Who plans to NOT change their driving behavior with a Leaf?

[pcenginefx]

My wife and I can’t wait to take delivery of our Leaf which should be here in 4 months or so, however something has been nagging me about Leaf ownership – driving behavior. I’ll give you a quick summary of our driving styles:

Me
Highway driving: 65-70mph
Back roads: Always 5mph over the speed limit
Acceleration style: Moderate

My wife
Highway driving: 70mph+
Back roads: 5-10mph over the speed limit
Acceleration style: Aggressive

We plan to use the Leaf as our new commuter car, which means that I will be doing the driving (which equals “less aggressive” in this case compared to my wife) but I don’t have any plans to change the way I drive. I don’t plan on slowing down to 55mph on the highway. I don’t plan on coasting or "hypermiling". I DO plan on using all available features of the car including the AC and heater and use them whenever and wherever I wish to make me comfortable when I drive, just like I do now with my gas car. Another thing I may or may not do is charge the battery only up to 80% (but that is for another post!)

I guess my question is, who else plans to NOT change the way they drive with the Leaf?

-Aaron

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

I've posted my take on this once before:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1668&p=32988

In short, nope, I intend to drive it like I stole it. Charge to 100% each night, commute well within the allowed range, and replace tires often.

 

[IBELEAF]

Should we warn authorities before your LEAF gets hurt? :lol:

 

[DeaneG]

My own car rewards me greatly for irresponsible driving, so I tend to be constantly in danger of a ticket. But my wife's hybrid punishes the same behavior with moaning engine and tire groan, and so I'm the guy getting passed. The Leaf is even further along that scale in my experience. With enough volume on the radio I expect to be able to stay awake and keep people from hitting me from behind!

 

[evnow]

I thought the whole idea of Leaf is guilt free driving pleasure

 

[wsbca]

I thought the whole idea of Tesla is guilt free driving pleasure

Fixed it for you.

 

[evnow]

I thought the whole idea of Tesla is guilt free driving pleasure

Fixed it for you.

No, you just bugged it.

 

[Mx5racer]

I am very curious of the effect on performance and milage on changing out to some
Softer tires, I plan to see if my normal commutes will allow for a sacrifice in milage and then make the change.

 

[GeekEV]

I don't plan on changing much, unless the car really inspires me to. I tend to have a pretty heavy foot...

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

i for one, will not, since i am not, driving my Leaf any different than i drove my Prius...except for a few incidents at stop lights

but then again, i have been driving the speed limit for a long time and have become comfortable with it, and actually like it.

sure, like anyone there has been times when i cut myself short on time and drove like i was late but usually i am pretty calm and serene about my driving.

now the fact that i have chosen to not work outside of the town i live in helps

 

[smkettner]

I am already a slow driver and plan no changes. I got the whole speed thing out of my system with my modified 170 mph Mach I Mustang.

 

[turbo2ltr]

I wasn't planning on it, but so far range anxiety has got the better of me. That may slowly change as I get more used to the car's capabilities.

 

[pcenginefx]

Thanks all for the response! I just wanted to get an overall feeling from everyone on this issue. My daily commute will be about 43 miles so I should have plenty of spare electrons to drive however which way I feel like which will be great. I don't plan on thrashing the car by any means, but I won't let people pass me up on the highway either

 

[planet4ever]

i for one, will not, since i am not, driving my Leaf any different than i drove my Prius...except for a few incidents at stop lights. but then again, i have been driving the speed limit for a long time and have become comfortable with it, and actually like it.

I think there might be a lot of us Prius owners who say the same thing. Stop snickering, you hot rodders. It's not that a Prius can't go fast, it's much more that the displays encourage and, yes, teach you to drive more gently. It sure changed the way I drove. I expect the LEAF will have the same effect. Not on everyone, of course, just as you can see Priuses roaring down the freeway at 80+.

We had two Priuses, and swapped the older one (mine) with our grandson for his Civic, because he had a long commute and I had just retired. I quickly got a ScanGauge, because I wanted to watch those MPG numbers. No, I don't think I'll be driving much differently with the LEAF, because I'm still driving the way I was when I had my Prius.

Ray

 

[Amary]

I don't particularly plan to change the way I drive (spirited at times, but mostly "eco mode").

I do, however, plan to drive a lot more!

I work from home and suffer from extreme carbon guilt. I hate spewing any unnecessary emissions, so don't leave the house much. I plan to get out a lot more with the LEAF!

 

[TomT]

I plan to drive pretty much the same way as I always have which is to say that I will not be babying it. I definitely am not a hypermiler but I do drive defensively and sanely.

 

[Boomer23]

I'll drive like I normally do. I used to race around a bit more a few years ago, but I've found that smooth driving is more enjoyable. It may have something to do with being retired and having few appointments for which I need to be on time, or it may be just adopting a more relaxed lifestyle. My last car was a BMW 3 series coupe with Sport package, but I even found that highly capable car enjoyable to cruise in rather than race around corners.

That said, though, the BMW was a blast on a twisty road, and I have a favorite stretch that my LEAF is going to taste within a week after I get my hands on it. :mrgreen:

One of the reasons for my interest in EVs is that I enjoy driving them for fun, and I'd like to be able to do that without feeling like I'm wasting natural resources as I enjoy myself. My extra solar power combined with an EV will make a sweet combination.

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

There is certainly some of that.

I might need a new bulb or screws or something on a Saturday evening and think.. Do I really want to drive all the way to Home Depot just for that? It's like $5 in gas.. meh.

With the EV, I'm likely to take more "ah well, I have time" drives.

 

[Stoaty]

I definitely won't change my driving behavior. Have been driving 55 MPH on the Freeway for the last 18 mos., making a game out of how little gas I can use (without hypermiling). I feel much more relaxed driving this way, and the chance of getting a speeding ticket is basically zero. Once I get the Leaf, I will be seeing how much distance I can get per KWH. Should be just as fun, and just as relaxing.

 

[BrendanDolan]

My commute length isn't an issue, so chances are I'll drive it like I drive my BMW. Slowly, like an old man around town, and 80 in the left lane on the way home when I haven't hit traffic. :mrgreen: