In my post "A car for free" I outlined the maths that led to me buying a Leaf. I do a bit more than an average amount of miles per year. What if you don't do many miles? Maybe you're looking at swapping the second car in the family to electric. An EV should be … Continue reading “I don’t do many miles, an electric car won’t be worth it for me”
Cross-country in a 4 1/2 year old Nissan Leaf
Just returned from a holiday where I left my Leaf at airport parking for a week. It was far enough away (123 miles) that I needed to charge en route, and wanted to leave the battery at half-charge while I parked, as it should avoid any degradation that way. As any electric car battery ages … Continue reading Cross-country in a 4 1/2 year old Nissan Leaf
How to get the most miles out of a charge
A common question about electric cars is range. Driving the Leaf is like driving a diesel car with the "low fuel" light on all the time. In reality however, this isn't as big an issue as you might think. Nissan have done a lot to get the most out of the battery, and while newer cars … Continue reading How to get the most miles out of a charge
What happens when things don’t quite go to plan!
"What happens when the charger isn't available? What about road closures? And bad weather, that'll make you wish you'd kept your diesel!" Just some of the criticisms I've had over the past year over my choice of a pure electric car. Many people think a hybrid electric car is the only way to cope with … Continue reading What happens when things don’t quite go to plan!
One year and a day- Total cost of ownership
For the impatient - 11 p (UK) a mile all-in, including insurance. For the detail, read on! Do shout if you can think of any costs I've not included. Just over a year ago I was looking for a replacement car to make my 25-mile each way commute easier, so I seriously considered buying an … Continue reading One year and a day- Total cost of ownership
The Tesla test drive
Tesla Model S 75D (tesla.com) Last weekend we had a test drive in a Tesla Model S 70D, from Tesla's Bristol showroom. For those not in the know, Tesla is a relatively new, US manufacturer of high-end electric cars. Nevertheless it is now valued higher than Ford in terms of its share valuation. The … Continue reading The Tesla test drive
Ten thousand miles on!
I've nearly driven ten thousand miles on my 2013 Leaf, taking it to 35,000 miles on the clock. The Leaf is proving to be the perfect commuter. The combination of quietness, no gearbox, and immediate power delivery make it an effortless and fun car to drive. I think that's important when you're spending up to … Continue reading Ten thousand miles on!
You’re just moving the pollution somewhere else, aren’t you?
Otherwise known as the the "long tailpipe” argument For some time it’s been argued by some that electric cars simply displace the pollution to power stations, so electric cars can’t possibly be any better than petrol cars. I used to believe this. While this is true, in that electricity has to be generated somewhere, there … Continue reading You’re just moving the pollution somewhere else, aren’t you?
kW, kWh,what’s that all about?
kW is Power output The power of a car engine or motor is measured in watts, actually thousands of watts, shortened to kilo-watts or kW. A "horsepower" is 746W. You'll see "80kW" listed as the power of the Nissan Leaf motor. It's equivalent to 109hp. kWh is Battery capacity (or fuel tank capacity) At First School … Continue reading kW, kWh,what’s that all about?
Toasty…
Did I mention the Leaf has a timer heating system? The idea is that you heat (or cool) the car on "grid" electricity before you unplug in the morning. In practise this means that the car defrosts itself and scraping windscreens is a thing of the past! The cabin is nice and warm too. Some … Continue reading Toasty…
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