Richard drives a Nissan LEAF 40kWh 2018.
This is Richard’s first electric car, he’s owned the Nissan LEAF under 1 year and drives 5,000-10,000 miles annually. The current mileage of the car is between 30,000-40,000 miles and he achieves 150 miles from a full charge.
Why did you choose the Nissan LEAF?
Cost, features, range, charging rates. All of these worked for me and while it doesn’t have the biggest range it allowed me to stop using my ICE car for commuting etc. The cost of the loan is almost the same as my petrol costs were, so for me it works really well.
The ProPilot pack is really useful, steering assist when on cruise and combined with adaptive cruise makes for a much easier journey.
Heated seats front and back are a great feature in winter and help to preserve it’s range, even if only a little!! Regen is great and driving in one pedal mode is fantastic. Best MPK score so far is 7.2, average is 4.2.
Definitely happy with it as my first EV even though there have been a few niggles; the Nissan dealer (in Peterborough) was shockingly dishonest, they were supposed to replace the perspex covering the dashboard as it was scratched but instead they just flipped it 180 degrees. Its a £30 part!
The year’s warranty has been used a few times so has definitely earned its price tag.
Positives – List 3 or more reasons why you love this electric car
- Cost
- features
- range.
Negatives – List 3 or more things that you really don’t like about this electric car
- AC/heater power consumption can be a challenge sometimes
- the emergency stop can be over sensitive
- there’s no height adjust on the driver/passenger seats (batteries are underneath them). I’m 5’10 and it’s ‘just’ OK…
Have you experienced any faults with the car? If so, what have they been?
Knocking transmitted through the steering wheel, suspected to be AC pipes but feels more like suspension or a bush failing. Diagnosis in progress. Android auto crashes periodically on my Samsung S21, currently trying a new firmware patch to see if it solves the issue. Reading Nissan have been absolutely brilliant.
What are the standout technological features of the car?
I guess it’s as already mentioned – Pro Pilot, Adaptive Cruise, oh and the 360 degree camera is fantastic. So helpful when you’re parking or manoeuvring because you can literally see everything either side of you and front & back. The front and rear heated seats are a god-send in winter. DAB is always a good addition to any car but only having 1 x USB slot is a nuisance (the LEAF 3.0 has 1 x USB and 1 x USB C).
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Surprise us! Tell us something people wouldn’t readily know about this electric car
There isn’t really any clever storage anywhere in the car, it’s very similar in feel to a Nissan from the 80’s as everything is pretty simple and there’s lots of plastic. Helps keep the weight down though and that’s good for range. The most useful feature for me is the 360 parking camera.
What electric car(s) are you interested in next and why?
Hyundai Kona 64kWh – it’s slightly higher which is easier to get in and out of, plus visibility is a little better. More range would be useful too.
Home charging unit – outline both positive & negative elements
zappi v2.1 7kW charger – installed by a friend who is a qualified electrician. Simple install, just don’t forget the CT cables *wink*. I haven’t connected it to the wi-fi yet because it just works but it’s probably due a firmware update. Easy to use and works well.
Electricity supplier & tariff – outline both positive & negative elements
We’re on Octopus and have the cheap overnight tariff, currently 7p per kW between 00:30 and 04:30. Costs about £2 to charge about 50-60% depending on the weather (it’s slower to charge when it’s cold).
Do you use public charging networks?
No
Insurer – outline both positive & negative elements
Insurance isn’t the cheapest, I paid £500 for my first year via a very well known yellow breakdown recovery service. They wanted £900 for the second year with no changes to my circumstances, so I’ll go elsewhere.
Please itemise where you’re saving money (or not) owning & running a Nissan LEAF
Currently WFH so I probably charge one or twice a week so £4 max. My previous ICE car (A4 Quattro) got between 420 and 440 miles to £80+ of petrol, the same mileage costs me about £15 to £20 in the LEAF when charging at home. I seldom use public chargers because of their ridiculously inflated price per kWh compared to home charging (public = 60p+ per kWh, home = 7p per kWh).
