Road trip in a Nissan Leaf
What is it like to go on a long road trip in an electric car? Along with a fellow CNET colleague, I set off on a 500-mile journey around England to find out.
Our vehicle was a 2015 Nissan Leaf Tekna, currently the most popular all-electric car in Britain and similar to the top-of-the line Leaf SL model in the US.
The planned route
Our planned route would take us from London to the Peak District and back again, avoiding major cities and the main motorways where charging points are easy to find.
Regenerative breaking
The top bar on the Leaf's dashboard shows the balance between using power and regenerating power through braking.
Pit stop in Cambridge
The old university town of Cambridge is a beautiful place to stop on a road trip.
Charging in Cambridge
This Nissan showroom in Cambridge had a rapid charging dock.
Overnight in Buxton
Our overnight charging point was in the beautiful spa town of Buxton, in the Peak District. It just happened to be my home town.
Touring Goyt Valley
With 14 miles of range in the car, we were able to take it on this winding route through Goyt Valley.
Cow crossing
Waiting behind herds of dairy cows is not uncommon in the North.
Zero miles left
The range dial was on zero by the time we arrived at our charging point in Oswestry.
Getting towwed in Oswestry
The Ecotricity charging point in Oswestry wasn't working. With no power to drive to a different charging point and no ability to charge here, we had no choice but to call for roadside assistance. An hour later, a tow truck arrived to rescue us.
Error message
The error message on the Ecotricity rapid charging dock.
Getting towed -- again
Back on the tow truck to a nearby Nissan showroom, where both charging points were out of order, and then to the town of Shrewsbury.
Another malfunction
We eventually got towed an Asda supermarket in Shrewsbury with charging points in the car park. However, due to a malfunction, the charging point locked our cable in place -- without charging the car.
I risked a drive to another nearby Nissan showroom. I made it and was able to charge the car, returning later for the abandoned cable.
UK countryside
The drive from Shrewsbury to Leominster took me through some of the most stunning scenery. It almost made me forget how much trouble this road trip had been so far.
Leominster charge point
I had to wait two hours at the medium-rate charger in Leominster.
Rapid charge in Winchester
I found a rapid charging point in the car park for Winchester's County Council building.
The final stretch
The last part of my journey looked like this. I had to double back to the town of Warwick -- instead of heading south to London -- after a charging point in the town of Moreton-in-Marsh wouldn't work.