From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT

By Paul Homewood

Now the Leaf has been phased out, Nissan’s new flagship is the Ariya.

It’s a bog-standard SUV, equivalent to the Qashqai, but the basic model retails at £39645, compared to Qashqai which costs £30135.

The Ariya is totally unaffordable for the average family.

But on top of that come the running costs.

Nissan quote 3.92 miles per kWh, but in the real world you can assume about 2.74 miles. If you are one of the 4-in-10 homes that don’t have off street parking, you are stuck with public chargers. Our local one, a 50 kWh one, charges 75p/kWh, which works out at 27 pence per mile.

The Qashqai is rated at 44.8 mpg, which at current prices works out at 13 pence per mile. However when fuel duties are taken out and VAT equalised at 5%, the Qashqai’s cost reduces to 5.3 pence per mile.

That makes the Ariya much dearer to run. On an annual mileage of 10,000, charging the Ariya will cost £2700, compared to a cost of petrol of £530 for the Qashqai.

Electric cars will be unaffordable for anybody without their own driveways.