[GarryL]

Hello everyone!

I've been lurking for a while, finding interesting info (thanks!), & waiting for the best time to buy an electric car. Have realised that there will always be something better in a few years, but that now might be a good time to buy a large battery Leaf. I believe it will do pretty much everything our family of four need in a car. If all goes to plan, it will be arriving later this month.

Will probably be asking about home charging later...

Kind regards

- Garry

 

[Hilltop Dave]

Welcome to SpeakEV. Ask away, I am sure someone here will be able to help. Don't forget there are complete forums for Home Charger reviews and Home charger installation.

 

[farmergiles]

Hello everyone!

I've been lurking for a while, finding interesting info (thanks!), & waiting for the best time to buy an electric car. Have realised that there will always be something better in a few years, but that now might be a good time to buy a large battery Leaf. I believe it will do pretty much everything our family of four need in a car. If all goes to plan, it will be arriving later this month.

Will probably be asking about home charging later...

Kind regards

- Garry

Welcome. Which battery size have you opted for? It will come with a charger that plugs into a good quality 13a socket (aka ' Granny charger') which charges at 2.2kw / hour.

I use a Lefunev 7kw charger (car charges at 6.6kw max) and with Octopus Go's 4 hour off peak tariff, it adds 24kw costing £1.20

My E+ N-TEC is a great car with a decent range, comfortable ride and good handling.

 

[GarryL]

Welcome. Which battery size have you opted for? It will come with a charger that plugs into a good quality 13a socket (aka ' Granny charger') which charges at 2.2kw / hour.

I use a Lefunev 7kw charger (car charges at 6.6kw max) and with Octopus Go's 4 hour off peak tariff, it adds 24kw costing £1.20

My E+ N-TEC is a great car with a decent range, comfortable ride and good handling.

Thanks. I've gone for the bigger, 62kWh battery, an E+ N-Connecta. Similar to yours but without a few extras. A full charge on the granny charger will take about 30 hours, and would probably need an extension lead, given our socket & parking locations. (How long is the supplied granny charger lead -- 5m?)

I've read enough horror stories on here to know that this kind of arrangement is not ideal and needs to be carefully monitored in case of overheating. So, we'd all be happier with a dedicated EV charger and the quicker charging would certainly be more convenient.

I'd not heard of the Lefunev -- will look it up. How do you find it? The two I was looking at were the Indra Smart Pro and the Viridian units: both look well made, by companies based not too far from where I live in Oxfordshire.

Kind regards

- Garry

 

[farmergiles]

Thanks. I've gone for the bigger, 62kWh battery, an E+ N-Connecta. Similar to yours but without a few extras. A full charge on the granny charger will take about 30 hours, and would probably need an extension lead, given our socket & parking locations. (How long is the supplied granny charger lead -- 5m?)

I've read enough horror stories on here to know that this kind of arrangement is not ideal and needs to be carefully monitored in case of overheating. So, we'd all be happier with a dedicated EV charger and the quicker charging would certainly be more convenient.

I'd not heard of the Lefunev -- will look it up. How do you find it? The two I was looking at were the Indra Smart Pro and the Viridian units: both look well made, by companies based not too far from where I live in Oxfordshire.

Kind regards

- Garry

Good choice and the performance is fantastic - surprises many ICE drivers. Unless you use the full range everyday, you'll only need a daily top up. The granny charger is kindest to the battery and if there is a rapid nearby, you could use this prior to a long journey.

The granny charger cable is about 6metres I believe. This company sell dedicated 13amp extensions.

EV granny charger 13A weatherproof extension lead

High quality 13A weatherproof outdoor waterproof extension leads heavy duty 1.5mm H07RN-F rubber cable. RCD option. IP66. Designed specifically to overcome the issue created by chunkier plugs on electric vehicles (EVs). 2m, 5m, 10m, 15m, 20m and 25m lengths.

toughleads.co.uk

When you first use it, monitor the temperature of the 13a plug and socket every hour. One of mine was fine, but another nearby got quite warm.

The Lefunev I bought from Aliexpress for £255 in January and installed it myself (former sparky) but no OZEV grant.

It's worked faultlessly and I like the colour display which shows the mains voltage, charging current and kWhs supplied. Can't comment on others apart from there seems to be a consenus to avoid Rolec.

 

[GarryL]

Thanks. 6m might just be enough. The socket I want to use is about 5m away from the driveway. But it will be tight. Will just have to see when I get the car. I have a heavy duty extension lead ready, with thicker cable than the norm. If I do need to use it, will check the fuse contacts and plug, and clean with emery paper before using for the granny, then check the temperature every so often, as you say. I have one of those thermometer guns (styled as a 'Thermal Leak Detector') that will come in useful here.

Kind regards

- Garry

 

[artyman]

I've used an extension cable with my granny charger for 12 hours without a problem

 

[GarryL]

My Leaf did not arrive at the dealership. Apparently it is a victim of the Covid-related staff shortages in Sunderland and was not built -- in fact no new Leafs were built this week. I'm now being quoted September arrival. So, I'm a bit disappointed, as I was looking forward to getting it on Monday.

Not sure whether to stick with it or cancel the order.

Kind regards
- Garry

 

[farmergiles]

My Leaf did not arrive at the dealership. Apparently it is a victim of the Covid-related staff shortages in Sunderland and was not built -- in fact no new Leafs were built this week. I'm now being quoted September arrival. So, I'm a bit disappointed, as I was looking forward to getting it on Monday.

Not sure whether to stick with it or cancel the order.

Kind regards
- Garry

That's really disappointing service from Nissan, though not their fault.
However it's worth waiting for and the 0% interest offer ends on the 31st.
Ask the dealer what freebie they will give you to keep the order. (eg 3yrs free servicing, alloy wheel insurance, gap insurance etc)

 

[GarryL]

On the verge of cancelling the order. Have been offered an ex-courtesy car white n-Tec at under a year old with around 6k miles on the clock. Price is £1 600 less than the fairly keen price I'd negotiated for a new e+ n-Connecta. So, considering that.

 

[PearlBlack]

On the verge of cancelling the order. Have been offered an ex-courtesy car white n-Tec at under a year old with around 6k miles on the clock. Price is £1 600 less than the fairly keen price I'd negotiated for a new e+ n-Connecta. So, considering that.

Ex demo EVs (especially like 62kW Leaf) are getting very rare. You probably won't have long to call on that one! Good luck!

 

[farmergiles]

On the verge of cancelling the order. Have been offered an ex-courtesy car white n-Tec at under a year old with around 6k miles on the clock. Price is £1 600 less than the fairly keen price I'd negotiated for a new e+ n-Connecta. So, considering that.

Ex demo EVs (especially like 62kW Leaf) are getting very rare. You probably won't have long to call on that one! Good luck!

I agree and as I said earlier Nissan Darlington wanted to take my 18m old N-Tec back and upgrade me to a brand new Tekna in September.

I cancelled friday's appointment and was slightly surprised when they made no effort to change my mind. I guess they knew they'd not have a car to supply and by the time they do, mine will have passed 10k miles so the deal offered could not be honoured.

 

[rikdud]

On the verge of cancelling the order. Have been offered an ex-courtesy car white n-Tec at under a year old with around 6k miles on the clock. Price is £1 600 less than the fairly keen price I'd negotiated for a new e+ n-Connecta. So, considering that.

Mines up for sale, 17 months old, 16000 miles, graphite grey, e+ teckna, no smoking or animals, perfect condition, £25k...

 

[GarryL]

The latest update is that my Leaf is currently on its way to the dealership. I have a reg now, which proves it exists!...I think.

 

[farmergiles]

The latest update is that my Leaf is currently on its way to the dealership. I have a reg now, which proves it exists!...I think.

Yes it exists as the vin is needed to register it - not long now!

 

[GarryL]

Ziggy has arrived...

First impressions are very good. Cleverly combines being easy to drive with excellent acceleration. The paintwork (gun metallic grey) is actually OK -- better than some examples I saw in the showroom.

Ziggy is a 62kWh e+ n-Connecta Leaf. For some reason, Nissan have now made it very difficult to tell apart from the standard 40kWh version. For example, there is no blue trim under the front bumper, nor any special blue 'e+' cover over one of the charging ports. However, it's definitely the right model: the full battery range is hovering around 300 miles, the motor info screen shows a max 160kW, and the weight plate near the driver's door matches the e+ spec (gross weight 2140kg).

Only slight disappointment: no floor mats. Is this normal with Leafs or new cars generally? I've only ever bought used cars before and they always came with some.

I did my first charge at a Pod Point at my local Tesco. I popped in to buy some eggs and got it from 92% to 95%, so it was really just for practice ;-)

Kind regards
- Garry

 

[farmergiles]

Ziggy has arrived...
View attachment 147858

First impressions are very good. Cleverly combines being easy to drive with excellent acceleration. The paintwork (gun metallic grey) is actually OK -- better than some examples I saw in the showroom.

Ziggy is a 62kWh e+ n-Connecta Leaf. For some reason, Nissan have now made it very difficult to tell apart from the standard 40kWh version. For example, there is no blue trim under the front bumper, nor any special blue 'e+' cover over one of the charging ports. However, it's definitely the right model: the full battery range is hovering around 300 miles, the motor info screen shows a max 160kW, and the weight plate near the driver's door matches the e+ spec (gross weight 2140kg).

Only slight disappointment: no floor mats. Is this normal with Leafs or new cars generally? I've only ever bought used cars before and they always came with some.

I did my first charge at a Pod Point at my local Tesco. I popped in to buy some eggs and got it from 92% to 95%, so it was really just for practice ;-)

Kind regards
- Garry

Mine's the same colour and I like it - its not too dark with a slightly speckled silveriness. I think its better than the silver and certainly preferable to the matt grey.

I think the blue trims front and rear were only fitted to the N-Tec.

Is your handbrake electric or mechanical?

Mine has carpet type detachable mats. I am surprised these weren't included. Might be worth asking the dealer in case they forgot them.

Charging does not really slow down massively until 95% so none of the 'charge to 80%' comments apply.

Enjoy.

 

[PearlBlack]

Excellent - glad it worked out for you in the end.
I'm doing 1st 200 mile trip in mine today, so will be trying out public charging. Fingers crossed for an easy induction to the EV club.

 

[GarryL]

@farmergiles Thanks! It's still the mechanical 'handbrake'. Simpler, and less to go wrong, I suppose, although the Nissan electronic handbrake system seems a decent implementation. Was going to ask the dealer about the mats -- if they were a paid-for extra they never even mentioned them. No biggee though, as I can get some from Halfords if I need them.

@PearlBlack Good luck with that! Have you got some apps installed on your phone? Zap-Map, at the very least, looks extremely handy. Increasingly, public chargers are moving to contactless card payment without needing an app, but some are not there yet. I used the Pod Point app when I charged at Tesco (fast/type 2, not rapid) -- it was free anyway and I think the charge may have started even before I checked in with the app.

 

[GarryL]

Oh, I think most prospective new Leaf buyers probably know this already, but I can confirm that mine did come with the newer steering wheel adjustment system: in/out (telescopic) and up/down.