The Wilted Leaf - Ghosts of Taxis past! 29/01/2024

[320touring]

In a shock to absolutely no-one who knows me, I have become the custodian of the ex @Kiltox Leaf ..

"What's it doing in the Autoshite forum section? "I hear you cry!

Well, in it's defence, it's a BASE model. And an ex taxi. And high miles.

These Visia base models were only built for a short period before being dropped. You get the older style heater (more power hungry) and no sat navigating/annoying iPad type screen. Perfect.

 

Despite being super* high tech* it was easy enough to get the second key working.

New battery M9

 

[320touring]

How did ai end up with this fine specimen?

Well....

@Kiltox is making great strides in his new EV car sales endeavour, and, as such is always on the lookout for stock. As it happens, it was relatively local to me and I was duly dispatched to collect it.

I admit I was nervous - Livingston (and in particular where the Leaf was located) are not particularly navigable on foot, and public transport provision is patchy. I had to just get on with the task at hand.

I've driven one before as training for my old work using them as hire cars via Enterprise - that was a total of 10 mins. I'd also had a shot of @The Moog' excellent i3 so I wasn't going in cold.

However, the run to the unit it's all single lane backroad from where I collected the car..

But we made it safely.

As @jaypee will attest, I'm not the best at impulse control, so I started to consider the deal @Kiltox had proposed...

The rest, as they say, is history.

 

[hairnet]

so you know you can get cd's with v8 noises on them

can you get a scratch and sniff with chip fat in it

 

[loserone]

Glad we have a leaf Visia back on the forum, poverty spec leaves are best.  

 

Two white ex taxis on fleet you say?

[320touring]

1 minute ago, loserone said:

Glad we have a leaf Visia back on the forum, poverty spec leaves are best.  

 

Two white ex taxis on fleet you say?

Indeed re the povvo spec.

 

As for double taxi fleet - likely not for long!

[320touring]

What are my initial impressions?

I'm not in love with it - it's a bit too modern and sensible for my normal tastes.

However, it does several things that nothing else on fleet does:

Has sufficient, easily accessible seating for 4 adults - useful if having to run my parents anywhere.

Is LEZ compliant for Glasgow and Edinburgh. ( The Oxford and the Burd's MK1 golf are exempt due to age, but fuck parking them in town😂)

Has fully functioning cruise control (the 182s is wonky!)

Combines 182esque nippyness with Octavia size and practicality (boot size)

The Bird was immediately comfortable with driving it - she says it's just like a normal automatic, but quieter so better for tunes.

It was also a (relatively) cheap way to experience an electric car, without getting something that was heavily dated it tech terms (e.g. MK1 leaf with limited range or Zoe with either a small battery or no CCS fast charging).

Additionally, the 40kwh pack is of a size where it can charge overnight on the granny charger - so we don't need to make investment in a wall charger etc yet.

 

To drive, it's a mixture of different experiences.

The 16" steels and balloon tyres are pretty comfy, and the ride is decent. It's pretty rattle free in the suspension department - something I am very pleased about.

It's not point and squirt - it's a bit big for that and the steering feels pretty dead.

However, it goes where you point it, no real lean/roll, and compliant over bumps/potholes.

Where it is fun is in the acceleration stakes. The torque is relentless. But I'm being a good boy.

[320touring]

A bit about mileage and range:

This car is pretty high miles for it's age 

When I collected it, it was on 131,907

As you can see in the picture - it was showing 100% charge and 113 miles on the guessometer.

This was a pleasant surprise - it being charged meant I don't have to immediately seek out a charger.

Instead, it was driven about a fair bit.

I noticed when charging that it reached 114 miles suggested at 84%, so I decided to charge it to 100% and then test it's range.

 

At 100% we got this

Pretty pleased with that.

So I put it to the test.

Pretty much balances out so far - each 10% of battery = 13.4 miles or so.

At this level of consumption it will likely need a charge a max of once a week under normal use, unless we are doing any longer range work.

 

To put these figures in context - 134 miles is sufficient  to do any (not all!) of the following-

Get me to my parents and back 4 times in 

Get us to the Burd's parents and back 3 times

Get to the local train station and back 41 times 

 

I'll be using it tomorrow for a fairly busy day so will see how it goes on.

It's a pretty interesting and new experience so far..

 

Also, 132k WOOOHOO

[Kiltox]

31 minutes ago, 320touring said:

Zoe with no CCS fast charging).

Aye imagine having to drive one of those any distance 

[hairnet]

5 hours ago, 320touring said:

 

😂

The Bird was immediately comfortable with driving it - she says it's just like a normal automatic, but quieter so better for tunes.

 

All that matters no? If ya wanna be alive/fed

[320touring]

4 minutes ago, hairnet said:

All that matters no? If ya wanna be alive/fed

Pretty much, aye!

[Dick Cheeseburger]

What sort of money is a 132k early mk2 Leaf? Pm if you prefer...

[Kiltox]

13 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said:

What sort of money is a 132k early mk2 Leaf? Pm if you prefer...if 

Retail on this would’ve been £5295. 

[hairnet]

Fu gutty will have nowt to talk about cos it wont break

[320touring]

47 minutes ago, hairnet said:

Fu gutty will have nowt to talk about cos it wont break

The Clio, on the other hand....

[hairnet]

Shhh dont talk about that

[320touring]

So, it's an ex taxi with 132k on it: what's wrong with it?

NOTHING MUCH😂

I think it being a taxi has meant it's been maintained pretty well. Suspension is quiet and free from bangs/clunks. The brakes are firm and silent in operation. The battery is in decent health and there are no drive line shunts or bangs.

The interior has held up well to the heavy use - the rear seats are in great condition (but need a clean), as is the passenger seat. The drivers has some bolster wear but it's commensurate with mileage.

The rear door seals have obviously seen plenty action with folk rubbing them on the way in/out. New seals are cheap.

 

There are 3 things that are an annoyance, and two of them are likely only due to the fact it is so quiet in the car...

First up, the parcel shelf rattles

A high tech solution has been deployed 

I'll see if I can get some felt pads to sort this.

Secondly, the centre armrest "clicks" when you remove the pressure of resting on it (e.g. moving your arm to use the indicator)

I think either some padding where the contact points land, or as @Kiltox suggested, adjusting the clip should resolve the issue.

Lastly, the driver's door is missing the cover for the lock.

None of this is urgent or likely that involved to resolve. I'll seek out some solutions and see what happens.

@Kiltox had a ride in it today from the airport, and I think he was pretty impressed.

I may take it to see my parents this evening and see what they think.

[Cavcraft]

That's ace, look forward to reading how you get on with it long term.

 

One question, though: How the merry hell did it get all the way from Kiltox's to yours? Isn't it about eleventy hundred miles?

[hairnet]

On 21/06/2024 at 09:34, 320touring said:

 

@Kiltox

I admit I was nervous - Livingston

 

@jaypeel @Kiltox

 

 

11 minutes ago, Cavcraft said:

 

 

One question, though: How the merry hell did it get all the way from Kiltox's to yours? Isn't it about eleventy hundred miles?

 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

20 minutes ago, Cavcraft said:

That's ace, look forward to reading how you get on with it long term.

Same. When I eventually move my Datsquai along, I'm 50/50 on a Leaf or derv van. The jury's currently out. 

[320touring]

2 hours ago, Cavcraft said:

That's ace, look forward to reading how you get on with it long term.

 

One question, though: How the merry hell did it get all the way from Kiltox's to yours? Isn't it about eleventy hundred miles?

It came from Livingston, so only about 40 miles from me. Came out fully charged too.

Based on experience so far, it shouldn't be a problem to do distance work too.

2 hours ago, Dick Longbridge said:

Same. When I eventually move my Datsquai along, I'm 50/50 on a Leaf or derv van. The jury's currently out. 

Can thoroughly recommend Modern Heroes Car Sales Ltd.

[320touring]

Decided to be a bit proactive..

Enacted a testing of hypothesis...

Conclusion:

 

Some little rubber bungs should shut that the fuck up😂

 

Off to eBay we go

[hairnet]

51 minutes ago, 320touring said:

It came from Livingston,

Can thoroughly recommend incomprehensible sctsch beard Car Sales Ltd.

 

[hairnet]

51 minutes ago, 320touring said:

 

 

Enacted a testing of hypothesis..

 

😂

I read that as hypothermia oops

Also mods when ya quote then edit why cant ya remove smilies or tagged people??

At least on fone ta

[320touring]

My genius knows no bounds. #doorclosedcharging

Took the top off the plug, plug went through. Put top back on

[busmansholiday]

My mate had one of the early (22Kw) Zoes. Didn't stop him from driving from South Yorkshire to Oban.......

 

 

 

 

Although it did take 24 hours with all the stops (which he planned into the route). 

[320touring]

1 hour ago, busmansholiday said:

My mate had one of the early (22Kw) Zoes. Didn't stop him from driving from South Yorkshire to Oban.......

 

 

 

 

Although it did take 24 hours with all the stops (which he planned into the route). 

I reckon @Kiltox can sympathise 😂

Based on VERY limited experience, electric cars are very capable on the road. It's the rate of squishing the electrons up the spaghetti that impacts on long distance usability.

Take, for example, the run from my place to Kiltox's..

My leaf can charge at 50kW using Chademo rapid charging. 

A total of 2hrs 8 mins charging.

 

For the Zoe (which only charges at 22kW) 

 

However, if you presented both cars (very similar sized batteries) to the same type 2 22kW charger at the same state of charge,

my Leaf would only charge at 6.6kW (maximum the onboard setup can cope with) - taking about 5/6hrs to charge. 

The Zoe can run upto the full 22kW, so will be done in 2.5/3hrs.

 

It's all a bit horses for courses.

[Tayne]

2 hours ago, hairnet said:

incomprehensible 

 

[jonathan_dyane]

Ionic

[hairnet]

43 minutes ago, Tayne said:

 

Thank you

[320touring]

Today was an experiment.

The plan was to tey what would be a "long day" for me at a weekend.

Going from home, to unit, then onto my parents before a run back home.

 

TLDR - it did it fine, but was "empty" when I got home..

 

*Geekery ahead - do not read if you don't want to be bored!*

First up, this is the battery pack when I parked up after the journey

Pretty well balanced, which is great news.

 

But looks at that state of charge?!?!

What's happening here? The dash says 0% battery, and Leafspy is saying 25%

 

Well, as far as I can see, we started with this

This shows as 100% battery on the screen- leafspy saying about 94%

After 102.7 miles, the battery was at 0% on screen and 25% on leafspy

 

This means we have used 22.7kWh to do 102.7 miles, so that averages out at 4.5 miles per kWh

Realistically, I reckon it would let me use another 4kwh before heavily restricting performance, so another 16 or so miles could be had.

 

This performance is pretty bloody good for a battery of these miles. I'll experiment with driving techniques and modes to learn how to be as efficient as possible.

 

In other news:

An ACTUAL repair has been effected on the two creaking issues.

Firstly, some small domed rubber pads were fitted to the armrest:

Secondly, the parcel shelf was correctly fitted into it's locating points, stopping the rattle.

As you can see, it's earning it's keep hauling stuff at the moment.

 

I've brought my polisher home as you can see the witness marks of it's previous livery..