I,ve been teaching in automatic cars since 2006 and moving to the Nissan Leaf electric car I find it has much in common with my previous automatics. Learners notice no difference in driving it and lessons are the same as in a fossil fuelled car, except for the wonderful smooth silence you get with electric cars.
Continue reading “It’s Electric and Automatic”Electric Driving Test Passes
This week has sen the first two tests in the Electric Instructor Nissan Leaf at the Portsmouth Driving Test Centre. Both were passes.
First Time Pass
The first test was Shannon who passed first time after four months of weekly lessons. She was looking forward to the weekend when she could go car shopping.
Continue reading “Electric Driving Test Passes”Electric Instructor visits Air Ambulance
Last weekend, along with other members of our local instructor association, I visited the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance base at the Thruxton race track in Hampshire. Our association, SDIA, are raising money for the air ambulance and they kindly offered to show us around.
Continue reading “Electric Instructor visits Air Ambulance”The Day Portsmouth Launched on Street Charging
The on street chargers in Portsmouth are being installed. It resulted in me attending a launch for the media at the first charge point installed as well as being interviewed on the radio.
Lamp Posts Charge Cars
This is really good news the charge points are going in. The one across the road from me is still two green paint marks on the kerb with red paint marks on the pavement and lamp post, it should be installed over the next week.
Continue reading “The Day Portsmouth Launched on Street Charging”The Cost of Electricity for an EV
Two weeks of running my 30kW Nissan Leaf as a driving school car I’ve got a reasonable idea of the cost of electricity for an EV. I’m using public charging and relying mainly on rapid charging until the roadside chargers are installed by Portsmouth City Council. While a lot of my motivation to run an EV is environmental there has to be a cost saving to make it worthwhile.
In the first two weeks of ownership I’ve done a 137 mile Journey on motorways and dual carriageway, a few local trips with a majority of use being driving lessons. There were two rapid charges on the long trip which were high priced electricity and the rest using Polar chargers in the city.
Continue reading “The Cost of Electricity for an EV”A Week of Electric Lessons
It’s been an interesting first week of teaching in my Nissan Leaf electric car. Learners really like driving it and it brings up some interesting thoughts about teaching in EVs and what effect they will have on our roads.
When first encountering the MK1 Leaf Learners are impressed with it’s slightly whacky looks and the high specification interior, it’s the higher Tekna specification with a full leather interior. Turning it on brings up the space age display with lot’s of information about charge and range not seen before in a car and it sings a little tune. The speedo is a large numeric one so easily seen once it’s pointed out. Having come from a hybrid car, my learners are used to silence when pressing the power switch. I don’t really consider it a start button when a motor doesn’t start.
Continue reading “A Week of Electric Lessons”Ready to Fight Range Anxiety
It’s the one big factor most people are concerned about when they think about running an electric car, Range Anxiety. Facing a trip which is longer than my battery range in the first day of Owning my Nissan Leaf I was about to meet Range Anxiety head on.
I’d picked up my Leaf the previous evening. While still waiting for the slow charging roadside points to be installed in a few weeks by Portsmouth City Council, I’m going to be relying on the city’s only rapid charger at the Isle of Wight ferry port to charge the battery. I’d visited it the evening I picked the car up to fill the battery before my trip.
Continue reading “Ready to Fight Range Anxiety”Is This The Last Time I Fill Up?
With the Nissan Leaf electric being collected tomorrow, I started to think as I filled my Auris Hybrid up with fuel a couple of days ago, is this the last time I fill a car with petrol, or any fossil fuel? In reality it’s probably not the last time I fill a car but probably the last time I fill up a car I own.
To be fair to the Auris it has been a brilliant car to teach in, like the Prius I had before it. It has consistently returned around 55MPG because of it’s hybrid power plant. It’s a shame that Toyota, the masters of the hybrid power unit, haven’t got a full electric model available currently and it seems nothing too soon either. While most major manufacturers are about to start producing electric models if they don’t already have them it just seems they’ve been left behind a bit.
It’s not going to be the last time I stop at a fuel station even in an electric car. The oil companies are investing in rapid chargers and rolling them out around their networks of stations so EV owners will not be lost to them. BP own Chargemaster who run the existing network of Polar Rapid Chargers. Shell are also rolling out chargers.
I wonder if we’ll still call them Petrol Stations?
Portsmouth is Rapid
Portsmouth is Rapid
Charged Parking
The Electric Instructor adventure is moving on as Portsmouth City Council have contacted me asking if a parking space they will be designating for EV charging would be suitable for me. It’s across the road from where I live so more than suitable.
Continue reading “Portsmouth is Rapid”Electric Instructor, The Adventure Begins
The Adventure Begins
With a letter from Portsmouth Council it looks like my Electric Instructor adventure is about to begin. Continue reading “Electric Instructor, The Adventure Begins”
