EVs lacking the 'cool' look

dutopia

I've been thinking seriously about an EV... most likely the Leaf. There's me, my wife and my 2 year old so it's suitable in terms of size. We commute on the train and most driving is around town or short enough motorway journeys. We also both hold automatic licenses as we both got our licences in South Korea. It seems like the Leaf would be a good fit... there's one problem, why do all EVs have to look like EVs (except the eGolf, perhaps)...! I don't like the look of any of them, the Leaf is probably the most palatable. I love the look of a car like the CX-5 or the Quashqai. Should I just swallow my manly pride and get a Leaf and try and ignore the face I don't like how it looks? Or maybe hang on and hope Nissan will make an EV version of the Quashqai?

The Leaf from the front isn't the greatest looking but I like the rest of it. The Golf ? well that's just an over priced boring Golf like most other Golfs ! Got to say German interiors are really super and I like them a lot and I spend most of my time inside so not so concerned about the exterior.

Nissan will from 2020 increase their fully electric range.

There are more models to come in 3 years, the GM Bolt, Tesla Model 3, Leaf II perhaps a new Renault Zoe, an maybe more.

The leaf has increased the range by about 40-50 Kms and will be available to order for 2016 , with the 30 kwh battery compared to the 24 Kwh, it will cost extra so you choose whether this is worth it or not.

A 141 SVE Leaf would make a cracking car if you don't want to buy new.

What's your daily/ yearly mileage ?

The renault Zoe is a nice looking car with a terrific on board charger charges from standard charge points to 80% from empty in 1 hr from non fast chargers.

If you get the leaf I highly recommend the 6.6 kw charger, it will allow you charge twice as fast from a non fast charger.

I drive 134 kms daily when on shift and stop for a 10 min fast charge and get home with 18-20% let in the battery and I don't drive slow but usually between 100-110 Kph. I don't consider this slow.

I won't be going back to petrol/diesel/hybrid again.

Roen

It's something I often thought about.
You make a car desirable first then make it electric. Don't hamstring potential sales by making the cars look a little shall we say 'unconventional' and then making them electric.
You're putting an extra psychological barrier between your customer and a sale.

I know that some of the design cues on the Leaf were led by a need to make the car as aerodynamic as possible, which was of course a means to preserve range.

Personally I don't think there's an attractive EV out there. I'd love to own a tesla. But having seen them in the flesh they're just too damn big.

It's not the looks that are turning people off electrics, people buy Dacia's for God's sake , hideous looking yokes.

There's a general lack of interest in electrics, range is one issue for many, cost still has to come down but compared to a normal diesel hatch the leaf isn't that expensive. And then people are happy enough with the diesel and think it's saving them loads of money and electric can't offer them anything more.

the other issue is people don't see the 30-80 Euro's a week going on petrol or diesel as they would if it came through the door in a bill and some woulod be turned off EV if their leccy bill went up 40 Euro's they'd be saying the ev has to go, running up a huge bill despite the 40 Euro's covering a much greater distance.

pwurple

I dunno, people like the look of different cars.. I mean like, you like the look of a qashqai, where I see a flatulent fuel car with a large arse!

The tesla is beautiful, no doubt about it. Leaf is a bit meh alright. I'd take it or leave it on looks tbh, but I'm not exactly in the position to be choosing a beautiful car at the moment, because I don't have a spare 100k.

dutopia

Deleted User wrote: »

What's your daily/ yearly mileage ?

Thanks for your reply, some great tips there.

Average is about 10,000km per year, so not super high.

We could probably get away with the 141 or 142 leaf...

dutopia

Roen wrote: »

It's something I often thought about.
You make a car desirable first then make it electric. Don't hamstring potential sales by making the cars look a little shall we say 'unconventional' and then making them electric.
You're putting an extra psychological barrier between your customer and a sale.

I know that some of the design cues on the Leaf were led by a need to make the car as aerodynamic as possible, which was of course a means to preserve range.

Personally I don't think there's an attractive EV out there. I'd love to own a tesla. But having seen them in the flesh they're just too damn big.

I agree there in all respects.

Fair point about making the Leaf as aerodynamic as possible, but making the car look a bit more 'normal' would help remove that barrier.

dutopia

pwurple wrote: »

I dunno, people like the look of different cars.. I mean like, you like the look of a qashqai, where I see a flatulent fuel car with a large arse!

The tesla is beautiful, no doubt about it. Leaf is a bit meh alright. I'd take it or leave it on looks tbh, but I'm not exactly in the position to be choosing a beautiful car at the moment, because I don't have a spare 100k.

I like a big arse

dutopia

dutopia wrote: »

Thanks for your reply, some great tips there.

Average is about 10,000km per year, so not super high.

We could probably get away with the 141 or 142 leaf...

The 141+ has the better battery, much more durable. If you can find one with the 6.6 Kw charger get it. I would have the SV 6.6 Kw over the 3.5 Kw SVE any day if I had to make the choice.

I keep going on about the 6.6 Kw charger because it's far too convenient to charge from 25-90% in 2 hours compared to 4 from the standard street charge points.

What does all this mean ? it means far less trips to the fast chargers, if you go on a long drive you will use the fast chargers along the way to your destination when you get into town you plug into the standard charge points and come back to a charged car 90% that's more than you will most likely wait for at a fast charger.

There are places I go that I don't need a fast charger and just plug in in town.

Anyway I've done 12,500 miles since 15th January. Battery is still reporting 98-100 % health. I'll probably hit 15-17 K miles that's restricting myself for the lease. We use the diesel for the really long trips.

BoatMad

the other issue is people don't see the 30-80 Euro's a week going on petrol or diesel as they would if it came through the door in a bill and some woulod be turned off EV if their leccy bill went up 40 Euro's they'd be saying the ev has to go, running up a huge bill despite the 40 Euro's covering a much greater distance.

funny talk to 4 people that didn't buy a Leaf, none mentioned that aspect. They all considered the range versus charging issues rather then transferring costs to electricity as the issue

Ulrtimately we will get a wide range of EVs to suit many tastes , from sports car EVs to SUV EVs etc. Then with a reasonable choice, competitive pricing and fuel savings , people will switch in droves. Anyone knows the electric motor is a way better performance machine then any ICE, which is a bag of 19th century engineering, its the fuel thats the magic