Turning a new Leaf

Alternative energy has always fascinated me, as long as it is practicable. The solar panels I installed in 2010 were an expression of that but I've been equally interested in the idea of ditching fossil fuel as a means of powering a car.

Ever since I bought my first car in 1983, I've kept meticulous notes of all the fuel that's been hosed into my various cars over the years. Thanks to that and the recent use of consumption meters even in small cars, I've become very aware of the driving techniques that can drastically improve a car's mileage; steady cruising slightly below typical speeds, mild acceleration and anticipation of slowing or stopping to avoid the unnecessary use of brakes.

Since 2003, my car of choice has been the Toyota Yaris. It combines a relatively frugal consumption with half decent levels of trim. My most recent purchase of a Yaris Hybrid took this drive for efficiency one step forward. The main advantage of a hybrid car is that a battery and electric motor can take up the drive at those times when the internal combustion engine would otherwise return just awful mileage. This includes most city driving like sitting at lights or moving slowly. Comparing typical summer consumption figures of a 1-litre Yaris to a 1.5-litre Yaris Hybrid, I saw a jump from 55mpg to 65mpg.

I would note, however, that in the real world, Toyota's claimed consumption figure for the Yaris Hybrid of 80mpg+ is frankly unattainable across a full tankful of petrol. This from a driver who could just about achieve the manufacturer's numbers in a conventional car.

Ultimately, the hybrid car is only a halfway house. All of its energy comes from petrol. However, one thing I really gleaned from it was a sense of what driving an all-electric vehicle would be like. The drive train is so well designed that you hardly notice the change from electric to petrol. It's very smooth and very impressive.

A couple of years ago, I spotted mention of the Tesla Model S. Quite simply, this is an astounding car. While it's definitely out of my league (it's meant to turn wealthy petrolheads into leccy-lovers) it is nevertheless a game changer in the world of motoring. I place it as being perhaps the most influential, disruptive car of the last century. I had a shot in a Tesla about a year ago. Smooth, fast and responsive, it was an utter delight to drive and it most definitely points the way for the future. This is how cars should be. Ditch that engine!

Another important car in the electric vehicle field is the poorly named 'Leaf' from Nissan. First brought out in 2010, it has had five years of refinement but at first view, it is very expensive for someone like me. Nissan brochures show it as costing between £16,490 and £25,590 and the cheaper end of that range doesn't include having to hire a battery pack for at least £80 per month. This is way out of my range.

One option that excited me was to go for a second hand Leaf. I saw a video by Red Dwarf's Robert Llewellyn about how Orkney, a place I love, has become self-sufficient in electricity generation. The farmers there are busy putting up wind turbines and buying Leafs from a guy who trades in new and second hand electric cars. They get to drive around for next to nothing, and meanwhile, Orkney is wondering what to so with all the spare leccy being generated.

I decided that there's nothing to stop me having a test drive. I researched nearby Nissan dealers and headed off for a look. Macklin Motors is not far from me. Unlike the swish glass palaces that typify an Arnold Clark showroom, Macklin's was little more than a white-painted industrial unit. Two second hand Leafs sat on the forecourt and the salesman, apparently their electric car specialist, took the two of us for a spin.

Loved it! The Leaf is no Tesla, but it is nevertheless a smooth, quick and impressive car. Still, it was not my intention to buy one at that point. At the end, I thanked the salesman and said I would think about it. He looked so deflated, poor soul. I did think it odd that he claimed never to have heard of Tesla when I mentioned it. I'd have expected he'd be all too aware of the coming competition, especially since their direct-to-public sales model threatens his job in the long term.

I then looked more closely at Macklin's website. The offers they had for the Leaf were strange. Some were incredibly good yet, quite frankly, they were inconsistent with others. Some deals had a low-spec vehicle costing a lot while for others, high-spec cars were astonishingly accessible. It appeared that a mistake had been made on the site. The thing to be aware of is that the sales model makes it mandatory that the car's battery pack be hired to the customer. The low end for this is £80 per month.

I decided to pursue this further. One apparent deal would cost me £50 less per month than my Yaris Hybrid was costing me and there ought to be a further £50 per month saving on petrol. This for a car that was in the middle of the Leaf range. Importantly, the small print said that the price included battery hire.

I toddled back to Macklin's to the surprise of the salesman. He later told me he had thought I didn't like the car. In truth, I had chosen to be inscrutable. I said I was interested in their web deal for the Leaf Acenta. "The £200 per month deal?" he asked. I told him that there was a much cheaper deal and we both looked on the website. "That must be a mistake," he said as he scrutinised the small print. I pointed out that as I understood it, I was within my rights to take advantage of it and he agreed.

So my new Leaf was ordered there and then. It'll be red to keep the cost down (no metallic paint charges), cheap as chips to run and a 2-year experiment in owning and running a leccy car. I've got it on a PCP deal so I'll hand the car back at the end and walk away. Nissan are adding a healthy contribution, the balloon price is large (which makes the monthly payments small), the government are contributing to encourage electric cars and I will add a small deposit. Oh, and it's zero percent interest. It arrives at Macklin while we are on holiday so we'll wait until we get back to take delivery of it. Anyway, we need the Yaris for our trip up north.

And there's a thing. Range is going to be an issue with a car that goes for 90 miles at most before needing a recharge. To counter this, I'm told that Nissan has an arrangement whereby I can borrow a petrol car for up to two weeks per year to cope with longer trips. I have two upcoming short drives to England coming up where I get to test this offer. I think it's a good time to try this out.

A charger is on order from Chargemaster. The UK government are subsidising this by 80% and the remainder, a couple of hundred, will apparently be covered by the Scottish Government. I pay nowt. I've signed up to Ecotricity's Electric Highway which offers rapid charging and it free. I've also bought a £20 swipe card that lets me access the Charge Your Car network and it's usually free. It feels like the system is bending over backwards to get folk to go electric. Okay, I'll bite!