Seriously considering getting a LEAF.

[mitch672]

FYI, the Red SL Leaf I orphaned is still at Clay Nissan in Norwood, if you are looking for a Red one
Here she is: http://www.claynissannorwood.com/2012-Nissan-LEAF-SL-Norwood-MA/vd/9239282" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Its about $1200 higher than MSRP, what options are on that car?

Just wheel locks and the delivery fee, thats what the 2012 SL's price out to here.

 

[deimos909]

Wow, thanks for all the feedback. Its definitely an interesting mix of experiences. Not sure if I'm feeling any more confident about it, though. It would definitely be great if I had a charger at work, but I wont hold my breath on that. Also certain days the temperature can get close to 0 around here, although its rare.

So what exactly is an orphan? Im not clear on that term.

 

[PatricioEV]

Wow, thanks for all the feedback. Its definitely an interesting mix of experiences. Not sure if I'm feeling any more confident about it, though. It would definitely be great if I had a charger at work, but I wont hold my breath on that. Also certain days the temperature can get close to 0 around here, although its rare.

So what exactly is an orphan? Im not clear on that term.

An orphan is a car that was ordered by a customer and came in to the dealer, but the customer then changed their mind for some reason and didn't buy it. It's sitting available on the dealer lot for anyone who wants it.

Looking at your Original Post, I see NO reason a Leaf wouldn't be perfect for you. Your typical commute is 40 miles... no problem at any speed with every single accessory on full blast. Now if you're in the dead of winter and you know you have to drive more than usual (say 60+ miles), then you may want to drive in ECO (I NEVER do), watch your speed and conserve energy with climate control. Even so.. you'll probably end up at the end of your day wondering why you were worried at all - with plenty of range. Once you go electric, you'll forget to look at the price of gas, won't even notice where the gas stations are and be amazed at how noisy other cars can be!

 

[vegastar]

40 miles RT is a very easy task for the LEAF. My LEAF on weekdays is driven by my wife and she is not easy on the accelerator for her 70km RT (44 miles). She does 30 km (19 miles) of highway at full speed (90 mph) and the rest is city and road driving. In the summer she arrived at home with more than 40% charge and now in the winter she arrives with more than 30%. 40 miles is very easy, and could even be done at 90mph.

 

[garygid]

With this "easy" 40-mile trip, and you are not yet decided to get a LEAF,
you must not really want a LEAF, or there are other undisclosed issues.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Nissan Engineers have already reported that even when driving "as inefficiently as possible" they were unable to get less than 50 miles per charge. now, i dont know what that means, but i am guessing jackrabbit starts from light to light (yes, that would burn way more power per distance driven than a flat out 85 mph jaunt) were a big part of the equation but have to echo Gary's sediment that if you wanted to, then the only real barrier is "buyer's remorse" because the car can handle your demands plus some

 

[TonyWilliams]

Nissan Engineers have already reported that even when driving "as inefficiently as possible" they were unable to get less than 50 miles per charge. now, i dont know what that means, but i am guessing jackrabbit starts from light to light (yes, that would burn way more power per distance driven than a flat out 85 mph jaunt) were a big part of the equation but have to echo Gary's sediment that if you wanted to, then the only real barrier is "buyer's remorse" because the car can handle your demands plus some

I'm quite confident that I could get less than 50 miles. Simple math at 80kW draw (gas pedal held down) would draw a 70F battery down to Turtle in 15.75 minutes (21 available / 80).

At 94mph max speed, that's 25 miles covered. With a cold battery, and the heater, there would be a significant reduction below 25 miles. Going uphill on a snow covered road, in cold, with heater and max power, I think I could get it down to less than 10 miles.

To the original question, 40 mile round trip will not be a problem. Here's Nissan's Dec 2011 update on range, which you'll note is virtually identical to the data on my range chart (click the top link in my signature line)

Nissan's official range chart as described in NTB11-076a

Column A - Average Energy Economy
Column B - Estimated Range to 1 segment remaining (miles)*
Column C - Estimated Range to no remaining power (miles)

 A             B              C
2.5       38 - 42       47 - 52
3.0       45 - 51       57 - 63
3.5       52 - 60       66 - 73
4.0       60 - 68       76 - 84
4.5       67 - 76       85 - 94
5.0       75 - 85       95 - 105
5.5       82 - 94      104 - 115
6.0       90 - 102     114 - 126

* From fully charged (100% setting) to one remaining segment on the Li-ion Battery Available Charge Gauge (Located in lower meter display. See Owner’s Manual for explanation) on a new vehicle (no battery capacity loss) at 70 deg F ambient.

If the customer is using the Li-ion Battery Available Charge Gauge to estimate range (e.g. numbers of miles traveled per segment used), please inform the customer that the last segment at the bottom of the gauge has more capacity than the others. There is also reserve Li-ion battery capacity when there are no segments. The table above provides an estimation of the ultimate remaining range compared to estimated range to one remaining segment. (end of Nissan data)

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

ok Tony glad to hear about your support of this guys decision here. now that that question has been answered, lets get back to reality.

or we could just circle the block at 10 miles per hour. make 14,321 laps and state that we could drive .2 miles from "Start to Finish" on a full charge?

 

[GeorgeParrott]

OK, the Leaf could easily function and serve in this setting (40 mile total commute). BUT, if one is honestly "still shopping" and considering their options, I would suggest a VERY close look at the Mitsubishi i, if it is available in your area.

We have Leaf #320 and it is serving well for our "city/commute" car here in the Sacramento area, but for total economy in a commute car, I would probably get the Mitsubishi i, if I was shopping today. The Mitsubishi is about $5000 less than the Leaf, and though it has less content (no proximity locking/unlocking, regular key insert starting, and no GPS to list just some of the deletions), most of those things are pretty much unnecessary in a practical "city" car. The Mitsubishi i has about 10 miles less range, but again for this thread and for many of other shoppers this also would not be a "deal breaker."

Personally I like the looks of the Mitsubishi better than the Leaf, but that is just a personal call.

And the whole range of Nissan GPS systems, in my experience, are simply HORRIBLE. The actual position tracking is less accurate than what I have experienced with other vehicles and the software on my 2011 Leaf is at least 5 YEARS out-of-date in terms of the area where I live in Sacramento. Better to have NO GPS, save the approximately $1500 and use a portable unit with "lifetime FREE map updates."

 

[vegastar]

At max speed on level ground the LEAF only uses about 40kW, so that's about a 30 minutes run or 90mph*0,5h= 45miles. If it was travelling uphill it could use the full 80kW for 15 minutes, so a little more than 20 miles in that scenario (don't know if it is a possible scenario).

 

[IBELEAF]

Nissan Engineers have already reported that even when driving "as inefficiently as possible" they were unable to get less than 50 miles per charge. now, i dont know what that means, but i am guessing jackrabbit starts from light to light (yes, that would burn way more power per distance driven than a flat out 85 mph jaunt) were a big part of the equation but have to echo Gary's sediment that if you wanted to, then the only real barrier is "buyer's remorse" because the car can handle your demands plus some

In that case I proved Nissan wrong dozen of times. I would call myself an inefficient driver, probably as inefficient as it gets among Leaf owners on this forum and I can easily get below 50 miles. Luckily my commute is 20-25 miles, so I can afford being inefficient. I get roughly 4 miles out of the bar.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Only goes to show that Nissan engineers know who signs their paycheck!

 

[Clippy]

Nissan Engineers have already reported that even when driving "as inefficiently as possible" they were unable to get less than 50 miles per charge. now, i dont know what that means, but i am guessing jackrabbit starts from light to light (yes, that would burn way more power per distance driven than a flat out 85 mph jaunt) were a big part of the equation but have to echo Gary's sediment that if you wanted to, then the only real barrier is "buyer's remorse" because the car can handle your demands plus some

Yes, I was riding with Yoshi yesterday as we zoomed down I-80 West at sub-speed limit into the teeth of a 30 mph headwind (that's 48.3 kph for our Canadian viewers) and that little kwh/mi gauge on my instrument panel was as vacant as a radical environmentalist's cranium.

 

[Nubo]

So I'm seriously considering getting a leaf, in fact I've already taken 3 test drives. But one thing is still holding me back. My commute is 40 miles round trip, which at first view sounds like it would not be a problem. My concern though, is that I drive in Masachussets, and people here drive 65 - 75 mph. Actually its rare that anybody drives below 70. So can anybody tell me realistically what kind of range I can get at these speeds? I really don't want to be the one guy slowing everybody down, plus I don't want people thinking I cant go any faster because Im driving an electric car. I know a lot of people are saying that they get really good mileage but they drive conservatively. Any input is really appreciated.

Tony's range chart should answer all your questions.