After 29 years, 1 Estelle 120L, 2 Favorits, 1 Felicia, 6 Octavias and 1 Yeti  I find myself without a Skoda :-(  

 

I've been tempted by the dark side and bought a 2018 Nissan Leaf. 

 

Quality and finish are not a patch on Skoda - actually similar to a Favorit - but zero road tax and (for the moment) zero fuel cost were the deciding factors. 

 

I'll still be on here though and still happy to help with VCDS coding in the Edinburgh / West Lothian areas if anyone needs it (I'll keep my hand in on my wife's golf and our VW T5) 

 

In the mean time if anyone would like a low mileage 1.4 Octavia Estate 2015 then drop past lookers in Carlisle before they shift it on 

Hi Domhnall,

Your "signature" thingy is showing your new car as "Nissan Lead"; That sounds slow, heavy, and old-school!

 

Be interested to hear updates/progress reports on your Gen 2 Leaf experiences, as per Xavier's Tesla writeups, as I am following the affordable end of EVs with interest.

 

In the meantime, I have invested in a small E-assist vehicle, in the shape of a Freego Folder bike, fitted with their biggest-capacity battery, 15.6AmpHrs, supposedly good for 50-60 miles of range, depending on terrain, headwind, and how much assist I use (scale of 0--5; I usually use level 1, or if confronted by a hill or headwind, then level 2.)

 

Saddle comfort is the cruncher, I must see if I can transfer the narrower saddle, plus gel cover, off my ancient Raleigh, which sits unloved in the shed!

Richard

whoops, must fix that.

 

The leaf is a real blast to drive, the instant torque is amazing. But like I said in terms of quality it all just feels much cheaper than the Octavia.  I've not seen Xavier's write ups, I'll have a look and maybe try to do something similar. E bikes are amazing, two of our friends have them and regularly go off on huge cycle rides in the lake district where they live.