Sue drives a Nissan LEAF 24kWh 2016 electric car.

This is Sue’s first electric car, she’s owned the Nissan LEAF from new and drives 5,000-10,000 miles annually. The current mileage of the car is between 50,000-60,000 miles and she achieves 90 miles range from a full charge.

Why did you choose the Nissan LEAF?

Availability at the time and trade-in options. Tech specifications such as heated seats, steering wheel and all-round camera were a deciding factor too. Even now, no other affordable manufacturer seems to offer 360 cameras which are great for me.

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Positives – List 3 or more reasons why you love this electric car

• All-round camera
• comfort and quietness of ride
• safety.

Negatives – List 3 or more things that you really don’t like about this electric car

• Not a fan of its body’s aesthetics
• charger (CHAdeMO) now seems to be harder to find especially in more remote places such as North Wales
• App no longer seems to work and sat nav maps don’t seem to update.

Have you experienced any faults with the car? If so, what have they been?

I think it was recalled for brakes, which was rectified. I had to recently have brakes changed due to corrosion.

What are the standout technological features of the car?

• The regenerative braking is great
• I love the 360 camera
• heated seats and steering wheel on this Tekna model are good for me
• the ability to set a timer to set air conditioning was invaluable when I used to do an early school run in the winter.

Surprise us! Tell us something people wouldn’t readily know about this electric car

If buying second-hand do try to get a later model with an updated charger. Mine is only 3.3 AC so only good for overnight charging and not quick top-ups if a CHAdeMO isn’t available. It’s potentially useful to obtain a Type 2 converting cable for emergencies though as you won’t find a Type 1 charger anywhere.

What electric car(s) are you interested in next and why?

KIA e-Niro seems good as the range is much better and you get lots of gadgets! But I also loved the VW ID.3 when I looked.

Please outline both positive & negative elements of your home charging unit?

It’s an old Type 1 Pod Point charger – it does the job. The down points of it are that you can’t charge any other make of car so when I change I’ll have to get a new one. Also, my cable is fixed so if it gets damaged I’ll need more complicated repairs, I think.

Please outline both positive & negative elements of your electricity supplier & tariff?

I’m on Ecotricity E7 which is a completely green tariff. It seems expensive compared with some.

What public charging networks would you recommend to others and why?

The Gridserve ones are now astonishingly bad. I will avoid those now because the last time it took ages to get connected then it failed while I was in the Services so I wasted even more time waiting for another one to become free.

Please itemise where you’re saving money owning & running your Nissan LEAF

I have no idea how much I’m saving to be honest. But I compared my spending on public chargers over my two-week holiday with my friend’s diesel estimate (during the fuel crisis in August 2022) and it just about came out cheaper than his. Obviously, I pay less on servicing and no tax, so it’s surely cheaper. And if I get stuck in traffic it doesn’t cost me in fuel like an ICE vehicle!

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