New Driver, EV, £5k budget
Discussion
Morning all. My wife who has just passed her test would like an EV as her first car. We are looking to spend up to around £5000.
As far as I can tell this means mostly 22kwh/24kwh Leafs and Zoes. My wife prefers the size/look of the Zoe but most have leased batteries. This makes them seem poor value against a Leaf or even leasing a Gen E Puma.
I doubt we will do round trips of more than 50 miles at the very most. Is battery degradation likely to be an issue for this?
Anyone had any experiences with EVs at shed level/any points I have missed and should be aware of?
As far as I can tell this means mostly 22kwh/24kwh Leafs and Zoes. My wife prefers the size/look of the Zoe but most have leased batteries. This makes them seem poor value against a Leaf or even leasing a Gen E Puma.
I doubt we will do round trips of more than 50 miles at the very most. Is battery degradation likely to be an issue for this?
Anyone had any experiences with EVs at shed level/any points I have missed and should be aware of?
One of my mates bought an early leaf with 80k miles on it for £2500 last year. Bought for the usual around town and station commute to save his good/fun car. Think he needed a front spring at MOT but other than that it's no bother. It doesn't have much range but fine for what he needs. He just puts it on a granny charger every night.
On the early Leafs there's a dashboard display of battery health alongside and just outside the charge meter. So the number of bars shown will roughly indicate the proportion of the original range remaining.
EV Database is generally good at showing real world ranges in various journey types, eg https://ev-database.org/uk/car/1011/Nissan-LEAF-24... early 24 kWh Leaf having a motorway range of 55-70 miles depending on weather. That's when new, so then multiply by eg 10/12 if it has say ten bars of battery remaining.
On the Zoe, an (i) in the model name denotes the absence of a battery lease, although some originally leased batteries have since been redeemed. You can find a Zoe without the lease for your £5k budget. I would definitely not get into a lease situation as it can get complicated if the car gets damaged or just as it continues to depreciate. A Zoe with an owned battery seems a good idea as unlike the Leaf it has battery cooling so lasts better.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202606223... 41 kWh battery, owned.
The Ioniq is almost in budget https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202606173... and is a more capable EV in terms of range and ability to rapid-charge, but perhaps not what you're looking for.
EV Database is generally good at showing real world ranges in various journey types, eg https://ev-database.org/uk/car/1011/Nissan-LEAF-24... early 24 kWh Leaf having a motorway range of 55-70 miles depending on weather. That's when new, so then multiply by eg 10/12 if it has say ten bars of battery remaining.
On the Zoe, an (i) in the model name denotes the absence of a battery lease, although some originally leased batteries have since been redeemed. You can find a Zoe without the lease for your £5k budget. I would definitely not get into a lease situation as it can get complicated if the car gets damaged or just as it continues to depreciate. A Zoe with an owned battery seems a good idea as unlike the Leaf it has battery cooling so lasts better.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202606223... 41 kWh battery, owned.
The Ioniq is almost in budget https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202606173... and is a more capable EV in terms of range and ability to rapid-charge, but perhaps not what you're looking for.
Have a look at Shed of the Week this week for some useful insights on a used Leaf.
There isn't much to servicing them, just consumables like tyres etc, the Leaf also has a different charger type although there are converters now available, or just plug into a granny charger.
Perhaps fine as a 2nd car due to the limited range of circa 80 miles on them.
Good luck
There isn't much to servicing them, just consumables like tyres etc, the Leaf also has a different charger type although there are converters now available, or just plug into a granny charger.
Perhaps fine as a 2nd car due to the limited range of circa 80 miles on them.
Good luck
Some good things to think about, thanks. I had forgotten about the point re no battery cooling on the Leaf.
The range of the 41kwh Zioe linked above would, whisper it, almost make my old 330i touring redundant.
Certainly in the longer term, the plan is for the main family car to be electric, freeing up the second car to be a toy. For now, something small and cheap will suit us better.
The range of the 41kwh Zioe linked above would, whisper it, almost make my old 330i touring redundant.
Certainly in the longer term, the plan is for the main family car to be electric, freeing up the second car to be a toy. For now, something small and cheap will suit us better.
£9-£10k is where the best value lies in EVs imo.
Vfm drops off dramatically after this
Eg, mx30, gwm ora/cat, fiat 500, newer shape Nissan leaf.
Imo, given how cheap it is and how few miles you do, something like a brand new dacia spring is under £10000
https://leasing.broker4cars.co.uk/car-sales/dacia/...
Opt for finance, eg borrow £9000 over 4 years, that's £211 a month, and it will still have 3 years manufacturers warranty left.
Vfm drops off dramatically after this
Eg, mx30, gwm ora/cat, fiat 500, newer shape Nissan leaf.
Imo, given how cheap it is and how few miles you do, something like a brand new dacia spring is under £10000
https://leasing.broker4cars.co.uk/car-sales/dacia/...
Opt for finance, eg borrow £9000 over 4 years, that's £211 a month, and it will still have 3 years manufacturers warranty left.
samoht said:
On the early Leafs there's a dashboard display of battery health alongside and just outside the charge meter. So the number of bars shown will roughly indicate the proportion of the original range remaining.
EV Database is generally good at showing real world ranges in various journey types, eg https://ev-database.org/uk/car/1011/Nissan-LEAF-24... early 24 kWh Leaf having a motorway range of 55-70 miles depending on weather. That's when new, so then multiply by eg 10/12 if it has say ten bars of battery remaining.
On the Zoe, an (i) in the model name denotes the absence of a battery lease, although some originally leased batteries have since been redeemed. You can find a Zoe without the lease for your £5k budget. I would definitely not get into a lease situation as it can get complicated if the car gets damaged or just as it continues to depreciate. A Zoe with an owned battery seems a good idea as unlike the Leaf it has battery cooling so lasts better.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202606223... 41 kWh battery, owned.
The Ioniq is almost in budget https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202606173... and is a more capable EV in terms of range and ability to rapid-charge, but perhaps not what you're looking for.
As far as I am aware the Zoes (well the early ones anyway) do not have battery cooling. EV Database is generally good at showing real world ranges in various journey types, eg https://ev-database.org/uk/car/1011/Nissan-LEAF-24... early 24 kWh Leaf having a motorway range of 55-70 miles depending on weather. That's when new, so then multiply by eg 10/12 if it has say ten bars of battery remaining.
On the Zoe, an (i) in the model name denotes the absence of a battery lease, although some originally leased batteries have since been redeemed. You can find a Zoe without the lease for your £5k budget. I would definitely not get into a lease situation as it can get complicated if the car gets damaged or just as it continues to depreciate. A Zoe with an owned battery seems a good idea as unlike the Leaf it has battery cooling so lasts better.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202606223... 41 kWh battery, owned.
The Ioniq is almost in budget https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202606173... and is a more capable EV in terms of range and ability to rapid-charge, but perhaps not what you're looking for.
Jamescrs said:
£5k budget for me for an EV would be a BMW i3, i keep getting tempted to buy one myself, much more interesting than a Leaf
Can you get an i3 with that kind of budget ? that's incredible if so - cracking little car and a 100% future cult classic. Might even be worth it as an investment.Pixelpeep Electric said:
Jamescrs said:
£5k budget for me for an EV would be a BMW i3, i keep getting tempted to buy one myself, much more interesting than a Leaf
Can you get an i3 with that kind of budget ? that's incredible if so - cracking little car and a 100% future cult classic. Might even be worth it as an investment.confused_buyer said:
As far as I am aware the Zoes (well the early ones anyway) do not have battery cooling.
I'm pretty certain that all Zoes from introduction have had air-cooling of the battery, using the A/C system which also cools the cabin.Battery State of Health in Renault Zoe EV said:
the SOH of the 2013 Renault Zoe taken under investigation exhibits a consistent and above
84% SOH... This promising result might be the outcome of a good combination of BMS, the mild Danish climate, and the air cooling of the battery itself.
https://evs38-program.org/images/Proceedings/A%20V...84% SOH... This promising result might be the outcome of a good combination of BMS, the mild Danish climate, and the air cooling of the battery itself.
It lacks battery liquid-cooling, and it lacks the ability to heat the battery when it's too cold to charge quickly. But it has what the Leaf lacks, a way to actively cool the battery, which avoids battery degradation due to it getting too hot.
scot_aln said:
Have you checked insurance on a EV as a first car, noting though you mention wife rather than a freshly passed 17 year old. They do tend to be much higher grouped than the equiv ICE car.
Quotes are three figures with no black box. A whole heap better than when I was 18.You can just get into a ZE1 Leaf with the 40 kwh for your budget...
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/20648090
https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/20648090
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