120 Miles on a full charge? No Problem

I met a driver at the DC Fast Chargers at Nissan HQ today. As I waited for his charge to complete we got to talking. I noticed it was a 2013 and he shared he had it 2 months. He was amazed I had 32,000 miles. Yeah he said I've got 1,500 miles. I asked him how he liked it. I do like the car was the reply but.......

.... my round trip to work is 60 miles and it can do it on a 80% charge but not much to spare. The salesman told me it could do 120 miles on a full charge, no problem. The salesman also informed him Nissan don't sell LEAF's anymore, lease only.

With this sort of salesmanship in the number 9 market in the US, I do hope Elon Musk is successful with his direct sales model. The salesmen do EV's so much disservice. The next airing of who killed the electric car will have EV salesmen as the main conspirator.

JPWhite said:

.... my round trip to work is 60 miles and it can do it on a 80% charge but not much to spare. The salesman told me it could do 120 miles on a full charge, no problem. The salesman also informed him Nissan don't sell LEAF's anymore, lease only.

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I understand that saleman also has a bridge for sale in New York and some nice swamp land in Florida. :lol:

I don't know what's worse... the salesman or the sales manager at the end who tries to sell you all these extended warranties, paint protection, and service contracts after the sale has been made. Actually, I do know. I haven't seen such a high pressure sales pitch since I bought my last vacuum cleaner.

No problem for me! It can be done, just not exactly quickly. Did this on a Saturday with my son, 4 separate trips and 125 miles from full charge without hitting turtle. From my house to my house. No big elevation changes, though.
Don't hate the salesman, just drive it like you're mowing.

JPWhite said:

.... my round trip to work is 60 miles and it can do it on a 80% charge but not much to spare. The salesman told me it could do 120 miles on a full charge, no problem. The salesman also informed him Nissan don't sell LEAF's anymore, lease only.

With this sort of salesmanship in the number 9 market in the US, I do hope Elon Musk is successful with his direct sales model. The salesmen do EV's so much disservice. The next airing of who killed the electric car will have EV salesmen as the main conspirator.

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Good lord! That guy needs to be added to http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=13264&start=20" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and needs to be required to do what he claims.

Maybe he got the idea from the European Nissan exec I mentioned at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=13264&start=30" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

joewaters said:

No problem for me! It can be done, just not exactly quickly. Did this on a Saturday with my son, 4 separate trips and 125 miles from full charge without hitting turtle. From my house to my house. No big elevation changes, though.
Don't hate the salesman, just drive it like you're mowing.

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I think you're only the 8th person in the uber exclusive 200km Club.

Congrats on being Mr. 66 in the 100 Mile Club. Here's to wishing that your accomplishment will always be bright.

Tony Williams
100 Mile Club Member Emeritus

joewaters said:

No problem for me! It can be done, just not exactly quickly. Did this on a Saturday with my son, 4 separate trips and 125 miles from full charge without hitting turtle. From my house to my house. No big elevation changes, though.
Don't hate the salesman, just drive it like you're mowing.

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+1 I can't read your m/kW h, but you have to have around 6.0 to get 125 miles on a 100% charge (6X21=126 miles).
If the OP's guest is only getting 60 miles on an 80% charge, then it sounds like they're using the freeway, using HVAC, and or driving it like they stole it. In the city, it should be easy to get one mile per %.

LEAFfan said:

...I can't read your m/kW h,...

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It reads 4.8. I don't think they reset it at the beginning of this charge.

Unfortunately, telling people that they have to do this is one of the quickest ways to turn off the masses on EVs... For EVs to ever become mainstream, they need to be able to be driven like another other vehicle (within reason)...

joewaters said:

Don't hate the salesman, just drive it like you're mowing.

Click to expand...

JPWhite said:

.... my round trip to work is 60 miles and it can do it on a 80% charge but not much to spare. The salesman told me it could do 120 miles on a full charge, no problem. The salesman also informed him Nissan don't sell LEAF's anymore, lease only.

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Yeah, I'd definitely agree if that's true, they're either on the highway, running a/c, flooring it, or all the above. When I took delivery of my LEAF, the dealer was 62 miles away. It was almost all highway. I left with something like 92% battery and got home with 13%. Scared the crap out of me. But my current commute is 50 miles round trip. If I leave with 80%, I get home with roughly 35%, sometimes a bit more.

I had done my research before leasing mine, so I didn't care what my dealer said. But they actually did say 75 was a good "ballpark" figure, and it varies with driving style.

TomT said:

Unfortunately, telling people that they have to do this is one of the quickest ways to turn off the masses on EVs... For EVs to ever become mainstream, they need to be able to be driven like any other other vehicle (within reason)...

joewaters said:

Don't hate the salesman, just drive it like you're mowing.

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+1
Although driving a LEAF will transform most drivers that previously drove an ICE into at least a somewhat more efficient driver, at least it has me, conveying the message you have to drive ultra efficiently is not going to inspire a large % of people to try a LEAF.

I'm amazed by the behaviour of some car salesmen.
When I test drove a 2013 LEAF SL considering trading in my 2011 LEAF SL for it, the behaviour of the sales department was truly poor.
Not with regards to EV knowledge, they are very sharp and knowledgeable and informative on that.
But the complete unwillingness to provide a specific price, only willing to talk in monthly payment terms, was offensive to me and is to most buyers. I would never buy there just because of that approach, even though they have a superb service department and I will always use them for service on both my 2011 LEAF and my 2009 Altima. When will car sales people learn how to treat customers right? :? :shock:

TimLee said:

I would never buy there just because of that approach, even though they have a superb service department and I will always use them for service on both my 2011 LEAF and my 2009 Altima. When will car sales people learn how to treat customers right? :? :shock:

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Interesting, your experiences are pretty much the same as mine.

Service is great, sales suck.

It concerns me not if sales start treating folks right or not if Elon is successful in eliminating the need for them for EV purchases.

The driver I met yesterday was clearly disappointed in the vehicle from a range perspective. He will learn to manage what range he has as time goes on, it took me 4 months to start driving more economically. I should have asked him why he bothered charging to 80% if he was on a 2 year fleece. BTW Tim, Nissan have added a second DCFC at their HQ in Franklin in an adjacent public parking lot if you're ever up this way.

JPWhite said:

BTW Tim, Nissan has added a second DCFC at their HQ in Franklin in an adjacent public parking lot if you're ever up this way.

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Thanks for the info. Had planned to get to Nashville at some point in my LEAF, but haven't made it yet.
Considered coming to the plug-in day event which is on a Saturday in Nashville, but planning to go to the Chattanooga plug-in event the following day on Sunday. Not sure I want two plug-in event days in a row. One a year is probably enough. Last years was interesting, particularly learning more about electric bike options and doing a Volt test drive.

Some dealers are very good. I still commend brad for the in depth review he did on prices from all 11 Nissan dealers in the Nashville area and shared on MNL.
I went with Newton Nissan in Gallatin as he recommended, saved me $800, and they were excellent and straight forward on selling me my 2011 LEAF.
First time I ever bought a new car sight unseen and had it personally delivered to my driveway in Chattanooga.
Thats the way to buy a car!!!

Dealers like the one in Texas that sold a used LEAF with a degraded battery to a buyer who had no knowledge of its range limitations on very high speed Texas interstates are doing a huge disservice to the LEAF. That buyer did get his $ back from the dealer TTBOMK, but the whole experience was bad for the LEAF.

TimLee said:

I'm amazed by the behaviour of some car salesmen.
When I test drove a 2013 LEAF SL considering trading in my 2011 LEAF SL for it, the behaviour of the sales department was truly poor.
Not with regards to EV knowledge, they are very sharp and knowledgeable and informative on that.
But the complete unwillingness to provide a specific price, only willing to talk in monthly payment terms,<clip> When will car sales people learn how to treat customers right? :? :shock:

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I must be in the 1 percent. I went into the dealership with a total price in mind and finance already in place. The salesman and I hammered out the price right into my number (+$63, which I conceded would entitle me to the first aid kit and cargo net not on my list of options.) The kicker was that he got me Nissan Motor Credit financing at one percent lower than my best rate from outside. He is also a Leaf driver/lessee, and our communication was in the same range of tech savvy.
Unfortunately, he handed me over to the dealership paper pusher to do the registration paperwork, and that's where the ball got dropped. It took me all of 2 months to get temp plates while I drove around with a transport tag in the window. And I had to do the legwork to get that far, as the dealer rep failed the second time even with clear instructions.

Finally had the free time to make a run at it. Started with 100% indicated and drove city streets until battery indicated [---%] at 125.8 miles. I know from a past test run I most likely had another 5 miles to Turtle. I was tempted to push it to 130 but didn't feel like risking it. Drive was primarily at 40 mph.

GIBBER said:

Finally had the free time to make a run at it. Started with 100% indicated and drove city streets until battery indicated [---%] at 125.8 miles. I know from a past test run I most likely had another 5 miles to Turtle. I was tempted to push it to 130 but didn't feel like risking it. Drive was primarily at 40 mph.

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Welcome to the 200km Club, Mr. 73!

Tony Williams
100 Mile Club Member Emeritus

JPWhite said:

...'The salesman told me it could do 120 miles on a full charge, no problem'. The salesman also informed him Nissan don't sell LEAF's anymore, lease only.

With this sort of salesmanship in the number 9 market in the US, I do hope Elon Musk is successful with his direct sales model. The salesmen do EV's so much disservice. The next airing of who killed the electric car will have EV salesmen as the main conspirator.

Click to expand...

Ah... the 'Ocean Blue'? Beautiful car, eh? LOVELY plumage!....

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Your Leaf is just sleeping!

Nubo said:

Ah... the 'Ocean Blue'? Beautiful car, eh? LOVELY plumage!....

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Thanks Tony, #73 it is. Others call me Chris but I'll wear the 73 badge proudly. Lol. On the range subject. I notice when maintaining speed in 'D' then switching to 'B' mode there is a noticable feeling of drag (again maintaining speed) have any other drivers felt this? Is it actually causing drag and could that be negatively affecting range?
quote="TonyWilliams"]

GIBBER said:

Finally had the free time to make a run at it. Started with 100% indicated and drove city streets until battery indicated [---%] at 125.8 miles. I know from a past test run I most likely had another 5 miles to Turtle. I was tempted to push it to 130 but didn't feel like risking it. Drive was primarily at 40 mph.

Click to expand...

Welcome to the 200km Club, Mr. 73!

Tony Williams
100 Mile Club Member Emeritus[/quote]

GIBBER said:

On the range subject. I notice when maintaining speed in 'D' then switching to 'B' mode there is a noticable feeling of drag (again maintaining speed) have any other drivers felt this? Is it actually causing drag and could that be negatively affecting range?

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The pedal is mapped differently in the different modes. In 'D', there is very little regeneration, even with your foot off the pedal. If you switch to 'B', there will be significant regeneration with your foot off the pedal, so it feels like a big drag. (If you had the pedal at another position, you may still feel this effect, but just not as strongly.)

There are endless discussions on here about which mode is more efficient. My take is that the bottom line is that you are most efficient if you let the car coast, but 'B' is best if a light changes to red and you need to stop right away. No sense heating the brake pads unless you have to!

BTW, congratulations on your 200 km run! Only a handful have managed to do that!