Who else is an EV only household?
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12,197 Posts
We are until we go the van back from being repaired. --- Yeah I know that doesn't count.
With our other car being 10 years old and less then reliable we live about the same as we would if we were EV only.
I'm not about to use the van to do an airport run. The leaf would be less risky.
With our other car being 10 years old and less then reliable we live about the same as we would if we were EV only.
I'm not about to use the van to do an airport run. The leaf would be less risky.
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2,026 Posts
Yes been 100% EV only since May 2013, no issues at all, went on holiday in it this year as well thanks to the electric highway, never had 2 cars anyway as I get about on high powered electric bikes round my home town and have done for over 10 years now, I have a wife and 2 little kids, we all love the Leaf, we may keep it when we get the Model S because we love it so much and the Model S is a big car so not always suitable for some things.
You can make it work if you really want to, some folks need 2 x cars for work purposes I understand that however if you can and you don’t need the cars for work you simply don’t need another car, beg borrow and steal an ICE if you really need one for the odd journey that’s out of range.
The Leaf is a great family car, there was a user on here whos little kid had only ever travelled in an electric car, I think that’s lovely.
You can make it work if you really want to, some folks need 2 x cars for work purposes I understand that however if you can and you don’t need the cars for work you simply don’t need another car, beg borrow and steal an ICE if you really need one for the odd journey that’s out of range.
The Leaf is a great family car, there was a user on here whos little kid had only ever travelled in an electric car, I think that’s lovely.
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1,150 Posts
We were EV only for a month. Does a PHEV count? In which case yes, and loving it. Using the LEAF way more than intended, it's the vehicle of choice between us.
Even a month with the LEAF alone was way easier than we both thought.
The Outlander has led me to frequent the forecourts again, which I really feel dirty about. Roll on a 200 mile range EV that can tow. B-)
My tip, just do it. It's not as hard as you might imagine.
Even a month with the LEAF alone was way easier than we both thought.
The Outlander has led me to frequent the forecourts again, which I really feel dirty about. Roll on a 200 mile range EV that can tow. B-)
My tip, just do it. It's not as hard as you might imagine.
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2,026 Posts
My electric bikes are home made if you like, just normal mountain bikes with add on motors, I have quite a few, my main daily rider has a BMC geared hub motor (rated at 250W) I run it at 10 times that using a modified controller its good for 30mph and will climb any hill, I use model plane Lipo batteries to run it 48V 15Ah in total and charge it from a model charger, don’t monitor any cells just run a battery meter and power watt meter to ensure I don’t over discharge it.
It has been very reliable (they have all been very reliable) you can get some decent off the shelf bikes now, there are a lot on Ebay some good some bad, whilst not strictly legal on the road you can still be sensible, I have never had any problems in over 10 years, I do have a switch that limits the power and of course only use full power off road… ahem.
Ebiking on a modified bike is almost as much fun as a Leaf oh and watt hours per mile, with light peddling I can get 20 watt hours per mile, that’s pretty efficient.
It has been very reliable (they have all been very reliable) you can get some decent off the shelf bikes now, there are a lot on Ebay some good some bad, whilst not strictly legal on the road you can still be sensible, I have never had any problems in over 10 years, I do have a switch that limits the power and of course only use full power off road… ahem.
Ebiking on a modified bike is almost as much fun as a Leaf oh and watt hours per mile, with light peddling I can get 20 watt hours per mile, that’s pretty efficient.
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46 Posts
Single Leaf family since January and loving it! My Wife wasn't sure about it at first but as she doesn't drive she has little choice! After I drove her in it she was hooked. Our 2 yr old son also thinks it's fantastic and it is still to this day referred to as "Daddy's new car" slowing being replaced by "Daddy's Leaf" as he grows up.
We don't do many long journeys, infact the only real long trip is the same one multiple times 200 miles down to visit my parents. In an ICE it was just over 4 hours if you drove to save fuel, now it is 5 and a half. Thats basically three 30 min stops which are actually quite useful with regards to a child who is in toilet training!
There are a couple of locations which have been sacrificed due to the range of the car, such as the deep heard of the Yorkshire dales and the far east of the North Yorks Moors, however half the fun for me is researching ways to get to these hard to reach locations and finding destination charging or just figuring out clever routes to get there and back with a rapid that's off the normal route.
I guess for me the Leaf has become more of a hobby / techy toy rather than just another car.
6 months in and I still love it!
We don't do many long journeys, infact the only real long trip is the same one multiple times 200 miles down to visit my parents. In an ICE it was just over 4 hours if you drove to save fuel, now it is 5 and a half. Thats basically three 30 min stops which are actually quite useful with regards to a child who is in toilet training!
There are a couple of locations which have been sacrificed due to the range of the car, such as the deep heard of the Yorkshire dales and the far east of the North Yorks Moors, however half the fun for me is researching ways to get to these hard to reach locations and finding destination charging or just figuring out clever routes to get there and back with a rapid that's off the normal route.
I guess for me the Leaf has become more of a hobby / techy toy rather than just another car.
6 months in and I still love it!
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8,106 Posts
Mine doesn't count I am sure because one of mine is a PHEV but what the heck!... Leaf owner since 2011 and Ampera owner since 2012.
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2,397 Posts
Yes Leaf owner only since oct 2013. Before that Citroen Berlingo Electrique only from 2002 till 2009, 96,000 miles driven. Compares to that with 60 miles range and wet nicad batteries you had to top up, the Leaf is a lot easier to live with.
Not having kids / family makes it easier for me probably. But so does temperament. I am a trustful, hopeful sort of person - sometimes beyond reason - which allows me to relish and embrace occasional stteyching the range / capabilities driving. Cannot think of a uk journey I would not be happy trying in the Leaf - unless it was there or back in a day without a rapid in sight to a deadline. Have done 370 miles in a day twice (Telford to Southampton), gone cross country and today driven 130 miles plus at good speeds with range to spare through opportunity charging without my plans changing (Nisssn Shrews while having lunch. Church Stretton plug in midlands card post while taking a group for a cuppa. Back home in Telford while having dinner before going back out again socially - stopped charging an hour before needing to leave as plenty in).
Not having kids / family makes it easier for me probably. But so does temperament. I am a trustful, hopeful sort of person - sometimes beyond reason - which allows me to relish and embrace occasional stteyching the range / capabilities driving. Cannot think of a uk journey I would not be happy trying in the Leaf - unless it was there or back in a day without a rapid in sight to a deadline. Have done 370 miles in a day twice (Telford to Southampton), gone cross country and today driven 130 miles plus at good speeds with range to spare through opportunity charging without my plans changing (Nisssn Shrews while having lunch. Church Stretton plug in midlands card post while taking a group for a cuppa. Back home in Telford while having dinner before going back out again socially - stopped charging an hour before needing to leave as plenty in).
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220 Posts
Slowly getting there. We have gone from 3 ICE cars, to 2 ICE and 1 EV, now just sold my Lotus so down to 1 EV and 1 ICE. Now my OH is making noises about replacing her Kia Soul with a Soul EV!
Yep same here too. Leaf only family since March. We have a 4 year old and a 1 year old, the 4 year old has named the Leaf 'Larry' and loves to tell people 'its electric' Great young EV advocate!
Must admit that we have used the Nissan ICE program for the odd longer trips to Grandparents etc. But for 95% of the time the Leaf has meant no compromises at all! All ICE cars do feel somewhat old tech.
Our situation might be changing soon that means that we need a 2nd car again, might need to do some 'Man maths' and make an i3 rex seem doable as a 180 mile range would cover pretty much 100% of our annual requirements with no need to rely on public charging, which at the moment seems a little hit and miss.
But loving the EV experience so far!
Must admit that we have used the Nissan ICE program for the odd longer trips to Grandparents etc. But for 95% of the time the Leaf has meant no compromises at all! All ICE cars do feel somewhat old tech.
Our situation might be changing soon that means that we need a 2nd car again, might need to do some 'Man maths' and make an i3 rex seem doable as a 180 mile range would cover pretty much 100% of our annual requirements with no need to rely on public charging, which at the moment seems a little hit and miss.
But loving the EV experience so far!
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51 Posts
We've been EV-only, just the one car, since July 2011 - we've just bought our second Leaf after giving an Ampera some thought but concluding that for us, pure-EV works well enough 99% of the time to be able to make alternatively arrangements for the other 1%. (We're also very fond of the Leaf as a car and an innovation so there's a fair bit of brand loyalty keeping us with Nissan for the time being.)
We're not into the 'drive the length of the UK for fun' expeditions and generally keep close to home so the range is fine for us. We've hired ICE cars twice in the last three years for trips that were outside Leaf range: once for a graduation and once for transporting a family member to and from hospital. (We probably could have managed them both by finding public chargers along the way but in both cases timing was critical and I there was no way I was going to risk hanging around at a services in January with a post-surgery patient in the car!)
Hints and tips? It helps that we both work at the same place so the morning commute is very easy. We changed how we approached holidays when we got the first Leaf. In the past, we'd find a campsite somewhere by the sea, load the car up and head for the horizon but we've started taking coach holidays instead. A surprise side-effect of that is that it's so much less stressful as there's no navigation to worry about and getting lost is someone else's problem
(And I've found that it's very nice not having to build your home when you arrive - I'm getting quite keen on hotels over tents!)
Barring disastrous financial changes, I can't imagine going back to an ICE car now...
We're not into the 'drive the length of the UK for fun' expeditions and generally keep close to home so the range is fine for us. We've hired ICE cars twice in the last three years for trips that were outside Leaf range: once for a graduation and once for transporting a family member to and from hospital. (We probably could have managed them both by finding public chargers along the way but in both cases timing was critical and I there was no way I was going to risk hanging around at a services in January with a post-surgery patient in the car!)
Hints and tips? It helps that we both work at the same place so the morning commute is very easy. We changed how we approached holidays when we got the first Leaf. In the past, we'd find a campsite somewhere by the sea, load the car up and head for the horizon but we've started taking coach holidays instead. A surprise side-effect of that is that it's so much less stressful as there's no navigation to worry about and getting lost is someone else's problem
(And I've found that it's very nice not having to build your home when you arrive - I'm getting quite keen on hotels over tents!)Barring disastrous financial changes, I can't imagine going back to an ICE car now...
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1,128 Posts
Just don't try coming east.
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11,835 Posts
Peterborough rapid might help a bit, but it seems beyond that it's pretty dead so far as infrastructure goes?!
Or was that just a general warning / advisory.
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1,128 Posts
It is a bit of a charging wasteland. Which is odd given how much money SourceEast had to spend...
Possibly
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2,397 Posts
Peterborough to Norwich is possible with care - did it in Jan both ways - dealer rapid
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1,231 Posts
Three drivers in our house, 1 car. It's been that way for quite a few years - since we gave our old Rover 400 to my daughter ad her husband. We had a Prius for about 8 years and in Feb changed it for a Leaf.
Regrets? It's not fun being stuck in Ilford at about 10 at night with the prospect of a 5-hour charge, but to their credit Ecotricity paid for our taxi to our destination, and the train fare and parking charge when I went back to get the car the following day.
Regrets? It's not fun being stuck in Ilford at about 10 at night with the prospect of a 5-hour charge, but to their credit Ecotricity paid for our taxi to our destination, and the train fare and parking charge when I went back to get the car the following day.
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