Getting an electric vehicle is a lot closer to grasp than many people realise right now! Lots of old misinformation circulating about batteries decreasing in performance, poor range, difficulty charging… You may be pleasantly surprised if you scratch the surface and look into it more deeply.
Our old EV
We first had a Nissan Leaf 6 years ago which only had an 80 mile range but was a dream to drive! Unfortunately, the very reasonable lease deal ended and we were simply priced out of the market. The only option for us at that time was to opt back for a dirty diesel. However, 4 years on and with a few expensive repairs in a row, it was time to revisit the Electric Vehicle market and we were in for a treat!
Revisiting the EV Market
We test drove many electric cars from many major manufacturers and were amazed at what was now available!
A picture for scale of the Volkswagon ID5 – (I’m quite tall)
SUV EV’s
Especially notable were the (admittedly expensive) Volkswagon ID5, MG and the Skoda Enyaq for the bigger SUV type models. The Enyaq matched the ID5 in terms of size but the tech and interior didn’t quite match up. The MG ZS EV was seriously competitive in terms of budget being by far the cheapest or all electric cars – not just SUV’s. It was lovely to drive too, but the range just felt a bit tight at 160 miles. As a second car the MG would be a no brainer for me – but as our only family car, we wanted more range.
Smaller EV’s
Among the smaller cars, nothing could come close to our beloved Leaf. I can’t deny we weren’t nearly tempted by these bigger SUV type cars with their impressive stature! But in line with my green principles – did I need that really!? Would I even consider or value that aspect a few months down the line? Nope, green life is about doing more with less and the Nissan Leaf, though compact gave us everything we needed.
Nissan Leaf eplus Tekna
The Winner – The Nissan Leaf +eplus Tekna
Impressive Leaf Boot
We’ve just ordered a Nissan Leaf – with an impressive 230 mile range – and happily have the whole thing covered by a government-funded 0% interest loan over 6 years – which works out cheaper than a hire purchase deal. Not only that the battery is guaranteed for 7 years too. The car is like a tardis, looks small on the outside but the boot space was bigger than some of the SUVs we looked at!
Where to charge your EV
Just look at the charge map showing all the places you can now
charge your Electric vehicle around Glasgow now! Seriously impressive – even more so when you zoom out and see all the chargers in remote places too. Even more sweet was when I signed up for the £10 charge card there’s the option to round up your charge value to the nearest £1 and donate to
Trees For Life – one of my favourite charities.
Imagine how many people would already be on electric cars if they hadn’t ended those great deals? Well, the tide is turning now and I haven’t heard anyone regret going electric, time to jump on board!
Author: Naomi Spirit-Hawthorne
https://www.fromthisday.digital Naomi Spirit is a web developer by trade which meant all her skills were in place to start a blog on a subject she was passionate about! Keen to deliver a strong, easily digestible and positive green message she started her blog back in November 2018. Since then several new authors have joined in to help share great green news and tips as Little Green Ways goes from strength to strength!
