Nissan LEAF for 70-mile commute (140 miles roundtrip)

[philipscoggins]

I drive from 75 to 100 miles/day in my 2012 LEAF with 52,000 miles.

Unless you don't mind adding an hour (each way) to your commute & you want to fully bet on all the chargers working every time you need them (they won't)...

Don't do it.

I charge about 2 hours during the day to make it possible & I plug in 110 at work during the winter until lunch time. I'm willing to put up with the inconvenience, but a vast majority of people aren't.

 

[mbender]

A friend once told me that "If you're not living life on the edge, you're taking up too much room." ( LOL )

I agree with Tony Williams and others who encourage you -- with qualifications -- to take the adventure, if you are not 'adventure-averse'. Especially if it's a two-year lease of a 2015. Like dndrich, I regularly make (and made, in my 2012) 60-70 mile trips without too much anxiety. It can turn into a challenge or even a game if you adopt the right attitude and learn good EV-driving habits.

Securing (guaranteed and permanent) charging at work might be your biggest challenge and concern.

 

[trumpetnelson]

New (red) 2015 Leaf purchased in October - - only 600 miles driven so far. A fun car (aka toy).

My daily round trip commute is 58 miles, with no charging at the far end. Fill up at night with the 120v. Gage will say about 95 to 105 miles when topped off in the garage in the morning. No issues yet.

After a 1/2 day at work, it usually shows about 30 miles left on the gage when I put it back into the garage, so I figure I am good for about 80% of the display. Not unusual for me to push 60 to 70 mph on the freeway. Determined to use those electrons! Typically using the "B" position for regen braking and slowing only with the throttle, but unusual for me to switch to the ECO mode. Too much fun with that acceleration, but still playing with the buttons.

If I get stuck in slower traffic ..... I end up with an extra 10 to 15 more miles left over on the gage when I pull back into the garage. So for me, more traffic increases the range.

Good luck with your decision. Purchase price was lowered $13,500 by rebates and tax credit before I started negotiations with the dealership. What a scam for United States citizens.

Nelson in San Antonio

 

[mwalsh]

New (red) 2015 Leaf purchased in October - - only 600 miles driven so far. A fun car (aka toy).

My daily round trip commute is 58 miles, with no charging at the far end. Fill up at night with the 120v. Gage will say about 95 to 105 miles when topped off in the garage in the morning. No issues yet.

After a 1/2 day at work, it usually shows about 30 miles left on the gage when I put it back into the garage, so I figure I am good for about 80% of the display. Not unusual for me to push 60 to 70 mph on the freeway.

It will be interesting to see where you're at in a few years with the revised battery pack. My 2011 will no longer make the commute you outline.

 

[Reddy]

My daily round trip commute is 58 miles, with no charging at the far end. Fill up at night with the 120v. Gage will say about 95 to 105 miles when topped off in the garage in the morning. No issues yet.

This is the farthest per day driving I've seen with only L1 (120V) charging. That's definitely not "normal" and I tell people that more than about 40-50 mi per day on L1 is tough.

 

[Yogi62]

My daily round trip commute is 58 miles, with no charging at the far end. Fill up at night with the 120v. Gage will say about 95 to 105 miles when topped off in the garage in the morning. No issues yet.

This is the farthest per day driving I've seen with only L1 (120V) charging. That's definitely not "normal" and I tell people that more than about 40-50 mi per day on L1 is tough.

It depends on how much home time you get, but adding 70% to 80% charge every night will be real hard on 120V. I tried it for a little while when I first had the car and I got caught short a few times. If you get the EVSE upgraded to 16 amps then it will be a bit easier.

 

[minispeed]

A big factor here would be what kind of fuel economy you get in your current car?

Check the rating at http://www.fueleconomy.gov" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and then track your fill ups. If you get less than the rating for your car then you probably won't be able to make it. If you get around the rating then you will probably get around the rating for the leaf. If you can blow it out of the water, like many can, then you can do this drive in the leaf. However that will mean there are days that you must drive that way and have little choice other than visiting a public charging station.

Go to http://www.plugshare.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and take a look at where the public charging stations are. If there's an L3 close to your work then it adds a good safety net. The other thing you have to consider is emergencies. At 70 miles each way if you get to work then have to leave you're stuck without an L3 around. If it's very close to your work you may even be able to go on a lunch break. The other thing you want to pay close attention to is L3's and L2s that are within 20miles from your work and home, these are the best for an emergency stop. L3s are the 30 min to 80%, doesn't really matter where they are. L2s might be a 1hr to 2hr stop so it's nice if they are at a mall, coffee shop with wi fi or a bookstore. Make sure you get the quick charge port if you plan on using public charging (for the L3 chamedo and faster 6.6 L2) and also check the user reviews of the charging stations to make sure they show a history of use. If there's no history that doesn't mean they are bad but many will show a history of being out of service for a while.

Someone else mentioned the Plug in Prius, I wouldn't recomend it as you will be burning a lot of gas. If you just want to get over 60mpg you can get a mitsubishi mirage to do that for cheap. The current volt if you are willing to drive the way the leaf may force you to drive in 4 years may make the trip on almost all electric (some users report up to 60 miles at 35-40mph) and on days when you just need to go fast you can do that. For most of your non work driving the volt will probably never burn gas where the prius may. Also the 2nd gen will be shown in January (on sale in the summer probably) so it might do all of it on electric for you, and there will probably be good deals if you are going to pick up a 1st gen at the end of the run.

 

[trumpetnelson]

This has been GREAT feedback for a potential new owner. Keep it up, team!

As far as my new red 2015 "S" model (I may have stated SV in error) and the comments made:

- totally agree - - let's see how that battery pack is doing in a couple of years ....

- 58 mile RT with no charging is a lot for the car - - agree also. A key component to my success is my 1/2 day work schedule. More time at home for the 120v to catch up with my driving habits. I may need to eventually invest in the 240v option, but I am ok for now. Luckily, the car came with the optional $1,700(!) 6.6 kW charger built in.

New item to ponder - - - if it all goes south on me I have paid under $17,300 for the new car and looking at the used market, I can probably get close to break even on this trial run into an EV if I need to sell. And my sweet little 2003 Miata in the garage gets a breather from the day-to-day commuting miles.

Keep smiling,
Nelson

 

[minispeed]

This has been GREAT feedback for a potential new owner. Keep it up, team!

As far as my new red 2015 "S" model (I may have stated SV in error) and the comments made:

- totally agree - - let's see how that battery pack is doing in a couple of years ....

- 58 mile RT with no charging is a lot for the car - - agree also. A key component to my success is my 1/2 day work schedule. More time at home for the 120v to catch up with my driving habits. I may need to eventually invest in the 240v option, but I am ok for now. Luckily, the car came with the optional $1,700(!) 6.6 kW charger built in.

New item to ponder - - - if it all goes south on me I have paid under $17,300 for the new car and looking at the used market, I can probably get close to break even on this trial run into an EV if I need to sell. And my sweet little 2003 Miata in the garage gets a breather from the day-to-day commuting miles.

Keep smiling,
Nelson

I'd trade a 1/2 day work for having to spend some time at a public charger LOL!

 

[Reddy]

...58 mile RT with no charging is a lot for the car - - agree also. A key component to my success is my 1/2 day work schedule. More time at home for the 120v to catch up with my driving habits....

Ahhh, that explains it. I mostly charge at night, 1-4am or so, but then again I have been averaging about 7500 mi/yr.