123 miles from Dealer to house.

[DeoreDX]

Best deal I've been quoted so far on a 36 month lease Leaf is from Autonation Nissan in Marietta Georgia. Problem is I live in Auburn, Al. Google Maps says this is a 123 mile drive. It's pretty warm down so there will be plenty of AC and the drive si a long all interstate. I'm trying to decide how much of a PITA it will be to make this trek from Atlanta.

Plugshare to view the EVSE's between Marietta and Auburn. It gets slim pickings once you get outside of Metro Atlanta. Possible places to stop between the dealership and my house, with distance from the dealership.

29 Miles: Quick charge@ Union City Nissan dealership. 95 miles from home.
48 miles: Multiple L2 chargers Near Newnan exit. 79 miles from home.
78 miles: L2 charger @ Nissan of LaGrange 48 miles from home.
102 Miles: ??? Charger listed at a truck stop on Plugshare but no check ins or other information. 21miles from home.
123 Miles: Home

I'd love to get some feedback and opinions from actual leaf owners on where and how long I should stop to charge to get home with as little time spent on the charger as possible. Any feedback would be great.

 

[kieranmullen]

Are they going to have it fully charged for you when you pick it up? At first I was going to say just stop the Free nissan dealership would be a good place to stop BUT then I thought it might be better to make 2nd stop as well since you may not feel 100% comfortable with running that close driving it home for the first time.

 

[abasile]

This shouldn't be hard at all, especially if your new LEAF supports 6 kW charging on level 2 and you keep your speed below 65 mph. I'd say stop and use the quick charger for a bit, until the rate of charge drops below 6 kW. Then stop for less than an hour at the Newman exit, until the L2 charge rate starts to taper. Maybe do another 30-60 minutes of L2 at Nissan of LaGrange, enough to have a comfortable margin.

Enjoy the LEAF!

 

[KillaWhat]

Very Dooable.
Adventures in Leafing!
Make sure you get a 6.6Kw (6.0) charger and a QC Port
Start out at 100%, and drive as slowly as safe.
New car, New Battery... you will do fine.
Good Luck.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

Keep it at a Max of 35 mph, coast to stops, and try to make it without charging.

 

[CMYK4Life]

What about explaining this to the dealer you purchased from and asking that the car to be delivered to the other dealership 48 miles from home as part of the deal?

If you decide to drive I would choose the option below:

48 miles: Multiple L2 chargers Near Newnan exit. 79 miles from home.

Make sure you scout out the area before you go. Are the chargers free? are they active? What are you going to do for the 2+ hours while the car charges (asssuming 6.6kwh)?

Also, plan your route for 0 highway. I would not go any faster than 55mph. Open the windows and use the fan only.

It sounds conservative but I would hate for you to get in trouble on your first trip in the Leaf. Around town you can blast the AC and go as fast as you want. Long trips require planning, redundancy, and dicipline.

 

[CMYK4Life]

Keep it at a Max of 35 mph, coast to stops, and try to make it without charging.

you are cray-cray brah

 

[CmdrThor]

Keep it at a Max of 35 mph, coast to stops, and try to make it without charging.

Apparently you want the OP to be run off the side of I-285. Speed limit is 55 mph, average speed is 75 mph.

I would drive to the Union City Nissan dealer, charge to about 85-90% on the L3, then stop again in La Grange and charge to 80% at least. Since this is a one time trip to get you home the extra charging time shouldn't be too big of a hassle, and the reliability of the Nissan dealership chargers should be fairly high. Worst case if the Union City L3 is broken or in use, you can charge there on L2.

Also, Roll Tide.

 

[NasGoreList]

one stop needed:

78 miles: L2 charger @ Nissan of LaGrange 48 miles from home.

and you should be good to go

 

[DeoreDX]

one stop needed:

78 miles: L2 charger @ Nissan of LaGrange 48 miles from home.

and you should be good to go

78 miles possible @ 70mph with AC on the interstate?

 

[BrockWI]

I would agree with the stop at LaGrange Nissan. I would check though to make sure they are fine with you stopping (might want to take off the dealers plate frames ). I would also look at what other charge locations you have around you, for us it's chargepoint, so we got a card and activated it, took about a week.

 

[UBUYGAS]

Usually get 80 miles range @ 60MPH with no air and a lot of regen. That's all right lane driving.

one stop needed:

78 miles: L2 charger @ Nissan of LaGrange 48 miles from home.

and you should be good to go

78 miles possible @ 70mph with AC on the interstate?

 

[edatoakrun]

If you can stay off the freeways, you'll probably get home faster.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Marietta,+GA/Nissan+of+LaGrange,+224+Commerce+Ave,+LaGrange,+GA+30240/Auburn,+AL/@32.9831805,-85.3276989,10z/data=!4m50!4m49!1m15!1m1!1s0x88f510968647065d:0xb18756c6328ee981!2m2!1d-84.5499327!2d33.952602!3m4!1m2!1d-84.7960565!2d33.5510696!3s0x88f4d08ab4c6d86b:0xf3c739149a4c9a16!3m4!1m2!1d-84.8891806!2d33.2070454!3s0x88f4b3b02f6ea7eb:0x8689e647ca3b5935!1m25!1m1!1s0x888b541f4cb04db1:0xab6a7543f675552a!2m2!1d-85.01818!2d33.048198!3m4!1m2!1d-85.1597244!2d32.9038803!3s0x888ca69ab051dbdb:0x78f75b40455f7cae!3m4!1m2!1d-85.1896972!2d32.8619326!3s0x888ca387ff411409:0x517bbdea77ca66c5!3m4!1m2!1d-85.2422433!2d32.8138648!3s0x888ca2ce018004fb:0x3c19bffc267da999!3m4!1m2!1d-85.345449!2d32.730579!3s0x888c96af843d2cf9:0x1f59c18f8ceaab16!1m5!1m1!1s0x888cf12fb39bf883:0xcb25919235d39358!2m2!1d-85.4807825!2d32.6098566!3e0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Google says:

Via US-29 and 70 its 3 h 2 min and 128 miles, and you can probably cut a few more minutes and miles with your knowledge of local roads.

You should be able to get all the extra kWh you need In 60-90 minutes at the L2 located where you want to stop for a meal. Anything within walking distance of Nissan of LaGrange?

Remember, on a long BEV trip without DC, the slower you drive, the faster you'll get there.

 

[Graffi]

Make sure the Leaf is at 100% when you start.

Do NOT pass up the QC, even though only 30 miles - Go as fast as you like and use the AC as you like. The QC will recharge at a 150mph rate. It will probably stop at 80% charge but may go higher. 80% is enough to make it to your next charge.

Drive in the Right Lane at 55mph (60mph max) as a slower speed driving will greatly reduce the charging time at the next stop and will actually reduce total trip time. Keep windows closed and use climate control AC.

Stop at 3rd location which is only 50 miles after QC. Since it is a Nissan dealer the L2 EVSE's should be available and operational. I have never had anyone at a dealer question my charging even though I purchased at a different dealer. The charge rate at the L2 is about 25mph up to about 90%. I would suggest that you use this time to find somewhere close by to eat and take a break. Even just an hour could give you plenty of power to get you the rest of the way home, driving 55mph with AC running.

Summary:
* start at 100%, drive as fast as you like.
* 1st stop for max QC, drive 55mph with AC.
* 3rd stop for L2, eat a meal/take a break (60 to 90 minutes), drive 55mph with AC.
* Arrive home with your new Leaf, happy, comfortable, and relaxed.

I do recommend that you use a dedicated 40amp 240v circuit with an EVSE that will give you the full 6.6kw charge rate. Price from a couple hundred to couple thousand dollars, your choice. Do not short yourself here, or eventually you will regret it. If you have to run a new line, then I recommend you plan for the day when you will like to have much faster charging with new technology 3 or more years from now. Maybe 50amp, 60amp, or even 100amp circuit.

Congrats, and welcome to the wonderful world of EVing.

 

[abasile]

The reason I'm recommending using the second charging stop is in case of any trouble at the third location. If you don't have to go too much out of your way, then shorter, more frequent charging stops will allow you to maintain a higher average state of charge and thus be better prepared for any potential issues along the way.

While you could get home a little faster by driving 55 mph on the Interstate and spending less time charging, you might not feel comfortable going that slowly unless traffic is very light or there are more than two lanes in each direction. 60-65 mph seems more reasonable to me, or you could follow Ed's suggestion and stay off the Interstate. Whatever you do, I think it's worth using the air conditioning and staying comfortable. The only exception to this would be if you cannot charge at the third stop, in which case you should do everything possible to extend range.

 

[CmdrThor]

Drive in the Right Lane at 55mph (60mph max) as a slower speed driving will greatly reduce the charging time at the next stop and will actually reduce total trip time. Keep windows closed and use climate control AC.

Although you can reasonably drive 55mph on 285 on your way to Union City, this will not be safe going down I-85 with a speed limit of 70 mph. I would either drive at least 65 mph on I-85 and stop at least twice and spend a little more time charging, or as others have suggested you can take off interstate roads. The problem with those are though you will have traffic lights and such and will lose some efficiency stopping for those.

At 65mph, your 100% range should be about 70 miles, maybe a few more, so use that in your calculations of how much to charge at each stop.

 

[alcalira]

I like that non-Interstate route. Google maps gives you the option to "avoid highways" in plotting a route. Make a day of it. See the countryside, take your time. Plan your lunch stop for one of the L2 EVSE locations halfway home. This will give you an opportunity to get to know your car and you won't be in anyone's way when you're going 55 mph. Enjoy!

 

[NasGoreList]

one stop needed:

78 miles: L2 charger @ Nissan of LaGrange 48 miles from home.

and you should be good to go

78 miles possible @ 70mph with AC on the interstate?

Probably not @70mph, however if you keep you speed between 55 and 60 with ac off or set on 76f you will be fine.

 

[mbender]

As you can see, there are differing strategies and philosophies. This is part of the fun in getting to know and driving the LEAF (in my and perhaps most of our opinions).

We would all probably like to know what you eventually plan to do, and what you actually, so please report back!

Then, a year from now, it will be interesting to look back at this thread and see what you would do differently, and what advice you would give a similar questioner.

 

[Bob]

I'd suggest that you find a closer dealer that will match the other dealer's price.

Even if you can figure out how to make the trip, you're going to need more trips to that dealer for warranty service, battery checks, etc. It will be fun the first time, awkward the second, and a real hassle every time after that. Owning an EV shouldn't have to be a challenge every trip.

That's my opinion, for what it's worth.

Bob