Anyone got an electric car ?

[UnrelentingFruitScoffer]

Seriously considering the Nissan Leaf as a second car and for short distances to my work and to the shops and such. Do you find it easy to use an electric car?

Placemarking as I test drove one a few years ago and it was great - I’ve noticed there are now plenty on the second hand market.

You have to spend about £500 on having a power socket installed I think.

We have one; it cost £450 to have a charge point installed at home and we charge the car overnight and there are car parks with charge points near both our works if we need to charge in the day. It does about 160 miles on a charge so if we have a long drive or a day with lots of driving we have to plan a bit and check where charge points are but it’s been fine as a lot of services have fast charges. It’s mainly the planning ahead that you have to think about

I do but only a tiny one. I have the electric Smart Fortwo. I got in in March and love it!

Dh's new car will be electric too but not for a year or two. That'll be a bigger one.

We have an electric point at home now for charging.

Mine can't do far on a charge as small but I get a lot more miles on eco mode and when the weathers warm!

It's lovely to drive. Immediate response for the accelerator. Really smooth drive.

And it comes with lots of stuff as standard such as sat bag, heated steering wheel and seats, air con, phone connectivity. Parking sensors, etc. The turning circle is amazing too and it's a doddle to drive and park.

Dh also loves to drive it. He's forever trying to take it out at weekend when I'm not using it. He says it's a much more fun drive than his big discovery.

Oh and you can just charge in a normal plug socket. It just takes a lot longer. Mine came with connectors for a normal 3 pin socket and the electric charger sockets.

We’ve had a leaf for 5 years. Love it. Super easy to drive, very reliable. You learn to adjust your driving according to how much battery you have left. The heating takes a lot out of the battery so be prepared for that. Ours is a 2011 plate and the range on the new ones is much better. I would definitely buy another.

We have a Tesla - we’ve had it for about 3 years. It’s the best car we’ve ever owned. We have a charger at home so I plug it in overnight and it’s ready for the morning.
We’ve been everywhere in it - all over France last year ~and got stuck in a riot~

Any more opinions ?

You can get a grant for the home charging point, so we got ours fitted for £150. I have a Leaf and I love it. I do 90% of my charging at home. If I had to rely on charging elsewhere I would probably think twice.

Bump!

We have a Volvo and it’s really good! We got one that uses petrol when the electric has run out but tbh the electric lasts ages. It gets dh to work and back meaning he only fuels up a couple of times a month.

Bump! My next car is going to be electric. Not sure when that will be though ...

Yes, we’ve got a fully electric car, a Hyundai Kona. Our charging point was £120 and the range is 300 miles. We’ve just been on holiday in it and it was great not having the petrol costs. We did have an issue with one charging point being out of action when we were coming Bach so had to go off our landed route to get to another.

Watching with interest as I’m considering getting one. I can hear the ‘electric’ buzz of the Leaf though, which I can’t stand, so need an alternative.

I wouldn’t get one due to the environmental impact. They produce more CO2 than diesel.

brusselstimes.com/business/technology/15050/electric-vehicles-emit-more-co2-than-diesel-ones,-german-study-shows?fbclid=IwAR0is5oI6dwrKQhZmlgcFGpD1EeX6KIXeszbM3SK3vpLcnKG0BKx8eDxOfo

We have a prius which alternates between petrol and electric depending on speed and charge available. Best of both worlds 😊

@backwoodsgirl
V interesting article. I’d be very interested to hear uk environmentalists’ reaction and views on that. Electric is variable in its sources and so those figures will go down as energy gets greener.

There is pretty universal agreement that batteries are the way forward when it comes to electricity generation - especially on a domestic level.

We got the leaf a few months back, I was apprehensive at first. But now I love it.. I had a few close encounters with not having enough mileage ( because I would forget to charge) but now that i am used to OMG I love it... I will never drive petrol/ diesel again.

Ohhh, I'm desperate for a BMW i3! I love them.

Got a hybrid and we love it. Dh's commute costs pence every day

We've got a Leaf. Best car we've ever had. So easy to drive and park. DH commutes about 20 miles each way and there's still plenty left for running around in the evenings. Ours is a 2017 model with a 40kwh battery. It's also quite convenient to never have to stop for fuel on your way to work.

Had a Vauxhall Ampera for 6+ years now and it's saved us so much money overall. Got the charger installed for free back then. Seriously considering an eKona as well now but the wait list is over a year!

Also interested in responses

I've had leafs since 2015. I'd never go back to an internal combustion engine now. Absolutely love it. You can drive surprisingly far in it and there are often few charge points in places. In ikea they give you money off the bill if you charge there. I love love love it. So fun to drive too!