[PhilB1]

Hi there. I start a new job soon and it involves a 110 mile round trip commute from near Bath to Andover.

I was considering replacing my ageing Honda Jazz with a 40kw Leaf but wanted some opinion on if the Leaf is suitable for my commute? At the moment it would involve charging at home and I don’t know if there is the possibility of charging at Andover as I am not yet sure of my work location.

I have read the forum and wasn’t sure if I would run into long term issues with range if the battery degrades would in capacity. Some owners are saying to keep topping up overnight and not going past 80% to preserve battery life and to not regularly discharge until it’s empty. Basically, don’t drive it like you would an ICE.

My concern is that I would be wanting to run the car long term, so 5-10 years and didn’t know if the type of journey I would be doing (A roads at between 50-60mph) each day would shorten the battery life more than say a user who was doing 30 miles of urban travelling. Also if I was only topping up to 80% charge would I run into range issues in Winter and also if/when the battery life has reduced the available range?

I am wondering if my commute is more suited to a car with 60kw? The issue is I can’t afford one of those at present so would need to wait.
Thanks for any advice

 

[Ir44]

Hi there. I start a new job soon and it involves a 110 mile round trip commute from near Bath to Andover.

I was considering replacing my ageing Honda Jazz with a 40kw Leaf but wanted some opinion on if the Leaf is suitable for my commute? At the moment it would involve charging at home and I don’t know if there is the possibility of charging at Andover as I am not yet sure of my work location.

I have read the forum and wasn’t sure if I would run into long term issues with range if the battery degrades would in capacity. Some owners are saying to keep topping up overnight and not going past 80% to preserve battery life and to not regularly discharge until it’s empty. Basically, don’t drive it like you would an ICE.

My concern is that I would be wanting to run the car long term, so 5-10 years and didn’t know if the type of journey I would be doing (A roads at between 50-60mph) each day would shorten the battery life more than say a user who was doing 30 miles of urban travelling. Also if I was only topping up to 80% charge would I run into range issues in Winter and also if/when the battery life has reduced the available range?

I am wondering if my commute is more suited to a car with 60kw? The issue is I can’t afford one of those at present so would need to wait.
Thanks for any advice

I think you should be ok with 40kW given the cruise speeds of 50-60 as long as you don't accelerate and overtake too much, use B mode mostly for regressive braking + go easy on the aircon in summer and heating in winter. You learn the tricks with experience. I wouldn't worry about battery degradation too much either. I covered 36k miles in May 18 to Feb 20 in all weathers including long commutes up to 3 days a week (154 miles in total) and haven't noticed too much battery degradation. Then again I have been fortunate to have AC 7KW charging at home overnight (see e.g. Octopus link for example of cheap overnight rates) and free at work for part of the day. So not too many rapid charges. I would say covering that kind of distance if not a 60kW version (definitely ok for your needs) then you want N-Connecta or Tekna type drive assist features which I found invaluable (Pro Pilot for adaptive cruise control, lane assist etc). With these features I found longer trips easier than my old Saab 9-3 cruiser (nice as that was for it's time).

Others will know more in detail on the degradation you mention.

 

[farmergiles]

A friend wasn't keen on a BEV so has bought a Clio self charging hybrid due anyday.

RENAULT CLIO E-TECH FULL HYBRID

Choose how you want to drive: Switch to electric by the touch of a button and benefit from the optimal driving experience. Discover CLIO E-TECH HEV online.

www.renault.co.uk

 

[Petriix]

I wouldn't want to be doing a 110 mile commute in a 40kWh vehicle of any kind. 2.5 miles per kWh is pretty normal for winter at 70mph so even with 40kWh useble (the leaf has more like 36) you'd only get 100 miles. I'd go for something with a 50kWh battery or bigger. My recommendation (purely for cost vs range) is an MG5, available for under £20k. Other, slightly higher spec vehicles to consider are the ID3, Zoe ZE50, E208 and Corsa-E (there have been some real bargains for Corsa-E leases recently).

 

[farmergiles]

I wouldn't want to be doing a 110 mile commute in a 40kWh vehicle of any kind. 2.5 miles per kWh is pretty normal for winter at 70mph so even with 40kWh useble (the leaf has more like 36) you'd only get 100 miles. I'd go for something with a 50kWh battery or bigger. My recommendation (purely for cost vs range) is an MG5, available for under £20k. Other, slightly higher spec vehicles to consider are the ID3, Zoe ZE50, E208 and Corsa-E (there have been some real bargains for Corsa-E leases recently).

i agree, no way would I want daily range anxiety. I'd choose an EV with a range enough for a return journey and recharge at home or a hybrid.

 

[srichards]

Nope. Having had a 40 kWh Leaf it'd be useless and need charging every day on the return in winter and probably more of the rest of the year as it aged and battery degraded. Cold weather absolutely kills it and it loses a lot of range.

Corsa E I now have and that would be squeaky bum time as well unless you have guaranteed workplace charging in winter. It's less efficient than the Leaf and the battery usable is about 45kWh. I do a regular trip in it and in winter it's just scraping 3 miles per kWh and that's mixed 50 and 70 limits for most of it. It's not so bad in summer but it's still not hugely efficient.

My golden rule is you generally want a car with double the range of the regular daily trip you have to do. It gives you far more flexibility.

A 250 mile car would mean the Niro or Kia Soul EV are about the only sensible options. The Leaf 60 would also be ok just but you need a later one with the steering wheel reach adjustment as that means you can at least get it more comfortable. The ones without reach adjustment can be quite uncomfortable if the natural steering wheel position isn't right. They're also missing a foot plate for your left foot as well which is more critical than I thought having had a 40 without both.

Buying the wrong car too soon is a bad idea. Better to save up a bit more and get the right one. If your work installed a charger you could use daily without fail then your choice would be much bigger. Any of the lower range cars would then be ok but one that does near the daily mileage would be less bother than one that didn't so if the work charger failed you wouldn't be totally up a creak.

 

[Ir44]

I wouldn't want to be doing a 110 mile commute in a 40kWh vehicle of any kind. 2.5 miles per kWh is pretty normal for winter at 70mph so even with 40kWh useble (the leaf has more like 36) you'd only get 100 miles. I'd go for something with a 50kWh battery or bigger. My recommendation (purely for cost vs range) is an MG5, available for under £20k. Other, slightly higher spec vehicles to consider are the ID3, Zoe ZE50, E208 and Corsa-E (there have been some real bargains for Corsa-E leases recently).

As written above, I had no problem doing 77 miles each way using 50-60% of the battery depending on conditions for 2-3 days a week over a 3 year period. Using similar roads as mentioned so cruising at 60-65 for 2/3 of trip. 60kWh is of course the much safer option. So I guess decide your tolerance for range anxiety! I may be an outlier on the latter and had the reassurance of charging at work (essential in my longer commute).

 

[GOSPORT DAVE]

The important thing to remember is with any EV is that the winter range drops like a stone, the likes of the KONA and NIRO that are the gold standard for range and economy in mild weather, seem to perform quite badly in really cold weather.

While the 40 LEAF will be okay in mild weather, when in the coldest weather with wind and rain, snow, safely expect no more the 90 - 100 miles range. This will get worse with even slight battery degradation over coming years.

My advice is to go for an EV with the largest battery capacity that you can afford.

Also if you are doing a commute, if you can charge overnight with cheap electricity, then there can be a significant financial saving on fuel over petrol or diesel, which helps pay for that extra range.

Please don't be to hung up about only charging to 80%, whilst I personally think that it is best practice, I have no qualms in charging to 100% if I need the battery capacity for range the next day, that's what I bought the vehicle for, to meet my needs.

 

[farmergiles]

I'd not buy an EV with the need to charge to 100% daily.

 

[SuperLeaf]

It depends on your driving.
I manage to squeeze out 90 miles out of the residual 16kWh of my Leaf 24 on country roads at around 40mph, in 10C temperatures.
Do an average speed assessment using your Jazz.

110 miles should be comfortably within the range of the Leaf 40, even after degradation and in freezing temperatures.
Will the car spend the night in the garage or outside?

Charging to 100% daily is not a problem on the Leaf40, it's an urban myth.

Why don't you ask a Nissan dealership to let you test one and you can then see for yourself how much margin there is with your usual driving style? You can top off the battery in a regular socket.
If you have the option to charge at your workplace, a good used Leaf30 could also do the job for less than half the money.

 

[JohnMars]

It depends on your driving.
I manage to squeeze out 90 miles out of the residual 16kWh of my Leaf 24 on country roads at around 40mph, in 10C temperatures.
Do an average speed assessment using your Jazz.

110 miles should be comfortably within the range of the Leaf 40, even after degradation and in freezing temperatures.
Will the car spend the night in the garage or outside?

Charging to 100% daily is not a problem on the Leaf40, it's an urban myth.

Why don't you ask a Nissan dealership to let you test one and you can then see for yourself how much margin there is?

If you have the option to charge at your workplace, a good used Leaf30 could also do the job for less than half the money.

Yes but think abut comfort! Having to drive in gloves and scarf and using an open window to desist .

In addition, its just no pleasure having to plug in Leafspy for the last 10% trying to gauge when your about to turtle!




I got 106 miles from my Leaf 30 last week for 100% full to 8 gids. That is not something I would want on a daily basis and if your doing that to your battery daily, it aint going to be long before degradation takes its toll.

If your budget cannot stretch have a chat with your work. If they would be happy to let you install an outdoor commando socket - you could have it done for £200 fish as long as wiring permits, then jut charge at work, in that case it would be a great choice.

 

[JohnMars]

Heck - if you able to get the work commando a leaf 30 would be fine too - I can easily get 80 miles comfortably in the winter , so if one way your going 55 miles then can charge for a few hours you'll same some £££.

 

[PhilB1]

Thanks guys, it confirms what I was worried about.
I would look at a Leaf 30 if there was charging at work but don’t know how likely this will be as it is the NHS and I don’t know if it is based in one place or at GP surgeries. That would be more cost effective option if I could charge at work.

I would only consider a lease if the monthly cost was not much more than the fuel bill for my other car (mk2 Prius) or a cheap Yaris diesel for £2.5k which would be around £200/month for my mileage (nearly 30,000 miles a year).

I think I will have to hang on until a 64kw is cheaper.

 

[SuperLeaf]

Yes but think abut comfort! Having to drive in gloves and scarf and using an open window to desist .

In addition, its just no pleasure having to plug in Leafspy for the last 10% trying to gauge when your about to turtle!




I got 106 miles from my Leaf 30 last week for 100% full to 8 gids. That is not something I would want on a daily basis and if your doing that to your battery daily, it aint going to be long before degradation takes its toll.

If your budget cannot stretch have a chat with your work. If they would be happy to let you install an outdoor commando socket - you could have it done for £200 fish as long as wiring permits, then jut charge at work, in that case it would be a great choice.

If the car spends the night in the garage, it should be fine. And otherwise, there is always the pre-heat.
I think that oversizing the batteries for the usage is not a smart thing to do, especially for a steady commute route. You overpay and add dead weight.

If there is a lot of highway and you plan on driving 70mph most of the time with the heater on max, then it will get tight.

 

[JohnMars]

Im a GP - just have a chat to your practice manager / senior partner they are usually pretty reasonable , especially if you pay the install cost!

 

[srichards]

Government has just started another workplace charging scheme. Worth investigating this.

 

[Morovitch]

I owned a 40kwh Leaf for almost 3 years doing a regular 120 mile round trip at 50-60mph. I could just about do it in winter when the car was new, but had to charge by year 3.

I wouldn't want the range anxiety personally. A good alternative would be a 38kwh Hyundai Ioniq, which should almost meet your target price on lease at the moment (see Lease Loco) and will easily do that distance return.

 

[Petriix]

Heck - if you able to get the work commando a leaf 30 would be fine too - I can easily get 80 miles comfortably in the winter , so if one way your going 55 miles then can charge for a few hours you'll same some £££.

For some reason it really bugs me when people are looking for advice about an EV and someone chimes in with "I can easily do x miles in my [EV name]" when what they mean is that their EV can just about go that far if they stick below 65mph.

A Leaf 30 will do 80 miles at 70mph in good conditions but not in the cold, wet and/or with a headwind. Maybe drivers who are used to scraping every mile out of their short range EVs are happy at 60mph, but most people want to be able to drive normally. People need realistic advice.

 

[JohnMars]

For some reason it really bugs me when people are looking for advice about an EV and someone chimes in with "I can easily do x miles in my [EV name]" when what they mean is that their EV can just about go that far if they stick below 65mph.

A Leaf 30 will do 80 miles at 70mph in good conditions but not in the cold, wet and/or with a headwind. Maybe drivers who are used to scraping every mile out of their short range EVs are happy at 60mph, but most people want to be able to drive normally. People need realistic advice.

Errr yeah that's realistic the weeks i'm not bothering to hyperbole or try, my 30 easily gets 80 a week - here, yes flat (relatively) and warmer compared to the rest of the UK, but I drive 30 mies a day, most of it dual carriageway with 5 miles through town at 30.

True I don't drive at 70, if I did then the days Im Lea for work I can get 60 miles.

Actually the OP does 110 miles round trip - so my comment was that it would be an easy use of a 30kw to drive 55 miles then charge at work if he can sort a charger.

 

[Petriix]

Errr yeah that's realistic the weeks i'm not bothering to hyperbole or try, my 30 easily gets 80 a week - here, yes flat (relatively) and warmer compared to the rest of the UK, but I drive 30 mies a day, most of it dual carriageway with 5 miles through town at 30.

True I don't drive at 70, if I did then the days Im Lea for work I can get 60 miles.

Actually the OP does 110 miles round trip - so my comment was that it would be an easy use of a 30kw to drive 55 miles then charge at work if he can sort a charger.

The 55 mile trip is fine for a Leaf 30 and that's sound advice. I just see the same sort of "I can easily do that in my 22kWh Zoe" comments a lot and wish people would say "I can just about scrape that unless the weather is really bad in which case I'd need to charge or drive at 50". I also see quite a few "everyone told me I'd get 180 miles from my new E2008 but I'm only getting 100" posts.