In short- a used one that suits most of your needs. It will always be more economical to hire a car for the long trips; or make an adventure of it and take a short range EV across the country, its up to you. You pay a lot for extra range that you may not … Continue reading I’m on a budget, what electric car should I buy?
The state of public rapid charging in late 2018 in the UK*
*excludes Tesla superchargers My EV adventure, day 1 rapid charging! When I got my first EV in 2016, a used Leaf, I wanted to rapid charge it straight away. Way back then the Electric Highway was free! Plugging in an EV at Membury west was awesome, I felt the future was literally here. As I … Continue reading The state of public rapid charging in late 2018 in the UK*
Nissan LEAF 24 battery degradation stats
In the UK, 2 to 3% capacity loss per year is to be expected from a Nissan LEAF 24kWh. There's lots of myths surrounding batteries in EVs, many relating to battery degradation. "What about the cost of replacing the battery then?" is a common question. This is something that has interested me both as a … Continue reading Nissan LEAF 24 battery degradation stats
Efficiency and charging losses, Leaf vs Ioniq
I measured a charger efficiency of 86% in the Leaf and 95% in the Ioniq. Electric cars display an efficiency figure which can range from 3 to 7 miles per kWh in my experience. This is the efficiency that the car measures, from the battery to the road. There are other losses in the system, … Continue reading Efficiency and charging losses, Leaf vs Ioniq
Comparing different rapid chargers on a Nissan Leaf 24. 48kW?!
Many EV drivers have noticed that newer "Rapid" chargers can deliver a lot more power than the older models. So how do the older and newer chargers compare, what does the charging profile look like, and how long does it really take? Not all "rapid" chargers are created equal. Some date from 2012/2013 when Nissan … Continue reading Comparing different rapid chargers on a Nissan Leaf 24. 48kW?!
Solar powered EVs
Now that we have solar (PV) panels and two electric cars there's much more opportunity to take advantage of sunny days and charge a car from the sun. Today is one of the first sunny days of 2018 when I've been able to do this. The panels supply, at most, 2.6kW around mid-day. The PodPoint … Continue reading Solar powered EVs
Battery temperatures and #Rapidgate
Rapid charging any battery heats it up. So can driving the car in anything other than a very gentle style. Some cars can remove that heat with a cooling system; others rely on passive cooling. Whether that heat causes any issues for the user depends on the starting temperature, charging power, software limits and a … Continue reading Battery temperatures and #Rapidgate
Can you afford not to go EV? Total Cost of Ownership for 28,000 miles in a used Leaf
Adding up all the costs over 2 years, my Leaf cost less than two-thirds of what my previous car cost; a Skoda Fabia 1.4 diesel. The Leaf is a far better equipped car- and immensely more refined. In 2016 I bought a used Leaf from a Nissan main dealer. I kept it for just over … Continue reading Can you afford not to go EV? Total Cost of Ownership for 28,000 miles in a used Leaf
The Ioniq electric: more like a “Model 3” class car than a Leaf
Updated with EPA figures! TLDR - The Ioniq's class-leading combination of fast charging, very low drag and battery thermal management make it a very interesting alternative to the Leaf 30, or even the "new" Leaf 40 if you want to use the car for long trips. For lower speeds, day-to-day use and commuting the new … Continue reading The Ioniq electric: more like a “Model 3” class car than a Leaf
Lets compare theoretical long journey times in the Ioniq, Leaf(s) and a diesel…(Version 2)
March 2018 Update - The 2018 Leaf 40 appears to have issues with repeated rapid charging, for example see Twitter posts tagged #AberdeenEVRace . In a contest between the Leaf 30 and the new 40, the Leaf 30 won! We have yet to see what response Nissan have to this. My guess is that it's … Continue reading Lets compare theoretical long journey times in the Ioniq, Leaf(s) and a diesel…(Version 2)
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