Phoenix metro-area

[turbo2ltr]

the officer can cite you for a criminal offense, and there is no driving school option.

I (embarrassingly) have quite the collection of these. The officer has the option to site you non-criminally and those are eligible for traffic school....aside from just citing you criminally and letting you on your way (court appearance required), the officer also has the option to arrest you. But that's a lot of paperwork for him so unless you are doing something stupid at the same time, that usually doesn't happen.

Thankfully, the Leaf has done a rather good job at slowing me down. Before I got my leaf, If you told me I would regularly drive under the speed limit, I would have told you you're crazy. I've always had quick cars...

 

[surfingslovak]

Thankfully, the Leaf has done a rather good job at slowing me down. Before I got my leaf, If you told me I would regularly drive under the speed limit, I would have told you you're crazy. I've always had quick cars...

Ha, that's funny, I made the same observation. Ironically, I have yet to get a ticket in the ActiveE, but I managed to get one in the Leaf. On the one rare occasion when I drove above the speed limit. And truth be told, I was just testing energy consumption at different freeway speeds early in the morning. I don't think that the officer cared or got the point. It's on days like these when I miss the autobahn, and the good drivers there, very much.

 

[naterry]

So the trick is ....

1. If traffic is ok (50+ MPH), avoid using HOV lane.
2. If traffic is bad, using HOV lane with 65-70 MPH.

You think LEAF can make 60 miles/one charge if I follow these rules?

 

[skippycoyote]

I can confirm that you get to keep the plate. Plates are now considered something that you "purchase" and "own" even if you are leasing the vehicle. I still have the plate off my first EV, and I could have put it on my leased LEAF. You cannot put an alternative fuel plate on a plug in hybrid, since it falls under a class of vehicles that can run independently on gasoline. You might want to talk to your boss and see if you could trickle charge at work with the 110 charger. Once you explain to them how little this would cost, they may be willing. My daily commute is only 25 miles on surface streets, but I occasionally have to pick up my mom from the airport. When I have to do this, I charge at work to be sure that I will have enough charge since I prefer to take the freeway in this case. If you can make it work, the LEAF is a wonderful car!

 

[LEAFfan]

So the trick is ....

1. If traffic is ok (50+ MPH), avoid using HOV lane.
2. If traffic is bad, using HOV lane with 65-70 MPH.

You think LEAF can make 60 miles/one charge if I follow these rules?

When traffic is ok I go 55+ in the right lane.
When traffic is bad it will be unsafe and difficult to go 65-70 in the HOV. Usually I can go anywhere from 5-60mph. There are violators and others that will suddenly cut in front of you so even if possible, it isn't safe to go over 60 when the other lanes are packed.
You will have no trouble going 60 RT. With a little hypermiling on the side streets (coasting), you'll have some miles to spare. This is after you lose a bar.
With a new LEAF, it will be a piece of cake. Before you lease or buy, I would be happy to check the battery capacity of the LEAF you choose.

 

[naterry]

With a new LEAF, it will be a piece of cake. Before you lease or buy, I would be happy to check the battery capacity of the LEAF you choose.

Thank you for offering. Even the new LEAF, is it possible that the battery capacity already lost?

 

[Volusiano]

With a new LEAF, it will be a piece of cake. Before you lease or buy, I would be happy to check the battery capacity of the LEAF you choose.

Thank you for offering. Even the new LEAF, is it possible that the battery capacity already lost?

Oh yeah, especially if they give you one that's been sitting out in the parking lot all summer long charged at 100% SOC.

 

[LEAFfan]

With a new LEAF, it will be a piece of cake. Before you lease or buy, I would be happy to check the battery capacity of the LEAF you choose.

Thank you for offering. Even the new LEAF, is it possible that the battery capacity already lost?

Absolutely, a 2012 could have up to a 14% loss without showing a missing capacity bar.

 

[naterry]

Ha...interesting. This will be a very different car purchase experience.

 

[LEAFfan]

A new GoE3, 40kW DCQC was opened today at a Shell station close to Picacho Peak (68 mi. from me) . Starting tomorrow it will cost $4 a charge for LEAFs/iMiEVs and $12.50 for Teslas. Also, by the end of this month there will be a Blink QC at Speedway/I-10 in Tucson so I'll be able to drive down there. We're making progress!

 

[Volusiano]

A new GoE3, 40kW DCQC was opened today at a Shell station close to Picacho Peak (68 mi. from me) . Starting tomorrow it will cost $4 a charge for LEAFs/iMiEVs and $12.50 for Teslas. Also, by the end of this month there will be a Blink QC at Broadway/I-10 in Tucson so I'll be able to drive down there. We're making progress!

I added this station to Plugshare.com, but the address I found for a Shell station in Picacho seems to put it not quite at the right location on the map, so I don't know if that's the same Shell station or not. If you know the correct address, feel free to fix it.

Do you need some kind of RFID card to operate this GoE3 DCQC station, like all Blink stations do? Or does it take credit card swipes?

Also, Mapquest says from my house near I10 & Ray to there is about 63 miles. With 2 capacity bar loss on my battery already, I'm concerned whether I can really make the trip or not. I imagine you'd have to be driving about 65 mph on I10 at a minimum since the rest of traffic will be blasting by you at 75-85 mph. For people who come from north Phoenix, the range is going to be much more than 63 miles.

Another concern is that usually DCQC don't usually charge your car to 100% even if told to. I use the PADT Blink DCQC frequently, and usually even if I set it to charge to 100%, it'll stop at 90% on its own meter, which is about 80% on my own meter (10 SOC bars).

 

[LEAFfan]

I believe it takes the ChargePoint card backed up with a credit card, like Blink does.
If you are at 50% or higher on the Blink screen, it will charge to 100% and show twelve bars. Otherwise, you have to restart it to get your 12 bars.

 

[skippycoyote]

So the trick is ....

1. If traffic is ok (50+ MPH), avoid using HOV lane.
2. If traffic is bad, using HOV lane with 65-70 MPH.

You think LEAF can make 60 miles/one charge if I follow these rules?

As much as I love my LEAF, I would hate for you to lease one and be disappointed. Yesterday I charged to almost 100% and did a 60 mile round trip into downtown Phoenix and used the freeway for most of the way. I have had my LEAF for 7 months and have no visible or noticeable range loss yet. I had the cruise control set between 60 and 65 mph. I made it home with one bar and 10 miles left on the "Guess O Meter". Take in mind, this was done with the climate control off and in ECO mode. Perhaps your next course of action would be to test drive a LEAF from your closest local dealer, drive it to your home, trickle charge it to 100%, then drive it to work and back. You would be surprised what car salesmen will let you do if they know you are truly interested in the vehicle. Besides, it's not like you can speed the car down to Mexico and sell it! ;-) I would run the climate control while you do this, because both the A/C and heater do take a surprising amount of electricity. This way you can get a good idea of what your remaining charge will look like. When I do this trip on surface streets, I have plenty of charge remaining (though it takes considerably longer). I will admit that I rarely have range anxiety. Though most of my driving is just commuting, I know that I can get just about anywhere in the valley and back if I can stop and charge somewhere on the way or on the way back. If I am going further than I think I can go, I just stop at a quick charger and pop the LEAF on the charger for 5-10 minutes. So, in order to be comfortable driving 60 miles in the summer time with mostly highway driving, you might want to factor in either a longer commute, or an added 10 minutes to quick charge. If you aren't happy with the results, hold out for the 2013 models and see how they measure up. Keep us posted!

 

[myleaf]

Just noticed on the blink map that there are now a DC fast charger at the Sears at Chandler Fashion Mall.

 

[Volusiano]

Just noticed on the blink map that there are now a DC fast charger at the Sears at Chandler Fashion Mall.

I went there to check it out and it's located at the Sears pick-up area in the upper level parking across from the theaters. It has clear signage that says unattended vehicle at the DCFC spot will be towed away. It seems to work just fine for me.

Also, I happened to be by the Fiesta mall area so I drove by the Sears there to see if there is any DCFC being installed or not. Didn't see anything at all.

If anybody happens to frequent the Superstition mall by Power Rd and can check out the Sears there to see if any DCFC being installed, it'd be much appreciated. I can sure make use of one in that area.

 

[Volusiano]

If you are at 50% or higher on the Blink screen, it will charge to 100% and show twelve bars. Otherwise, you have to restart it to get your 12 bars.

I tried it out at the Sears Chandler mall DCFC and it works like you said. I had 62% and let it charge to 100% and it quit charging at 99% (close enough). I got 12 bars on my SOC reading.

It's probably not worth the time to let it charge to 100% unless you really need to, because it was exceedingly slow in the last 10% between 90-100%. It took me a total of 40 minutes to charge from 62% to 99%. Half of that time could easily have been to go from 90-99%. I only did it because I wanted to see how long it took to go the final 10% and I had time to wait.

 

[LEAFfan]

Yeah, it's so much faster to charge to ten bars, then I charge to 12 at home if I need it, usually the next morning.

 

[naterry]

If you aren't happy with the results, hold out for the 2013 models and see how they measure up. Keep us posted!

I went to a dealership today to test drive a LEAP on highway (short) and surface street. I like the car. Surprisingly, when the sales heard I need to commute 60 miles a day, he suggested me to wait for 2013 model with some improvement on the range.

I also got some information I didn't know before.....

1. He said 2013 model will come with 6.6 kW charger. I googled everywhere but only found the "rumor" about this. The official launch of 2013 model in Japan last month didn't mention this improvement. Does anyone know whether 2013 model come with 6.6 kW charger?

2. He said the capacity loss issues in hot weather mostly happened in SV trim because SL has slightly different battery package. Does anyone hear this before?

Thank you.

 

[LEAFfan]

I went to a dealership today to test drive a LEAP on highway (short) and surface street. I like the car. Surprisingly, when the sales heard I need to commute 60 miles a day, he suggested me to wait for 2013 model with some improvement on the range.

I also got some information I didn't know before.....

1. He said 2013 model will come with 6.6 kW charger. I googled everywhere but only found the "rumor" about this. The official launch of 2013 model in Japan last month didn't mention this improvement. Does anyone know whether 2013 model come with 6.6 kW charger?

2. He said the capacity loss issues in hot weather mostly happened in SV trim because SL has slightly different battery package. Does anyone hear this before?


Thank you.

It's not a rumor. The Japanese version doesn't have it because they can't use it. It will either be standard on the SL or as an option on the models.

Which dealer did you do the test drive? Because that salesperson doesn't know much. The packs are exactly the same.

 

[jspearman]

If you aren't happy with the results, hold out for the 2013 models and see how they measure up. Keep us posted!

I went to a dealership today to test drive a LEAP on highway (short) and surface street. I like the car. Surprisingly, when the sales heard I need to commute 60 miles a day, he suggested me to wait for 2013 model with some improvement on the range.

I also got some information I didn't know before.....

1. He said 2013 model will come with 6.6 kW charger. I googled everywhere but only found the "rumor" about this. The official launch of 2013 model in Japan last month didn't mention this improvement. Does anyone know whether 2013 model come with 6.6 kW charger?

2. He said the capacity loss issues in hot weather mostly happened in SV trim because SL has slightly different battery package. Does anyone hear this before?

Thank you.

The 6.6 kW charger is correct. The two trims having a different battery pack is ridiculous BS. Run from this dealer as fast as you can, and I'm guessing it's Midway.

Don't bother with a Leaf for a 60 mi commute here. Wouldn't do it unless the 2013 has an active thermal management system, no matter how much range has been added. My Leaf is 16 mos old and there's no way I can make 60 miles now. Maybe try the Focus Electric. Longer range and an active TMS. Better yet, wait for the Tesla.