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All,
thought i would share this with you all. Since having my Zoe I have been wondering how the lead would compare on a day to day basis… so now Nissan have given us the chance to find out what the leaf is really like!
My wife had a 24 hour testdrive before deciding to go with the Zoe. She really liked both cars but points out they are pretty different beasts. The Leaf is a bit more luxury with a softer ride and, of course, it’s a bigger car. However, Julie found the steering wheel can’t be moved back and forward, the seat pan is quite small, she was less keen on the many buttons on the centre console and found the range indicator jumped around a lot more than on the Zoe. She did like the arm rest / ‘gear stick’ layout but was less keen on the foot-operated ‘hand brake’.
Overall, the steering adjustment, the seat size, the fact we already had a Zoe compatible charger and the leaf generally not having enough extra nice things to justify the additional price means she’s ordered a Zoe 🙂
I’m kinda curious… We’ve ordered Zoe’s, but I’d love to drive a Leaf to see how it compares!
Did you do this? I’m wondering if they’d be mad if I arranged a test drive even though I’m unlikely to have a Leaf anytime soon (but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t consider one in future if it drove well).
Can you charge a Leaf from the same Type 2 7kw homecharger I had fitted for a Zoe?
Er, PDF says this ended in March 2014!
It will be able to use the 7kW charger but will only charge at 3kW… Unless you get the optional 6kW charger.
Different beasts to say the least. From a charging perspective, Zoe wins hands down. Leaf is a different segment car with regards to space. I don’t like the range indicator or the Guess-O-Meter as it’s known. Zoe has a reliable indicator, be it a bit on the cautious side. Most Leaf owners use Leaf Spy, app on a tablet/phone, to get a % reading or drive on the % display if they have a newer model.
I drove both when I was browsing.. Zoe won (obviously) because of size, price and charger.
Everyone knows what a leaf is and labels you a tree hugger. The zoe is way cooler and no one knows it’s electric. That was my choice.
Everyone knows what a leaf is and labels you a tree hugger. The zoe is way cooler and no one knows it’s electric.
I already had that label 🙂
My main problem with a Leaf is the charger. You either charge using a rapid/fast charger in 30 minutes (terms and conditions apply) or wait for hours on the slow AC charger.. Zoe is far more flexible in this respect.. Most charge points in Ireland are 22kW. Zoe is the only car that can make full use of this. I basically have about 700 charge points that will charge Zoe to 80% in about an hour. Makes it great for this country.
I did a test drive with both and thought and hard about the pro’s and cons of either..
Yeah, I saw your original test drive video a while back 🙂
I really doubt I’ll be convinced by the Leaf; but I think it makes sense to try and drive one anyway. I always end up buying the first car I test drove without trying others; I need to break the habit!
Nissan got back to me, offering 24 hours instead of 7 days due to availability (I’d have to wait till April otherwise, and it’s likely I’ll own a ZOE by then!). I was open with them about having placed a ZOE order, just waiting to hear back about availability.
Today I noticed Jaguar do 72-hour test drives… Maybe this is the solution to long journeys? 😉
So, Nissan Liverpool failed to get back to me about a 24hr test drive. Maybe they were nervous because I’d already ordered a ZOE? :/
Called another Nissan garage today and they said they can do a 7day test drive starting next weekend! Again; I was open and told them I’d already ordered a ZOE, but since it’s like to be April before I get it and people keep asking me why I didn’t test drive a Leaf; I wanted to give it a fair shot.
Obviously I’m rather biased towards the ZOE, but I do want to give the Leaf a fair shot; it might impress me! If not; at least I won’t keep wondering whenever I see one on the road 🙂
I should proof-read my posts after refactoring… left some duplication in there! ;(
(Would be really nice if Edit Post could be fixed!)
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