Nissan Leaf

I hate to interrupt the Brexit negotiations, and sorry for the amateur hour quoting, but I can't for the life of me get those quote buttons to work. It just ain't happening; maybe it's a new user restriction.

@KCross

"Will you be able to plug in the granny cable at your house? I think that will be important since you are not keen on installing a proper EVSE in your rented house."

Yes, I'll be using the granny cable. As I am (almost certainly) importing, that will be supplied as I think they are standard issue with UK Leafs. I'll pick up a Type 2 to Type 1 while there, or maybe I'll haggle one in as part of the deal.

"You don't want to depend on the public network from a money and practical perspective. If you can plug in the granny cable and protect it from the weather it will work fine for a day or two per week. I used the granny cable daily for a few months and it did the job fine. You just need to make sure you can keep the plug dry."

That's my hunch, I've been watching the accessibility of public charge points a I go about my business of late, and it's not encouraging. They are routinely blocked by ICEs who treat them like any other parking spot. I will have to plan any longer trips carefully to make sure there is always another near my planned charging point that I can fall back on. Otherwise—and more likely—I'll swap cars with my dad for the day if that's what's needed.

"We are a family of five as well and it manages fine so no worries there."

That's reassuring. My primary reason for choosing electric is TCO. The environmental benefits are well and good, and secondary, to be honest. the free availability of work charging is what clinches the deal for me. Seeing that it is also a reasonably practical family car for others is helpful. We have higher expectations than we used to, also. the five of us crammed into our Fiat Panda for a holiday to France back in 1987, roof rack and all. Still don't know how my dad did it.

@pwurple

"We are a 5 person family, 24kwh leaf for almost 2 years. Buggy, yes, out n about nipper single, or double, both fit with loads of room. 2 isofix carseats, not a problem, with room in the middle for another person. Can't fit three carseats."

As I said to KCross, that's good to hear... Three carseats is a long way off for us!

"I've been exclusively charging at work for the last month or so. Not a problem. Enjoying preheating the car from my phone every evening and morning before i head off. We live in cork city. Cork- Killarney is not a problem in the leaf. Piece of cake. Or dublin, galway, athlone, limerick. All easy peasy. The only time we took an ice was a trip to donegal."

I still wonder about *relying* on public chargers for longer trips though, but perhaps it's not so bad. I'm living in Midleton and the two charge point areas are routinely blocked during the day, but perhaps this is not the case everywhere.

"I use public charging infrastructure once in a blue moon, so it really doesn't affect me. And you're going to love the cork benefits on drive4zero. Free parking in loads of places, all very well marked on street and in the multistories on the city."

I looked this up and it appears to only apply to those who buy their car with the SEI grant, but I intend to import. Does anyone know if this can be circumvented for those who import their cars from the UK?

I did—as it happens—investigate car finance here and the current scrappage deal with Nissan, but the terms are hilarious. GMFV contingent on 10,000 km a year or less? Sure. Yeah. Deal me in. Will you give me a set of floor mats as well? Sound! There are a couple of reasons to go second-hand, one of the chief ones is that EVs' residual value goes off a cliff in the first year. Nearly-new used is the way to buy for for us, right now. I need to keep the monthly payments down without having the nuisance of an anchor payment at the end.

@Mad_Lad

"Judging by the sounds of it the 24 Kwh will suit you perfectly well, especially with work charging, just make sure it's the updated model from late 2013+, that one I linked to is a updated model (mid spec) which is more efficient with a much better battery than the original leaf 20111-late 2013 and it has the 6.6 Kw AC charger which means charging from the standard street charge points in half the time, saving time waiting at fast chargers should you travel further it, arrive in town , plug in and get 50% charge in 2 hrs, could be plenty for return trip. For instance, I travel to Blanch centre , 80 kms one way, plug in, 2-2.5 hrs later return to a almost fully charged car, 2 hrs would probably even get me home at a decent speed. I don't have to come back and then wait to fast charge.

That leaf is worth serious consideration !"

I looked at that car, and I noted the spec. It does look likely that a 30kwh model is beyond me (but we'll see, I might be able to stretch a few more quid), but from what you and others are saying, a 6.6 Kw charger should be the main requirement for me. I can see the sense in that, a bigger battery is not much good when you are waiting twice as long for a fill of electrons.

Does anyone know if the pre-heat feature is standard, or is it part of the "Cold Pack" option. I understand this option is not available on UK Leafs. It's not a dealbreaker by any means, but it would be nice to have.

Thanks very much for your help, folks. I've really appreciated it.

isnottheword wrote: »

30kwh is going to be out of range price wise - they're simply too fresh yet. If you did stump up the money for an outright purchase of one, you are going to suffer a big chunk of depreciation almost immediately.

Yeah, a 30kWh battery is almost certainly out of range for me. I might be able to choke up a couple more G's, but exchange rate instability is as likely to be a factor now as anything else. We'll see.

Deleted User wrote: »

I got PCP with 30K Kms a year, it's no real problem if you go over a few thousand, if you go way over it might effect resale value for instance, if your PCP allowance is 7K a year and you drive 30K Kms then this will seriously effect your resale value compared to having 30 K Kms a year and driving 35K Kms, the car will have suffered most of the depreciation for which you are paying on PCP anyway, + interest. So choose PCP mileage carefully.

A bigger battery is always better and it means more range from your home charge point, get the max range you can afford. Even if the battery is 40 Kwh you'll still get the same or roughly the same Kms per same time on the charger of the same power the difference being that 40 Kwh gives you about twice the range of 24 Kwh from your home charge point and not to be underestimated. The 6.6 Kw charger is definitely very convenient when you need it even if you don't need it every day.

The 30 Kwh leaf also charges faster at the fast charger and goes to 80% in roughly the same as the 24 Kwh for the same time on the charger but giving more range and could be worth it for longer trips.

Pre heat is standard on all leafs by setting a timer on the Navigation unit. Only the Mid spec "SV and top spec "SVE" have remote activation of heat and AC.

Thanks for the feedback. As I said above, a 30kWh is probably beyond reach for now. Waiting any longer is not really an option, my car has a valid NCT, a good set of tyres, and is running well, so now's the time to make the move. A bigger battery would be nice, but I reckon that it wouldn't make a huge difference considering our driving habits. I've been persuaded that a 6.6kW charger is the essential option.

KCross wrote: »

The charger install is worth somewhere between €500-1000 depending on how you go about installing your own one.

The drive4zero campaign is not dependent on buying a new car.

An imported demo model leaf is as good as new as far as Im concerned and still has manufacturers warranty so little risk as you will be buying from a main dealer not a cowboy. Mine had 5000 miles on it and had 100% battery health at 1yr old and still does.

So, overall, is the free charge point that important?

No, it's not. And yes, I agree that nearly-new is as good as new. Better, in some ways.

But, fundamentally, I look at a car as a running expense. I need to keep that monthly expense as low as I reasonably can. I'm not interested in Bangernomics, we need a reliable car.

If a Nissan dealer here in Ireland can put a package together that gives me the lowest TCO, then I'll take it. Even if that's a PCP. There are some good offers available this month. That's what I've been mulling over this past week.

isnottheword wrote: »

Doesn't have to be if the OP puts some effort into sourcing an inexpensive one - and gets a local (reasonable) sparks to install. It's certainly not worth what they claim i.e. up to €1k!

If you have worked out that for the most part, 24kW would suit your purposes (95% of the time), get a used gen 1.5 - thats where the value is.
As regards fx rate, I see that as a secondary issue. Been monitoring prices and it seems that prices have increased on used Leafs in the UK. I bought when the rate was gbp = €1.23 back in August. In between times, it seems to be harder to find a good deal on a similar Leaf. Doesnt mean you can't snag a good deal - might take a bit more work to do so - that's all.

You can buy now, make use of free charging (for however long it continues) - then body swerve the 30kW and when the time comes, upgrade to an EV with a far better range. The 24kW will still have residual value as it ages - i.e. will still be of use at smaller price point to a city dweller.

I think that depreciation on used Leafs will actually improve as EV ownership increases; when more people see that these are actually a perfectly viable (and, for some, superior) form of personal transport. I suspect a three-year-old Leaf will be worth more in the future than the equivalent car today. A used Leaf will be seen as a great second car by then.

By the way, for what it's worth, Mad_Lad has been very helpful to me. Perhaps he's a bit quick with the quips, but we're all grown-ups, surely.

It's the Internet, for goodness' sake. Not a cage fight. It'll be grand.

bottar1 wrote: »

Live in mayo travel 83KM from home to work and back. Have some money set aside for a car and looking at a leaf, would a 30KW battery be enough to get me to work and back no bother? Max speed I'm driving at is 100 kilometre's.

I used to commute in rural Galway in first generation 24kwh 2011 LEAF on same distance (assuming that is 41.5km one way and 41.5km back), however once battery became old I would have to start saving power on heating during winter. It should be doable in improved 24kwh LEAFs.