I purchased a 2018 Leaf in November, and I pretty much expected low miles per kilowatt hour due to running the heat in the winter. No biggie since my work commute is only 6-7 miles each way. Anyway, the math seems to work as I've averaged about 3 miles per kilowatt hour through the winter. On the edge of spring, I'm expecting to see the numbers increase, and they have. I've averaged about 3.3 miles during March, and expect peak performance in spring (and again in fall) as there should be little or no need for heat or AC.
Here's where it gets weird. I took my first relatively longer trip on March 20th. I had a fully charged battery (40 kWh) with an estimated range of 135 miles (since it was still a bit cool and I was running the heat). Granted it was highway miles mostly, so not much regeneration going on, but my app says I averaged 3.3 miles / kWh on a roughly 58 mile trip, yet my estimated remaining mileage was down to 47 (roughly 35% battery remaining). I was forced to charge on the way home for fear of running out of electricity. I charged up an additional 7 kWh at a local department store (L2 charge for about an hour or so), and was able to make it home with 11 miles remaining (under 10%, which I know I am supposed to try to avoid getting that low).
The app says I averaged about 4 miles/kWh on the return trip (temp warmed up that day from low 40s in the am to upper 50s for the trip home, so no need for the heat). The total trip was around 120 miles (with the side trip to the department store), so these numbers just don't add up. What am I missing? Even with the conservative estimate of 3.3 miles/kWh, 47 kWh of battery charge should have netted me 155 miles, no? Am I just misunderstanding the battery capacity? I'm guessing now all kWh are created equal?
I'd like to have a better idea of real mileage available, as I was hoping to do some 200-300 total mile trips this summer with a couple of recharges along the way. I know the AC will drag down mileage, but this is my first summer with it, so I'm not sure if the loss is comparable to the heat in the winter or not. I do have other vehicles available for the longer trips, so am I just expecting too much to be able to drive this vehicle that far? Again, not a biggie, since the bulk of my travels are commuting 12-14 miles per day with an occasional weekend outing of 40-60 miles no problem.
Here's where it gets weird. I took my first relatively longer trip on March 20th. I had a fully charged battery (40 kWh) with an estimated range of 135 miles (since it was still a bit cool and I was running the heat). Granted it was highway miles mostly, so not much regeneration going on, but my app says I averaged 3.3 miles / kWh on a roughly 58 mile trip, yet my estimated remaining mileage was down to 47 (roughly 35% battery remaining). I was forced to charge on the way home for fear of running out of electricity. I charged up an additional 7 kWh at a local department store (L2 charge for about an hour or so), and was able to make it home with 11 miles remaining (under 10%, which I know I am supposed to try to avoid getting that low).
The app says I averaged about 4 miles/kWh on the return trip (temp warmed up that day from low 40s in the am to upper 50s for the trip home, so no need for the heat). The total trip was around 120 miles (with the side trip to the department store), so these numbers just don't add up. What am I missing? Even with the conservative estimate of 3.3 miles/kWh, 47 kWh of battery charge should have netted me 155 miles, no? Am I just misunderstanding the battery capacity? I'm guessing now all kWh are created equal?
I'd like to have a better idea of real mileage available, as I was hoping to do some 200-300 total mile trips this summer with a couple of recharges along the way. I know the AC will drag down mileage, but this is my first summer with it, so I'm not sure if the loss is comparable to the heat in the winter or not. I do have other vehicles available for the longer trips, so am I just expecting too much to be able to drive this vehicle that far? Again, not a biggie, since the bulk of my travels are commuting 12-14 miles per day with an occasional weekend outing of 40-60 miles no problem.