Electric Vehicles: What have you spotted?

[Mandrake]

2 months into 18 plates and I've still to knowingly see an electric one. Need to mug up on what the new Leaf looks like, as that has to be the most likely.

There's a massive backlog/shortage of EV's in the last 6 months or so - demand has outstripped the meagre supply to the point where some marquees like VW have actually stopped taking new orders until they catch up, and Hyundai has just about given up trying to supply the Ioniq (which had 9 month waiting lists due to them massively underestimating the demand) and is focusing more on getting it's replacement on the market.

About the only thing you can get at short notice is a Leaf, maybe a Zoe. Anything else you have a 3-9 month wait... bonkers really.

Second hand EV prices have gone up due to increased demand and short supply to the point where I could probably make a £500-£1000 profit selling my Ion...

[RichardW]

That shouldn't reduce the actual number being registered compared to last year - will reduce it according to what it might have been.

Looked up the new Leaf, looks rather like a heavy thing that an elephant sat on the nose of! Don't think I have seen one.

[CitroJim]

Looked up the new Leaf, looks rather like a heavy thing that an elephant sat on the nose of! Don't think I have seen one.

That's a perfect description Richard

The only car that looked good after an elephant sat on it was the Hindustan Ambassador - it made it look like a Peugeot 206!

[MikeT]

I passed by a Citroen C-zero which caused a double-take.
Head-on, it looked like a bubble-car had mated with a smart-car.
With it's rather large windscreen, the two occupants looked exposed and I noted they were practically rubbing shoulders with no space between them.

[Mandrake]

That shouldn't reduce the actual number being registered compared to last year - will reduce it according to what it might have been.

Looked up the new Leaf, looks rather like a heavy thing that an elephant sat on the nose of! Don't think I have seen one.

I've seen quite a few of the new Leaf - it's easily missed as the styling is the same as the new Micra, so can easily be mistaken for a Micra until you get closer and realise it's bigger.

It's still not a great looking car but at least it looks like a normal car, instead of the "marmite" styling of the original Leaf. Too much overhang at the front beside the wheels though.

[Mandrake]

I passed by a Citroen C-zero which caused a double-take.
Head-on, it looked like a bubble-car had mated with a smart-car.

That would be a fair assessment. Head on the styling is not the greatest. I think the side profile is kinda attractive though, in a quirky way.

With it's rather large windscreen, the two occupants looked exposed and I noted they were practically rubbing shoulders with no space between them.

It is a narrow Kei car after all. I find I still have plenty of shoulder room beside a passenger, however my wallet in my right jeans pocket rests against the armrest on the door.

As for exposed it gets a very respectable 4 star NCAP rating, considerably better than the 1.5 stars of my Xantia. I've watched the NCAP video for it and it is quite impressive for such a small car. I've heard that most of the body is HSLA (high strength steel) rather than mild steel, but I don't know for sure if this is true.

It also has seat side airbags and curtain rail airbags as well as the usual two at the front, I'm sure that helps too. Remember there is no engine in the front (it's under the boot at the rear) so the entire front of the car is crumple zone.

So despite its tiny size it is a fairly safe car to be in.

A Speak EV member crashed his i-miev recently, the other car was an instant writeoff, unable to drive and severely damaged, his i-Miev had damaged plastic bumpers and a modest dent in the rear quarter - he kept driving it for another 2 weeks until the insurance company decided to write it off as they didn't want to fix it! On the plus side the payout was more than he paid for the car a year ago.

[lexi]

however my wallet in my right jeans pocket rests against the armrest on the door.

There's your side impact protection.............get a wad in it!

[RichardW]

A-ha! Seen one! Surprisingly NOT a Leaf! There was an i3 at Bathgate station - left in the charging bay - which was OK, as it was out of service

[NewcastleFalcon]

The New leaf....only in production since December 2017 at Sunderland, and selling from February 2018.

Screenshot Nissan Video

Regards Neil

[Mandrake]

A-ha! Seen one! Surprisingly NOT a Leaf! There was an i3 at Bathgate station - left in the charging bay - which was OK, as it was out of service

Parking in an EV charging bay without plugging in to charge is a fineable parking offence in many areas, (although seldom enforced) and considered bad etiquette that will quickly draw the ire of other EV drivers even where it is not strictly prohibited.

While the charge point might have been out of order when they arrived that's no reason to park there, especially if an engineer was on the way to fix it...

[RichardW]

Charge point was still U/S when I picked the car up on Saturday, with a cover over it....

Pretty sure I saw a 'new' leaf yesterday - albeit on a 67.

[andy5]

As seen on TV, Hampshire Police are buying 40 x BMW i3

South Today's Paul Clifton spoke to an officer who said they are buying these cheap, will run them for 3 years then sell them. Running costs £1 a day, compared to £3.50 for ordinary cars. No info on expected depreciation though.

[Mandrake]

Buying them cheap suggests they are buying them second hand ? New i3's are rather expensive even by EV standards...

Not surprising when half the body is carbon fibre!

[NewcastleFalcon]

Yes the "Council Van"

Weatherby 09/05/2018

and yes that should have been Wetherby not Weatherby!

Regards Neil

[CitroJim]

and yes that should have been Wetherby not Weatherby!

I don't know about that... The few times I'be been there the name seems appropriate; they seem to get a lot of weather there