could we go 85 miles, mostly 65mph?

Hi everyone!

I have a quandary, and I'm hoping you guys can help me out.

I'm wondering if a LEAF could make it from Cherry Hill, NJ to Easton, PA. This is the trip I would be making:


Unfortunately, it's mostly highway speeds (~65-70MPH). In the winter, even with pre-warming the car, I don't know if it could make it.

I was looking at plugshare.com, and there's a few DC Fast pseudo-public charging stations along the way (mostly Nissan dealerships), but they don't seem to be open on Sundays, when I would be making the trip.

Does Nissan plan on opening up more charging stations? I heard they had an arrangement with evgo, but they seem to be mostly in the Washington DC area.

Thoughts, comments?

What year is your Leaf, and which model? The type of heater will make a difference. Do you know the condition of the battery, using LeafSpy? I don't think I would attempt it, especially in the winter, and with no Plan B options for charging.

keydiver said:

What year is your Leaf, and which model?

Click to expand...

We don't have a LEAF yet, and we're wondering if we're better off going with a Volt or something.

Also, I was hoping some member in the Philadelphia area knew of a "secret" charging station or something.

I don't think that any Leaf will go 85 miles at 65mph average speed. The range chart which is set at 70F without any heat or AC is 75 miles at 65mph. In order to get 85 miles you'll have to be about 57mph or slower without heat. With heater added its probably below 50mph.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=101293" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It will if you go slower. Go on a lightly traveled time of day and keep looking in your rear view in case someone is ready to nail you from behind you can punch it and speed up.

You'd want to go for distance not time. You might make the 70 mile route. If this is a drive you do often, or if the leaf would be your only vehicle, I wouldn't recommend it. Even if you could make it for the first year or two of ownership, once any sort of battery degradation kicks in, you'd be hard pressed doing the 70 mile route. Strangely enough, traffic is your friend on longer drives, you regen more power and travel at slower speeds.

noodlez84 said:

Hi everyone!

I have a quandary, and I'm hoping you guys can help me out.

I'm wondering if a LEAF could make it from Cherry Hill, NJ to Easton, PA. This is the trip I would be making:


Thoughts, comments?

Click to expand...

you will not be able to make this trip without getting a small charge up somewhere along the way

noodlez84 said:

keydiver said:

What year is your Leaf, and which model?

Click to expand...

We don't have a LEAF yet, and we're wondering if we're better off going with a Volt or something.

Also, I was hoping some member in the Philadelphia area knew of a "secret" charging station or something.

Click to expand...

there might be some "secret" charging spots but I'd never depend on anything like that to complete a trip.
as for the LEAF/Volt question the only answer is what works better for you. Both are fine cars with differing ways of accomplishing the jobs that they were built to do. If you can live within the limited capabilities of the
Leaf and only lease it for 2/3 years then the Leaf is a viable choice. If you need to travel further than the 75 mile or so limits of the Leaf on a regular basis then the Volt would be able to carry out your needs.

apvbguy said:

you will not be able to make this trip without getting a small charge up somewhere along the way

Click to expand...

That's what I was wondering... We're OK with topping off for a bit. I have some DC Fast stations along the way.

But the one I had in mind doesn't seem to be open on Sundays:



Maybe there's some other option I might be missing, besides going below the speed limit or on back country roads?

palmermd said:

I don't think that any Leaf will go 85 miles at 65mph average speed. The range chart which is set at 70F without any heat or AC is 75 miles at 65mph. In order to get 85 miles you'll have to be about 57mph or slower without heat..... snip.....

Click to expand...

[*]and no cold temps... and no hills .... then & only then, you an make it - barely ... but after your traction pack drops capacity ... you can forget it. So in other words ... better to buy the Kia Soul EV. It'll do the job without all the gymnastics .

How about changing the route? 64 miles here:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Cherry+Hill,+NJ/Easton,+PA/@40.3922654,-75.118404,9z/am=t/data=!4m24!4m23!1m15!1m1!1s0x89c6cb660be23e95:0x35db09ecd8adbdc0!2m2!1d-75.0246312!2d39.926813!3m4!1m2!1d-75.1247319!2d40.0768502!3s0x89c6b0cc68507799:0xa7f14e0f79297da0!3m4!1m2!1d-75.1564307!2d40.4486666!3s0x89c40532a830ffff:0xfea13595f55f04de!1m5!1m1!1s0x89c46b821870585f:0x37203227748fc82b!2m2!1d-75.2207323!2d40.688432!3e0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

hill said:

palmermd said:

I don't think that any Leaf will go 85 miles at 65mph average speed. The range chart which is set at 70F without any heat or AC is 75 miles at 65mph. In order to get 85 miles you'll have to be about 57mph or slower without heat..... snip.....

Click to expand...

[*]and no cold temps... and no hills .... then & only then, you an make it - barely ... but after your traction pack drops capacity ... you can forget it. So in other words ... better to buy the Kia Soul EV. It'll do the job without all the gymnastics .

Click to expand...

I've got a wee bit of EV experience under my belt, and I wouldn't buy a LEAF to complete any trip that requires public charging every time.

If this is a once a year type thing, rent a car. If you don't mind some excitement, then drive slow (55mph max) and you'll probably make it. NO HEATER. Defrost as required.

Again, as stated above, the Kia Soul EV solves all the problems. It can make the trip non-stop at 65mph, plus it comes with world standard CHAdeMO quick charge port.

I would go for it, if time is not a big issue and depending on your tolerance for taking roads less traveled (as it were).

Along the more direct but slower route, there currently appear to be two Nissan dealers (Conicelli and O'Neil) with quick chargers, both of which appear to be open and accessible on Sundays (from the comments on plugshare, even though the dealers are closed).

With a new LEAF, you'd probably even be able to make it without stopping. And in the coming years, there are sure to be more quick chargers popping up closer to the faster route.

Edit: removed scare quotes around 'tolerance'

TonyWilliams said:

the Kia Soul EV solves all the problems. It can make the trip non-stop at 65mph, plus it comes with world standard CHAdeMO quick charge port.

Click to expand...

"Only available in California."

Other disclaimers probably apply.

if you did have to stop for juice, even on level 2 you wouldn't need to stop for long. if theres only a 10 mile deficit, all youd need was 20 or 30 minutes. or 15 minutes twice.

Nubo said:

How about changing the route? 64 miles here:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Cherry+Hill,+NJ/Easton,+PA/@40.3922654,-75.118404,9z/am=t/data=!4m24!4m23!1m15!1m1!1s0x89c6cb660be23e95:0x35db09ecd8adbdc0!2m2!1d-75.0246312!2d39.926813!3m4!1m2!1d-75.1247319!2d40.0768502!3s0x89c6b0cc68507799:0xa7f14e0f79297da0!3m4!1m2!1d-75.1564307!2d40.4486666!3s0x89c40532a830ffff:0xfea13595f55f04de!1m5!1m1!1s0x89c46b821870585f:0x37203227748fc82b!2m2!1d-75.2207323!2d40.688432!3e0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Click to expand...

Thanks, Nubo. I've thought about that, and I've actually taken that route before. It's slow as hell (lights almost all the way), and traffic tends to be killer.

That might help the Leaf range, but it might hurt it (if it's a cold winter and there's bad traffic).

Again, if this is a once or twice a year event, then yes, you can do it if you slow down and have "good" conditions. I finished a 85 mi trip in Sept with my degraded 2011 battery, but temps were perfect and I had a tail wind. On that same trip, I just barely made 70 mi into a pretty steep headwind. Personally, for once or twice a year drives, I would just take the shorter distance route. With a new 2015, you should be able to do it, but it may still be difficult, to impossible, in poor conditions (snow, wind, rain, etc.). If this is a daily or weekly event, forget it. Wait for or get a higher range EV (RAV4, Tesla, next gen Leaf/Soul/Spark) or EREV (PiP, Volt, CMax, etc.).

"Only available in California."

Click to expand...

We are supposed to get the Kia Soul in the other CARB states this Winter.

You don't need a charging station to charge. Maybe someone along the way has an outlet. Like an RV park, or a mechanic shop. If you have the adapter and a portable evse, you can charge on your own.

johnrhansen said:

You don't need a charging station to charge. Maybe someone along the way has an outlet. Like an RV park, or a mechanic shop. If you have the adapter and a portable evse, you can charge on your own.

Click to expand...

It would have to be DC Fast to give me a reasonable wait time. I'm willing to wait up to half an hour, but, correct me if I'm wrong, the most I could do without DC Fast on a 3.3KW charger is 10-12 miles per hour. So I'd have to wait 2 hours.

Unless someone has made a CHAdeMO charger that can get 50 amps from an RV park or something?