DaveinOlyWA said:.... now, i am 18 months into ownership which is obviously a long way from 5 years but what i have really begun to realize is that the #1 failure of EVness is not Nissan, its the public charging station fiasco.
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you can go back to "MY" posts from 18 months ago where i said that quick charging was over-rated and that i would use it rarely. i must eat those words. the other half is AV. they have installed now 11 of the 13 promised stations including 2 within 25 miles of me. the ability to gain a 30-40% charge in 10-12 minutes has GREATLY enhanced my LEAFs usability beyond my wildest dreams. .....
I was lucky to have in the area two quick chargers, more than a year ago when we got our LEAF. I quickly ( ) realized how important they are, and I remember the discussions about them. Even with the range dropping in half the LEAF will still meet the daily needs of my wife and with quick charging will still cover all the regional driving that we usually do.
We are now at 19000 miles (4.4 mpwh average), and did not notice any range degradation mainly because we do not have to worry about it. But just yesterday after 100% charge (that I do about once a week), I drove 7.9 miles on the top bar (half city/ half freeway) and 8.2 miles on the second bar on the freeway (speed around 55mph due to traffic). When the car was new, the top bar was giving us between 5-6 miles freeway driving.
So +1 to what Dave said.
I do not plan to buy another gasoline car ever again. But I would rent/(maybe buy) a gasoline/gas/propane range extender our few trips a year that are outside 1 or 2 QC charges each way.
We love our LEAF because:
- it does not stink even going uphill
- it is convenient not to have to go to the gas station
- it has virtually zero maintenance (I did all the maintenance on the other two cars for 188000 and 135000 miles)
- we have clean and cheap electricity here in NW
- the car drives very nice for a family car
- nobody has to go to war for my fuel
- it helps with the environment
- it helps reducing health cost since people do not breath in the stink
- I learned to drive a bit slower and a lot more relaxing. My blood pressure drooped and stays low even when I see people drive like I use to
My only complain is that I cannot give up on the ICE car and justify buying another EV for my 16 miles RT commute, the lack of range extenders and charging infrastructure.