The Electric Drive

Some months ago I sat with my wife discussing how I could reduce the expense of getting to work. I work in the Docklands area of London in an area where I'm lucky enough to be able to park for free and also there is no Congestion Charge. This is all quite positive. My commute is around 40 miles each way and driving, although not ideal in an already over congested part of the world, is the most convenient and cheapest way to go for me. However just in diesel cost alone this was costing me about 320 pounds per month. Now I do have to say that my transportation was not the most economical (10 year old Ford Transit, originally purchased for reasons other than my commute) but it was doing the job. There has to be a better, cheaper way. The slightly elderly Transit van was and still is perfectly serviceable but the cost of running it daily was becoming unmanageable so the search was on to get something more cost effect, comfy and kinder to the planet (I will point out that I'm not a tree hugging hippie or anything but we should all be a little more aware of the damage we do every day to our world).

What about an electric car my wife said. I'm now rolling around on the floor in fits of laughter telling her 'You must be kidding!!' and 'Thats never going to work' but I thought I'd humor her and look into it a bit more, after all other than a an unaffordable Tesla (oh yes please!) or a hybrid of some sort, I knew very little about what options were available or how the technology was evolving. I spent a lot of evenings doing research on the internet and became really interested in the electric vehicles to the point where this really was no joke.

Next base was to actually drive one, but a short 'test drive' was not going to mean much. I needed to prove that I can make it to work and home again (about 80 miles) without the fear of running out of power. My local Nissan dealer were willing to offer me a 4 day test. Perfect! A proper test. Picked it up on a Saturday, brand new top of line 30kw Nissan Leaf. Wow I really like this car with all the extra toys and its so quite and comfy and a pleasure to drive. And its 30 Thousand Pounds! I really don't have 30 grand to spend on a car. The Ford Transit cost 2 grand. Suddenly this seems a like false economy. Sure I could look at the cheaper models but now I've seen and driven something really nice. Then there's the used market. Well thats OK but nearly all Nissan Leafs on the used market were 24kw versions which could be an issue for me getting 80 real world miles per charge out of. So I was still looking. Then by chance we were near another Nissan dealer in a nearby town so though we would have a look around. Enter friendly salesman Piers. 'Got any nice used Leaf's in a 30kw flavor' I asked. 'Well not sure about that as they are rare in used, let me check that for you'. Im thinking little or no chance.

To my surprise he came back and said they had just one in stock that was not actually advertised just yet as its not been inspected and approved for sale but we could see it if we wanted. Great sales line? No was true. Parked up at the back, virtually out of sight was a mint condition 1 and half year old top of the line 30kw black Leaf. Exactly what I wanted and for less than half the cost of the brand new one. Test drive done, few sums and then paperwork signed. I own an electric car!

So how is it 8 weeks on I hear you ask. Brilliant. I love it. Ive travelled 3500 miles since I picked it up. Its very smooth to drive as well as being really quick and nimble. The delivery of power to the motor gives a super fast acceleration meaning it can leave a lot of other cars at the lights. 0-60 in around 9/10 seconds and a top speed that I've experienced (on a private road of course!) of 101 miles a hour. (Nissan quote top speed of 87). But Im finding that this car makes me drive in a better way. More relaxed and confident, plus if you drive like a bat leaving hell then that all important range is going to vanish pretty quickly. I use the cruse control as much as possible and keep the driving mode in Eco with the B setting on. B setting gives more aggressive braking which converts back into recovered energy which extends the range a bit more than normal. Also after a while I found that I used the resistive wheel brakes less and less, I simply tap the brake pedal on the motorway and the car does the rest. This is not to say that I don't use my brake pedal at all, thats not how it works. Think of it more like changing down through the gears of a regular combustion engine car with a manual box. Which brings me to the seamlessly smooth ride, there are NO gear changes at all. None. So unlike a regular automatic gearbox where you still feel the change bump up and down through the box the electric car has a continuous and seamless delivery of uninterrupted drive. My range seems to average at a real world distance of 100 miles based on my commute which takes me along 15 miles of the M2 and 20 miles of A2 plus other smaller roads in each direction. Speed wise is split between 70 and 50 depending on the imposed restrictions. Slow moving traffic and jams seem to make no real difference. Climate control will make a bit but so far not that noticeable however I understand that heating the car in the winter time could reduce range.

How does the cost break down? Like many people Im buying it on a Personal Contract. I put down a fairly decent deposit (4k) and with insurance my running cost is 200.00 per month plus the cost of charging at home.

What about the cost of charging up? So Pod Point fitted me a 7kw charging point at the front of the house for 99.00 which charges up in about 4 hours (you can also get a 3kw charger free with the government grant which takes around 8 hours). The cost of a charge is 2 to 3 pounds. Pod point have installed many public charge points around London many of which are free to use. As luck would have it there is a free to use point 100 yards away from my place of work which currently does not get used during the day by anyone. I have seen 2 other cars use it in the evenings which is very convenient for me. Free power! Yeah I know its not going to be that way forever but to coin a fraise 'Every little helps!'. I am trying not to charge at home too often!

So all of this seems like Im trying to sell you a car. I'm not, just putting forward my experiences and perhaps changing the minds of a few people that think its just a glorified milk float or some kind of fad that will go away. Its not and it wont. The technology is moving forward at an amazing rate. The range will improve as new improved battery performance is developed. Governments across the world and changing policy on what sort of cars we will be able to drive on the road and car manufactures are stating that they will be bringing out more and more electric and hybrid transport in the very near future.

The electric drive. Its the future! Well err actually its happening right now!