eldavo69 Posted June 28, 2014 Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 Just sold MrsEldavo's car and will be ordering it's replacement this week. There's a very very high chance (provided the figures come back right) that we'll be going to the very darkest of dark sides of motoring. No longer a petrolhead, nor a dieselhead, not even a hybridhead. . . . A Nissan Leaf. I'll hand my login credentials in as I shut the door behind me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimdiesel Posted June 28, 2014 Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 Nothing wrong with EVs or the Leaf. I hope there will be some electricity in my life soon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patently Posted June 28, 2014 Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 Nothing wrong with electric. I'm more worried by its Nissanness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted June 28, 2014 Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 Go Tesla, you know you want to... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M8CKN Posted June 28, 2014 Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 With the 944 turbo in the garage, this balances out your petrol head footprint, so all is good in the world Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted June 28, 2014 Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 I might look at something like an Active Hybrid 5 next time, but I'm currently finding myself more and more attracted to a 730d or an S350. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldavo69 Posted June 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 My petrolhead footprint is barely there due to the 944 being still at THE garage, not in MY garage. Tesla is a bit beyond our current (sorry) budget and needs. For the 4k miles MrsEldavo does a year the Leaf provides a lot of positives (oh dear) and the potential negatives (really?) are simple to deal with. E.g. - The dealership will lend you a diesel Juke for up to 14 days a year at 24 hours notice should you need to undertake a longer trip. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patently Posted June 28, 2014 Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 E.g. - The dealership will lend you a diesel Juke for up to 14 days a year at 24 hours notice should you need to undertake a longer trip. Fantastic idea. That's properly clever marketing 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterS Posted June 28, 2014 Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 All I'd say about coming out is that there are two sorts of people IME. Those who feel the need to make a big bold statement, and those that just get on with being who they are and doing what feels right to them ;-) I looked at an active hybrid 5 as a replacement for my 520d, and even though I'd convinced myself the reason the 520d was wrong was because it was a manual, the auto active 5 still didn't quite feel right. A Nissan Leaf or Renault Zoe would make perfect sense for us a second car, and I'm sure in the next 18 months or so we will have an EV. So, don't be ashamed. - be yourself :-) After all , it is Pride day today 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewNiceMrMe Posted June 28, 2014 Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 London Pride stuff in particular has been all over Twitter today - until Brazil v Chile kicked off when it all disappeared. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterS Posted June 28, 2014 Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 That's OK I've got Brazil in the office sweepstake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldavo69 Posted June 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 You've been lucky then Peter! (Autocorrect-ed from "licky" ironically) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldavo69 Posted June 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 Fantastic idea. That's properly clever marketing Apparently people hardly take them up on the offer but it's the safety net they need to sign on the dotted line. That's not the same at every dealership, it was an idea my mate brought in at his dealership and one of the reasons why he's sold more Leafs (Leaves?) than anyone else in Europe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldavo69 Posted June 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 London Pride stuff in particular has been all over Twitter today - until Brazil v Chile kicked off when it all disappeared. #LondonPride must be amazing marketing for the beer brand. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterS Posted June 28, 2014 Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 Oh I know. And someone less interested in football is probably impossible to find, just to add insult to injury to the rest of the office Mind you, it's happened before. We lived in Japan from 2001 to 2004. Our office was around 300m from Yokohama Stadium in Shin Yokohama and I had tickets given to me for at least 4 games. I didn't go to a single one, but had more visitors in that month than in the rest of the three years we were there!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted June 28, 2014 Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 Oh I know. And someone less interested in football is probably impossible to find, just to add insult to injury to the rest of the office Mind you, it's happened before. We lived in Japan from 2001 to 2004. Our office was around 300m from Yokohama Stadium in Shin Yokohama and I had tickets given to me for at least 4 games. I didn't go to a single one, but had more visitors in that month than in the rest of the three years we were there!! Yep, people are so shallow. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted June 28, 2014 Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 (edited) The leaf is ok at what it does, it's limited range doesn't suit everyone, but for those it does, it's a half decent car. The main problem with them is the price, they are very overpriced imo, and you'd need to be doing a hell of a lot of miles to break even over a similar petrol or diesel car. The interior, despite looking a bit funky, is decidedly low rent compared to the bimmer, mostly because it's made from plants and recycled plastic. Try and find somewhere to plug it in that you don't pay for, i.e. If Mrs E's work car park has a free charging point, charge it at work during the day rather than at home over night, because you will find a rather large electric bill otherwise. You (or her) will definitely forget to plug it in occasionally too, when you get home after a days work, and just forget, p1sses you right off in the morning, believe me! Edited June 28, 2014 by Tipex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patently Posted June 28, 2014 Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 I did have a laugh at Radio 4 this week, interviewing lots of electric car drivers who were furious - absolutely furious - at the news that they were going to have to actually pay for some of the electricity they were using http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-28054738 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booster Posted June 28, 2014 Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 Price is definitely an issue with them. Contract hire price is similar to a decent spec 3 series unless you have a mate that sells them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldavo69 Posted June 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 Oh yes, the contract hire price was ridiculous compared to the numbers I've been looking at. There are 5 free charging points within less than 10mins of my house and the nearest one is in a massive park and ride car park very nearby and where we walk the dog anyway. So drive round there, charge the car and walk the dog Nip to the supermarket, charging point there, nip into town - loads of points there. Because they build the cars up here there has been significant infrastructure investment and continued support of council-run free charging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patently Posted June 29, 2014 Report Share Posted June 29, 2014 council-run charging paid for by other people. FTFY 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted June 29, 2014 Report Share Posted June 29, 2014 I did have a laugh at Radio 4 this week, interviewing lots of electric car drivers who were furious - absolutely furious - at the news that they were going to have to actually pay for some of the electricity they were using http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-28054738 On the Autocar Youtube channel this weekend, Andrew Frankel drives one of the new Mercedes Benz E class hybrids from Africa to Goodwood (the FoS) on a single tank of diesel. Makes you really question the usefulness of battery only EVs (Teslas not withstanding). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_Bangle Posted June 29, 2014 Report Share Posted June 29, 2014 I've been looking at Outlander PHEV, living miles from anywhere and 150 miles from the airport there's no way i'd ever consider a full electric car. However, not sure I could live with the 0-60 time though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldavo69 Posted June 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2014 60mph hahahahahahahahaha MrsEldavo might see 60mph on the A1 on the way home if she's lucky. The 0-30/40 times are pretty good from all that torque and the car will be doing lots of 0-30-0 traffic work. That's why she saw 24mpg average in her 320i but bizarrely that sort of driving behaviour actually suits the Leaf and allows for greater regeneration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted June 30, 2014 Report Share Posted June 30, 2014 On the Autocar Youtube channel this weekend, Andrew Frankel drives one of the new Mercedes Benz E class hybrids from Africa to Goodwood (the FoS) on a single tank of diesel. Makes you really question the usefulness of battery only EVs (Teslas not withstanding). We saw the Merc at Goodwood on Sunday, it's not really an impressive feat when you consider they only have to drive across Spain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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