A week of a Leaf ! by Syl Cotter.

A few weeks ago when Paul Dunn of Merrion Feet

Management asked me to take an electric vehicle for a week,

drive it around and experience an electric vehicle around the

streets of Dublin, I was not sure how to initially respond. You

see, I never consider myself a car person. I know many

people get very excited around certain cars and the latest

developments on the market place – not really me!

For my first sales rep’s job, I told my then boss that I could

drive and had a licence – not really true. So I had two weeks

to learn to drive. Getting a provisional licence was easy

enough, but learning to drive in two weeks was a bigger

challenge. On my first day, I was given a company car and

asked to drive to Heuston Station to put an urgent parcel on

the train for a customer. I was like Christy Moore with beads

of sweat pouring down over me driving through the city

centre. But the next day was even worse. My boss said we

have to travel to Cork immediately for a sales presentation.

As she had not prepared for the meeting, the plan was for

me to drive and for her to work on the presentation on the

way down. Two minutes from the office, she realised that my

driving skills were somewhat below what she expected and

knew if we had any chance of making that presentation in

time it was better for her to take over the driving.

Anyway, back to the electric car. Paul dropped the car over to

The Sales Institute on Merrion Square on a Friday afternoon

and I drove it home to Rathfarnham, a Nissan Leaf (for all

those car enthusiasts). I have no idea or interest about the

technical side of the car, such as speed, horse power and all

that. However, the silence was the first thing I noticed. I felt I

was driving on air with no noise. What was funny was I on

the way home I was initially afraid to turn on the radio, Air

Con and headlights in case the juice ran out. The next day,

Saturday was a real tested, busy day. From Rathfarnham

drop the kids to tennis in Leopardstown, on to Bray to collect

a visiting American cousin, bring her to Marley Park, back to

our house, drop her to my parents in Bray and finally back to

Rathfarnham. On the M50, the car is a treat to drive. Great

acceleration, no issue with a speed of 120 Km/s.

However with that amount of driving I began to experience

“gauge rage”. Was there enough power to bring me to my

next destination? Maybe there was, but I felt to be sure that I

needed to re-charge a number of times throughout the day.

And, re-charging the battery is the main consideration when

driving an electric vehicle. Charging up at home was a bit of a

nuisance, driving to a re-charging station (which is also a

designated cap parking space) that was occupied by a parking

car was also frustrating.

So, what for the future?

Companies like Merrion Fleet are looking to gauge two

possible areas for electric vehicles – can electric cars or vans

be a viable solution for Irish business? There are compelling

reasons both for and against.

Pro’s

1. It’s a huge cost saver as a managed pool car. Some companies have shown evidence of up to €12k vs taxis when using these types of vehicle.

2. The cost to charge these is a fraction of the fuelling of a diesel/petrol equivalent

3. It shows a commitment to CSR (corporate Social responsibility) by going green

4. Up to € 5,000 grant per vehicle as well as VRT Relief up to € 5,000

5. € 120 motor tax band Cons.

1. The range for these vehicles is low at 150km and this is more suited to city based companies with multiple offices.

What I found helpful, was the ESB app showing all charge points throughout Ireland consisting of domestic, public and fast charge points. There is now 1,200 public charge points. The first 2,000 purchasers of a new electric vehicle are provided with a FREE home charge point installed by the ESB. Merrion Fleet have piloting a novel idea, which they call EV 20-20 (to be launched in May). They would like to offer twenty companies over twenty weeks the opportunity to experience an electric vehicle and see for themselves if their business would benefit from the use of an electric vehicle. Anyone interested in participating should contact Paul Dunn,

Head of Sales, Merrion Fleet Management – pdunn@merrionfleet.ie So, who do I sum up my week in a Leaf ? Lovely car to drive. Great experience in driving an electric vehicle. My kids loved it (some funny moments, but that is for another day). Gauge rage not a pleasant experience. However, I understand that by 2017, with a new wave of electric vehicles coming onto the market, with the range extended to 250/300 Kilometres, these cars will really come into their own. It is not beyond the possibilities as technology continues to improve that electric vehicles can replace all fossil fuelled motor vehicles. Ps- message to the BBC. I wish to apply for the position of Jeremy Clarkson’s replacement !!!!!!