What is your name?
Graham
What is the make and model of your EV?
Nissan LEAF e+ 2020
How old is your EV?
1-2 years old
How long have you owned your EV?
Under 1 year
What is the mileage on your EV?
10,000 – 20,000 miles
How many EVs have you owned?
This is my 3rd
What is the average mileage range you achieve from your EV when fully charged?
230 miles
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Why did you choose this car?
I have always bought British-built cars and that was key to a Nissan LEAF being my first EV. I loved it so much I’ve stuck with this make and model ever since.
Positives – List 3 or more reasons why you love this car?
- Lovely to drive
- Great performance
- Comfortable to travel in
- Great specification & equipment levels
- Amazingly reliable
- Astonishingly cheap to run
- Zero emissions
- British built.
Negatives – List 3 or more things that you really don’t like about this car?
- Slight blind spots due to the front quarter lights but compensated for by new driver alerts
- New menu system on the dashboard is not as user-friendly as with the first LEAFs albeit there’s much more in it!
Surprise us! Tell us something surprising about this car?
I’ve always used the charge timer to only allow the car to charge overnight on super cheap electricity at home. However, on the latest LEAF, you can set it so that when AWAY from home, such as at a public fast-charging point or granny cable, the timer is not active. Previously it was too easy to forget this, plug in and return later to find no extra charge was added (if you forgot to override it). 🤦🏻♂️
Stick or twist? If it’s twist, what are you considering and why?
Stick! 👍🏼
What home charging unit do you use and would you recommend it to others?
Our first, tethered Pod Point home charging unit with Type 1 lead was ultra-reliable, no issues in six years. Just switched to a higher rated myenergi zappi charger with a Type 2 connector because of it’s ‘future proof’ smart charging and solar/battery integration capabilities. So far so good! 🤞🏼
What home electricity supplier & tariff do you use and would you recommend it to others?
Octopus Go – 5p per kWh charging 00:30 to 04:30 every day = electricity costs of just 1.25p per mile. Would absolutely recommend.
What public charging networks do you use and would you recommend them to others?
I very rarely use public charging now due to the range of my latest LEAF making it unnecessary. I’m still a BP Pulse member at £7.85 per month but certainly not getting that value back in cheaper charging right now. I’ll keep it going this summer and then review. I’ve found BP Pulse chargers are generally good and online, sometimes also FREE for members.
Instavolt probably offer the easiest and most reliable chargers but they are now starting to get a bit expensive, sadly. The much slated Electric Highway has always been satisfactory for me, with CHAdeMO. Gridserve will hopefully be improving things for those with CCS connectors as they upgrade that network.
Who do you insure your EV with and would you recommend them to others?
Direct Line – they do not seem to charge a premium for EVs or hike their prices up for no reason each year. I have had to claim twice with no quibbles from Direct Line about settling the claims nor attempts to put up the premium the following year. Yes, I would recommend.
See other owner reviews here
