After 1 week of Model S ownership, many features I find very nice, but in some respects LEAF is still better. My intent is not to criticize either car, but provide input for future improvements.
Regeneration
On step downgrade on 101 S. of Buellton, I needed no brakes, 55 mph and 45 kW of regen.
MS more aggressive regen is biggest adjustment vs LEAF driving. Unlike LEAF, all regen control is on accelerator, none on brake.
At first, as I approached stop signs and took my foot off the accelerator, I stopped too soon, 50 yards in front of stop and risking rear-end collisions. On freeway, when I see possible trouble ahead, my instinct is to position my foot over the brake, but that causes too-rapid deceleration. Gradually I am learning to taper back on accelerator, but it does delay my braking response.
Mileage, mileage displays, and energy
I have been getting 5.1 miles/kWh on LEAF, driving 55-58 mph on freeway. First Tesla results on level ground, no wind:
.30 kWh/mile, 3.3 miles/kWh, at 67 mph,
.27 kWh/mile, 3.7 miles/kWh, at 57 mph.
MS, almost 40% heavier, has worse rolling resistance. My car has Michelin Primacy tires, which are supposed to be a few % more efficient than standard Goodyear 19" tires, but not as efficient as LEAF tires. MS has lower drag coefficient, but perhaps slightly larger frontal area (lower but wider), and possibly its induction motor at low output is a little less efficient than LEAF's permanent magnet synchronous motor.
MS has beautiful graph of kWh/mile spanning 5, 15, or 30 miles.
kWh/mile takes getting used to, but it allows simple averaging, unlike miles/kWh. However, when you first start off your energy during power-up, car heat, etc, is divided by zero miles, so the plot has a singularity at zero miles. As you drive a few miles the average becomes more meaningful.
MS has separate odometer display of Trip A, Trip B, and Since Last Charger, each with miles driven, kWh consumed, and average kWh/mile. Nice.
Firmware update a few months ago I understood was supposed to provide kWh option for SOC, but the new option only reports kWh added during charge instead of miles added during charge. The car still reports SOC only in either (Rated, or Ideal) miles. It appears these numbers are NOT influenced by your driving style. If so, they can serve as crude proxy for actual SOC. The only way to read SOC percent is on the charging panel which has a SOC bar with tic marks every 10%.
MS has no separate report of Climate Control usage like LEAF. Bummer.
Navigation
MS uses Google to look up business name, prioritized by distance. This is very convenient.
Both cars have Lane Assist at major freeway intersections, but LEAF's is simple gray cartoon, and MS cartoon has nice blue sky, green trees, and yellow lane markers.
Biggest downside of MS Navigation is that it does not provide alternative route choices. Strange, since Google Maps Beta App on my iPad does do this, but perhaps integration with MS display requires more work. At Buellton I had to drive several miles south on 101 before it gave up on routing me over San Marcos Pass.
MS also does not support Waypoints. LEAF allows multiple waypoints, which I use frequently.
Charging ports.
It is tough to give up the convenience of LEAF's charging port at the front of the car. To avoid backing into a charging parking spot I can sometimes make the J1772 cable reach over the top of the car.
The MS, with its rear drive, needs its single charging port at the rear, because SuperCharging can now reach 120 kW (I achieved 110 kW for 10 minutes at Buellton), and 120kW at almost 400 volts is about 300A. However, I wish Elon would compromise on his single elegant charge port concept and provide a 2nd J1772 port in the front. The separate J1772 adapter is a bother and, as I discovered, no fun if you forget to remove it and drive off without it.
App
The MS App allows one to stop as well as start a charge, a welcome improvement over the LEAF. The climate control reports internal cabin temperature, which was very helpful at Paso Robles, where overnight temperature was in the high 30s. You can see the cabin temperature rise remotely. Unlike the LEAF, the climate control allows you to select the cabin temperature you want. If the charge is stopped, the Climate Control will draw shore power from the plug without adding to the charge, unlike the LEAF.
A firmware update allows one to set the charge limit to whatever you want. I have been asking for this simple improvement for the LEAF for 2 years, ever since the Bay Leafs Google meeting. It will eliminate all the hassle of estimating stop times to limit charge on the LEAF.
However, if you start the charge from the App, the MS appears to ignore this setting and provides only the previous 85% or 100% options.
Enough for now.
Regeneration
On step downgrade on 101 S. of Buellton, I needed no brakes, 55 mph and 45 kW of regen.
MS more aggressive regen is biggest adjustment vs LEAF driving. Unlike LEAF, all regen control is on accelerator, none on brake.
At first, as I approached stop signs and took my foot off the accelerator, I stopped too soon, 50 yards in front of stop and risking rear-end collisions. On freeway, when I see possible trouble ahead, my instinct is to position my foot over the brake, but that causes too-rapid deceleration. Gradually I am learning to taper back on accelerator, but it does delay my braking response.
Mileage, mileage displays, and energy
I have been getting 5.1 miles/kWh on LEAF, driving 55-58 mph on freeway. First Tesla results on level ground, no wind:
.30 kWh/mile, 3.3 miles/kWh, at 67 mph,
.27 kWh/mile, 3.7 miles/kWh, at 57 mph.
MS, almost 40% heavier, has worse rolling resistance. My car has Michelin Primacy tires, which are supposed to be a few % more efficient than standard Goodyear 19" tires, but not as efficient as LEAF tires. MS has lower drag coefficient, but perhaps slightly larger frontal area (lower but wider), and possibly its induction motor at low output is a little less efficient than LEAF's permanent magnet synchronous motor.
MS has beautiful graph of kWh/mile spanning 5, 15, or 30 miles.
kWh/mile takes getting used to, but it allows simple averaging, unlike miles/kWh. However, when you first start off your energy during power-up, car heat, etc, is divided by zero miles, so the plot has a singularity at zero miles. As you drive a few miles the average becomes more meaningful.
MS has separate odometer display of Trip A, Trip B, and Since Last Charger, each with miles driven, kWh consumed, and average kWh/mile. Nice.
Firmware update a few months ago I understood was supposed to provide kWh option for SOC, but the new option only reports kWh added during charge instead of miles added during charge. The car still reports SOC only in either (Rated, or Ideal) miles. It appears these numbers are NOT influenced by your driving style. If so, they can serve as crude proxy for actual SOC. The only way to read SOC percent is on the charging panel which has a SOC bar with tic marks every 10%.
MS has no separate report of Climate Control usage like LEAF. Bummer.
Navigation
MS uses Google to look up business name, prioritized by distance. This is very convenient.
Both cars have Lane Assist at major freeway intersections, but LEAF's is simple gray cartoon, and MS cartoon has nice blue sky, green trees, and yellow lane markers.
Biggest downside of MS Navigation is that it does not provide alternative route choices. Strange, since Google Maps Beta App on my iPad does do this, but perhaps integration with MS display requires more work. At Buellton I had to drive several miles south on 101 before it gave up on routing me over San Marcos Pass.
MS also does not support Waypoints. LEAF allows multiple waypoints, which I use frequently.
Charging ports.
It is tough to give up the convenience of LEAF's charging port at the front of the car. To avoid backing into a charging parking spot I can sometimes make the J1772 cable reach over the top of the car.
The MS, with its rear drive, needs its single charging port at the rear, because SuperCharging can now reach 120 kW (I achieved 110 kW for 10 minutes at Buellton), and 120kW at almost 400 volts is about 300A. However, I wish Elon would compromise on his single elegant charge port concept and provide a 2nd J1772 port in the front. The separate J1772 adapter is a bother and, as I discovered, no fun if you forget to remove it and drive off without it.
App
The MS App allows one to stop as well as start a charge, a welcome improvement over the LEAF. The climate control reports internal cabin temperature, which was very helpful at Paso Robles, where overnight temperature was in the high 30s. You can see the cabin temperature rise remotely. Unlike the LEAF, the climate control allows you to select the cabin temperature you want. If the charge is stopped, the Climate Control will draw shore power from the plug without adding to the charge, unlike the LEAF.
A firmware update allows one to set the charge limit to whatever you want. I have been asking for this simple improvement for the LEAF for 2 years, ever since the Bay Leafs Google meeting. It will eliminate all the hassle of estimating stop times to limit charge on the LEAF.
However, if you start the charge from the App, the MS appears to ignore this setting and provides only the previous 85% or 100% options.
Enough for now.
