Excellent LEAF Test Drive Video

[sjfotos]

Great Video! Thanks!

The only I don't like is that chirping turn signal. Sounds like one of those irritating alarms...

 

[indyflick]

There was another test drive video I saw, in San Francisco I think, where the driver actually questioned the Nissan rep on the metrics from the system. It was the same sort of thing where if you multiplied it out you would have a 300+ mile range. Does anyone else recall that video? I'll search around and see if I can locate it.

 

[Frank]

Maybe they got the average and current mpe reversed.

While I guess that is possible, wouldn't Nissan have figured that error out by now? And Mark Perry was clearly describing the meaning of the average number at least twice in the video.

 

[indyflick]

Great Video! Thanks!

The only I don't like is that chirping turn signal. Sounds like one of those irritating alarms...

I don't care for that turn signal chirp either. I was thinking they should at least make it quieter. The car hardly makes any noise, why does the turn signal have to be so loud?

 

[gudy]

In Europe, instead of counting miles per gallon, we count liters per 100 kilometers ( so I'm us units, that would be gallon per 100 miles)
Maybe that the engineers got the formula wrong, and this thing is showing kWh per 100 kilometers. That would translate to about 82 miles of range, which seems closer to reality.

 

[LakeLeaf]

Great Video! Thanks!

The only I don't like is that chirping turn signal. Sounds like one of those irritating alarms...

I don't care for that turn signal chirp either. I was thinking they should at least make it quieter. The car hardly makes any noise, why does the turn signal have to be so loud?

Yes the turn signal is unexpectedly loud in the video. I'm hoping it's just the particular frequency that the camera mike is overly sensitive too. There are a couple of other spots in the video where the sound seems odd to me - like where he drives through a puddle - unusually loud for how far away from the camera he is.

 

[evnow]

There was this same question during plug-in drive test.

http://www.plugincars.com/first-drive-nissan-leaf-shatters-range-concerns-49788.html

Read the long discussions in the comments section.

 

[planet4ever]

The only I don't like is that chirping turn signal. Sounds like one of those irritating alarms...

When I get behind someone on the freeway whose turn signal light is flashing mile after mile, I keep wishing they had a very loud chirping sound in their ear.

... Not that any of us would ever be so oblivious, but maybe Nissan is thinking about the idiot in the Leaf in front of me. (Ghosn does plan on the Leaf becoming as common as the Prius is now, doesn't he?)

 

[indyflick]

There was this same question during plug-in drive test.

http://www.plugincars.com/first-drive-nissan-leaf-shatters-range-concerns-49788.html

Read the long discussions in the comments section.

Thanks evnow. For some reason I was thinking it was mentioned in a video of a test drive, but it was that article where I first read a discussion of the very high reported mpkWh. I wonder if this is a case where Nissan is under promising (100 mile range) and will over deliver?

 

[evnow]

I wonder if this is a case where Nissan is under promising (100 mile range) and will over deliver?

I think it is just mild city driving.

UPDATE 7/30/2010: After receiving numerous emails and comments suggesting that we were off our rockers and/or mistaken and/or the LEAF's computer was broken, we reached out to Nissan to make sure that the 13.6-14.7 mpkWh number we had seen on the LEAF's computer was accurate. Nissan's zero emissions crew got back to us saying that the numbers are accurate and the computer is not broken. In fact Katherine Zachary, Nissan's Manager of Corporate Communications, wrote in an email, "Driving factors including city driving (rather than high-speed driving), Eco mode and Regen (and not running the AC full blast) all contributed to these results. It's worth noting they are right on par with other drives we have been doing on the West Coast (San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco were all over 14 mpkWh)." -- Nick Chambers

 

[AndyH]

One of the other (very recent) test drive videos also made the point that the display is 'average consumption' but that the first drive from the charger had been a 4mph drive around the building to bring to car to the test driver.

So the computer is reporting an accurate number and you're all correct - it is average, it is reporting results from previous driving style, and it's an accurate range if we drive the rest of the charge at 4mph on a flat road.

FWIW, my VW and ScanGaugeII will do the same thing. I can fill the tank, reset the scangauge, and drive at a 75MPG rate and get a HUGE 'miles to empty' number. But then I have to step on it and pull out of the parking lot and into traffic. :lol:

 

[indyflick]

I wonder if this is a case where Nissan is under promising (100 mile range) and will over deliver?

I think it is just mild city driving.

Perhaps, but according to the graph in that article, Edmunds achieved the longest range of any of the testers at 138 miles. That was at 38 mph, 68 degrees, and no AC. That's a far cry from 14 mpkWh * 24 kWh = 336 miles. Perhaps it should report average mpkWh over the last 10 miles. Something they are doing in their calculation is resulting in an unmeaningful value.

 

[evnow]

Perhaps, but according to the graph in that article, Edmunds achieved the longest range of any of the testers at 138 miles. That was at 38 mph, 68 degrees, and no AC.

BTW, that is my table. Reported in Edmunds but sourced from Nissan. For that test Nissan drove @ 38 mph for more than 3 horus.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Can anyone tell Where is the drive took place? On the glances to the maps, it appears to be around the tacoma (took another look and its definitely near the the port of seattle area. )

Also the statement That they are 24 kilowatts on board Does not necessarily mean 24 kilowatts are usable. I also question The 17 miles per kilowatt figure But it's very plausible Because there are several long Gradual Downward grades in the area.

 

[Frank]

Can anyone tell Where is the drive took place? On the glances to the maps, it appears to be around the tacoma area.

Also the statement That they are 24 kilowatts on board Does not necessarily mean 24 kilowatts are usable. I also question The 17 miles per kilowatt figure But it's very plausible Because there are several long Gradual Downward grades in the area.

But if you watch the video you can see that the test drive appears to be on level grade and it seems to be continuous over the length of the video. Also, we see the average kWh/miles number three times during the video and it is always very close to 17. So that rules out the all downhill theory and the 4 mph drive around the building theory previously set forth :shock:

 

[Frank]

I wonder if this is a case where Nissan is under promising (100 mile range) and will over deliver?

I think it is just mild city driving.

Perhaps, but according to the graph in that article, Edmunds achieved the longest range of any of the testers at 138 miles. That was at 38 mph, 68 degrees, and no AC. That's a far cry from 14 mpkWh * 24 kWh = 336 miles. Perhaps it should report average mpkWh over the last 10 miles. Something they are doing in their calculation is resulting in an unmeaningful value.

Yes, there is a big difference between 138 miles and 336 miles. And the 14 miles/kWh used in the 336 miles calculation is 3 kWh/miles less than the 17 shown in the video (for the entire length of the video).
So it seems that the possiblities are that (1) When we get our Leafs we will be pleasantly surprised that we get two to three times the amount of range than what we were expecting, or (2) we find that the kWh/miles computation on the screen is meaningless and disregard it, or (3) Nissan finds a bug and fixes it (unlikely given that Nissan has already been asked about this and says that it is correct). Cast your votes now

 

[indyflick]

So it seems that the possiblities are that (1) When we get our Leafs we will be pleasantly surprised that we get two to three times the amount of range than what we were expecting, or (2) we find that the kWh/miles computation on the screen is meaningless and disregard it, or (3) Nissan finds a bug and fixes it (unlikely given that Nissan has already been asked about this and says that it is correct). Cast your votes now

Presently I vote for 2. However, I think a possible solution would be to set the gauge to display only from 2 mpkWh to maybe 8 mpkWh. Because higher mpkWh are really bogus.

 

[garygid]

I suspect it is an error in units, and the non-technical types have just "explained" it away, because they just assume that there could NOT be that "glaring" of a mistake.

Yes, instantaneous mpe can be all over the place, but the average of any "tank" of driving cannot be much more than "Actual-Miles-Covered / Number-of-kWh-put-into-the-battery" (to "fill" the e-tank).

But, at the next "full" charge, the number is easy to check.

For example, if before filling with 12 kWh (a 50% fill), one drove 96 miles (a LOT on at most a half-tank of charge), that would be only 8.0 mpkWh (or mpe).

Hopefully, Nissan will get it done correctly in the Production vehicle.

However, at low, constant speed on a flat track, a 200 mile range is most probably possible. However, a 400 mile range would seem to be stretching it ... I suspect.

 

[HIOJim]

Two comments on the video (great find, b.t.w.).

...The second was the nonsense comment about how using the regenerative braking added range to the car. I think it started at 83 miles to empty and then is up to 111 miles to empty.

I believe the increase in displayed range was due to the driver enabling 'Eco Mode'. Regenerative braking may have contributed a bit as well but I'd say it was not significant.

 

[johnr]

Some good info on the video, but it leaves one question unanswered: does ECO mode make any difference under cruise control?