Fuel Prices

Nymex Crude has dropped to $88.76 today(5 pm). With the weak dollar hopefully prices will eventually drop at the pumps. Or perhaps pigs will fly...

Bearcat wrote: »

How many times did ya get that clenched botty feeling that u weren't going to make it to a charger? I know j clarkson is smart ars@ of the year but he had many valid negative points re electric cars. When your tinkering with a range of 160 km and a 9 hour charge time it still is not a viable transport option unless your tootling around locally.

Ps.....have u a prius or you all elec..? Take it all back if a pet/elec option but elec alone is a non runner

My wife and I sold our two petrol/diesel cars. A 2006 Citroen C2 and a 2000 Audi A6 Avant. We now only have the Nissan Leaf. I considered a Skoda Superb Greenline, but I figured if I'm buying new to avail of lower fuel costs etc, then I should just go all the way for full EV. By the same logic I wouldn't really consider a hybrid.

An EV review from Clarkson was always going to have the EV running out of juice Also there is a big difference between charging infrastructure in the UK and Ireland. I mean that in a positive way for Ireland. I have some gripes with the ESB, but overall they've made the correct decisions on what equipment to go for. You noticed in his review he had a cable with a 3 pin plug at the end of it? That's what Leaf owners in the UK get for home charging. That's a 13 amp plug, in Ireland you get a free dedicated 16 amp external charging unit on your house. Charging time at home is 7 hours.

If you pull up to a Topaz or other station you can charge to 84% in about 30 minutes. This is me charging in Newlands Cross Topaz.



The ESB have promised 30 Fast Charging Points across the national road network by the end of the year, I think they should make that target as well. I should never then be more than 60km from a fast charging point that can get me from 0% to 84% in 30 minutes.

ESB Map

I guess what I'm saying is over in the UK fast charging points aren't being rolled out on a nationwide basis because they don't have one company that controls the grid, like we do. On street chargers in the UK are still being installed with 13 amp 3 pin plugs. In Ireland the ESB are going for J1772 connectors with the capability of 16 amps for Leaf's and 32 amps for the Fluence ZE and the Ford Focus electric. So even slow home charging or slow on street charging for the Renault and Ford EV owners will be 3 to 4 hours for a full charge. If they are equipped with a fast charging port then they can use the fast chargers in the petrol stations to get from 0 to 84% in 30 mins.

I know some people are dead set against EV's, but I've never had a single moment where I worried about making it somewhere. The electronics package in the car is impressive and you'd have to be a complete fool to run out of juice. The car has a built-in data connection (no subscription) and it is constantly updating itself as to where new chargers are. If you undertake a longer journey it can tell you where you need to stop for a charge. It also tells you whether a charger is of the slower type or fast type. I could go on a bit about this, but it would be pretty hard to run out of juice at the side of the road. I love Topgear and that review didn't really annoy me at all, it was exactly what I expected from Topgear

Chief--- wrote: »

What do these people call petrol......Perv??

Perverts do drive petrols, they are quietier and make perving easier.

How could you go unnoticed perving with the clitter clatter of a VAG 1.9

Perverts by nature care nothing of torque.

robbie_998 wrote: »

Is there a charge for charging ?

When you do run out of juice on a long journey the AA are not gonna bring out a can of electricity to you... Gonna be a tow to the nearest plug in point and a long wait in the middle of nowhere.

How far do you get out of a full charge ?

I get over 900kms out of €60 of a full tank of petrol !

How much for a full charge price wise on your bill ?


also the batteries on them use the same technology as a laptop battery... and a laptop battery will last about 3-4 years depending on use and that... what happens when a battery dies on the car ? if it needs to be replaced will it cost much ?

If you mean the FCP? Fast Charging Points in Topaz/Texaco etc. They're free at the moment.

If in the unlikely event I've ignored repeated warning from the internet connected on-board computer, which knows where charging stations are and updates itself online, then the car comes with 1 year free Nissan EV breakdown assistance. I'll get towed to the near fast charging station which shouldn't be more than 60km away and will take 30 minutes to get me to 84% There is also stuff like this:

http://steeringnews.com/nissan-leaf-jaf

http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2011/07/carscom-field-trial-mobile-ev-quick-charging-.html <- I like this kind of "can do" attitude

I get about 130 to 140 kilometres if I am doing nearly all motorway driving. I get about 180+ kilometres if I'm doing mostly suburban/urban driving. 160 is a fair average.

If you look at my screenshot from the online portal page for my car, you'll see in the month of July I did 2119.8 kilometres and it cost me 17 euro and 82 cent (excluding vat at 13.5%). A full charge from 0% to 100% costs about 2 euro on night rate. Before anyone asks that doesn't mean I need to run out at midnight to plug the car in then so I get night rate. You can plug it in whenever you like and have preprogrammed schedules for Monday to Sunday. For me I have the car set as follows:

Monday to Thursday:
Start charging at 00:10
Charge to 80%

Friday to Sunday
Start charging at 00:10
Charge to 100%

There are two ports at the front, one for ordinary charging and one for DC fast charging. When you plug into a fast charger the scheduler is automatically ignored and it begins charging immediately. If I want to start charging at home straight away, there is a dedicated button to the right of the steering wheel. If I press it there is a 15 minute time window in which the scheduler is paused. If I plugin within that time window the car starts charging immediately.

Dutchie wrote: »

EV's can't even get from Dublin to Monaghan, how much fuel did the tow truck use getting there.

I personally know a Nissan Leaf owner who travelled from Clonee, Dublin to the Topaz in Monaghan. So I guess you're wrong I don't know if he took a picture of his car there, but if he has I'll ask him to post it up. He has an account on Boards.

*edit*

Curiosity has gotten the better of me, so I've forwarded your picture to the head of ESB ecars marketing asking for a comment That's obviously their car and I know they only got it very recently. As I said I know personally another Leaf owner who drove from Clonee, Dublin to Monaghan without an issue. So I'd love to know how ESB ecars managed to mess this up!

bbk wrote: »

This Leaf is good in the sense that the Top Gear and Fifth Gear electric car tests do show they are perfectly fine speed wise. Though, 160km is very bad range if you are outside of a city and the 30 mins to 84% is still not good enough.

Id be adding 30ish minutes to my regular Meath to Belfast journeys.
I can do two round trips in my old diesel so I agree with the Top Gear verdict that a new approach to getting those electric motors their juice is needed.

I have no problem with electric cars as long as I can have my estate and a good 500 mile range. At the moment I dont think we have anything close to that.

Battery reliant electric cars are a no no for me.
I cant help but think the money being put into the Leaf and its similar competitors is a waste.

That's all fine, it's not a car suitable for you. As for a waste of money, It's Nissan and Renaults money. They can spend their own money anyway they want They're not new to the car industry either. So I guess they have their reasons for betting on electric.