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Old 11-26-2018, 01:06 PM   #26 (permalink)
jray3
Karmann Eclectric
 
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Graham, WA
Posts: 165

Odysseus - '00 Honda Odyssey

MR BEAN - '12 Mitsubishi i-MiEV SE

Karmann Eclectric - '71 VW Karmann Ghia Electric Conversion

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Goldilocks trips

Issac, I'm trying to understand why you still have trouble with trips that are too short for engine warmup and too far or too cold to bike. Did your LEAF not have CarWings/ Nissan Connect? The remote preheating function in EVs is awesome. My i-MiEV can melt 2" of snow off of the windshield within 30 minutes, and of course doing it while plugged in means near zero impact to the battery.

Or did you give up the LEAF because it couldn't handle the long trips?
A used first-gen EV can be the perfect car for local errands or average commutes. Sure, in summer my i-MiEV can do two of my hilly 35 mile round trip commutes, but in winter that round trip better not include any serious side excursions. However, with plugging in at work, I could commute in my skivvies in a blizzard if desired. Gaining L1 (and later upgrading to L2) EVSE at work was the functional equivalent of doubling my battery capacity on weekdays.

Battery design is a leading reason why I picked an i-MiEV over the LEAF, and it delivered the full OEM-rated battery capacity up to 94,000 miles, as Mitsu under-rated the battery by 20%. I'm now at 24% degradation and beginning to feel the loss, so I salvaged a newer low-mileage battery for pack replacement shortly after the OEM warranty against full pack failure expires at 100,000 miles, which will be sometime this winter. Since Nissan has made it near impossible to swap late packs into early cars, the early owners are at Nissan's mercy for replacement pack pricing. We have a couple of local 2011 LEAF owners with less than 30 miles of range even before winter sets in. Mitsu has been EVen less forthcoming about pricing and terms for out-of warranty pack replacement, but the need just hasn't arisen for many yet.
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2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV, 112 MPGe
2000 Honda Odyssey
1987 F250 Diesel, 6.9L IDI, goes on anything greasy
1983 Grumman Kurbwatt, 170 kW "Gone Postal" twin
1983 Mazda RX-7 electric, 48 kW car show cruiser
1971 VW Karmann Ghia electric, 300 kW tire-smoker
1965 VW Karmann Ghia cabriolet, 1600cc
Have driven over 100,000 all-electric miles!
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Isaac Zackary (11-26-2018)