Harry and Sue have actually had their Nissan Leaf for over 12 months now and are more than delighted with it. In truth, they informed me that if they needed to change it, they would certainly purchase another Leaf. The Nissan Leaf stands apart as one of the early electrical leaders, together with the BMW i3 and the Renault Zoe. I do not understand why, however I have actually never ever navigated to driving one, so it was revitalizing to hear their story. It is fantastic that it is still on the marketplace.
My primary interest has actually been the importing of utilized Leafs from Japan by the Great Cars And Truck Business. You can check out that here and here
Sue and Harry at first had a look at the Kia EV6, however discovered that the dealership understood less about the cars and truck than they did and didn’t actually wish to talk with them. A more youthful sales representative attempted to assist, however ultimately they went out, annoyed. They then went to Moorooka Nissan and had a completely various experience with Gary, the sales representative there. There was a Leaf on screen and they fell in love. At first, they were informed that they would need to wait 6 months for one. It wound up being 8 months due to COVID, however it was well worth it.
When I spoke to Gary from Moorooka Nissan today, he informed me that many people who have an interest in electrical lorries have actually done a reasonable little research study prior to they get to the dealer. His task is to validate the information, reveal them the functions, and permit them a test drive. At present, the dealer is experiencing a great deal of interest from fleet purchasers, both federal government and personal. Regrettably, stock is still tough to get. I pushed him for news on the Ariya, however unfortunately there is no word on when it will be given Australia.
Nissan Ariya. Picture by Kyle Field.
The rate for the Leaf purchase was priced quote as AU$ 45,000, however wound up at $55,000 when GST (10% in Australia) was included, together with premium paint, security cams front and back, and the typical on-road charges. Unfortunately, Harry and Sue purchased prior to the federal government refund of $3,000 was offered.
They asked, “What can we get if we pay with money?” Gary provided a totally free tank of fuel, and they all had a great laugh. He informed them to email if they had any concerns and provided lots of assistance. Compared to their Mitsubishi ASX, the Leaf is quieter and has more pick-up. (” Those long-haired louts have no opportunity,” Take legal action against states.) It has regenerative braking, adaptive cruise control, and lane keeping. She still needs to utilize the brakes sometimes. The Leaf is a little smaller sized than the ASX, however that has actually not been a concern.
When I initially satisfied them, at a coffee and cake early morning at the Sirromet winery (they have Tesla battery chargers), their discussion was around issues that public CHAdeMO battery chargers would be phased out. They inquired about adapters from CCS2 to CHAdeMO. I didn’t have the technical know-how to address their concern. Take legal action against and Harry are attempting to arrange meetups with other Leaf owners to broaden their understanding of the cars and truck. With just 2150 Leafs offered in Australia over ten years, it is showing hard. “Handbooks do not assist!”
Charging with CHAdeMO. Picture thanks to Harry Darby.
Nevertheless, Take legal action against illuminated as she informed me about her discovery of the Queensland Electric Super Highway. “Every town has one now and they have CHAdeMO.” They are preparing a journey north in June and intend to get as far as Townsville– 1335 km (830 miles). I welcomed them to the EV occasions that will be staged in Rockhampton, Gladstone, and Bundaberg in Queensland’s winter season.
The Leaf was serviced just recently and I wondered about what was in fact done. Take legal action against and Harry happily sent me a copy of the billing. The software application was upgraded, revitalizing the dash screen, and every possible part of the cars and truck was checked out. Take legal action against and Harry state having the cars and truck inspected at routine periods provides assurance. Expense? About $250.
Sue cleaned and vacuumed the cars and truck prior to she took it in for service, then discovered the cars and truck got a complimentary cars and truck wash. “Next time I will take it in unclean,” she stated. They often get remarks about the cars and truck from the public: “Ooo, an electrical cars and truck!” “Yes,” Take legal action against states, “We’re pensioners and have not needed to spend for fuel for the in 2015.” Prior to they retired, Take legal action against and Harry were paying up to $100 a week for fuel.
For their Townsville journey, they are utilizing A Much Better Path Coordinator This can be set for the kind of cars and truck and the battery charger needed. They like to keep the battery charge above 20% and will be utilizing the QESH network. As soon as, on a journey, they let the battery come down to 7%, however it wasn’t difficult, as they were close to their location. And, yes, the cars and truck does provide you cautions about low battery charge.
The Leaf dash. Picture thanks to Sue Norden.
In the house, they charge throughout the day from their roof solar energy system utilizing a typical power point (10 amps). A level 2 battery charger featured the cars and truck, however it is more costly to utilize at 26 cents per kWh. Any excess power produced by their planetary system feeds back into the grid, however they just get an unpleasant 6.6 cents per kWh. It makes great monetary sense to utilize the solar energy for the cars and truck.
Here is some background on the Leaf from Wikipedia:
” The Nissan Leaf is a compact five-door hatchback battery electrical car (BEV) made by Nissan. It was presented in Japan and the United States in December 2010, and its 2nd generation was presented in October 2017. The Leaf’s variety on a complete charge has actually been increased slowly from 117 km (73 miles) to 364 km (226 miles) (EPA ranked), due to making use of a bigger battery pack together with a number of small enhancements.
” To name a few awards and acknowledgment, the Leaf has actually won the 2010 Green Cars And Truck Vision Award, the 2011 European Cars And Truck of the Year, the 2011 World Cars And Truck of the Year, and the 2011– 2012 Vehicle of the Year Japan. International sales amounted to 577,000 Leaf’s by February 2022. Since September 2021, European sales amounted to more than 208,000 systems,[3] and, since December 2021, over 165,000 systems had actually been offered in the U.S., and 157,000 in JapanThe Leaf noted as the world’s all-time leading selling plug-in electrical cars and truck through December 2019. The Tesla Design 3 went beyond the Leaf in early 2020 to end up being the all-time finest selling electrical cars and truck.”
Charging up the Leaf. Picture thanks to Harry Darby.
I eagerly anticipate hearing more stories of Sue and Harry’s journeys in their Leaf.
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I do not like paywalls. You do not like paywalls. Who likes paywalls? Here at CleanTechnica, we carried out a restricted paywall for a while, however it constantly felt incorrect– and it was constantly difficult to choose what we ought to put behind there. In theory, your most special and finest material goes behind a paywall. However then less individuals read it! We simply do not like paywalls, therefore we have actually chosen to ditch ours.
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