tranhv68 said:When I purchased my 2012 Leaf I was well aware of the 73mile EPA mixed driving cycle. As my work was only 25 miles roundtrip, I felt I had plenty of range for commuting and errands for most days. As an around town vehicle it is great. However, I discovered that a DC quickcharger can, when the battery temp is optimal and close to empty, give you a charge at up to 50KW per hour as stated by nissan up to about 80% full. In fact, it only took 18 minutes to put in 12 kwh in my leaf.
As there are many Nissan Dealers in the US and Nissan is actively marketing a Quick DC charger for $10,000.00, how come they don't install DC quick chargers at every dealer for their leafs. This would make the leaf attractive even to those individuals who feel that they need more than 73 miles in a day because they can fill up for a fraction of the time.
Whether it is free, subscription-based or fee per use, I think having DC Quickchargers at Nissan Dealers would be a convenience that would enhance Nissan's commitment to Electric vehicles.
Also, it would be in Nissan's best interest to promote their ChaDeMo standard as much as possible given the SAE has a standard that is set and backed by GM and other Big car companies. I am a huge fan of ChaDeMo, but if the new SAE standard becomes the norm, my 2012 Leaf will probably be the last Nissan EV I own.
------------ Just have in mind that this ChaDeMo is a US and JP Problem ! --------------
I love to drive the Leaf in the US - a really great car.
But in Europe - especially in Germany - everything is different.
Each household has the capability of 21 kW electrical power because 3 phase is standard - used by an electric instant water prep. instead of watertank. So a charger 3,3kW is something to laugh about.
Nissan Germany installed ChaDeMo chargers on Autobahns only. And only a few. To get there you have to enter the Autobahn and drive appx. 10 Miles at higher speeds - draining your battery even more.
On the other hand - Germany hat a good grid of public 3 phase charger stations 22kW and some 43 kW.
And driving a Leaf here gives you a lot of charging problems. If you only want to drive it once a day - ok that's fine. But you will never reach a break even of the investment.
A gallon of gas is $9 here - fine, that sounds good for a change to an EV - but 1 kWhr of Electricity is close to $0.42 too!! So driving a high MPG turbo diesel could be cheaper than an electric car and more flexible.
If you want to use the Leaf more than once a day - which you need to do to become economical -you will have to have a ChaDeMo charger at home. Technical possible since you have 21kW of possibilities already.
BUT a roll-by 22kW ChaDeMo costs 16,800 EUROs - appx. $20,000 and weighs about 100lb. (as it requires a transformer by law)
It would be great to have a cheaper ChaDeMo charger - one that could be placed in the trunk. Then you would be able to use any public charging station @ 22kW ! THAT would be a completely new LEAF feeling !
Renault (majority owner of Nissan) now shows up with a Model ZOE which is based on the LEAF .... and has a BUILT-IN 43 kW 3 phase charger. Fully compatible to 3,7/11/22/43 kW charging systems. The system is called Chamelion Charger.
A 22kW charger outlet at home - built by KEBA Austria - is 899EUR or $1150 and easy to install. So you can re-charge your car at home within one hour.
So it is more than a commuter car. (...by the way: charging at the employer's outlet is prohibited here unless you pay income tax on the electricity !)
The car itself looks like a cheap interpretation of the Leaf, low interior Quality - but the powertrain is as excellent. Comes with a heat pump too and a nominal range of 210km/130mi - 150km/93mi realistic summer range.
So as the knowlege is 'in the same house' - why is the Nissan LEAF not available with this charger here ? A LEAF Europe ? This would be called synergy effect !?
To avoid competition with the ZOE ? Sounds reasonable. BUT:
Why is Nissan investing millions into public ChaDeMos-Stations here which are hardly to use? A Chamelion Charger in the LEAF would be cheaper !
TESLA has done its homework and sells the European Version of the Model S with a dual charger - to be as compatible as possible to the infrastructure.
I would love instandly purchase a LEAF with an appropiate charger ... but noone listens at NISSAN....
Heinz D. Harpers
grad. electrical engineer