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Although I've deliberately done 100+ miles on a charge a couple times, my best was 92 miles with ~8000 feet of cumulative elevation gain, and with ~1200 feet of net elevation gain:

I was below VLBW when I made it home. I would have trouble repeating that drive since my battery has likely degraded a bit since then.
 
Busybj said:
Last summer I drove from Oceanside to Simi Valley 114 miles on a single full charge. I drove at 50 miles an hour in the slow lane.
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I have inducted you into the "100 Mile Club" with all the honor and prestige that appointment entails. You shall herein after, and forever, be known as Mr. 58.

Please bring a nice bottle or merlot to the next club meeting.
 
DougWantsALeaf said:
Has anyone driven their Leaf in the 45-50 mile range for 80%+ of their battery? According to the charts, you should easily be able to push 100 miles at 45/hr. Yes this is bottom edge of freeway legal, but tolerable for distances of about up to 100 miles. Beyond that, its Tesla or ICE right now.
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I'm going to soon and I believe I can get 100+ miles at 50mph actual (52-53 Speedo). All you need is 4.8-4.9 m/kW h. My drive will be 95% hwy/5% city.
 
gasmiser1 said:
First Long Trip Experience:
(Day two of ownership)

3/31, sunny day, 68 degrees out, didn't use heater or AC on this trip--Left San Carlos, CA with 100% charge showing 111 miles estimated range and headed to Half Moon Bay. By the time we reached Skyline@Highway 92 (approx altitude 700') we had 71 miles range left. Down the backside of 92 and into Half Moon Bay, regen topped the range at 92 remaining (actual miles from our house to Half Moon Bay is 12.7 miles).

We ate lunch and headed down Highway 1 to Pescadero. Range left was 71 miles. Ate some olallieberry pie (best pie I have ever eaten) from Duate's Tavern and Cafe http://www.duartestavern.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; They are known for the pie and artichoke soup, as well as the olallieberry syrup with the pancakes.

Headed back to Half Moon Bay with slight rolling hills and an ocean breeze headwinds. At this point the Leaf had 47 miles remaining at Half Moon Bay.

Finally, headed back up 92 hill to the summit at Skyline. At this point we had 21 miles remaining. Now, I had a bit of range anxiety but it was downhill for several miles, then a 3/4 mile uphill and another several miles downhill into Belmont. The rest of the trip was a few rolling hills back into San Carlos with 34 miles remaining. (total round trip was 61 miles)

This was our first major trip and a test run. It seems the miles given on the range meter are a bit off.

One note: I wish the regen was more powerful on steep downhills. Even with light braking I'd like more regen to slow the car down.
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Seems like you have been scaling all the way with your car and your experience tells that the cruise was awesome one too.
 
I have driven 99 miles on a single charge once (without AC) and more than 90 miles several times. My normal range is in the 70s.
 
16.0 kWh 16.8 kWh 0.8 kWh 77.4 miles 4.9 miles/kWh
photo.php

I reset the trip a couple miles after I started driving 77.4 miles and 4.9 miles/kwh on a trip from Elk Horn, Iowa to Des Moines, Iowa. 55mph was my top speed and just about my average. Did a lot of coasting and max power I used was 2 "dots" (or never over 20kwh on the drive motor using center screen). Used Ac on auto setting at 73 degrees. 25% charge left after going 77 miles. Pretty good and could have went to or over 100 miles fairly easily I believe.
 
Today my wife set out on a sofa-shopping adventure with a friend and 78% battery on her 2013 SV. On the way home she phoned from about 27 miles away to report she had about 27% battery left. I encouraged her with reports that even when LEAF is saying 0 folks report going several more miles. She arrived home with the car reading 0, but never entered turtle mode. Total mileage for the day was about 75, mostly freeway at 60 - 65 mph. She still had errands to run, so plugged hers in and took my 2012 SL, which was at about 80% after my 17 mile commute home from Sacramento (where I charge up while at work).

We love both of our LEAFs. But we have definitely noticed that the 2013 seems to have more range.
 
What an awesome trip! So cool that you picked up 21 miles of range just by going downhill! I've been to Duarte's as well, and can second the endorsement of the artichoke soup. This place was on Diners Driveins and Dives (should we encourage Guy Fieri to do an episode driving a LEAF instead of the '67 Camaro?) Pescadero is also a neat little town to explore. May you enjoy many adventures in your LEAF!


3/31, sunny day, 68 degrees out, didn't use heater or AC on this trip--Left San Carlos, CA with 100% charge showing 111 miles estimated range and headed to Half Moon Bay. By the time we reached Skyline@Highway 92 (approx altitude 700') we had 71 miles range left. Down the backside of 92 and into Half Moon Bay, regen topped the range at 92 remaining (actual miles from our house to Half Moon Bay is 12.7 miles).

We ate lunch and headed down Highway 1 to Pescadero. Range left was 71 miles. Ate some olallieberry pie (best pie I have ever eaten) from Duate's Tavern and Cafe http://www.duartestavern.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; They are known for the pie and artichoke soup, as well as the olallieberry syrup with the pancakes.

Headed back to Half Moon Bay with slight rolling hills and an ocean breeze headwinds. At this point the Leaf had 47 miles remaining at Half Moon Bay.

Finally, headed back up 92 hill to the summit at Skyline. At this point we had 21 miles remaining. Now, I had a bit of range anxiety but it was downhill for several miles, then a 3/4 mile uphill and another several miles downhill into Belmont. The rest of the trip was a few rolling hills back into San Carlos with 34 miles remaining. (total round trip was 61 miles)

This was our first major trip and a test run. It seems the miles given on the range meter are a bit off.

One note: I wish the regen was more powerful on steep downhills. Even with light braking I'd like more regen to slow the car down.[/quote]

Seems like you have been scaling all the way with your car and your experience tells that the cruise was awesome one too.[/quote]
 
Re the inaccuracy of the range reading: it is always trying to predict how far you can go based on how you are driving now. So if you get on the freeway your predicted range will drop. Then you get off the freeway and your predicted range increases.

On the 2013 you have the option of viewing your battery's % of charge. I suggest you use that, since it is always accurate. Then you can use that information to make decisions about how you will drive (fast, slow, downhill, uphill) to ensure that you have adequate battery power to get you where you want to go.
 
Compared to some of you, this wont be too impressive but it is for me being a two week old Leaf owner.

We have the Blink HQ charger on order so I'm stuck with 110V power until the Blink gets installed which meant I did not have a FULL charge for today's mission which was to drop off my Daughter at a debate camp. The Leaf said 80 miles range when I'm use to seeing 90 miles on a full charge. I forgot to see what the battery % was but did clear out the Trip B setting.

The mission was broken into 6 phases:

1. pick up daughter's two class mates for carpooling and back to home to get a checkbook for paying for debate camp => 10 miles.

2. drive to Rancho Bernardo via Del Dios Highway for you San Diego folks- a pleasant scenic drive ==> 23 miles one way

3. drive to friends house in Escondido near North County fair

4. back to home with a stop at a taco shop along the way

subtotal for Trip #1: 61 miles with an estimated miles left of 18

5. My wife then took the Leaf to take my son school shopping near Oceanside and very close to Mossy Nissan => 11 miles.

Total range: 72 miles before charging at Mossy - there was 6 miles left for range.

They charged for 2 hours at Mossy

6. Back to home with 44 miles left on and a total of 80.2 miles


I am very impressed with this car and how we can use it for some extended drives. Both our gas vehicles have been parked today. We'll take the Leaf out to dinner too.

First post for me- I'm pretty active at Acurazine, but will be here for the Leaf. Lots of great information here.
 
Took my first 'long range' trip in my Leaf yesterday. She made it with room to spare!! I drove very conservatively, because it was my first time testing the range. I was quite pleased.


Total Miles Driven : 67.6 miles
Date : 08/16/2013
Leaf End Condition : Everything normal (24 miles of range remaining)
Route / Terrain : Mostly Interstate / relatively flat terrain
Speed : between 60-65mph (no cruise control)
Weather : 77 degrees, humid, no air conditioner use for 90% of the trip

The BEFORE shot:
56867FC4-FA1B-48A7-9658-99A9B19F0088-184-00000007207635B2_zps0b8f7cf7.jpg




The AFTER shot:
7B7D11E8-8AEE-4B30-B44C-10EDAF770A53-184-00000007338382F6_zps09d965eb.jpg
 
Went 75 miles yesterday on 66% of battery charge, from Frazier Park to Pasadena, CA. Yes, there is considerable downhill on that run. This was one leg of a trip from the southern San Joaquin Valley over the Grapevine and back in one day. Uphills were another matter. Still, our 2013 Leaf did better than I expected. Here is a summary of the trip distances and SOC at each phase.

Home: SOC 100%
11.1 miles to Nissan of Bakersfield (mostly freeway): 84% SOC on arrival. Charged to 99%
38.3 miles to Flying J at Frazier Park (all freeway): 35% SOC on arrival. Charged to 86%.
75.2 miles to Sierra Madre VIlla metro station in Pasadena (all freeway via I5, 134 and 210). 20% SOC on arrival. Charged to 64%.
32.6 miles to CSU Northridge DC quick charger. 30% SOC on arrival. Charged to 98% in about 40 minutes.
15 miles to Nissan of Valencia via surface streets. 83% SOC on arrival. Charged to 100%.
37.3 miles to Flying J in Frazier Park (all freeway). 40% SOC on arrival. Charged to 66%
48 miles home, mostly freeway. 20% SOC on arrival.

I didn't do much hypermiling stuff. Mostly I just drove at the speed of the slowest half of the traffic, and went light on the accelerator, keeping a steady pace as possible. Did follow trucks on some of the uphill runs, mostly because I slowed down a bit or happened to be in their lane where they were splitting the travel lanes due to construction. On the last leg I drove 65-73 mph almost the whole way. Only gained about 4% SOC on the northbound downslope of the Grapevine as a result. Was more interested in getting home and knew I had enough charge.

If I had it to do again, I would skip the charging at both Nissan dealers since it's doable without those stops and charging at high SOC is slow and not great for the battery from what I know. Don't know if anyone else has driven the Grapevine both ways in one day. It was definitely a learning experience on the car's capabilities, and I was pleasantly surprised. If only they had a QC at Frazier Park it would have made the trip a lot shorter. :)
 
hpver said:
Went 75 miles yesterday on 66% of battery charge, from Frazier Park to Pasadena, CA. Yes, there is considerable downhill on that run. This was one leg of a trip from the southern San Joaquin Valley over the Grapevine and back in one day. Uphills were another matter. Still, our 2013 Leaf did better than I expected. Here is a summary of the trip distances and SOC at each phase.

Home: SOC 100%
11.1 miles to Nissan of Bakersfield (mostly freeway): 84% SOC on arrival. Charged to 99%
38.3 miles to Flying J at Frazier Park (all freeway): 35% SOC on arrival. Charged to 86%.
75.2 miles to Sierra Madre VIlla metro station in Pasadena (all freeway via I5, 134 and 210). 20% SOC on arrival. Charged to 64%.
32.6 miles to CSU Northridge DC quick charger. 30% SOC on arrival. Charged to 98% in about 40 minutes.
15 miles to Nissan of Valencia via surface streets. 83% SOC on arrival. Charged to 100%.
37.3 miles to Flying J in Frazier Park (all freeway). 40% SOC on arrival. Charged to 66%
48 miles home, mostly freeway. 20% SOC on arrival.

I didn't do much hypermiling stuff. Mostly I just drove at the speed of the slowest half of the traffic, and went light on the accelerator, keeping a steady pace as possible. Did follow trucks on some of the uphill runs, mostly because I slowed down a bit or happened to be in their lane where they were splitting the travel lanes due to construction. On the last leg I drove 65-73 mph almost the whole way. Only gained about 4% SOC on the northbound downslope of the Grapevine as a result. Was more interested in getting home and knew I had enough charge.

If I had it to do again, I would skip the charging at both Nissan dealers since it's doable without those stops and charging at high SOC is slow and not great for the battery from what I know. Don't know if anyone else has driven the Grapevine both ways in one day. It was definitely a learning experience on the car's capabilities, and I was pleasantly surprised. If only they had a QC at Frazier Park it would have made the trip a lot shorter. :)
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hpver:
so... is it doable from CSUN to Frajzier Park with 70% charge?
How many chargers at Fraizer park? any waiting due to other EVs? open 24hrs? safe after dark?

cause... i wonder whether i can make a round-trip to Bakersfield from Northridge with reasonable travel/charging time...
 
Total Miles Driven : 97.1; Date: May 4, 2014
Leaf End Condition : Vey Low "---"
Route / Terrain: O'hare to Lagrange via US 12 and I-294, O'Hare to Crystal Lake via I-90 and Rt62, and back via Rt62 and IL-53
Speed: <60mph, mostly 45-55mph top speed
Weather: 48F, no heating
Miles/KWh: IDK

BTW I have made numerous 80+ miles trips.
 
Total Miles Driven : 84 miles
Date : 05/05/2014
Leaf End Condition : Everything normal (17%' 18 miles of range remaining)
Route / Terrain : Mostly Interstate / relatively flat terrain - Buffalo Grove Il to Bedford Park Il
Speed : between 60mph (cruise control)
Weather : 60 degrees, humid, no air conditioner use

I'm amazed at perfect condition ranges especially with my Leaf approaching 20k miles
 
2 weeks old 2014 leaf s
Total Miles Driven : 83.1 miles
Date : 05/13/2014
Leaf End Condition : Battery @ 18% and 17 miles of range remaining
Route / Terrain : Commute to and from DC with 3 people in the car
Speed : range 20ish to 60ish
Weather : 70-90 degrees, humid, AC used last couple of miles

13997700288_35d9ae4009_z.jpg
 
Finally had a chance to run the 2014 Leaf to almost zero charge in Phoenix. Went 32 miles on the freeway (31 miles on the freeway, 1 mile off) at 65-68mph with full air in 98-100 degree weather with 3 people in the car. When I got there, I had 50% of the battery left and 37mph on the gauges. The car sat for 4 hours, the temperature went up to 103 degrees and the car said it had 39 miles left when we got back in. Went 30 miles at 60-65mph and intermittently turned the air on/off. Got home, 32 miles back and the car was showing the horizontal bars with about 3 miles to go. Made it home but if we were running at 70mph with full air at 100-110 degree weather, I'm guessing the maximum range would be about 45-50 miles safely without getting into the red zone.
 
rconaway said:
... I'm guessing the maximum range would be about 45-50 miles safely without getting into the red zone.
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"Red zone"? I hope you aren't referring to those two bars at the bottom of the battery capacity gauge that are colored red. They have no meaning. None. (They are a holdover from the very early 2011 model LEAFs; long story so I won't go into it.)

Your landmarks for the lower part of the battery state of charge are Low Battery Warning (LBW) and Very Low Battery Warning (VLBW). Since you didn't mention them, I'm guessing that you have an S model, because it doesn't give the audible warnings that one gets with the SV and SL models. Instead, at LBW the S model puts up a low battery message on the dash, plus a yellow caution symbol, and the "Guess-o-Meter" (GOM) number starts flashing. When you get even lower in charge you get another low battery message and the GOM starts flashing "---". That's VLBW. At that point you have a few miles to find a charge station; how many depends on the driving conditions, such as speed and temperature. Unless you are close to your destination you should have the climate control system off by this time.

Your best indicator of charge is your % State of Charge (%SOC) meter. However, as your battery degrades each %SOC will represent less charge. But LBW and VLBW will remain at fixed charge levels, so the miles you can drive after the warnings, other conditions being equal, will remain about the same.

If you get a chance to do your experiment again, try to see at what %SOC the LBW and VLBW happen. Just be aware that those numbers will rise over time as the battery degrades and the total "100%" battery capacity declines in actual energy content.
 
FYI, I drove 100 miles Sunday on a relatively flat freeway, windows down half way, no a/c, 98 temp, no to little wind, and cruise set at 55mph actual (58 on speedo) with only 86% capacity! This 'tweaked' pack is doing better than the previous one. When I lost the first CB at 8500 miles/8 mos., it read 85%/54.9AH. Then a few months later, it read 87%/ 56.9 AH/ 239 Gids. Now I'm at 11000 miles/ 55.7 AH/ 86%. My other LEAF kept losing capacity after losing the first CB.
 

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