David Grant drives a Nissan LEAF Tekna 30kWh 2017 electric car.
This is David’s first electric car, he’s owned the Nissan LEAF Tekna for 2-3 years and drives 5,000-10,000 miles annually. The current mileage of the car is between 20,000-30,000 miles and he achieves 110 miles range from a full charge.
Why did you choose the Nissan LEAF?
Cheaper maintenance costs and much cheaper than diesel to run (despite recent price increases), helping with the environment. It replaced a diesel car which had a high mileage and a large carbon footprint.
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Positives – List 3 or more reasons why you love this electric car
- It’s quiet
- it’s quite fast
- it’s cheap to run.
Negatives – List 3 or more things that you really don’t like about this electric car
1. Limited range – not at first because we bought it as a runaround as we have an ICE for longer journeys. However, we like it so much we want to use it for longer journeys and this is now a limiting factor.
2. Public charging network – getting better but still flaky. Also, the LEAF has a CHAdeMO connector for rapid charging – nothing wrong with that in principle but the majority of public chargers are CCS.
3. Build quality is good but not as good as expected for what was a top spec model when it was built
4. Range drop markedly during the winter. I expected this but not this extent. Typically 110 miles in the summer and about 80 miles in the winter.
5. The onboard charger (for home charging) is 3.3kW. I should have opted for a LEAF with a 6.6kW onboard charger which would have sped up home charging. The onboard rapid charger is 50kW – not the fastest but good enough for me as 95% of the time I charge at home.
Have you experienced any faults with the car? If so, what have they been?
Only fault was replacing the 12 volt battery in July 2022. Bit surprised by this as the car has only done 22,000 miles. No other faults – very reliable.
What are the standout technological features of the car?
1. Good sound system (Bose)
2. Clear instrument display
3. Heated steering wheel and front seats (my wife loves them!)
4. Regen options are quite good for a 5 year old car – helps to eek out the miles.
Surprise us! Tell us something people wouldn’t readily know about this electric car
It’s cheap to run and surprisingly quick. Our local council allows free parking in all it’s car parks for BEVs which is great. I thought my wife would keep using her car most of the time but I can’t get her out of my LEAF! I’m looking at exchanging for another BEV soon; will not go back to an ICE.
What electric car(s) are you interested in next and why?
Kia Niro EV – new version. Great car; excellent spec; reasonable price; loaded with good tech but also lots of recycled materials; 7 year warranty too. This will become our main car (not a runaround), so a reversal of what we originally intended when we got the LEAF.
Home charging unit – outline both positive & negative elements
It’s a Rolec smart charger with 7.2kW capacity. Has been faultless since installed 2 years ago. I can charge whenever I like or set up scheduled charging times to take advantage of cheaper electricity rates.
Electricity supplier & tariff – outline both positive & negative elements
Right now I’m on an Octopus Standard Variable tariff as my previous firm went out of business. I’m looking to change to Octopus Go soon as they are one of the best.
What public charging networks would you recommend to others and why?
Hmmm – a mixed bag. Electric Highway are pretty good; Source London are a rip-off if you are an occasional user; EB Go (in Brighton where one of my children live) is flaky, many of their lamp post chargers just don’t work and are unreliable. Zap-Map is the best app for finding charge points though.
Insurer – outline both positive & negative elements
1st Capital Insurance – good company with decent rates. My wife damaged the car in a car park accident (the bollard won!) a few months ago and the company handled the claim efficiently.
Itemise how much money you’re saving monthly owning & running your Nissan LEAF
£70
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