEAF has.

Then there are the Rapid Chargers spread about that will get you charged to 80% in around 30 minutes.

At Nissan HQ in West London...

Very handy as it's less than a mile off of the M25.

10 minute queue. Not too bad.

So what's the 1st electric Skoda?

 

That's already here, albeit as a one-off special: http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/101947-coming-soon-the-greatest-favorit-project-ever-probably/

Here is the first review of the electric Focus:

 

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/ford/focus/first-drives/ford-focus-electric-first-drive-review

 

Sounds like there is hardly any boot space left after they fitted the batteries!

Sounds like a non-starter as a private vehicle there.

At Nissan HQ in West London...

Very handy as it's less than a mile off of the M25.

10 minute queue. Not too bad.

 

Richard in that photo it looks as if you have already modded the car!!!  The rear wheels and tyres look MUCH bigger than the ones on the front!