branflakes104
Member
I'm looking for different opinions. I live in Atlanta GA and I currently have a 2015 LEAF S with the quick charge package. And we really like it but wish we had gotten a higher trim package than an S. When we drove it home we thought it had Carwings and the second day we had it we realized it didn't. Not having Carwings has been a disappointment because my wife wanted to know when it was done charging and have it preheat like a remote start, but we use the timer and live with it. We bought it last summer and my wife immediately started driving a 70 Mile round trip commute from our house in the far northeast suburbs to near downtown Atlanta. We were sold an 84 mile battery but not told that this is under optimal conditions only and on a new battery. While most of her commute is on the freeway I'd call it 60/40 freeway because of rush hour traffic but the cold kills it. She's been home with as little as 8%. After getting home on most days her battery normally has 15% to 20%. Since we got it I've learned more about the batteries and then I began to wonder if the purchase of our LEAF was indeed a smart decision.
Then we had a twist of fate. I wound up totaling my 2012 Jetta TDi in December and it was decided that I would start to drive the LEAF. My commute is even further, but I have a means of charging at work. My commute is more like 80/20 freeway driving and I drive 42 miles to work and 50 Miles home. (Daycare Stop) I have a 30 amp 208V outlet right by the back door of my work that I'm allowed to use for charging. I'm the only person using that outlet so I have no competion with other employees for it. I had the LEAF's EVSE upgraded and with a plug adapter I'm fully charged by 10AM. I can go out for lunch at noon, plug back in and be fully charged again by the time we get off at 3:30. I get home not being conservative at all with the throttle with about 35 percent. And my employer doesn't mind that I charge in the least and doesn't charge me for the use of the electricity. It was seeming like the LEAF makes more since for me than it did for her.
Even newer twist of fate. Last week my wife's work installed 2 Level two chargepoint chargers and opened up one 120V outlet. They said depending on demand they might even put more in after 6 months and they said that they will be free for at least the first 6 months. There are a ton of LEAFs around my wife's work so my concern at first was that someone would always be on it and she would never be able to get a charge. But then my wife explained they have a reservation system setup. They request use of a charger in up to 4 hour blocks on the company's intranet site and you can request recurring appointments so she created a 9 to noon appointment for the first 6 months. Yesterday she got home with 55% left.
With this information. I'm still in the market for a vehicle to replace my totaled commuter car. Up till 2 weeks ago I would not have considered a second LEAF but the level 2 charging at my wife's work is a game changer. Not to mention there are several Level 3 chargers along both our ways home in a pinch. I just woundn't want to make that a habit but if she ever got ICEd she has options. I've found a nice 2013 SL with all 12 battery bars Nissan Cerified Preowned with 11k miles for 15k out the door color and all the stuff I want. And I'm considering purchasing it. We already have a level 2 charger installed at home. I would just need to swap cars on the charger before bed. We still own a paid for 2000 Nissan Frontier and we own a 2013 VW Routan for when my family goes somewhere all together so we have ICE vehicles for longer trips than our commutes. If we ever forget to swap cars on the charger or the power goes out for some reason we still both have ICE vehicles we can drive. I figure the fuel savings alone is worth it and where else can I find a vehicle that is just as nicely equiped without a million miles on it? I know LEAFs depriciate pretty heavily which is why I'm not looking at a second new one but I plan to run these cars into the ground. Esspecially if our employers are covering half our fuel cost.
Thoughts?
Then we had a twist of fate. I wound up totaling my 2012 Jetta TDi in December and it was decided that I would start to drive the LEAF. My commute is even further, but I have a means of charging at work. My commute is more like 80/20 freeway driving and I drive 42 miles to work and 50 Miles home. (Daycare Stop) I have a 30 amp 208V outlet right by the back door of my work that I'm allowed to use for charging. I'm the only person using that outlet so I have no competion with other employees for it. I had the LEAF's EVSE upgraded and with a plug adapter I'm fully charged by 10AM. I can go out for lunch at noon, plug back in and be fully charged again by the time we get off at 3:30. I get home not being conservative at all with the throttle with about 35 percent. And my employer doesn't mind that I charge in the least and doesn't charge me for the use of the electricity. It was seeming like the LEAF makes more since for me than it did for her.
Even newer twist of fate. Last week my wife's work installed 2 Level two chargepoint chargers and opened up one 120V outlet. They said depending on demand they might even put more in after 6 months and they said that they will be free for at least the first 6 months. There are a ton of LEAFs around my wife's work so my concern at first was that someone would always be on it and she would never be able to get a charge. But then my wife explained they have a reservation system setup. They request use of a charger in up to 4 hour blocks on the company's intranet site and you can request recurring appointments so she created a 9 to noon appointment for the first 6 months. Yesterday she got home with 55% left.
With this information. I'm still in the market for a vehicle to replace my totaled commuter car. Up till 2 weeks ago I would not have considered a second LEAF but the level 2 charging at my wife's work is a game changer. Not to mention there are several Level 3 chargers along both our ways home in a pinch. I just woundn't want to make that a habit but if she ever got ICEd she has options. I've found a nice 2013 SL with all 12 battery bars Nissan Cerified Preowned with 11k miles for 15k out the door color and all the stuff I want. And I'm considering purchasing it. We already have a level 2 charger installed at home. I would just need to swap cars on the charger before bed. We still own a paid for 2000 Nissan Frontier and we own a 2013 VW Routan for when my family goes somewhere all together so we have ICE vehicles for longer trips than our commutes. If we ever forget to swap cars on the charger or the power goes out for some reason we still both have ICE vehicles we can drive. I figure the fuel savings alone is worth it and where else can I find a vehicle that is just as nicely equiped without a million miles on it? I know LEAFs depriciate pretty heavily which is why I'm not looking at a second new one but I plan to run these cars into the ground. Esspecially if our employers are covering half our fuel cost.
Thoughts?