Leafman7
Member
Hi all, a lively thread. I've read backwards several months to catch up on the current experiences of Leaf owners.
Wife and I are likely going to buy a used 2019 in a month or two but have questions about how well the car's battery will do in my climate.
I live in western Massachusetts, in a community without garages and no opportunity to build one per our land trust restrictions.
We do have some shade on our parking space but only until about 10-12 am depending on time of year, then direct sunlight the rest of the day until 4-8:30, per the season.
Our average June-July-Aug monthly summer temps here at 900' altitude are 78-82-80. It's humid through a good part of the summer.
Highs can get up into the low 90s but typically hover in the hottest months in the high 80s.
Lows in those months are 53-57-55 but during typical heat waves (2-4 days) it can be as warm as 70 overnight but rarely warmer than that.
During the coldest winter months, although temps are noticeably less harsh from climate change over the last 20 years, average highs are 37-33-35 day time and lows are 18-12-14. We occasionally have night times below 0 and days below 15 in Dec and Jan. By March-May and Sept-Nov temps are much more nominal between those extremes.
I'd greatly appreciate any insights or speculation from any Leaf owners on whether, given the model's passive battery heating/cooling, I'm likely to regret having an electric car at all.
additional factors:
We don't plan on any long trips. Maybe 3-5K annual from local daily driving of 10-20 mi, with very occasional 100-mi round trips. Most likely to do 50 mi round trips
On winter snowstorm days, we may not drive the car at all for 2 or 3 days. We have our Prius for that which gets the job done.
In summer, the Leaf will probably be driven almost daily, as town is only 5 minute/3 mi drive. It'll be our second car.
I'm looking for a 2019 (possibly '18 but I've read that the first year of gen 2 had some issues with charging limitations on long trips - although a minor issue for us). I'm thinking I can save a $1-2K on the price if I get something in the 25-30K range as we will likely have the car for many years of low mileage usage.
Final question: Would having a white reflective car cover in summer and a dark on in winter on the car help alleviate some of the thermal stress the car will be heir to?
Or (honest opinions please) am I trying to cross a bridge too far buying any EV without a garage or all-day shade?
Thanks very much for any input!
Jim
Wife and I are likely going to buy a used 2019 in a month or two but have questions about how well the car's battery will do in my climate.
I live in western Massachusetts, in a community without garages and no opportunity to build one per our land trust restrictions.
We do have some shade on our parking space but only until about 10-12 am depending on time of year, then direct sunlight the rest of the day until 4-8:30, per the season.
Our average June-July-Aug monthly summer temps here at 900' altitude are 78-82-80. It's humid through a good part of the summer.
Highs can get up into the low 90s but typically hover in the hottest months in the high 80s.
Lows in those months are 53-57-55 but during typical heat waves (2-4 days) it can be as warm as 70 overnight but rarely warmer than that.
During the coldest winter months, although temps are noticeably less harsh from climate change over the last 20 years, average highs are 37-33-35 day time and lows are 18-12-14. We occasionally have night times below 0 and days below 15 in Dec and Jan. By March-May and Sept-Nov temps are much more nominal between those extremes.
I'd greatly appreciate any insights or speculation from any Leaf owners on whether, given the model's passive battery heating/cooling, I'm likely to regret having an electric car at all.
additional factors:
We don't plan on any long trips. Maybe 3-5K annual from local daily driving of 10-20 mi, with very occasional 100-mi round trips. Most likely to do 50 mi round trips
On winter snowstorm days, we may not drive the car at all for 2 or 3 days. We have our Prius for that which gets the job done.
In summer, the Leaf will probably be driven almost daily, as town is only 5 minute/3 mi drive. It'll be our second car.
I'm looking for a 2019 (possibly '18 but I've read that the first year of gen 2 had some issues with charging limitations on long trips - although a minor issue for us). I'm thinking I can save a $1-2K on the price if I get something in the 25-30K range as we will likely have the car for many years of low mileage usage.
Final question: Would having a white reflective car cover in summer and a dark on in winter on the car help alleviate some of the thermal stress the car will be heir to?
Or (honest opinions please) am I trying to cross a bridge too far buying any EV without a garage or all-day shade?
Thanks very much for any input!
Jim