Leaf Test Drives in the US

[mwalsh]

It's still there. This photo was taken 5 minutes ago:

Quick, Frank, get over there and make a nuisance of yourself. :lol:

Ack! My best guess for next week is the Nissan Performance Development Center, but I have no clue where it is and my Google searches have been fruitless. One of my two contacts has declined my offer of companionship, but I am holding out hope that she may be willing to ask questions and take photos for us while getting her own story from the event.

 

[Frank]

It's still there. This photo was taken 5 minutes ago:

Quick, Frank, get over there and make a nuisance of yourself. :lol:

Ack! My best guess for next week is the Nissan Performance Development Center, but I have no clue where it is and my Google searches have been fruitless. One of my two contacts has declined my offer of companionship, but I am holding out hope that she may be willing to ask questions and take photos for us while getting her own story from the event.

I went down to the Nissan Design Center in San Diego about an hour ago and as I was driving by I saw the Leaf in the front of the building as shown in the TweetPhoto. Unfortunately, after I found a place to park and walked back to Nissan the Leaf was gone and so were all of the people that surrounded the Leaf when I was driving by. I was surprised that the event was not controlled by security personnel and it appeared that anyone could just walk up if they wanted to.

 

[mwalsh]

Unfortunately, after I found a place to park and walked back to Nissan the Leaf was gone and so were all of the people that surrounded the Leaf when I was driving by.

I think they saw you and either a) moved everything or b) threw a large invisibility cloak over the entire event. :lol:

If I can find out where this is going down next week in LA, I will definitely head over there. Worst that can happen is they throw me out. Or strip me of my reservation.

Is Nissan still in Costa Mesa? I thought they'd moved everything back east?

 

[Frank]

There is another new performance figure for us: "A steady 55 mph on the freeway with the AC blasting on a 95-degree day was good for 70 miles before the battery charge was drained."

Anyone notice this shot. 66 miles worst case, 95 miles best case?

Yes, and it seems reasonable to assume that these numbers represent best/worst case range, but the numbers seem a little to close to each other to be that. I think that there would be a larger difference between the two numbers given the variables that can affect range. This raises some other questions like, are these numbers going to change as you begin driving? So you start off to your destination that is 50 miles away because it is less than 66 miles, and then when you are halfway there the 66 drops to a number that is greater than your remaining distance? Alternatively, if you are a risk taker you may attempt to get to a destination that is 80 miles away but not make it. It is good to have this information but I wonder how it will be interpreted by the mass public?

 

[DaveEV]

3600 lbs, puts me on the pass and wait list, far too heavy for an EV of that class.

Good - more EVs for the rest of us.

 

[mwalsh]

OK, so my "friend" says that, yes, she will ask some simple questions for us. And she's said that her test drive is in Santa Monica @ 4:30pm on Wednesday. I guess we could cruise Santa Monica as a group trying to find it? My first, only, and best, guess would be where they showed it off in November....up at Pier 59 Studios?

So what are your questions? I already have:

The switch functions on the left side of the dash?
The location of the USB/iPod inupt?
The backup camera - color or b/w?
The contents of that new "hump" behind the rear seat?

Anything else?

 

[evnow]

Anything else?

Only one question : How many cars will be delivered in December ?

 

[LEAFer]

Does kick-down on the "A" pedal while in Eco mode give you back the full acceleration performance, while keeping higher regen level when you lift off/press "B" pedal, or does it turn Eco mode back to normal mode ?

Does charging at 240V/30A (=7.2kW) get throttled to 3.3kW ?

When will 6.6kW charging become available ?

Does 120V charging allow cooling and heating of the cabin ? (More complicated version: and is that cooling/heating limited in some way, either or both, a] time, b] intensity, so that of the 120*12A=1.44kW you still get some juice into the battery ? And is that limit automatic by system or also user selectable ? )

At L2 charging (7.2kW) does the heating/cooling reduce the 3.3kW into the battery or is the HVAC function taken from the overhead (above 3.3kW) on a separate circuit. (Sorry not a simple question ... but curious).

 

[mwalsh]

Does kick-down on the "A" pedal while in Eco mode give you back the full acceleration performance, while keeping higher regen level when you lift off/press "B" pedal, or does it turn Eco mode back to normal mode ?

Does charging at 240V/30A (=7.2kW) get throttled to 3.3kW ?

When will 6.6kW charging become available ?

Does 120V charging allow cooling and heating of the cabin ? (More complicated version: and is that cooling/heating limited in some way, either or both, a] time, b] intensity, so that of the 120*12A=1.44kW you still get some juice into the battery ? And is that limit automatic by system or also user selectable ? )

At L2 charging (7.2kW) does the heating/cooling reduce the 3.3kW into the battery or is the HVAC function taken from the overhead (above 3.3kW) on a separate circuit. (Sorry not a simple question ... but curious).

Yeah. I think I need to point out that my friend is more a "lifestyle" reporter. I can see her being able to get her head around some of those questions, and parts of others, but..... Well, you know.

 

[Nubo]

Edmunds street drive: http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2010/07/2011-nissan-leaf-our-first-us-test-drive-reveals-an-ev-with-street-cred.html

The SL model has a small rooftop solar panel to provide power for interior cooling fans.

Bravo! That makes more sense to me than simply charging the service-battery, as has been speculated previously. Removing heat from the interior when parked in sun has got to be the best bang-for-the-buck to be obtained from a small panel. Enough to have an effect on the traction battery via reduced AC demand.

 

[mwalsh]

Bravo! That makes more sense to me than simply charging the service-battery, as has been speculated previously. Removing heat from the interior when parked in sun has got to be the best bang-for-the-buck to be obtained from a small panel. Enough to have an effect on the traction battery via reduced AC demand.

Didn't notice that. Nice catch!

 

[mwalsh]

Another one:

http://www.xconomy.com/san-diego/2010/07/08/with-san-diego-as-ground-zero-nissan-targets-pragmatic-car-buyers-with-leaf-ev-and-we-take-it-for-a-test-hum/

Some interesting CA reservation numbers: "About 5,000 of those prospective buyers are in California, including more than 1,000 in San Diego."

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

I see the 3600lb weight as a plus. Probably gives it a nice smooth ride, plus it helps with the regen braking! Bravo Nissan!!!

 

[palmermd]

I see the 3600lb weight as a plus. Probably gives it a nice smooth ride, plus it helps with the regen braking! Bravo Nissan!!!

You've obviously never driven an EV. The excess weight will kill the range unless you live in a flat area and drive a constant 25mph without stop lights or signs.

 

[evnow]

Another one:

http://www.xconomy.com/san-diego/2010/07/08/with-san-diego-as-ground-zero-nissan-targets-pragmatic-car-buyers-with-leaf-ev-and-we-take-it-for-a-test-hum/

Some interesting CA reservation numbers: "About 5,000 of those prospective buyers are in California, including more than 1,000 in San Diego."

Are these really test drives ? These guys seem to write just Leaf 101 with information that can be got from wikipedia.

 

[hill]

It's nothing short of what I'd expect:

http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2010/07/2011-nissan-leaf-our-first-us-test-drive-reveals-an-ev-with-street-cred.html

In short, it gets a sort of "ho hum" . . . IMO because it doesn't drive like a Tesla. So ... I guess we all better get our 99 buck back (leaving me to get mine in December of 2010 :lol: )

 

[evnow]

Merged.

ps : My post count is going up mainly because of these "merged" posts :lol:

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

You've obviously never driven an EV. The excess weight will kill the range unless you live in a flat area and drive a constant 25mph without stop lights or signs.

If the regenerative braking is 100% efficient and the rolling resistance is zero, the weight doesn't matter does it?

 

[evnow]

You've obviously never driven an EV. The excess weight will kill the range unless you live in a flat area and drive a constant 25mph without stop lights or signs.

But whats the difference between 3500 & 3600 ?

One thing I do see as a trend is - Perry seems to say things which make Leaf look worse than it does when someone else speaks about it. He gives very high cost for battery, he gives high numbers for the weight ....I wonder whats he up to.

 

[mwalsh]

Decent summary of the Edmunds review:

http://www.plugincars.com/edmunds-puts-2011-nissan-leaf-through-its-paces-48759.html