Lose the "Building Trees" on the head's up display

[Flashman]

I for one have never made even one whole tree and I likely never will.
Yes, so it's basically useless for me. Just my opinion here but I drive this car like a car.
My highway travel every day is average 80mph and I accelerate to pass people and just for fun!
Sacrilege! Blasphemy I know, but if I could not drive it like this, I would have never bought the car in the first place.

I did try for one afternoon to start to 'grow' a tree but realized what a pain I was being to other motorists in doing so. Personally, I also think when you do this you also teach other motorists to say, 'Ha!, I knew those things had no power, I'll bet it has no power and is slow!' I can say I have definitely seen folks give me a double take smile when I both run 80-85mph on the highway and I accelerate faster than 'the pack' leaving stop lights or up the on-ramps.

I have a daily ~45 mile round trip commuter drive (depending on where I eat lunch) of which ~35 miles are highway.
When I get home each night I have roughly 55-60% of capacity left. No worries!
I get having to hyper-mile if your commute is longer or if you need run close to total miles for a charge but otherwise your not helping the Leafs image to the potential new customer otherwise IMHO.
And if you have to grow trees just to make your daily round trip, you probably need a Tesla or more range to begin with. Promise, not trying to upset anyone and you can do whatever you want with your Leaf of course, these are just my thoughts and beliefs.

[EVerlasting]

I for one have never made even one whole tree and I likely never will.
Yes, so it's basically useless for me. Just my opinion here but I drive this car like a car.
My highway travel every day is average 80mph and I accelerate to pass people and just for fun!
Sacrilege! Blasphemy I know, but if I could not drive it like this, I would have never bought the car in the first place.

I did try for one afternoon to start to 'grow' a tree but realized what a pain I was being to other motorists in doing so. Personally, I also think when you do this you also teach other motorists to say, 'Ha!, I knew those things had no power, I'll bet it has no power and is slow!' I can say I have definitely seen folks give me a double take smile when I both run 80-85mph on the highway and I accelerate faster than 'the pack' leaving stop lights or up the on-ramps.

I have a daily ~45 mile round trip commuter drive (depending on where I eat lunch) of which ~35 miles are highway.
When I get home each night I have roughly 55-60% of capacity left. No worries!
I get having to hyper-mile if your commute is longer or if you need run close to total miles for a charge but otherwise your not helping the Leafs image to the potential new customer otherwise IMHO.
And if you have to grow trees just to make your daily round trip, you probably need a Tesla or more range to begin with. Promise, not trying to upset anyone and you can do whatever you want with your Leaf of course, these are just my thoughts and beliefs.

Wow! 80-85 mph for 35 miles out of 45 mile round trip and have 55-65% capacity left when you get home each night? You have a very special LEAF. If I tried doing 80-85 mph for just 10 miles out of my 50 mile commute, I would barely be able to make it back with an 80% charge. With a 100% easily but I definitely won't have 55-60% remaining. Maybe just 1 or 2 bars remaining.
Just for kicks I have done 80-85 mph once passing everyone on the freeway on my way to a local Costco. It was awesome! The LEAF can easily go fast without any vibrations or noise. But I was also noticing how my GOM range was rapidly reducing and most of the drive bubbles lit up. As I was passing other cars I looked on to see if anyone notices that this is a LEAF going so fast. None! I hate to break it to you but LEAF has a common hatchback design and most people don't even notice that its an electric car unless they get a chance to read Zero Emission label up close. Now if I was driving a Tesla roadster, they would notice me even at 70 mph. The Model S doesn't stand out that much either. It is a bit similar to some of the large BMW's and even Ford Fusion from a distance. Of course automobile enthusiasts and cops never fail to spot rare cars like LEAF's or Model S's. I did this with a full 80% charge. I did 80-85 mph for a short stretch of 4.7 miles on I-80. After a round trip of just 22 miles, when i got home I had 3 bars remaining and that too because I drove efficiently throughout the remaining trip. This is when I understood what a YouTube LEAF reviewer once said: "Driving fast defeats the purpose of a LEAF".

[Flashman]

Wow! 80-85 mph for 35 miles out of 45 mile round trip and have 55-65% capacity left when you get home each night? You have a very special LEAF.

I charge to 100% each day (set by charge timer so only sits at 100% for maybe 20 minutes before I leave for work.)
Sunny Florida 73 degrees warm today!
The 417 toll road is almost all flat round trip. a hill in fl is a joke to anyone in NJ. (spent time in Tom's river)
I never run the air or heat, daytime driving only, windows up fresh air on.
I set the cruise to 80mph every day but can drop down for traffic so I suppose maybe more like 75-80mph on the highway.
I will occasionally pass a multi-'I can't find a speed' knuckle head and sometimes that means full bore even up to 93mph! but that's maybe once a week? hey, I have the range so why not!! and it's fun to drive and see the reactions.
The general traffic in the left lane on 417 runs 75-85mph during the hours I travel usually so I even have to move over from time to time. The car is only three months old, so I hope this performance holds up!

If I tried doing 80-85 mph for just 10 miles out of my 50 mile commute, I would barely be able to make it back with an 80% charge. With a 100% easily but I definitely won't have 55-60% remaining. Maybe just 1 or 2 bars remaining.

I would need to know more about your commute to understand why your's is so low?? maybe in NJ it's cold? loss of range?

80-85 mph once passing everyone... most of the drive bubbles lit up

At 80, I recall about four bubbles with the cruise set.
Lake Mary Florida is very EV aware similar to silicon valley a couple years back so folks here notice EV's... There are many Tesla's and sparks in the area. (and too many volts.. too bad) believe me, folks here notice.

I did 80-85 mph for a short stretch of 4.7 miles on I-80. After a round trip of just 22 miles, when i got home I had 3 bars remaining and that too because I drove efficiently throughout the remaining trip. This is when I understood what a YouTube LEAF reviewer once said: "Driving fast defeats the purpose of a LEAF".

How fast were you going off highway average? Off highway for my commute is no more than 40mph tops (All 35mph speed limits & I run ave 5 over)... I pop out of my subdivision and hop on freeway, when I exit the highway I am at an office park so slow there too. as for the reviewers driving fast defeats the purpose... I disagree as I do it every day and it depends on each person's purpose of course. I bought this car for three reasons...
1. Never go to the gas station again for my commuter car.
2. This car was free for me from Nissan as it's cheaper to lease it than it was to put gas in my ICE car to travel the same distance each month. I waited to buy until this was possible.
3. Since the EV1 that made me very mad when destroyed by GM (Movie: Who killed the electric car?) I have always wanted an EV, I'm a geek, love the technology and plan to add solar to drive completely free soon.

EDIT: P.S. So I am accurate, I just Google mapped the exact distance on 417 I travel and it's 27 highway miles round trip to be exact. the rest is at the slow speeds. My development is 25mph.
My ultimate point before all the detail was. Drive it! Don't bother with making trees!!! IMHO.

[thankyouOB]

you will prematurely age the battery at that rate of driving and charging and recharging and battery cycling. but if you lease, you may not care.

[Flashman]

you will prematurely age the battery at that rate of driving and charging and recharging and battery cycling. but if you lease, you may not care.

I like the performance (it & cheaper than my ICE to lease vs gas cost per month is what really sold me)
Yeah, Depending on where the battery 'is at' when the end of the lease arrives is sort of an experiment for me, I would only buy out the lease if the batts still in good shape after driving it as if it were an ICE for 2 years and there's nothing better in 2016. or batts $$ come way way down. Otherwise, I am hoping for twice to 3x the range in an EV. it's early tech and I'm ok with that I test stuff for a living so this is a big test that doesn't really cost me anything.
But for today, there is no match for the Leaf IMHO.
I charge to 100% in case I need to go somewhere else during the day that might be totally unexpected... even so our office park has several Charging stations around if needed.
I agree with the folks who are filing a class action against Nissan as no one at the dealer ever said to me.. only charge to 80% for long battery life. (I knew it but wanted to test the dealer too... hence leasing.)

I expect since it only stays charged to 100% a very short time before I begin to drain it's not that significant.. hopefully
I would also bet the summers here will cause more damage than my charging habits... but since I bought at the end of Sept it has not yet seen a real Summer. I know heat is what really causes the degradation.

[EVerlasting]

I would need to know more about your commute to understand why your's is so low?? maybe in NJ it's cold? loss of range?

My commute is about 50 miles round trip. I live on a mountain and most of Northern NJ is somewhat hilly. (Tom's River, NJ is on the shore and its not so hilly if I am not mistaken). My commute is to lower elevations gradually and then on return I have to climb the elevations again.

How fast were you going off highway average?

I drive at 41-45 mph on most 50 mph speed limit local highways which has a few traffic lights and slow moving traffic during rush hour. Some of the city driving is 25-35 mph which I drive at speed limit. I avoid the freeway (65 speed limit with most people doing 70-85 mph) option of my commute and take local highways for this purpose. I remember that during summer I could drive the 5 mile stretch on the freeway and still make it back home easily with the 80% charging. But now the cold has definitely reduced range especially when its very cold.
I don't use heating or defogging at all. I use the foot+defog vent mode without climate control (which used to chill my feet until I started wearing my snow boots). Occasionally I use the seat warmer and steering warmer but now a days I wear so many layers of warm clothing that I hardly need the warmers.

Off highway for my commute is no more than 40mph tops (All 35mph speed limits & I run ave 5 over)... I pop out of my subdivision and hop on freeway, when I exit the highway I am at an office park so slow there too. as for the reviewers driving fast defeats the purpose... I disagree as I do it every day and it depends on each person's purpose of course.

I agree with you, purpose depends on each person. Terrain, climate, and commute routes also make a difference. You have the advantage with all of them.

I bought this car for three reasons...
1. Never go to the gas station again for my commuter car.
2. This car was free for me from Nissan as it's cheaper to lease it than it was to put gas in my ICE car to travel the same distance each month. I waited to buy until this was possible.
3. Since the EV1 that made me very mad when destroyed by GM (Movie: Who killed the electric car?) I have always wanted an EV, I'm a geek, love the technology and plan to add solar to drive completely free soon.

I bought my LEAF for similar reasons.
1. I hate buying gas and more than that I hate oil changes, transmission repairs, replacing belts, replacing exhausts, oil and fuel filters, spark plugs, and the list goes on. Its such a relief that I don't have to worry about all that anymore.
2. I didn't lease, I bought and its still a huge saving. LEAF is paying for itself day by day in gas savings, maintenance savings, and most importantly saving the environment.
3. I was also very mad after I watched "Who Killed the Electric Car". I had decided I will go for an EV as soon as they are available.

My ultimate point before all the detail was. Drive it! Don't bother with making trees!!! IMHO.

I would love to drive the way you do and I do sometimes. I like to take off from traffic lights. But I am in this for the long run. I plan to use this car for at least 2 decades. (My previous ICE I had for 10 years and another ICE I still have is a 1995 model). If I can maintain and use ICE cars for so long, imagine how long I can use the maintenance free zero emission LEAF. Of course I may need a new battery pack in 10 years or so but it is still worth it. Hopefully the future battery replacement packs will have improved range and other features.

[dgpcolorado]

...I expect since it only stays charged to 100% a very short time before I begin to drain it's not that significant.. hopefully
I would also bet the summers here will cause more damage than my charging habits... but since I bought at the end of Sept it has not yet seen a real Summer. I know heat is what really causes the degradation.

Yes, the warm climate in Florida will cause a lot of battery degradation. But the high kW discharge rates you are using to drive extremely aggressively will also accelerate battery degradation. As will the increased charge cycles. The difference between 80% and 100% charging is likely the least important factor.

After two years I'd be mighty surprised if the battery of your car is in any shape that you'd want consider keeping it.

Like some others here, I find driving efficiently more interesting and entertaining than driving aggressively. And essential for being able to make my longer trips, although that isn't a factor for you and others who stick to very short trips. It is also a whole lot safer.

[thankyouOB]

...I expect since it only stays charged to 100% a very short time before I begin to drain it's not that significant.. hopefully
I would also bet the summers here will cause more damage than my charging habits... but since I bought at the end of Sept it has not yet seen a real Summer. I know heat is what really causes the degradation.

Yes, the warm climate in Florida will cause a lot of battery degradation. But the high kW discharge rates you are using to drive extremely aggressively will also accelerate battery degradation. As will the increased charge cycles. The difference between 80% and 100% charging is likely the least important factor.

After two years I'd be mighty surprised if the battery of your car is in any shape that you'd want consider keeping it.

Like some others here, I find driving efficiently more interesting and entertaining than driving aggressively. And essential for being able to make my longer trips, although that isn't a factor for you and others who stick to very short trips. It is also a whole lot safer.

there is smart and there is not smart. dpg you are smart, and that is well said.
i remember the chatter in early 2011 from folks who wanted to drive that LEAF hard and put it away drained, and not just to show those ICErs that the LEAF had stuff.
it made them feel good.

- i prefer your path.

[EVerlasting]

I'll give you but one of many examples. Coast down a hill in N. Press and release the accelerator. Watch the efficiency gauge go from 0 to 100%. There are many more...

I actually watched the ECO Indicator go to full as soon as I began coasting down a hill in "N" yesterday, so your example is wrong.

[smkettner]

I'll give you but one of many examples. Coast down a hill in N. Press and release the accelerator. Watch the efficiency gauge go from 0 to 100%. There are many more...

I actually watched the ECO Indicator go to full as soon as I began coasting down a hill in "N" yesterday, so your example is wrong.

Did you press the accelerator while in neutral?