Transport
We took the plunge last Spring (2017) and went for a new car. My Renault Megane Grand Scenic (bought by my husband to replace the previous Renault Megane Scenic that had starting problems) developed, well, not starting, but staying running problems for the second time. And the ridiculously expensive card key system was a bit dodgy and on and on. We decided that that particular money pit had reached its limit, so what would we go for next? We'd also just paid off the mortgage and had a little spare cash to spend on something a bit nicer if we wanted to.
While I was perusing Gumtree et al for suitable replacement vehicles, little was I to know that Dave had grander plans. "What about a Nissan Leaf?" he said. Not having heard of those, I asked for more information and eventually he confessed it was an electric car. Only having had the Top Gear version of information about electric cars I was a little sceptical... what about charging, range, they're expensive and I hear the batteries don't last very long. I had some conceptual issues about how the power train worked and gearing etc and Dave's response "it's like driving a milk float" really did not sell the concept to me.
Anyway, we each did some independent research while I continued using the Honda for work and Dave limped around the village in the Renault. I've always liked Renaults, so I looked at their electric beast and thought it was OK. There weren't many options around at the time actually. Once I'd agreed that limited range wasn't an issue for local commuting/town use and we were going to have the second car for towing and long range trips, the range concern went away. We looked in to the charging situation to find that we could have a charging point installed at home for free, and you could charge them overnight on a standard 13 amp outlet (if you had to), as well as there being a sprinkling of charging stations around the Oxford area, the refuelling situation looked somewhat brighter. My main reservation was then based around Dave's comment about driving a milk float, so we booked a test drive at the local Nissan dealer.
Test drive was weird, in that I hadn't driven an automatic for a few years, it was a different type of automatic gearbox, well, there isn't a gearbox, and it was silent. I don't mean quiet, I mean silent. The only noise was from the air conditioning and the salesman. However, once I got the concept of the handbrake (I'd forgotten about handbrakes on automatics) and manoeuvred out of the car park, it was a delight. Spookily quiet, but a delight to drive. I'd forgotten how nice it was not to have to worry about changing gear, acceleration was smooth, we tried the various eco modes (full Eco mode is like driving with a load of breeze blocks in the boot - not nice) and fell in love with it.
So, we went back and ordered one, and I love my Leaf!
While I was perusing Gumtree et al for suitable replacement vehicles, little was I to know that Dave had grander plans. "What about a Nissan Leaf?" he said. Not having heard of those, I asked for more information and eventually he confessed it was an electric car. Only having had the Top Gear version of information about electric cars I was a little sceptical... what about charging, range, they're expensive and I hear the batteries don't last very long. I had some conceptual issues about how the power train worked and gearing etc and Dave's response "it's like driving a milk float" really did not sell the concept to me.
Anyway, we each did some independent research while I continued using the Honda for work and Dave limped around the village in the Renault. I've always liked Renaults, so I looked at their electric beast and thought it was OK. There weren't many options around at the time actually. Once I'd agreed that limited range wasn't an issue for local commuting/town use and we were going to have the second car for towing and long range trips, the range concern went away. We looked in to the charging situation to find that we could have a charging point installed at home for free, and you could charge them overnight on a standard 13 amp outlet (if you had to), as well as there being a sprinkling of charging stations around the Oxford area, the refuelling situation looked somewhat brighter. My main reservation was then based around Dave's comment about driving a milk float, so we booked a test drive at the local Nissan dealer.
Test drive was weird, in that I hadn't driven an automatic for a few years, it was a different type of automatic gearbox, well, there isn't a gearbox, and it was silent. I don't mean quiet, I mean silent. The only noise was from the air conditioning and the salesman. However, once I got the concept of the handbrake (I'd forgotten about handbrakes on automatics) and manoeuvred out of the car park, it was a delight. Spookily quiet, but a delight to drive. I'd forgotten how nice it was not to have to worry about changing gear, acceleration was smooth, we tried the various eco modes (full Eco mode is like driving with a load of breeze blocks in the boot - not nice) and fell in love with it.
So, we went back and ordered one, and I love my Leaf!