Another Nissan Leaf question

BoatMad

Our current usage of the cars is minimal actually. I do a 15km commute, tend to use the Luas, but require the car every now and then for early start and late finish. Charging at work is not an option, but at home is. The other half is also taking the bus as working in town. So its more a weekender car/popping up to gym/shopping etc. Ideally we want something not older than the Fiat. The economy with the Leaf is a no brainer, but is the compromise for older Leaf worth it?

if you have little usage, then an EV isn't really the right choice, in fact you die a " bangernomics" candidate. Cvs only really make sense if you have decent daily use, so that the savings in " fuel" offside the price of the car and the hassle of using an EV ( at times )

MicraBoy

BoatMad wrote: »

if you have little usage, then an EV isn't really the right choice, in fact you die a " bangernomics" candidate. Cvs only really make sense if you have decent daily use, so that the savings in " fuel" offside the price of the car and the hassle of using an EV ( at times )

Just not the banger I have at the moment! I agree but I am looking for cost neutrality no matter what I do (ideally). Also the current situation is almost certainly not the long term, plus I'd be more inclined to commute by car if it was EV - hope I'm not moving the goal posts, but this is very much thinking out loud for me,

BoatMad

MicraBoy wrote: »

Just not the banger I have at the moment! I agree but I am looking for cost neutrality no matter what I do (ideally). Also the current situation is almost certainly not the long term, plus I'd be more inclined to commute by car if it was EV - hope I'm not moving the goal posts, but this is very much thinking out loud for me,

well if its a heart over head debate , thats different , on a fiscal basis , an EV doesnt make sense as petrol cars can be got considerably cheaper and the costs of fuel are low for low mileage

Scottie99

batman2000 wrote: »

Looking at getting a 2012 Leaf from a Irish Nissan dealer.
How do I know if it's a 24Kwh/30Kwh or what the charger is 3Kw or 6Kw?
Trying to do a lot of reading on this, it's all new !

Thanks,

Personally, I wouldn't recommend a 2012 but the 1.5 model 131 onwards. It has a better battery and air conditioning unit which is very efficient. If you're a cash buyer, head to the UK and pick up the newer model and benefit from high Sterling and no VRT.

I agree with BoatMad, cheap means a lot less depreciation and interest. However you might find a 2nd hand Gen I leaf at a good bargain , especially in the U.K.

A 2nd hand well maintained Gen II Prius 2004-2009 is also a good bet, ultra reliable and should easily return 55-64 mpg. Depending on your driving, tyres etc.

The Prius is one of the best built cars on the road with several North American Taxis exceeding 400,000 miles. There should be no high mileage surprises but full Toyota service history is essential.

Buying new EV V New ICE is another matter and 2nd hand EV at the same price as 2nd hand ICE, usually the EV will save a lot of money.

You may be able to buy a 1-2 year old Leaf on PCP which would greatly reduce monthly bills however don't be fooled with PCP, The Cheap monthly payments are excellent for those who will and can afford to change in 3 years, if you want to keep the car or circumstances change and you can't get another PCP contract then you have to pay the balloon at the end but you can refinance it which is more flexible than most other loans, it gives you 3 years to think about whether you want to keep it or not but sooner or later the balloon has to be paid........

Scottie99

Scottie99 wrote: »

Personally, I wouldn't recommend a 2012 but the 1.5 model 131 onwards. It has a better battery and air conditioning unit which is very efficient. If you're a cash buyer, head to the UK and pick up the newer model and benefit from high Sterling and no VRT.

Normally I'd agree but in this circumstances I don't, a Gen I leaf will last many years with a 15 Km commute with the odd weekly trip.

I'd say that with a 20% range loss it should still be good for 80 kms max, another 30 mins for 60 kms range, as the battery ages it takes longer to charge, or because it's now not got the ability to take the same charge means it appears smaller so might actually take the same time to charge if that makes sense.

Anyway, you can install a new battery in a leaf now in Ireland, Nissan Ireland eventually changed their stance on this issue.

Even get a loan of an ICE or rent an ICE for a couple of trips a year and the Leaf is still saving a lot of money.

Scottie99

If he's going to spend €X in Ireland, he might as well get better value for his € in Uk. If that means 1.5leaf all the better. No point having regrets because there's quite a difference between the two

Depends on the Budget.

Stealthirl

So what are the things to watch out for when buying from the UK ?
Considering a Tekna can be got for £8-10K [€9.5-12K] and as it would be VRT exempt is there any other cost i should be aware of ?

Stealthirl

Stealthirl wrote: »

So what are the things to watch out for when buying from the UK ?
Considering a Tekna can be got for £8-10K [€9.5-12K] and as it would be VRT exempt is there any other cost i should be aware of ?

Just make sure if it's a 2014+ it's not the FLEX version which means renting the battery. If early 2011-2013 model it won't.

The other cost would be transportation , and if possible get it shipped over and save a lot of hassle, you'll have to study the route if collecting it and plan and get the correct charger access cards.

Also try find one with the 6.6 Kw charger if it's a 2014+ , you can charge twice as fast from the non fast chargers, called Normal street chargers or SCP's for short. It can save you a lot of time waiting at fast chargers. Come back to the AC point and you can have a significant charge after 2 hrs and not have to wait 20 + mins at a DC charger.

Also do your car checks, the Leaf can be clocked like any normal car and unless it's had the MOT it will be difficult to spot. And obviously you will need to check the cars history.

Chances are if you buy from a main Nissan dealer then it will be fully genuine.

Also check it's got all 12 battery capacity bars. Shown in the pic below. The 2011-2013 can loose 1-2 capacity bars by 50,000 miles if fast charged a lot but if used normally can be 120,000 Kms. The 2014+ has a better battery and even with lots of fast charging shouldn't loose a capacity bar by 160,000 kms though there are other reasons capacity loss can be accelerated. Here's hoping the later batteries don;t loose a capacity bar until 200,000 kms. That means a 15% loss in capacity which depending on usage may or may not be a big deal.

Stealthirl

Ah i should have stated i was thinking of 13/14 ones and had wondered what the Flex was about,kinda rules out a large amount of the cheaper ones i was looking at.
Thanks

If you're thinking of a 2013 then do try stretch to the 2014. Mid to high spec are the ones to get. the very basic is just that, very basic and has no heat pump heater.

The three trims in the U.K are the basic" Visia", Mid spec "Acenta" and top spec "Tekna"

The Visia spec does not have the heat pump.

Visia spec.

Rapid Charge Port (Allowing 50kW DC charging)
Hill Start Assist*
ECO Drive Mode
Regenerative braking system
AM/FM/CD audio system
Bluetooth® telephone integration

Acenta ( including Visia spec above)

NissanConnect EV telematics system*
16" Alloy wheels
Colour reversing camera
Cruise control and speed limiter
B-mode (enhances regenerative braking)
Rain sensing windscreen wipers
Automatic headlights
Not mentioned in the spec is the heat pump comes with the Acenta and Tekna spec.

Tekna ( Includes all the above spec)

Black leather seats with blue stitching
17" Alloy wheels
BOSE® audio system with 7 speakers
Around View Monitor
Heated front and rear seats
Heated steering wheel
Heated door mirrors
LED headlights

Stealthirl

Yup i was looking at Tekna for the Around View and BOSE® audio system. The LED lights also sound good [would love to hear feedback on them]

The LED headlights are good, I've no issues with them. The High beams are halogen but you can change them for led's too, they are quiet good these days and you don't have to worry about blinding oncoming drivers with after market led's because you'll be turning them off anyway.

In 1 year 9 months and 47,400 kms later I have yet to replace a bulb in the leaf.

The indicators are normal bulbs along with the rear reverse light, I changed the reg plated to the dimmest 1w bulbs I could find because they are bright for a rear reg plate and some are quiet blinding to be stuck behind.

I also replaced the front sidelights to led. The rear tail lights are Led also. I don;t use the automatic headlights because during the day the horrid halogens are used so I drive with the led headlights on all the time.

batman2000

Question, the 2012 SVE has LED headlights, the Auto lights appear to be the front fog lights.

Would the auto lights (halogen) have more of a drain on the battery than the LED.? Or is the energy difference inconsequential.

cros13

batman2000 wrote: »

Question, the 2012 SVE has LED headlights, the Auto lights appear to be the front fog lights.

Would the auto lights (halogen) have more of a drain on the battery than the LED.? Or is the energy difference inconsequential.

Utterly inconsequential. The front halogens use 55W each at high beam. The drive motor uses 80,000W peak for example.

The only two things that consume any amount of power that matters are the drive motor and heating/AC.

Heated seats are worth it because you can use them instead of the heat pump which uses 10-30 times the power.

Be very careful of the base spec Visia in the UK. Unlike the XE ordered here they mostly do not have rapid charging.

BoatMad

cros13 wrote: »

Utterly inconsequential. The front halogens use 55W each at high beam. The drive motor uses 80,000W peak for example.

The only two things that consume any amount of power that matters are the drive motor and heating/AC.

Heated seats are worth it because you can use them instead of the heat pump which uses 10-30 times the power.

Be very careful of the base spec Visia in the UK. Unlike the XE ordered here they mostly do not have rapid charging.

On the modern leafs the heating and AC have negligable effects on range , typically consuming 4-6 km of range. In effect well less then the error in the GOM

batman2000

cros13 wrote: »

batman2000 wrote: »

Question, the 2012 SVE has LED headlights, the Auto lights appear to be the front fog lights.

Would the auto lights (halogen) have more of a drain on the battery than the LED.? Or is the energy difference inconsequential.

Utterly inconsequential. The front halogens use 55W each at high beam. The drive motor uses 80,000W peak for example.

The only two things that consume any amount of power that matters are the drive motor and heating/AC.

Heated seats are worth it because you can use them instead of the heat pump which uses 10-30 times the power.

Be very careful of the base spec Visia in the UK. Unlike the XE ordered here they mostly do not have rapid charging.

Thanks for the reply.
We got a SVE 2012 Leaf last week !

NIMAN

Keep us up to date with your thoughts on it. Always good to hear views of new owners.

batman2000

batman2000 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.
We got a SVE 2012 Leaf last week !

Excellent, congrats. What do you think of it ?

Drive with the LED's on all the time and don't use the auto headlights. The LED's look vastly better than the so called daytime running lights.

batman2000

I like the drive. Driving in Eco is a bit broing !!
It's comfortable, yes the LED's do look better that the Auto lights.

I know comments were about trying for a newer Leaf, given the improved battery etc, but budgets couldn't quite make the jump. I am slightly concerned the range is not accurate when driving. On a full QC charge the range is 115Km's (Eco) and in 100Km (Eco)

Just waiting on a home charge point and ESB charging card so the anxiety of getting to the Nissan dealers QC will ease.

batman2000

Thanks Deedsie, yeah I normally don't like an of the dealership surrounds and do take them off.
It's a job for the weekend so

The original Gen was a bit mental with the GOM, switch on the heat and you knock 20 kms off the range etc.

Get Leaf spy and an OBD to Bluetooth V1.5 dongle and it will be far more accurate.

cros13

You could even DIY something a bit more permanent:

http://www.wwwsite.com/puzzles/socmeter/

http://www.saxton.org/tom_saxton/2012/01/leaf-soc-meter-build.html