Nissan Leaf question, and seat covers

I'm thinking of buying a 30kW Nissan Leaf in my efforts to be a bit more green and save on road tax and fuel costs. I do however have a bit of "range anxiety." I know the official figure is 155 miles but I am sure that's total twaddle.

I occasionally drive 120 miles to visit our daughter and I was wondering if any members here can give me a realistic everyday range, especially for motorway driving at 70mph.

Also, what are the best seat covers for the Leaf? Post up your pics to back up your claims

The official EPA range for the 30kwh Leaf is 107 miles, not 155. In typical Winter weather, driving 70mph, with minimal heat use but seat warmers and heated wheel on, expect no more than 60 miles of range. That's for a car with a like-new battery. I'll leave seat covers to someone else. I'd like to suggest, though, that you search the forum a bit for existing topics. I'll post one that covers driving range extension.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=23297&p=482154

Inerala said:

I'm thinking of buying a 30kW Nissan Leaf in my efforts to be a bit more green and save on road tax and fuel costs. I do however have a bit of "range anxiety." I know the official figure is 155 miles but I am sure that's total twaddle.

I occasionally drive 120 miles to visit our daughter

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First off, battery capacity is measured in kWh, not "kW". Please see http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=491625#p491625.

Source of the "official figure" of 155 miles?

I suspect you're not in the US (given your verbiage and wacky range value) and are quoting an inflated and pretty useless NEDC figure.

Leftie is correct about the 107 mile (US) EPA range rating on 30 kWh Leafs. I would not want to tell anyone who is accustomed to driving ICEVs (Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles) a figure higher than 107 miles for a realistic range on a charge.

155 miles is probably doable on a new battery, if you drive below 45 mph the whole time w/no heat and no AC on level ground per Tony's range chart at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=4295. Go any faster or run the heat or AC and you will fall short. As the battery degrades, it will get tougher and tougher to make that journey (will need to go slower and slower).

Tony's range chart predicts 101 miles of range until dead at 70 mph on level ground w/no HVAC usage on a new battery.

You can't get 120 miles at 70mph.
My 2011 leaf gets between 3 and 4 miles to a KwH during the summer and gets less than 3 in the winter time driving on the highway.
So take 120 miles divide it by 3 miles to the kwh and it will take you 40kwh to go 120 miles. So that might not work out so well. You would have stop for a charge along the way.

To go 120 miles with a 30kwh battery you probably only want to use about 25kwh and thats kind of pushing it.
To get 25kwh to last 120 miles you would have to be doing 4.8 miles per kwh, on the highway, that's pretty difficult to do unless you are willing to drive less than 50mph in nice summer weather, no head wind or cross wind. During the winter, in the cold, running the heat, no way, if it even gets cold where you are.

The 2018 and up leaf has a 40kwh battery and 150 or 155 miles of range. It should do it, just slow down a little.
But then how are you going to charge it?
If you drive a 40kwh leaf 120 miles and deplete the battery say 35kwh, it will take a standard 12 amp 120v charger at least 25 hours to replenish the battery. Maybe up to 30 hours to get a full charge.

(This is why my house and my personal charging network all support 16amp 240v evse units)

On the topic of good seat covers....

I have gotten GREAT results from a brand of "Car And Driver" plastic seat covers... They fit the Leaf well, and after 2 years, they still look new. when I get into the car, I feel like I am getting into the SL leather model... PLUS... THEY ARE ONLY ABOUT $30 ON EBAY...

Inerala said:

...Also, what are the best seat covers for the Leaf? Post up your pics to back up your claims

Click to expand...

The best I know of are Wet Okole. Expensive, but EXTREMELY durable. The fit is excellent, they're made of wet-suit material and originally designed to meet the needs of surfers. I put 'em on my new 2012, transferred them to my 2015 and they are still like new. For pics, just do a google image search for "nissan leaf" "wet okole" and you'll see a number of different styles people have put in LEAFs.