Broke down and bought a second ICE car.

[redLEAF]

Well, I made a good go at being a one-car, electric-only household, but we finally got a bit fed up. We take a lot more road trips than we thought and renting is kind of a pain in the ass, especially if you want a larger car. So, now we'll have a 2-year-old Mazda5 for road trips and our Leaf for around town. It's a pretty good hybrid system, actually; it's just split between two cars. If we got rid of the Leaf and used the gasser in town we'd only save about 50 bucks when accounting for all the gas we'd use. So the utility of having two cars between us will be nice.

I think I'm also going to put the Mazda on RelayRides; see how that works out. 5 rental days a month will cover the entire payment, so we'll see how that works out and whether it's worth the trouble of giving your car out to random people.

But to anyone thinking of getting rid of their only car and replacing it with a 70-mile EV... think long and hard! Renting gets to be a real pain, even if it's only once a month.

Back to the OP -- the key here is how many drivers and what their daily commutes, etc. -- we have 3 drivers and 4 cars; if in a two driver family (one partner/spouse that stays or works at home mostly) that might change some things but I would wonder how big a percentage of all LEAF owner's (who aren't single) can get by with just the one 100% EV and rent another car/truck as needed. Out here in the midwest, we also just had one really bad winter where on some days it simply wasn't prudent to take a chance driving the LEAF and leaving it parked outside all day in below zero temps so an ICE was needed. I do like the Volt and LEAF as a combo, but the Volt is just too tight for all the stuff we need to take on trips ... looking forward to the VW CrossBlue Coupe which promises AWD and PHEV (possibly diesel) power or another mid-sized SUV PHEV with about 30 to 40 miles electric range for the daily work commute; may end up being too complex and costly but we'll see.

 

[Atlantan]

The Leaf is now my Daily Driver and I love it, but, I am keeping my ICE car for weekends.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I do like the Volt and LEAF as a combo, but the Volt is just too tight for all the stuff we need to take on trips

The Prius PHEV is the car for you. Bigger inside, and even after the extra charge is exhausted it will get 50-60 MPG in careful driving.

Please, folks, we're drowning in apostrophes. The plural of "driver" is "drivers" and the plural of "owner" is "owners." Apostrophes are used mainly for two things: for contractions like "it's" (itself misused - only use the apostrophe for "it is") and to indicate possession, as in "the Leaf's accessory battery is dead again." I know that personal devices and their spellcheckers (NOT "spellchecker's") can make things harder, but if I can write this without my beloved PC-based spellchecker, you can cull those danged extra apostrophes!

 

[Levenkay]

if I can write this without my beloved PC-based spellchecker, you can cull those danged extra apostrophes!

Amen! And the most frequently hyper-apostrophied word, "its" only has three letters. It shouldn't be too much to ask for folk to remember how to spell three letter words, but even Britons are starting to misspell "its".

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I wouldn't mind giving the car rental model a try but there aren't any car rental companies where I live, so that's out. I use my '96 Jeep Cherokee (111,000 miles) as my long trip car, as well as for getting up my driveway and driving in difficult snow conditions. It is also good for the challenging dirt roads in our mountains that draw people from all over the country (there are hundreds of Jeeps in town this week to tackle those old mining roads).

One nice thing about an old car like that is that it doesn't cost much to license and insure and since I don't drive it much, maintenance doesn't amount to much either. Gas mileage is decent for a 4WD off-road capable car: about 23 mpg for local driving and 25+ mpg on long trips. I've put gas in the car only three times in the last seven months.

There are some places my LEAF can't go...

did you see Steve Coram's write up on his mountain ascent?

http://stevecoram.blogspot.com/2014/07/nissan-leaf-travels-to-highest-point.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

FYI; even if you are not interested in the story, check out the pictures... well worth the time!

 

[abasile]

did you see Steve Coram's write up on his mountain ascent?
http://stevecoram.blogspot.com/2014/07/nissan-leaf-travels-to-highest-point.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wow, my LEAF mountain adventures have been tame by comparison. Our LEAF has never seen lower than 6% charge! Glad he didn't get stranded.

 

[dgpcolorado]

did you see Steve Coram's write up on his mountain ascent?
http://stevecoram.blogspot.com/2014/07/nissan-leaf-travels-to-highest-point.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wow, my LEAF mountain adventures have been tame by comparison. Our LEAF has never seen lower than 6% charge! Glad he didn't get stranded.

I agree. That trip was a bit too much of an adventure for me. And, having already lost one car to a deer, I try to avoid driving at "deer-o'clock" as much as possible, and slow way down when I do have to do it (the main problem is being blinded by oncoming headlights so that I can't spot the deer). In fall and winter one can't drive the highway here and not see deer carcasses along the road.

 

[johnrhansen]

Looks like a good hike spoiled to me...

Those old mining roads have been around for a century in most cases. And, anyway, there are plenty of hiking trails and wilderness areas in which to lose yourself away from vehicles, if you choose.

By the way, the town in that picture, Telluride, was the location of the first commercial AC power plant built by Nikola Tesla, George Westinghouse, and L. L. Nunn (1891). The power was supplied to the mining industry. You can blame that development on gold, silver, copper, and tungsten, if you wish.

I'm an avid hiker, but I see no need in hiking up a road you can drive on. My idea is to go hiking somewhere else where you can't drive, and take the jeep up the road on the day after when your legs are too sore to hike anywhere. It's a whole lot better than staying in town!

 

[occ]

We're a two cars household. Both are EV. Got rid of the gasser for over a year and a half. Absolutely no regrets. The Nissan dealership near our house rents out gasser for only $19-$29/day, and they are right next to the freeway (and they let us park the LEAF at their lot). Our situation is soooo convenient. Our weekend out is rarely farther than ~100 miles. The Rav4EV is more than enough, and even the LEAF with ChaDeMo is getting so much more useful during the weekend now with all those QC being installed in SoCal. We rent the gasser for maybe about 4-5 times a year. Other vacation trips requires air transports.

If the Tesla model 3 is really 200 miles, supercharger capable, and ~$35K, I don't think we'll ever rent a gasser again.

 

[sparky]

...If the Tesla model 3 is really 200 miles, supercharger capable, and ~$35K, I don't think we'll ever rent a gasser again.

Absolutely. We're a 4 car household. Two EVs and 2 gassers. I kept one ICE for kids home from college and an SUV for the occasional long trip to Utah for skiing or NorCal for family visits. I have to drive both the gassers every so often so the batteries don't die.
But, after taking the 250 mi range Tesla on a long trip through Az and Utah, it's become our long distance car. It's amazing what a difference 200+ mi vs ~70 mi miles does for your willingness to write off ICE driving forever. Lots of Superchargers help of course. I've driven to Park City in the SUV for the last 5 Christmas holidays. This Christmas we'll be going electric. I think the 200 mi EV plus 100kW charging is the tipping point.

p.s. I predict Model X sales will be through the roof in the U.S. and will represent an existential threat to the high-end foreign SUV/crossover market. Goodbye Cayenne, Range Rover, Q5, Q7, LX 570.

 

[pkulak]

The Nissan dealership near our house rents out gasser for only $19-$29/day, and they are right next to the freeway (and they let us park the LEAF at their lot).

Wow, I never even thought about that. I'm going to call my local Nissan dealer this week and see if they will rent cars out. We actually decided _not_ to buy the van in the end, haha. I found an old minivan on GetAround for $175 for the entire week we needed one and figured we'd put off ICE ownership until at least the next big trip.

 

[pkulak]

Absolutely. We're a 4 car household. Two EVs and 2 gassers. I kept one ICE for kids home from college and an SUV for the occasional long trip to Utah for skiing or NorCal for family visits. I have to drive both the gassers every so often so the batteries don't die.
But, after taking the 250 mi range Tesla on a long trip through Az and Utah, it's become our long distance car. It's amazing what a difference 200+ mi vs ~70 mi miles does for your willingness to write off ICE driving forever. Lots of Superchargers help of course. I've driven to Park City in the SUV for the last 5 Christmas holidays. This Christmas we'll be going electric. I think the 200 mi EV plus 100kW charging is the tipping point.

p.s. I predict Model X sales will be through the roof in the U.S. and will represent an existential threat to the high-end foreign SUV/crossover market. Goodbye Cayenne, Range Rover, Q5, Q7, LX 570.

If we could afford a Tesla, it would be our only car and I would never even think about driving a gas car anywhere, ever again. I've owned gas cars that didn't have much more than 250 miles of range between tanks! Frankly, I'd be totally happy with 150 miles of range. That would be a QC stop every 2 hours or so, which is a whole league away from stopping every 45 minutes like I need to now!

 

[bbrowncods]

If we could afford a Tesla, it would be our only car and I would never even think about driving a gas car anywhere, ever again. I've owned gas cars that didn't have much more than 250 miles of range between tanks! Frankly, I'd be totally happy with 150 miles of range. That would be a QC stop every 2 hours or so, which is a whole league away from stopping every 45 minutes like I need to now!

That is the problem around here; finding a QC station. There is not one within 150 miles.

 

[johnrhansen]

If we could afford a Tesla, it would be our only car and I would never even think about driving a gas car anywhere, ever again. I've owned gas cars that didn't have much more than 250 miles of range between tanks! Frankly, I'd be totally happy with 150 miles of range. That would be a QC stop every 2 hours or so, which is a whole league away from stopping every 45 minutes like I need to now!

That is the problem around here; finding a QC station. There is not one within 150 miles.

Sounds workable. If you leave home with a full charge you can reach that far away quick charge station.

 

[pkulak]

If we could afford a Tesla, it would be our only car and I would never even think about driving a gas car anywhere, ever again. I've owned gas cars that didn't have much more than 250 miles of range between tanks! Frankly, I'd be totally happy with 150 miles of range. That would be a QC stop every 2 hours or so, which is a whole league away from stopping every 45 minutes like I need to now!

That is the problem around here; finding a QC station. There is not one within 150 miles.

Sounds workable. If you leave home with a full charge you can reach that far away quick charge station.

How do you drive 150 miles in a Leaf without stopping?

 

[LeftieBiker]

You drive at 30MPH, over level ground, with no climate control. You might also want to shut the stereo off and leave any heavy items of clothing at home.

 

[redLEAF]

I do like the Volt and LEAF as a combo, but the Volt is just too tight for all the stuff we need to take on trips

The Prius PHEV is the car for you. Bigger inside, and even after the extra charge is exhausted it will get 50-60 MPG !

An all-electric range of 10 to 11 miles? Would not even cover my daily commute (30 mi R/T); we test drove a Prius V, perhaps some additional utility but with the mish mash of displays, cheap imitation leather seats, and general poor noisy ride did not come away impressed at all ... no thanks but I'll pass, the plug in models are quite rare out this way, one of the biggest Toyota dealers had just a single one in stock. I wouldn't be surprised if this gets dropped with their recent announcement of moving away from EV's.

 

[RonDawg]

The Prius PHEV is the car for you. Bigger inside, and even after the extra charge is exhausted it will get 50-60 MPG !

An all-electric range of 10 to 11 miles? Would not even cover my daily commute (30 mi R/T); we test drove a Prius V, perhaps some additional utility but with the mish mash of displays, cheap imitation leather seats, and general poor noisy ride did not come away impressed at all ... no thanks but I'll pass, the plug in models are quite rare out this way, one of the biggest Toyota dealers had just a single one in stock. I wouldn't be surprised if this gets dropped with their recent announcement of moving away from EV's.

The PiP is quite popular in California as it qualifies for the green HOV-exemption stickers, even though its EV-only range is laughable. Sacramento just increased the numbers of green stickers it will allow to be issued; it was previously capped at 40k, and that limit was reached a few months ago. Plus like other PHEVs it qualifies for a $1500 rebate from Sacramento, plus another $2500 from Washington, which helps offset the considerably higher price over the regular Prius.

For those who get no financial incentives (except the Federal rebate), or any other perks whatsoever for getting a PiP, the regular Prius is a better value. Per the EPA, your fuel savings with the PiP over the regular version only amounts to $150 per year. Plus the non-plug-in version goes 595 miles per tankful per the EPA, vs. 540 + 11 EV for the PiP.

 

[kieranmullen]

Have you thought about that combiner box that combines 2 different 110 but they have to be non gfi on different outlets.

What finally did me in was the fact that I have only L1 at my apartment now (I use to have 30 amp L2 at my old place but it was much more... humble) and I can't exactly arrive "dead" since it takes so long to charge. Putting in even a 240v outlet of any amperage has gotten nowhere... :evil:

Of course the degradation wasn't helping things at all, ether.

 

[JeremyW]

The two sets outlets that are available to me are on the same phase.