Leaf gone

n97 mini · 13-10-2018 11:28am #1

Our 152 L24 Tekna left our driveway for the last time yesterday. Sad to see it go. Both my wife and I are feeling sort of like there's been a death in the family! Anyone thinking of buying that model Leaf, if it works for your circumstances I wholeheartedly recommend it, particularly the SVE/Tekna trim as it's very well specced, great to drive, and very comfortable.

Upside is it went to friends of a friend, which we only discovered from chatting. So it'll be well looked after.

If only it had a 60kw battery we'd have kept it forever...

unkel · 13-10-2018 11:43am

The King is dead. Long live the King!

where's that thread on your Ampera?

n97 mini · 13-10-2018 1:23pm

unkel wrote: »

The King is dead. Long live the King!

where's that thread on your Ampera?

Soon! Doing the VRT as I type!

Stealthirl · 13-10-2018 1:24pm

I'll have to watch for you around in the Ampera as i seen the Leaf around a few times

unkel · 13-10-2018 1:29pm

Very interesting car and I don't think any of our regulars here has one. There's a 2012 Chevrolet Volt (same as Ampera) on Autotrader for £8,495 (I posted it in the bargain thread). Seems like a lot of car for the money for someone who would presumably do almost all of their driving on electric and only occasionally needs to go further distances (as in further than most current EVs can go - and I'm not talking the newer generation Kona and Niro that will both be over the 36-38k mark on the road - nice range but a lot of money for a Korean econobox)

marklazarcovic · 13-10-2018 1:42pm

Have seen.one charging in terryland Galway,beside McDonald's

NIMAN · 13-10-2018 1:49pm

I would have bought an Ampera a long time ago if you could seat 3 in the back.

2+2 is an awful design, whatever were they thinking?

unkel · 13-10-2018 2:12pm

+1

Not suitable for us, family of 5. A 2+2 design is fine in an expensive grand tourer like a BMW 645i or a Bently Coupé, but why limit yourself in your market with a car like an Ampera? Not that there is a lack of room in the back, compared to many smaller cars that do have 3 seats and 3 seat belts.

That said, plenty of families of 4 or less, for whom this is no concern.

slicedpanman · 13-10-2018 4:51pm

n97 mini wrote: »

unkel wrote: »

The King is dead. Long live the King!

where's that thread on your Ampera?

Soon! Doing the VRT as I type!

Snap... I've mine about a week now and loving it. Was actually looking into getting a three year old Outlander and visited electric autos to take theirs for a spin and ended up taking the ampera for a spin too and putting a deposit down there and then.

We've only the 2 kids and it's replaced my aging Prius. I'm getting 50km off a charge, should get more if I stay out of sport mode

Old diesel · 13-10-2018 5:54pm

Silly question alert but how does servicing an Ampera work.

I assume that there isnt specialist support for them and that most Opel dealers have never seen one.

That's why I've never thought of one inspite of thinking the concept was vastly superior to diesel when the cars were originally new.

Edit I only mention this in the hope someone has found a way around the hurdle

n97 mini · 13-10-2018 7:07pm

slicedpanman wrote: »

Snap... I've mine about a week now and loving it. Was actually looking into getting a three year old Outlander and visited electric autos to take theirs for a spin and ended up taking the ampera for a spin too and putting a deposit down there and then.

We've only the 2 kids and it's replaced my aging Prius. I'm getting 50km off a charge, should get more if I stay out of sport mode

If that's the one I think it is it's a 2012 Model Year? No arm rest in the back and the cable on the granny charger is orange and it has a 6A/10A selector?

I'll do a full write up soon, but the GOM in ours is showing 54km to a full charge but it's getting 64km. I'm not sure it's actually any quicker in Sport mode, the accelerator is just a bit more sensitive.

n97 mini · 13-10-2018 7:21pm

unkel wrote: »

+1

Not suitable for us, family of 5. A 2+2 design is fine in an expensive grand tourer like a BMW 645i or a Bently Coupé, but why limit yourself in your market with a car like an Ampera? Not that there is a lack of room in the back, compared to many smaller cars that do have 3 seats and 3 seat belts.

That said, plenty of families of 4 or less, for whom this is no concern.

It's a balancing act to fit a 16.5kwh battery and a petrol tank into a car of that size. The battery is a T shape under the centre console and behind the back seat. It's also liquid cooled. So something had to go.

The 4 seats and the high purchase price were the two main reasons sales tanked in the UK, and Opel never sold it here. Ironically, for some reason they sold a lot better in the US where petrol is a third the price it is here. Could never figure that out.

slicedpanman · 13-10-2018 7:36pm

n97 mini wrote: »

If that's the one I think it is it's a 2012 Model Year? No arm rest in the back and the cable on the granny charger is orange and it has a 6A/10A selector?

I'll do a full write up soon, but the GOM in ours is showing 54km to a full charge but it's getting 64km. I'm not sure it's actually any quicker in Sport mode, the accelerator is just a bit more sensitive.

No it's a 152... The GOM showed 54km after 1st full charge and 57km on the 2nd.
I was heading for 58km actual after the 1st full charge but last 10km disappeared real fast.

Could be storm Callum to blame; or me getting more comfortable and driving more aggressively or I added one of these (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01HDO66MG?psc=1&ref=yo_pop_mb_pd_title) to get Bluetooth audio, might be a drain

Here's a pic

unkel · 13-10-2018 7:46pm

n97 mini wrote: »

Ironically, for some reason they sold a lot better in the US where petrol is a third the price it is here. Could never figure that out.

Because it's a Chevy! Americans like buying American cars...

n97 mini · 13-10-2018 7:49pm

slicedpanman wrote: »

n97 mini wrote: »

No it's a 152... The GOM showed 54km after 1st full charge and 57km on the 2nd.
I was heading for 58km after the 1st full charge but last 10km disappeared real fast.

Could be storm Callum to blame; or me getting more comfortable and driving more aggressively or I added one of these (https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01HDO66MG?psc=1&ref=yo_pop_mb_pd_title) to get Bluetooth audio, might be a drain

Here's a pic

UK models in the wild were only made in 2012 and 2013. The 2013MY has a few bugs fixed... Call it the version 1.1! Easiest way to tell is the armrest in the back. 2012MY doesn't have it, 13 does.

Or look at the 10th digit of the VIN. C=2012, D=2013. There were apparently a few 2014s (E) made, but never sold.

n97 mini · 13-10-2018 7:53pm

unkel wrote: »

Because it's a Chevy! Americans like buying American cars...

Dodge Challenger SRT Demon. Quicker than a P100D. Lots of reasons to buy Murican these days!

slicedpanman · 13-10-2018 8:03pm

n97 mini wrote: »

Or look at the 10th digit of the VIN. C=2012, D=2013. There were apparently a few 2014s (E) made, but never sold.

Checked the vin - 10th char is a "C"... So, you're correct is a 2012. How can it be sold to me and registered as a 152?

650Ginge · 13-10-2018 8:20pm

Stealthirl wrote: »

I'll have to watch for you around in the Ampera as i seen the Leaf around a few times

Did I see this Ampera coming on the M2 last Thursday?

n97 mini · 13-10-2018 8:22pm

slicedpanman wrote: »

Checked the vin - 10th char is a "C"... So, you're correct is a 2012. How can it be sold to me and registered as a 152?

They were slow sellers. Dealer took in stock in 2012 but yours didn't sell till 2015. Don't worry about it. For the first 3 years it was sitting in a dry showroom.

I believe yours is a Positiv? They were about £33k new after UK government incentives. That's a lot for a Vauxhall, which is the main reason they didn't sell well.

unkel · 13-10-2018 8:27pm

n97 mini wrote: »

Dodge Challenger SRT Demon. Quicker than a P100D. Lots of reasons to buy Murican these days!

It's slower than the Tesla P100D Ludicrous. But either way, an American car wins that race

n97 mini · 13-10-2018 8:33pm

unkel wrote: »

It's slower than the Tesla P100D Ludicrous. But either way, an American car wins that race

Read closer. It's not! Tesla P100D does 2.28 sec *with rollout*. Demon does same in 2.1 sec.

https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1110019_dodge-demon-can-actually-do-0-60-mph-in-2-1-seconds-but-theres-a-catch

n97 mini · 13-10-2018 8:57pm

650Ginge wrote: »

Did I see this Ampera coming on the M2 last Thursday?

I don't think there is an M2 in Ireland?

I'm only aware of 3 cars of this type in Ireland (republic of). Slicedpanman's white Ampera, our black one, and a silver Chevy Volt in Galway. There are 2 or 3 more but I don't know who or where.

unkel · 13-10-2018 9:00pm

n97 mini wrote: »

Read closer. It's not! Tesla P100D does 2.28 sec *with rollout*. Demon does same in 2.1 sec.

https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1110019_dodge-demon-can-actually-do-0-60-mph-in-2-1-seconds-but-theres-a-catch

*with cheating* you mean?

650Ginge · 13-10-2018 9:25pm

n97 mini wrote: »

I don't think there is an M2 in Ireland?

I'm only aware of 3 cars of this type in Ireland (republic of). Slicedpanman's white Ampera, our black one, and a silver Chevy Volt in Galway. There are 2 or 3 more but I don't know who or where.

Well there is an M2? Runs around Ashbourne from M50 to the Rath.

Not you then so. I'm not good with colours but it was black or dark grey. I was doing my normal 70mph on cruise, it joined and got away pretty quickly.

I was tempted to follow but too lazy these days.

n97 mini · 13-10-2018 9:37pm

650Ginge wrote: »

Well there is an M2? Runs around Ashbourne from M50 to the Rath

Oops! News to me! As you can probably tell from my surprise it wasn't me. I've never gone further up the N2 than the Kilshane Cross, so I didn't know there was motorway beyond that.

Leaf gone

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