Would my Leaf make a 65 mile journey in one charge (First Time Driving Leaf)

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Dimestone1

New member
Joined
Nov 25, 2020
Messages
3
Hi all,

I'm due to pick up my leaf in the next couple of weeks, as I'm picking it up from a 65 miles away from me I was wondering if the car would do the full journey in a single charge.

It's a 2015 24kwh Acenta.

I'm lucky enough to have to separate charging points although as of this moment one is currently out of order.

I appreciate you all reading this.
 
If you can drive it fairly slowly, say 30-40MPH, then yes - assuming it has at least 10 capacity bars. Use the heat minimally, especially if it lacks a heat pump.
 
Shouldn't be a problem if it has 12 or 11 bars even at normal highway speeds, still doable if less than 11 bars but as Leftie said you'd have to slow down(<90kmh) and really limit heat, I'd just stick with the seat and steering wheel heaters and maybe a little defrost if the windows start to fog up. Of course you'll want to charge it up to 100% before your journey.
 
Possible, but don't count on it. Do yourself a favor and add charge en-route

There are way too many unknowns about the car, the trip, the weather and the driver

----
It sounds like you have a learning curve.
Read the owner manual to at least know how to read the battery capacity and SoC. Think of the battery capacity as the size of the petrol tank in an ICE, and the SoC as how full the tank is with petrol. Your car had ~ 22 kWh of usable capacity when new, but capacity drops with age.

Example:
Say the car shows 8 capacity bars out of 12 when new. You estimate current capacity as 22*8/12 = `14.6 kWh total usable kWh when fully charged. Say the SoC is 50%, then 14.6*0.5 kWh remain before the car stops. On level ground, decent roads, no snow or water, no headwind and at 90 kph expect about 4 miles per kWh so ~ 28 miles of range remain until battery is fully discharged.
 
Give the good information:

https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=4295

Links are:

Use this 100% chart for a factory new battery.

Use this 93% chart for a one year old or more battery that still has all 12 capacity bar segments.

Use this 82% chart for a battery that has 11 of 12 capacity bar segments.

Use this 75% chart for a battery that has 10 of 12 capacity bar segments.

Use this 69% chart for a battery that has 9 of 12 capacity bar segments.

Use this 63% chart for a battery that has 8 of 12 capacity bar segments.

Not knowing the state of the car, the route, the weather and such, impossible to predict.

The OP can print out the Leaf Range Chart that matchs the capacity bars, and use that to predict how the trip would go. Or if doesn't know, print all of the 24kWh charts and pick the one that matches the car.

OP can also set the destination in the NAV and/or on a phone or GPS, and make sure that the car's range estimate AKA GOM stays above the remaining distance to the destingation by a comfortable margin. Not useful at start of the trip, but more useful as the trip proceeds. Also not useful over mountain roads. Also route as if you would stop at charging stations and decide when you get close if you need to stop or not.
 
xxl_kfz1186751_d61448f4e4bd465e87b3d0cf7624d40f.jpg


https://usedcars.nissan.co.uk/en/vehicles/nissan/leaf/24kwh-acenta-hatchback-5dr-electric-automatic-0-gkm-107-bhp-s4cczr9

(Edit: Actual the picture is of a 2016 Leaf with different battery.) If this Leaf with 6 capacity bars (the small bars on the outside on the right), the answer is no. Battery is about 50% of original capacity. Use the 100% chart, and divide by 2. Low battery warning will come at about 35% or 6 bars, very low battery warning will come on at about 18%. Don't plan on going below 18%.
 
LeftieBiker said:
The range estimator in the Nav system - NOT the Guess O Meter - is actually good as long as the terrain isn't mountainous.
Click to expand...
... And the roads are dry, and there is no headwind. Does it take information from the trip already completed into account ? E..g, driving at a faster or lower speed ?
 
IIRC, it does. Even the GOM seems to do that. The Nav RE seems to use a more pessimistic set of assumptions for its range estimate. It was pretty much spot on for me, and for the person who first posted about it here. I haven't even looked to see if it remains in the 2018, because the 2018 GOM works fine for me.
 
Hi all firstly I'd like to say thanks for the replies they have really helped a little more info about the car, it still has all 12 battery bars which I believe is rather impressive for a 57,000 mile car. I live in the Scottish Highlands and we have rather curvy roads so no motor or due carriageways (I'll be able to make great use of the regenerate braking on our many corners).

The road i am travelling has a 60mph limit.
 
60MPH is a boundary of sorts for the Gen I Leaf. Go over it and you'll use energy much faster. Go slightly under it and you'll save a significant amount. Try 55-58MPH.
 
Dimestone1 said:
Hi all firstly I'd like to say thanks for the replies they have really helped a little more info about the car, it still has all 12 battery bars which I believe is rather impressive for a 57,000 mile car. I live in the Scottish Highlands and we have rather curvy roads so no motor or due carriageways (I'll be able to make great use of the regenerate braking on our many corners).

The road i am travelling has a 60mph limit.
Click to expand...
Have you actually purchased the car yet?

My 2014 is at 66,000 miles and has all 12 battery bars. Leafs do very well in cool climates, which we both have.

A drive plan to reduce worry:
65 miles with a just barely 12 bar LEAF is likely reasonable, but hilly and curves do make it worse, as does weather, however I'd make sure that there was a charging station or a quick charge on the route that is reliable. Suppose it is at the 32.5 mile distance. If you have 7 bars or more and your range estimate is 45 miles or more, then don't stop. If you have 6 battery bars or less OR your range estimate is less than 45 miles, then stop for long enough to replace what you are lacking times two. Example, 5 bars, stop and charge up by 4 bars.

I use this for trip planning:

https://abetterrouteplanner.com/?plan_uuid=da5c0521-83dd-40b6-9ed1-d8ece43f1691

I've put an example trip into the tool, adjust the endpoints to suit. If you want comments on a plan, do share but don't but any personal information into the tool, such as your actual home address. Instead, put a local store, town center, charging station, or something.

I've tried to find a bad case, this trip would be a little scary until Achnasheen comes on line. Dry roads and no wind, less so, heavy rain and a stiff headwind, not likely to complete.

https://www.plugshare.com/location/178745

The charge station database in ABRP isn't very good, at least in the USA. So I use Plugshare. I suggest finding out what local drivers use.
 
WetEV said:
Dimestone1 said:
Hi all firstly I'd like to say thanks for the replies they have really helped a little more info about the car, it still has all 12 battery bars which I believe is rather impressive for a 57,000 mile car. I live in the Scottish Highlands and we have rather curvy roads so no motor or due carriageways (I'll be able to make great use of the regenerate braking on our many corners).

The road i am travelling has a 60mph limit.
Click to expand...
Have you actually purchased the car yet?

My 2014 is at 66,000 miles and has all 12 battery bars. Leafs do very well in cool climates, which we both have.

A drive plan to reduce worry:
65 miles with a just barely 12 bar LEAF is likely reasonable, but hilly and curves do make it worse, as does weather, however I'd make sure that there was a charging station or a quick charge on the route that is reliable. Suppose it is at the 32.5 mile distance. If you have 7 bars or more and your range estimate is 45 miles or more, then don't stop. If you have 6 battery bars or less OR your range estimate is less than 45 miles, then stop for long enough to replace what you are lacking times two. Example, 5 bars, stop and charge up by 4 bars.

I use this for trip planning:

https://abetterrouteplanner.com/?plan_uuid=da5c0521-83dd-40b6-9ed1-d8ece43f1691

I've put an example trip into the tool, adjust the endpoints to suit. If you want comments on a plan, do share but don't but any personal information into the tool, such as your actual home address. Instead, put a local store, town center, charging station, or something.

I've tried to find a bad case, this trip would be a little scary until Achnasheen comes on line. Dry roads and no wind, less so, heavy rain and a stiff headwind, not likely to complete.

https://www.plugshare.com/location/178745

The charge station database in ABRP isn't very good, at least in the USA. So I use Plugshare. I suggest finding out what local drivers use.
Click to expand...

Yeah the car is purchased, its due to get delivered to the dealership garage within the next 10 days. Unfortunately the only charge point is currently out of order for the route id like to take as it is the quickest.
 
I personally wouldn't have a problem with a 12 bar Leaf doing 65 miles, heck I'd do it on my '11 bar Leaf but would definitely limit my speed to less than 65mph, preferably closer to 60 or even 55 if you wouldn't be blown off the road. Of course, at that speed, I wouldn't use any heat, well except seats and steering wheel which don't really affect range. Charge it up to 100% and see how far you make it at 50%, if you're more than halfway you're doing good, if less than halfway really start slowing things down. While freeways are the quickest, side roads, even if it means stopping is more efficient for an electric car, speed is what really kills range, well higher speeds anyway.
Oh winds also make a big difference, driving even 50mph with a 20mph headwind would almost be like driving 70mph with no wind, a tailwind is really nice but other than picking your day, you can't really do much about the wind.
 
Dimestone1 said:
Hi all firstly I'd like to say thanks for the replies they have really helped a little more info about the car, it still has all 12 battery bars which I believe is rather impressive for a 57,000 mile car. I live in the Scottish Highlands and we have rather curvy roads so no motor or due carriageways (I'll be able to make great use of the regenerate braking on our many corners).

The road i am travelling has a 60mph limit.
Click to expand...

If I can make a 70 mile trip in a 9 bar Leaf, I don't think you'll have any issues with your 12 bar Leaf, but as others have said, keep the speed under 55 mph, even better under 50 mph and you won't worry about the range unless the entire drive is uphill somehow from start to finish? Easy way, plot the road trip on Google and then switch it to "bicycle" mode where it shows the elevation map. It will give you how much elevation you climb vs how much you descend. If the numbers balance out so you go up some hills and down some others, don't sweat the trip.
 
jjeff said:
Charge it up to 100% and see how far you make it at 50%, if you're more than halfway you're doing good, if less than halfway really start slowing things down....
Click to expand...
That right there has saved me many times, just slow down. It's amazing how far you can stretch the range by keeping the vehicle speed under 50 mph when you need to make the distance and not worry about arriving a few minutes late. :mrgreen:
 
Dimestone1 said:
Yeah the car is purchased, its due to get delivered to the dealership garage within the next 10 days. Unfortunately the only charge point is currently out of order for the route id like to take as it is the quickest.
Click to expand...
If you know someone on the route, perhaps you can plug into a household socket for a few hours if needed?

Have you looked at ABRP?

65 miles is probably OK, but not sure to be OK.
 
As others have mentioned, abetterouteplanner.com is good for planning. I find it to be a little pessimistic and overestimate my Leafs power consumption somewhat - but that is ok since I then have a little more margin reaching my destination.

Also, use cruise control if your car have it. I got that tip from more experienced Leaf-drivers here in Norway and it seems to help with a lower consumption.

If you don't have fast chargers along the route, how about public charging sockets? Sure, they will charge slow, but you will get some juice. You would probably need a Type 2- Type 1 cable if one is not included with the car as Type 2 sockets are the norm for public charging points in Europe now.
 

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