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Originally Posted by WyrTwister
We bought a used 2012 Leaf last of June . Drove it 2 - 3 months until some one rear ended my wife ( while she was parked for a traffic signal ) .
We went into it ( my case of the want to for an EV ) with the knowledge it was an in town only car . ( We also have a 2015 Chevy Sonic . ) For that role , it worked out OK .
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Ok? How far did you (or your wife) have to drive? I'm driving around town all day long on a single charge! Man! My Leaf has exceeded my expectations so far! Even running the heater some, I'm averaging 4 miles per kilowatt-hour. I've driven it over 50 miles per charge on a few days, no problem. That's starting out at 80% charge and still having plenty left over at the end of the day. I love it! I've even had to make two emergency trips to the ER (one was a slip-on-ice, busted shin accident in the family). It's been cold too. The high today was 32°F (0°C).
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Originally Posted by WyrTwister
If she went out in the AM , she would plug it in to our Level 2 EVSE when she came home at noon . If she had errands in the PM , she would charge it again when she returned home . The Leaf could charge all night if need be , but would finish charging & shut off long before sunrise .
We did not own it long enough to need heat . It had an electrical resistance heater . I think latter Leafs have heat pumps . All the Leafs we looked at had heated steering wheel & seats .
If you leave it plugged in all night , I think you can program the Leaf to come on early in the morning ( before you need to drive to work or errands ) , pre-heat or pre-cool the cabin using house current . Personally never tried that .
Although not free , it would not drain a freshly charged propulsion battery .
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There has been a few days I didn't have much driving to do and didn't charge it for as many as three days. But having the onboard 6.6kW charger is a plus. When I first got the Leaf I hadn't installed the level 2 charger on the house yet. Level 1 charging made it a little more of a pain because of the wait. I could have used the town's charging stations. Man, level 2 seems faster than what they say! I guess it's because I haven't discharged to less than 20% and am only charging up to 80%. That's only 60%. Right now it's at 21% (long day of things to and driving from 9:00am to 8:30pm) and the charging timer says it will take 3 hours (and in reality, probably a bit less). I know this because I get a message sent to my phone every time it stops charging, and it's always before the time it guestimated the charging to end.
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Originally Posted by WyrTwister
The Leaf suffers faster / larger battery degrading in hot climates ( I live in the South West USA ) . So , they might be great for you Canadians ?
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Or Coloradans. Here where I live it's the cold that affects us. Like I said, the highest temperature today was 32°F (0°C). Winters can get down to -40°F (-40°C), The state's second coldest record was close to here at Taylor Lake at -60°F (-51°C) I hope the battery heaters are enough! But it's usually only super cold here for about a week. Spring, summer and fall are much longer together than just winter. And during the summer we might see temperatures in the 80's °F (upper 20's °C).
But I've thought, if I ever did go to where it's hot, why not invent some sort of swamp cooler for the front. In the hot regions around here (Colorado plains, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, etc.) it's also very dry. A little water spray may do the trick to effectively lower the temperature in those areas. It probably wouldn't help where it's hot and humid though like Florida.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WyrTwister
The Leaf was larger than our Chevy Sonic . We enjoyed the added room and comfort . And QUIET ! . Rode good , drove good . While it lasted .
I read the 2016 Leaf has 100 - 120 mile range . That would help a lot of people , especially us southerners , as the battery degrades with time and heat .
I looked at the Chevy Volt and I think I would have chosen one , but they were more expensive ( used market ) than the Leaf . A volt would no longer be an in town only car & for many people would reduce the need for 2 cars . ( Unless you need 2 cars any way . )
The Chevy Bolt is suppose to be coming out " soon " . Projected to have over 200 mile range . But I suspect it will be several years before they hit the used car market , in my price range .
Will I buy another EV or plug in hybrid ? I do not know . May wait until this time next year to do so ? I still have the 40 amp ( really 32 amp continuous ) , potential , Level 2 EVSE . Sitting unused . This could potentially work for a 7.5 kw charging system , or less . It was very underutilized with the 3.3 kw charger in our 2012 Leaf .
One other thing , in my location , there are ZERO DCFC locations with in the range of the 24 KWH earlier Leafs . Maybe / barely with the newer 30 KWH Leafs , but they are Tesla Super Chargers . You may be able to buy an adaptor to allow their use on a Leaf . Do not know .
Another choice for an in town only EV is a Chevy Spark EV . But I think they are being discontinued , by Chevy , as they bring in the Bolt .
I thought about a used one but they were all 800 - 900 - 1000 miles away , or further . Would have to tow or truck it to my location . :-(
They were only sold new in a hand full of " compliance states " .
But the Volt and Spark EV have a fluid thermal management system , which I read holds up better , in the hot climates , than the early Leaf battery .
I read the 2015 and newer Leafs have their new / improved " Lizard " battery . It is supposed to be more tolerant of heat ( still air cooled ) . If you have an earlier Leaf & have to have the 24 KWH battery replaced , it is suppose to be with a " Lizard " battery . But it is still a 24 KWH battery .
God bless
Wyr
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I researched all sorts of cars, electric, diesel, gasoline, new, old, etc., and the Leaf was the closest I could find to perfection out there, for me anyhow. The Leaf is being sold because Nissan believes in the Leaf. It is not just a compliance car like most of the others. Ya, they might have liquid cooled batteries, but hey! As a current owner an air-cooled VW, I know that air-cooled is perfectly fine, especially if you drive like me.
The Leaf I got was still about 300 miles away. But I set things up so that when my brother was in the Denver area in his Nissan Xterra I was able to drive from Boulder to Aurora, then to Denver in my Leaf and catch a tow. Actually, according to Plugshare, it was possible to almost make it home with the Leaf (if I had plugged in to level 2 chargers about 4 times along the way). But it is dubious as to whether or not I could have made it over the last stretch over Monarch pass (imagine going from 5,000ft (1,500m) to over 11,000ft (3,400m) above sea level).
I love the Leaf! For now I still have the 60mpg 1984 VW Golf diesel and the 1972 VW Super Beetle (which I need to get broken in!) for those long trips. In the future, I would like to go with just one car, and I'd like that car to be a Leaf. (Although I still love my two VW's.
) I know. I'm crazy! If I get the Beetle running well and in good over all condition I might just keep it. But the Beetle I might be able to sell for good money (if it actually runs of course!
) I guess only time will tell what I end up doing.