Nissan leaf

saver_1_2 · 10 December 2010 at 4:02PM

This is an electric car that is due in the U.K next year. Apparently it can go for 100 miles on a £1.50 charge of electric and is reportedly set to be still worth 47% of it's value even after 3 years.
Don't know how much it is But it could be worth keeping an eye out for it. Do you have zero tax on electrics?.
If you put down a deposit of £3850 and take advantage of the governments £5000 grant it will cost just under £100 a week so it will certainly be in a lot of peoples scope due to not having to buy petrol the £100 i would have thought you could recoupe. It's costing me £54 for just over a week in petrol now.

Rossy. · 10 December 2010 at 4:12PM

I really can't see electric motors being really popular.

The hassle of charging them, prices on batteries and the overall cost is still so high that it just doesn't seem worth it

I'll stick to conventional combustion engines until i either die or we run out of oil

iolanthe07 · 10 December 2010 at 4:20PM

I would want to know how long the batteries last before they have to be replaced - replacement could be very expensive indeed. Also, in the past, few electric vehicles have been able to attain the mileage per charge claimed in real life driving.

LandyAndy · 10 December 2010 at 4:26PM

I definitely want one.:rotfl:

Why do manufacturers believe 'electric' is synonymous with 'style free'.:(

Rossy. · 10 December 2010 at 4:30PM

LandyAndy wrote: »

I definitely want one.:rotfl:

Why do manufacturers believe 'electric' is synonymous with 'style free'.:(

I actually have nothing nice to say about that heap. Every electric car to date looks absolutley rank.

Inactive · 10 December 2010 at 4:33PM

I think I would leaf that one alone...

clever_username · 10 December 2010 at 4:34PM

I think one of the biggest issues in buying an electric car is that the infrastructure isn't currently there. Unless there are plenty of places where you can plug in your car and charge it you're basically hamstrung in that you can only drive inside a 50 mile radius of your home even if the range on a full charge is 100 miles. Plus how long does it take to charge the car up?

That said, I'd imagine the road tax will be zero and there be subsidies from the government to help people buy electric cars in order to encourage drivers to trade in their oil burners.

Can't say I'm convinced yet though, although I suppose in the next few decades we won't have much choice other than driving around in glorified milk floats!

clever_username · 10 December 2010 at 4:36PM

LandyAndy wrote: »

I definitely want one.:rotfl:

Why do manufacturers believe 'electric' is synonymous with 'style free'.:(

That's true, but to be fair it looks no worse than most similar-sized cars driving around today.

LandyAndy · 10 December 2010 at 4:56PM

clever_username wrote: »

I think one of the biggest issues in buying an electric car is that the infrastructure isn't currently there. Unless there are plenty of places where you can plug in your car and charge it you're basically hamstrung in that you can only drive inside a 50 mile radius of your home even if the range on a full charge is 100 miles. Plus how long does it take to charge the car up?

Yes but I have a car that is really only used for local journeys. It can go weeks and never be used for a return journey of more than 25 miles. We do c.10k miles a year in it but all the (very few) longer journeys could be covered by our other car. An electric car at the right price might actually be an option for us.