Silver vs Black- Any difference in range when it's 110 out?

[DirtyB]

I'm going to order a Leaf this week and I'm deciding between black and silver. I like the black one on the web site a tiny bit more.

I have two concerns based on the fact that I live in Las Vegas. It's very dusty here and black cars are known for showing dirt more. I'm not one of those obsessive clear car people, but this will be the first new car I've owned and would like it to look nice without having to wash it constantly.

Now my question- does exterior color have any significant affect on interior temperature, thus air conditioning use, and thus range? I'll park in my garage at night. I'm moving to a new office next month with a mixture of covered and uncovered parking. But the car will also spend plenty of time in the direct, brutal sunlight.

Can anyone with a black car in the desert southwest share their experience with it on either point? Also, how much range did you lose in July and August due to AC use?

The only info I see online is this-
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-10-silver-white-cars-cooler.html

They say that white and silver cars get 2% better gas millage compared to darker ones. I suspect that number would be bigger in the desert.

 

[MrFish]

What I have noticed is that the AC affects range very little. What kills the range is heating in the winter. I have a white Leaf and now wish I had the black one. If you like the black one better, I would go for it.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[Nekota]

I will admit the silver leaf with light interior does not heat up like my other cars with dark interiors. And since it's not super hot to the touch when I get in, cooling off the air is very quick - usually under 2 mins to reach steady state cooling.

 

[Valdemar]

What I have noticed is that the AC affects range very little. What kills the range is heating in the winter. I have a white Leaf and now wish I had the black one. If you like the black one better, I would go for it.
Just my 2 cents.

Mine is white and I too think the black looks better. However I have no regrets, white is way more practical color than black. Even if not much black still heats up more in the sunlight and emits more heat when outside is cold. You can see every little scratch on black paint, after a couple of car washes you'll see those circular micro scratches everywhere - some may not care but I get annoyed. White car is more noticeable to other drivers than black, so it should be safer. And you can delay a car wash much longer without someone writing "wash me" on your window

 

[adric22]

I've never understood the concept that a black car gets hotter, at least on the inside. Sure, I can see the body panels heating up a little more. But I can't see how that would affect the interior much, especially when driving down the road and having the wind cool the body panels down.

I would think the only things that would affect interior heat would be tint or lack of tint on the windows, and the color and style of interior fabric.

 

[Nekota]

I've never understood the concept that a black car gets hotter, at least on the inside. Sure, I can see the body panels heating up a little more. But I can't see how that would affect the interior much, especially when driving down the road and having the wind cool the body panels down.

I would think the only things that would affect interior heat would be tint or lack of tint on the windows, and the color and style of interior fabric.

It's simple physics that black adsorbs heat and white doesn't. Keeping light and heat out by shading and tinting keeps the heat from entering but the glass will still be hot.

 

[malloryk]

No difference really physics aside. Realistically, hot is hot, I don't care what the color is. I grew up in Phoenix and drove cars in every color and when it's that hot out, it's gonna be really hot in your car no matter the color especially if you're parked somewhere without shade. What's the difference really between a few degrees? And if you can spare the range, put the climate control on before you get into your car and you'll be fine. Get the color you want!

 

[Nubo]

One of my initial reasons for choosing white was the idea of heat rejection. It does get rather hot in my particular Bay Area microclimate.

But now that I know how much more "expensive" the heat is, compared to the AC, the "energy cost" equation might actually tilt in the other direction. Picking up a few degrees on a chilly day may offset a larger difference on a hot day. For the same reason I'm wondering whether or not a window tint will be worth it. I really am not a fan of dark shadowy windows so I was going to go with one of the 70% films that mostly just reject IR. But after you drive around with the heater off a few times to extend range, that afternoon IR starts looking pretty good.

 

[Yodrak]

The color of the paint on the body panels provides insignificant heat gain, or loss, inside the vehicle as compared to the glass. Further, I understand that the body panels are pretty well insulated so as to reduce the load on the AC and heating systems?

When parked in the sun I always leave my windows cracked to take the edge off the 'oven' effect of sun on the windows.

 

[Stanton]

Choose the color you like and don't worry about it. Tint your windows and buy a good (front) window shade: works for me here in the Texas summer.