I Beat EPA's 73 Mile Range : Report your experience

[piseas]

I drive mostly freeway to work and as I leave very early, 7am, the is no traffic. I stay in far right hand lane and drive 55-60MPH and am usually behind a school bus, tractor trailer or some other slow car. I am getting about 114 miles per charge. My office is almost 30 miles from home and my gauge says I have 85 miles left by the time I get to work. I have carpool stickers but the only time I use them is when there is a bad accident and traffic stopped or extremely slow.
I now enjoy the drive to work, being able to take my time, listening to my XM radio. Life is good.

[TomT]

I am glad it works for you but many don't feel comfortable (or safe) driving like that. And it perpetuates the myth for many that EVs are just glorified Golf Carts...

[piseas]

I am glad it works for you but many don't feel comfortable (or safe) driving like that. And it perpetuates the myth for many that EVs are just glorified Golf Carts...

I only drive at that speed when safe and behind someone else who is driving a gas engine. I don't putz in my Leaf as to cause an accident or make someone mad at me for going to slow. I certainly understand your point about that. There are times I drive at 65-70MPH. That is why I stay out of the carpool lane as most drivers are going 85MPH. I found that out with my first Prius when I had carpool stickers back then.
As for perpetuating the myth that EV's are glorified Golf Cars, I don't care what others think. If I did, I would not be driving an EV in the first place. I also don't see anything wrong with that characterization. A Tesla is just a super doper glorified highly over priced golf cart. There is no shame in that to me. I take no offense. My friends are really quite in awe and kinda jealous they don't own an EV. If people do have that mentality then they don't understand the EV or appreciate it and don't deserve to own one.
As I said earlier, I feel much more comfortable and safe driving the way I do. How many times have you seen someone cut another driver off by trying to beat the clock, rather get ahead of everyone else or by switching lanes 3 or 4 times in front of you. How safe do you feel? I think we ALL need to slow down not only driving but our lifestyles. I used to get so angry at other but now hardly even notice. I am sure my blood pressure is way down- at least the time I am driving.
I wonder how the rest of your EV drivers feel about this. Have you seen any change in your driving habits or mentality?

[redleafusa]

I agree with your driving style and safe, calm attitude. I drive the same way and don't get too upset about idiots.

My gasser is a 1995 Mazda Protege, 5 spd. manual with pretty low gearing. It has taught me to drive at 60-65 MPH on the highways/interstates over the last 20 years to maximize MPG (40-42) and minimize engine noise. It really should have a 6th gear. Oh well, it keeps going strong. I remember driving in the 80s when it was 55 everywhere to save oil. How times have changed.

My wife is a good driver but has that New Jersey attitude (family originally from there). The other day she was driving the Leaf at the speed limit or 5 over (50 MPH) in the left lane of a divided 2 lane highway preparing to enter a short left turn lane at a traffic light/intersection. Some jerk that was tailgating her quickly passed on the right and then got in front of her and flipped her off. She flipped him back. Unfortunately for him he was looking in his mirrors to see her response and didn't notice the light just ahead had turned red. Hard stop, smoking tires, and he had to go into the left turn lane to avoid a collision with the car ahead. I'm sure he wet his pants.

I believe Leaf owners are way better than average drivers. I know the insurance rates on this new car say so!

[jgoncalves]

My very best to date is 120.7 miles on one charge non highway: http://youtu.be/qGy2NHEw090" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[GRA]

"Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?"

The late, great George Carlin.

[LeftieBiker]

Today I drove to a nearby city to visit a friend, as I often do. It was 87F out, so I had the A/C set to 74F, the modes in Eco/B, and the fan alternating between the second and third speeds. I just had the "summer" tires mounted (non-LRR Goodyear Eagle L/S), and inflated to 42psi). I hadn't reset the Eco meter, which ended at 4.4, but since I drove about 24 miles on 24% charge, I guess I was on track for the 100 mile club. Not bad for having the A/C on the whole trip, and for not babying the accelerator. This was, of course, the perfect kind of route for an EV, very flat and with the speed limits 30-45MPH.

[Falco]

my best single charge mileage as of this morning is 112.3. At 106 miles there were no more battery bars left, and by the time I got to work we still have not entered the turtle mode, what ever that is. I have made numerous 100+ miles in my car, I do drive a lot on the highway, however I try to keep the speed below 62.

All but 10 of the 112 miles were on an open two lane scenic roads. It was a gorgeous drive.

[Botany500]

Just happened today; my results kinda shocked me (in a good way . My '12 Leaf w/12 bars and nearing 22k mi. Left home with a full charge, returned with LBW and 1 bar/5mi on GOM. Overcast, in the low-80s, no big elevation changes, and traveled a total of 81.4mi. Big majority of the trip was interstate driving at 55-65mph, windows up with A/C on (72 degrees), on surface streets no A/C and windows down. Always in ECO mode, with the dash showing an average of 4.7 mi/kWh. I kept my speed constant on the interstate, and stayed in the right lane behind a work truck (not tailgating). Only used cruise for a few miles (set at 60).

I bought used and have only had her for a few weeks. I am thrilled (and relieved) that I can drive her just like my former ICE cars. Up until today I was getting from full to VLBW (dashes) in around 70-75mi, with little or no A/C. Last night I checked the tire pressure, all 4 were 34-35psi. Bumped them all up to 40psi then came home and charged overnight. I have also noticed that my GOM is mostly accurate, especially on the lower end. When I was 35mi away from home according to the NAV, for example, the GOM read 40mi. That 5mi 'cushion' between my mileage home and the GOM remained fairly constant for the entire trip (within 1mi).

[kevmk81]

114.4 miles - my best, and first, 100% to turtle mode test. Mix of driving between easy driving, and 55 to 60 mph two lane highway driving. No heating or A/C. Over the course of 5 days total. Temps in low 50's to upper 80's. Average miles/kwh was over 6.0, not sure exactly though, didn't reset either of those meters. Bought the '13 SV in April, now has about 16,500 miles, all 12 bars left and around 87-88ish% capacity. Hoping it stays like that for a while. I usually only charge to 80%. Low battery to turtle took forever, so hopefully that will help ease how many miles it claims I will get on an 80% charge, before it hits 20%. In the past I've always only been able to go about 50 miles between an 80 to 20% charge, so hoping once it's done charging to 80% tonight that the range will be "updated".