Take me for a ride in your electric car car 2

So last time we'd got as far as deciding to take the plunge and buy an electric car. Before we went ahead, though, there were a few choices to make which I should probably explain to other potential purchasers. The first was whether to lease or buy the battery. The advantage of the former is that the upfront cost of the car is brought down. Indeed it makes it comparable or perhaps even less than the purchase price of a bog standard, planet-destroying car [I may have become a touch self-righteous since getting the electric car - apologies!] The downside is that the lease can cost around £1000 per annum. If you drive long distances this may be worth your while, but we figured we probably wouldn't be going far enough (as most of our journeys just involve ferrying the children to their various social engagements). Buying the battery outright also included an eight year or 100,000 mile warranty, so we decided to go down this route instead.

The second choice was what battery capacity to go for. The Nissan Leaf either comes with a 24kWh or 30kWh battery. The "official" maximum ranges of the two sizes are 124 miles and 155 miles respectively, through realistically you are more likely to get 90 miles and 120 miles (and then only on flat roads, driving at moderate speed, not using heating, etc.) We decided on the larger battery, as it would make journeys to places like Cornwall more feasible (indeed there is a charging point at Land's End which I hope to use one day!)

Third (and most important of all) was what colour to choose! You will recall from last time that child number three has strong views on such matters. For the test drive she had insisted on a rather dazzling red [I think she must have inherited the love-of-flashy-fast-cars gene from her grandmother!] but, having looked through the catalogue, Mrs R and I felt that a demure blue was more us. What would the small person make of this idea? It is no exaggeration to say that when I put it to her, the tension in the air was like when the man from Del Monte arrives on a plantation. But fortunately for us…...she said yes!*

So off to the showroom I went to make the arrangements. The pricing of electric cars is somewhat confusing: is the price shown for leased or bought battery? Is the price inclusive of the OLEV grant (the government subsidy of up to £4500 for electric cars)? On the latter, the price that most manufacturers show you includes this subsidy (ie this is the price you pay - there is no further discount). However, Nissan Exeter did offer a sizeable discount beyond the advertised price** They also offered a discount (in addition to the OLEV subsidy) on the cost of a home charging point. (Aside: although it is perfectly possible to charge through a normal household socket, this can be quite slow and, depending on whom you talk to, there is a very-small-no-really-nothing-to-get-yourself-worried-about risk of burning your house down). So as it was virtually free, I decided to go for the medium rate chargepoint (which will fully charge the car in about four hours versus a charge-time of 10-12 hours for a slow chargepoint or mains socket). The idea behind this is to be able to do a full charge overnight and, with the help of the car's charging timer, charge entirely on the Economy 7 tariff.

The car turned up really rather quickly after we ordered it, prompting me to wonder if the impressive productivity of the Sunderland workers had anything to do with Nissan's renewed (and definitely not taxpayer underwritten) commitment to remain on Brexit island. But I digress. The car arrived promptly and for a brief moment it was beautiful and pristine and I drove round in it in a heavenly daze. And then the kids got hold of it…………

In our next thrilling instalment, we will take the car to the edge of the known universe (well, Swanage). Stay tuned, folks!

*For my younger readers, this is another '80s reference. You're going to have to get used to them, I'm afraid.

** I am not being paid to promote Nissan, but if you are interested in buying a Leaf, Nissan Exeter will offer a similar discount to Sustainable Crediton members. Contact me directly for more details.