Leaf it out, John!
Discussion
Not very PH but today marks the Scooby households first foray into EV ownership and thought I might put down my initial impressions after “half a tank” of driving around.
We paid a smidge under 5k for a 2016 30kwh Tekna Leaf with 57k miles that Mrs SC will use as a runaround. Car is in pretty good condition and battery condition is 10/12. First impressions are that it’s very well specced, spacious. the infotainment still feels modern and fast to use and it’s super easy to drive, although seems to prefer wifey’s driving style to mine ;-) and so quiet! Also picks up speed quite nicely with minimal drama when you press the “loud” pedal. Running heating/climate has a bigger effect on range than I imagined!
It’s not all roses though. The lack of an app (since 3G got switched off) to control it remotely is a real pain and defeats a lot of the benefits touted, especially scheduled charging and saving battery by pre-heating/cooling the car while it’s on charge. Looks like OVMS might be a good solution to this and can be DIY installed for not a lot of money. Wifey will also need to get used to using the cameras and not audible parking sensors when parking! Octopus Go is also not available as they don’t support the Leaf on a granny charger. Not the end of the world given how few miles it will do and it’s still way cheaper than the m140i she was using previously!
My first attempt at trying public charging at Lidl while the ladies went shopping was also a failure - turns out you need the Lidl app, scan the charger code, register your details, put in card details … and by the time I’d done all that they’d returned. I guess I am all setup for next time but at 68p per unit it doesn’t really make sense to use it!
So on balance wifey is really pleased with it and once we get the remote control side sorted I think it will be the car it should be!
Chris
We paid a smidge under 5k for a 2016 30kwh Tekna Leaf with 57k miles that Mrs SC will use as a runaround. Car is in pretty good condition and battery condition is 10/12. First impressions are that it’s very well specced, spacious. the infotainment still feels modern and fast to use and it’s super easy to drive, although seems to prefer wifey’s driving style to mine ;-) and so quiet! Also picks up speed quite nicely with minimal drama when you press the “loud” pedal. Running heating/climate has a bigger effect on range than I imagined!
It’s not all roses though. The lack of an app (since 3G got switched off) to control it remotely is a real pain and defeats a lot of the benefits touted, especially scheduled charging and saving battery by pre-heating/cooling the car while it’s on charge. Looks like OVMS might be a good solution to this and can be DIY installed for not a lot of money. Wifey will also need to get used to using the cameras and not audible parking sensors when parking! Octopus Go is also not available as they don’t support the Leaf on a granny charger. Not the end of the world given how few miles it will do and it’s still way cheaper than the m140i she was using previously!
My first attempt at trying public charging at Lidl while the ladies went shopping was also a failure - turns out you need the Lidl app, scan the charger code, register your details, put in card details … and by the time I’d done all that they’d returned. I guess I am all setup for next time but at 68p per unit it doesn’t really make sense to use it!
So on balance wifey is really pleased with it and once we get the remote control side sorted I think it will be the car it should be!
Chris
Edited by ScoobyChris on Saturday 22 March 21:02
If you’re granny charging it I wouldn’t worry too much about pre conditioning the battery.
Glad your wife is pleased with it. A bit surprised though as, having driven both, it sounds like a big downgrade from a 140i.
That said, Mrs S loves our EV as a runaround. I use it a lot in winter, but once the weather improves I’d rather drive something else.
Glad your wife is pleased with it. A bit surprised though as, having driven both, it sounds like a big downgrade from a 140i.
That said, Mrs S loves our EV as a runaround. I use it a lot in winter, but once the weather improves I’d rather drive something else.
horaldo72 said:
Why can’t you have Octopus Go?
Indeed. Octopus Go works with any EV, PHEV, granny charger, etc. It'll even work if you don't actually have an EV/PHEV.Intelligent Go needs a compatible car or charger, as Octopus needs full control during the sign up process.
Go just needs a few boxes ticking when you sign up. No control required.
My son has past his driving test a few weeks ago and we're toying with the idea of a Leaf of similar age / price as his first car. We already have a Zappi charger at home so will save on fuel but we'll investigate a bit more when he gets back from holiday. Will be interested in hearing how you get on with an older EV.
clockworks said:
Indeed. Octopus Go works with any EV, PHEV, granny charger, etc. It'll even work if you don't actually have an EV/PHEV.
Intelligent Go needs a compatible car or charger, as Octopus needs full control during the sign up process.
Go just needs a few boxes ticking when you sign up. No control required.
Ah maybe it was trying to sign up for Intelligent Go then. Thanks for the heads-up will follow up today!Intelligent Go needs a compatible car or charger, as Octopus needs full control during the sign up process.
Go just needs a few boxes ticking when you sign up. No control required.
Chris
Had the car for a couple of months and thought I’d post an update.
Moved over to Octopus Go and an overnight 3/4 charge (taking it to a bit over 90 miles of range) is costing less than £1.50. I think this might be cheaper motoring than even our Peugeot 107
Also ordered an OVMS kit to replace the defunct 2G one in the car. Bit fiddly to set up (built by geeks for geeks) but got it all working and installed and can now manage and track the car via the app, although slightly annoyingly the Android app is far more feature rich and polished than the Apple one.
When going over the car also discovered that there was no locking wheel nut key and the helpful dealer apologised and sent me a new set of locking wheel nuts. Not much help to get the existing ones off so cut my losses and ordered one off eBay.
Also discovered that ZEVs can use the local bus lanes but only if they have “green” number plates so as the existing non-green plates were manky and cracked I spent £16 on a new pair.
It seems the car is also due a minor service (although I think the dealer may have switched off the alert). Contacted a couple of places who wanted £150 and when I investigated what’s involved it is basically swapping the cabin filter! Will do that myself one weekend
Chris
Moved over to Octopus Go and an overnight 3/4 charge (taking it to a bit over 90 miles of range) is costing less than £1.50. I think this might be cheaper motoring than even our Peugeot 107
Also ordered an OVMS kit to replace the defunct 2G one in the car. Bit fiddly to set up (built by geeks for geeks) but got it all working and installed and can now manage and track the car via the app, although slightly annoyingly the Android app is far more feature rich and polished than the Apple one.
When going over the car also discovered that there was no locking wheel nut key and the helpful dealer apologised and sent me a new set of locking wheel nuts. Not much help to get the existing ones off so cut my losses and ordered one off eBay.
Also discovered that ZEVs can use the local bus lanes but only if they have “green” number plates so as the existing non-green plates were manky and cracked I spent £16 on a new pair.
It seems the car is also due a minor service (although I think the dealer may have switched off the alert). Contacted a couple of places who wanted £150 and when I investigated what’s involved it is basically swapping the cabin filter! Will do that myself one weekend
Chris
I was with Octopus Go for over a year, but decided to switch to EON. Took them over a week to transfer me from the initial standard tariff to Next Drive V7 (fixed for 12 months) annoyingly, but now on it. 6.7p per kWh for 7 hrs per night v 8.5p for 5 hrs. Day rate and standing charges within 1p of each other.
I fully expect the customer service to not be as good, and if it was only a few pence I wouldn't bother, but a bit like supporting cheaper petrol stations, I've moved, and there's no exit fees if they are crap.
They declare that I MUST have an EV but it's the whole house, so I doubt they do many checks.
I fully expect the customer service to not be as good, and if it was only a few pence I wouldn't bother, but a bit like supporting cheaper petrol stations, I've moved, and there's no exit fees if they are crap.
They declare that I MUST have an EV but it's the whole house, so I doubt they do many checks.
sixor8 said:
I was with Octopus Go for over a year, but decided to switch to EON. Took them over a week to transfer me from the initial standard tariff to Next Drive V7 (fixed for 12 months) annoyingly, but now on it. 6.7p per kWh for 7 hrs per night v 8.5p for 5 hrs. Day rate and standing charges within 1p of each other.
I fully expect the customer service to not be as good, and if it was only a few pence I wouldn't bother, but a bit like supporting cheaper petrol stations, I've moved, and there's no exit fees if they are crap.
They declare that I MUST have an EV but it's the whole house, so I doubt they do many checks.
Yes I've been looking at that tariff too. I like Octopus but moving to EON would save me around £150/year. The only consideration, as you have said, is customer service, the electrons being identical. I do have an EV and shift lots of other load to overnight.I fully expect the customer service to not be as good, and if it was only a few pence I wouldn't bother, but a bit like supporting cheaper petrol stations, I've moved, and there's no exit fees if they are crap.
They declare that I MUST have an EV but it's the whole house, so I doubt they do many checks.
Interesting. We’re only on Octopus because the last two energy providers went bust but their “award winning” customer service has yet to materialise and we had lots of circular calls and miscommunication trying to get our smart meters fixed which left me less than impressed. Will have a look at EON and crunch the numbers!
Chris
Chris
Me too, I was with Bulb, they put my smart meter in. It wasn't worth it under the previous Version 6, the standing charge was 12p per day more than Octopus. V7 was revealed in mid April, now it's only 1p. And the expensive day rate is actually 1p per kWh less than Octopus Go.
If it is crap, I can switch back in under a week, but may have to wait on the standard rate a while.
And the expensive day rate is actually 1p per kWh less than Octopus Go. If it is crap, I can switch back in under a week, but may have to wait on the standard rate a while.
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