Looking forward to taking delivery early next month of a launch edition model. Nice motor for an electric car and looks much more acceptable than the old model. No fuel, no road tax, no mot, just the price of the car and insurance.

No Ney Never wrote:Looking forward to taking delivery early next month of a launch edition model. Nice motor for an electric car and looks much more acceptable than the old model. No fuel, no road tax, no mot, just the price of the car and insurance.

Is it free to charge it up? And what’s the range of the new model?

I bet you won't be able to get to a lot of away games and be back the same day

Surely it will need a MOT after 3 years for Tyre and breaks alone.

You'd have to be barking mad to get one of those., I've heard there's not going to be a right good turn over..

MACCA wrote:I've heard there's not going to be a right good turn over..

There's nothing like turning over a new Nissan Leaf.

CHEWBACCA wrote:There's nothing like turning over a new Nissan Leaf.

The market is not sufficiently developed for electric vehicles to make commercial sense. The price of cars needs to come down, the battery range needs to increase, there needs to be more work on the charging infrastructure and the current massive rate of depreciation wipes out any savings on fuel, oil, servicing, road tax etc. A Leaf that was £25k new 4 years ago will now be worth about £8k. 75% depreciation in 4 years is frightening.

I guess a second hand one would make sense if the other points were addressed, however there is the still unknown length of life for the battery. If that fails, the car is worthless.

Well one day we'll all have to drive electric cars,I see Volvo will stop making petrol and diesel cars as of next year.

CHEWBACCA wrote:Well one day we'll all have to drive electric cars,I see Volvo will stop making petrol and diesel cars as of next year.

One day, but it will all go wrong when the national grid goes pop.

I test drove a "Renault Zoe" a week or so back as I wanted to see what all the fuss was about electric cars. The Zoe is smaller than the Leaf and a 16 plate with around 9,000 on the clock was about five grand so reasonably priced. The car is very basic and build quality is so so and the seats were not very comfy especially in the rear where the seating is very high on account of the battery but I was very impressed with the way it drove. Very quick off the mark, silent and handled very well. However you do not own the battery and have to pay Mr Renault between 49-69 quid a month (Depending upon mileage covered) for battery rental. No thanks.

I'm not sure where the OP charges his vehicle but his claim of zero fuel costs is misleading unless he does it with a bank of solar panels on his roof or a windmill in his back garden. A full charge of a Zoe would cost in the region of 1.20 quid based on some fag packet calculations, assuming that you are paying around 15p for a MWH.

On another matter, if the whole of the UK were to switch over to electric cars overnight, we'd need a few new power stations to prevent blackouts.

Wokingclaret wrote:One day, but it will all go wrong when the national grid goes pop.

Several governments have already said the sale of new fossil fueled cars will be banned from 2040, so they're giving themselves plenty of time to invest in their respective power grids.

What's the insurance like on a mainstream electric car like the Leaf?

Just I know from work that the average premium on a Tesla is £4k, and there are only a select few insurers who'll cover them.

CHEWBACCA wrote:Well one day we'll all have to drive electric cars,I see Volvo will stop making petrol and diesel cars as of next year.

That's half true, Volvo will stop making solely petrol and diesel cars, they're all going to be hybrids that will still have either a petrol of diesel engine too.

Caballo wrote:they're all going to be hybrids that will still have either a petrol of diesel engine too.

That's half true Volvo to STOP making petrol and diesel cars from 2019 in favour of electric OR hybrid models.

Volvo to continue making cars with petrol or diesel engines

All Volvo cars to be electric or hybrid from 2019
Landmark move as first big manufacturer says it will stop making vehicles solely powered by internal combustion engine

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... ybrid-2019" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There was a thread all about it.

This is amusing though -
Volvo said the first of its electric cars will be built in China, but others would be made in Europe and the US. The company said it had not yet decided on a battery supplier.

So next time someone complains about rubbish built in China....

What happened to Hydrogen cars? When Top Gear tested a Honda Accord or similar in California 7 or 8 years ago, it seemed like the ideal solution, but never hear of then now.

yorkyclaret wrote:What happened to Hydrogen cars? When Top Gear tested a Honda Accord or similar in California 7 or 8 years ago, it seemed like the ideal solution, but never hear of then now.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/e ... have-a-fut" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sidney1st wrote:http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/e ... have-a-fut

Link was broken Sid...

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/e ... e-a-future" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The location for the report was Lydiard Park in Swindon - where I spent a couple of years working in the cafe as a teenager - love that place

Why don’t they make electric cars so that the battery can be easily removed and replaced? In that way you could just pull up to a service station and exchange your battery for a fully charged one and be on your way.

Foulthrow wrote:Why don’t they make electric cars so that the battery can be easily removed and replaced? In that way you could just pull up to a service station and exchange your battery for a fully charged one and be on your way.

UpTheBeehole wrote:

You mean they don’t take a couple of double As?

The new leaf has a range in the region of 200 miles. It's more than enough to get me to work and back all week without a charge. Fortunately we have free to use charging points at work so it won't cost me a penny.
Nissan have abolished the disastrous scheme of renting batteries. They give a 8 year / 100,000 miles battery warranty with the new cars.
There is a national network of charging points that is increasing daily, all available on a map on the app.
New rapid charging points at services take only 40 mins to reach 80% charge.

The current Nissan Leaf looks awful so it wouldn't be too difficult to improve on that.

Was looking at the Tesla Model S (If I had the money). Looks the business and does the business.

'What happened to Hydrogen cars? When Top Gear tested a Honda Accord or similar in California 7 or 8 years ago, it seemed like the ideal solution, but never hear of then now.'


Probably the same as what happened to the Hindenberg.

I live in an apartment and don't have a garage. How would I charge the car up? Is it only really for people with their own garages?

IndigoLake wrote:I live in an apartment and don't have a garage. How would I charge the car up? Is it only really for people with their own garages?

This is the interesting problems.

At present more work will be required on the charging networks.
Some ideas mooted are to use systems linked up to the street lamps.

It's worth looking at things like the charging pads used on phones and seeing if that tech could be transferred to cars, built into the roads etc.

Society also needs to grow up though and understand that playing about with this stuff isn't going to be big or clever.

Pfffft stuff yer electric cars... wipe fuel tax and convert to V8 power.

Right_winger wrote:Pfffft stuff yer electric cars... wipe fuel tax and convert to V8 power.

Can only see the prices of fuel going up. With more electric and hybrid vehicles on the road, garages are going to want to make up the difference in the fuel they do sell.

yorkyclaret wrote:What happened to Hydrogen cars? When Top Gear tested a Honda Accord or similar in California 7 or 8 years ago, it seemed like the ideal solution, but never hear of then now.

They're actually back on the agenda, a number of manufacturers have put the brakes (no pun intended) on the their plug-in vehicles, battery technology isn't moving fast enough for them nor is the increasing realisation that ultimately we can't produce sufficient power as a nation.

Did you realise it only has 1 pedal...... Really can't get my head around what happens when you need to slam on. I would recommend finding a large empty carpark to practice on.

Or cancel and get a VW golf GTE hybrid

Sutton-Claret wrote:Did you realise it only has 1 pedal...... Really can't get my head around what happens when you need to slam on. I would recommend finding a large empty carpark to practice on.

Or cancel and get a VW golf GTE hybrid

It has two pedals but with the ability to operate the vehicle with only one if you so wish.

Sutton-Claret wrote:Did you realise it only has 1 pedal...... Really can't get my head around what happens when you need to slam on. I would recommend finding a large empty carpark to practice on.

Or cancel and get a VW golf GTE hybrid

Or an R if you've got testiclets

Is it a dodgem ?

john'sroseyspecs wrote:Is it a dodgem ?

It is if the traffic is heavy

No Ney Never wrote:The new leaf has a range in the region of 200 miles. It's more than enough to get me to work and back all week without a charge. Fortunately we have free to use charging points at work so it won't cost me a penny.
Nissan have abolished the disastrous scheme of renting batteries. They give a 8 year / 100,000 miles battery warranty with the new cars.
There is a national network of charging points that is increasing daily, all available on a map on the app.
New rapid charging points at services take only 40 mins to reach 80% charge.

Car manufacturers have been aiming for a 7 to 8 year life cycle of new vehicles for quite a while. It looks like this is a way of achieving that.
Depreciation will be horrendous for a few years until the economy reshuffles as a consequence.
An average entery model, in good condition, 2010 plate car now for example would set you back £1500 to £2000.
An electric car of the same age, in the future will be virtually worthless.
Even as scrap once the manufacturer has reclaimed the battery

starting_11 wrote:Or an R if you've got testiclets

Agree but got the impression the OP is looking for an Earth saving zero carbon eco mobile. Not a 300hp 4wd rain forest killing hot hatch.

165g/km and 36 mpg on motorways.

Isn't much behind my old 09 1.4 TSI golf!

Damo wrote:Car manufacturers have been aiming for a 7 to 8 year life cycle of new vehicles for quite a while. It looks like this is a way of achieving that.
Depreciation will be horrendous for a few years until the economy reshuffles as a consequence.
An average entery model, in good condition, 2010 plate car now for example would set you back £1500 to £2000.
An electric car of the same age, in the future will be virtually worthless.
Even as scrap once the manufacturer has reclaimed the battery

My old car, a top spec Honda civic diesel on a 09 plate. I paid 9.5k in 2012, just received market value for it, 3.5k. That's £100 / month in depreciation over the five years.
I average £130 / month in fuel.
£15 / month service and MOT.
£10 / month road tax.
Total average cost of motoring a second hand diesel £255 / month. This doesn't include new tyres and any other repairs or replacements.
Brand new top spec Leaf on PCP is £305 / month.
For an extra £50 / month I drive a brand new car for 3 years before handing it back and swapping for another brand new car. Any issues and I simply take it to the dealership free of charge as it's under warranty for the period I will have it.
I have no outlay other than the £305 (plus insurance of course).
Previously I have never been interested in this form of 'ownership' and always preferred to pay for in full and have full ownership of my car. Quite often the figures on these sort of hire or contract purchase deals never worked out because of the cost of fuel on top of the monthly payments, however, when the cost of fuel is not an issue, it makes sense.

No Ney Never wrote:My old car, a top spec Honda civic diesel on a 09 plate. I paid 9.5k in 2012, just received market value for it, 3.5k. That's £100 / month in depreciation over the five years.
I average £130 / month in fuel.
£15 / month service and MOT.
£10 / month road tax.
Total average cost of motoring a second hand diesel £255 / month. This doesn't include new tyres and any other repairs or replacements.
Brand new top spec Leaf on PCP is £305 / month.
For an extra £50 / month I drive a brand new car for 3 years before handing it back and swapping for another brand new car. Any issues and I simply take it to the dealership free of charge as it's under warranty for the period I will have it.
I have no outlay other than the £305 (plus insurance of course).
Previously I have never been interested in this form of 'ownership' and always preferred to pay for in full and have full ownership of my car. Quite often the figures on these sort of hire or contract purchase deals never worked out because of the cost of fuel on top of the monthly payments, however, when the cost of fuel is not an issue, it makes sense.

It makes a lot of sense but only if you have a generous employer who provides a free charging point though.

Spotted something last night which I wasn't aware of, Car Tax changes.

They were introduced last year and only really kicked in this time round when Cars purchased in april last year have hit their first year on the road.
That's a big ouch, even cars that are zero emissions/tax will get stung.
Not a surprise really.

Sidney1st wrote:Spotted something last night which I wasn't aware of, Car Tax changes.

They were introduced last year and only really kicked in this time round when Cars purchased in april last year have hit their first year on the road.
That's a big ouch, even cars that are zero emissions/tax will get stung.
Not a surprise really.

The tax on zero emission cars applies only to those costing 40k and above, the new leaf will not have any road tax.

How will the batteries be disposed of when the car reaches the end of its life?

BarstewardsEnquiry wrote:How will the batteries be disposed of when the car reaches the end of its life?

Just drop it in the battery bin at your local supermarket.

CaptJohn wrote:It makes a lot of sense but only if you have a generous employer who provides a free charging point though.

Home to work is 13 miles door to door, 26 miles round trip. 5 x 26 = 130 miles week. Plenty left in the battery for doing errands. I'm told approx £2 to fully charge, so even if I charge it at home, two quid a week is hardly going to break the bank.

"The new leaf has a range in the region of 200 miles"

Unless you put the heater on.

Wokingclaret wrote:"The new leaf has a range in the region of 200 miles"

Unless you put the heater on.

And the lights and windscreen wipers.

Joking apart the New Leaf does look a tidy motor and I'm looking forward to further reports from NNN on his experience.