Leaf - Range in cold climates and Buying/Leasing in Michigan

[aphysician]

@ mlapratt

Thank you for dropping by and sharing your experience. My commute will be similar to yours with few key differences, almost 60% highway commute, no access to charging at work, plan to get rid of ICE car as no space for parking, cold-soaking for 12 hours at work, shorter RT commute of 50 miles.

Your experience is a very important one, as it highlights real world scenario in cold climate. I had not factored snow, wind in my calculations. It was great that you were able to test drive Leaf on your route, to get a good estimate on the range. Would you be willing to share the name of the dealership who offered the vehicle? I am yet to find a knowledgeable dealer, when I went to dealer they seemed clueless and did not have vehicle even for a short drive. I was told that I will get a call for test-drive, that was a month ago. Were they one of those above I have already listed?

I would like to mention again, that yours was probably the best estimate of range in cold and closest to the real world range. Thank you for highlighting differrences between SV/SL and S. It seems that the SV should fit my requirements, however I may not have much cushion (8-10 miles). I make sprint to home after shift, and safe L2 chargers are just couple of miles from my home (the same one that you used), so I may not get/like to charge before reaching home. The way weather changes in MI, basically I will be forced to use ICE during 4 winter months for sense of security. Temp above 40s, and Leaf will have full range of 65-70 miles.

Congratulations on your Leaf. I share your opinion about this forum. I got all honest responses, with no intention to give wrong information. Thanks to everyone, the responses have been extremely helpful to me in making decision. Limited range still concerns me, however like you my next car will be an EV. I am just deciding between Model S vs Leaf. Hope to see you soon.

Hari

 

[aphysician]

I think only way to ensure consistent cold weather performance is to have TMS, as in RAV 4 and Tesla.

I think I may have said this to you on another thread, but I really fail to see why you are so hung up on TMS. It's great, perhaps even vital, in a very hot climate, but of relatively little importance in a cold one. If, as you say, you do not have any place to plug in at work, any TMS that runs will reduce your mileage available for the trip home. And if you do have a place to plug in, even at 120v, you won't need to keep the battery warm to make it home.

Hi Ray,

We talked on other post by me "EVs with TMS". I agree I am overstating benefits of TMS in cold weather. I was just wondering whether that would be of any benefit. Turns out not, Tesla would also suffer 20% range loss in cold climates. So at this point of time, it is mainly a range question. This discussion has helped me and other potential buyers like me about what is reasonable range to expect from Leaf in winter. From all the responses above, I can safely say that 55-60 miles should not be any problem. Thanks again.

Hari

 

[kubel]

I was getting maybe 45 miles from a 100% charge this past January, never going faster than 45-55MPH. Heater (preheated) set to a comfortable temperature (around 73F), ECO mode, heated steering wheel, and heated seat on high. 17" steel wheels and overweight snow tires were on my car, and I'm a very spirited driver, and I have a 2011-2012 heater, so I am probably the worst-case scenario for non-highway winter range in the LEAF.

 

[Deleted member 9999]

I'd like to say thanks to everyone in here who shared their winter driving experiences with the car. I leased mine a couple days ago - with no ICE to back it up and was thinking "well, if it doesn't work in winter, I can get a beater ICE or take public transit (even though it takes 3x the time)". The feedback from this thread would suggest that my ~35mi round trip commute should be okay, even assuming my work doesn't let me trickle charge - I haven't even asked them yet. I also had 1-2 L2 backup plan chargers (one Nissan dealership, one ChargePoint in a shopping complex) just in case something goes wonky. With any luck I should be able to keep it as my only car this winter with only a non-heated attached garage and cold-soaking at work for 10+ hours. In MN here, last winter was brutal for weeks on end - it would have really been a stress test for the battery last January.

Like mlapratt, I'm not a car person, but I'm a really techie person - I seriously considered the OpenEVSE until I realized that the cost of components is really enough that I should just have a retail one.

Again, thanks so much everyone up here in the frigid, you've really set my mind at ease.

 

[ksnogas2112]

Awesome! Welcome to Team EV!

 

[jswilson]

I'd like to say thanks to everyone in here who shared their winter driving experiences with the car. I leased mine a couple days ago - with no ICE to back it up and was thinking "well, if it doesn't work in winter, I can get a beater ICE or take public transit (even though it takes 3x the time)". The feedback from this thread would suggest that my ~35mi round trip commute should be okay, even assuming my work doesn't let me trickle charge - I haven't even asked them yet. I also had 1-2 L2 backup plan chargers (one Nissan dealership, one ChargePoint in a shopping complex) just in case something goes wonky. With any luck I should be able to keep it as my only car this winter with only a non-heated attached garage and cold-soaking at work for 10+ hours. In MN here, last winter was brutal for weeks on end - it would have really been a stress test for the battery last January.

Like mlapratt, I'm not a car person, but I'm a really techie person - I seriously considered the OpenEVSE until I realized that the cost of components is really enough that I should just have a retail one.

Again, thanks so much everyone up here in the frigid, you've really set my mind at ease.

From a Canadian who went through last winter with a Leaf with a 40-mile round trip commute and no possibility to charge at work - you'll be fine.