320Touring returns with his first ever EV..

[320touring]

Hello folks, long time no see!

I bought this 2018 Leaf 40kWh last week, and am just getting to grips with it.

Here it is when I collected it ( my Supercharged Jag XJR being the other vehicle in shot)

[320touring]

I initially collected this for a car trader mate, but liked it so much I bought it!

Here is the view from the drivers seat when I collected it

Note the 100% state of charge and the range showing as 113miles




Also note the fact it's nearly on 132k miles - on a 6 year old car. Incase you had not guessed, it's an ex taxi!

It went to my unit for a quick clean and check over - all seemed well and it is tidy enough under the grubbiness



A Chademo rapid charge was tested and found to be simple enough to complete



Before getting hooked up to the granny charger at home.

[Isaac Zachary]

I've thought about getting a Leaf again, maybe one that's dirt cheap with a worn out battery just for town. Then again, if it's just for town I probably should start walking and biking as I need to lower my cholesterol.

I won't buy another Leaf again for trips more than a few miles. On the last one the battery drained from 100% to 0% in just 30 miles on a not-that-bad winter day (for here). Apparently temperatures down to -40°F/-40°C are hard on EV range.

[320touring]

Funny you should mention range...

After it's first full charge, it was showing 134 miles


I decided to see how far it would go before showing the low battery warning - this was mainly motorway driving, with me learning the car!)



Despite the dire warnings from the dashboard, leafspy revealed that there were still over 8kWh present in the battery..


I suspect there is more to come from the car - especially as the battery pack seems pretty well balanced with no obvious issue cells


I'm currently engaged in a "part charged" experiment to see how far the car will go in our normal(ISH) weekly demands. This mainly includes station and supermarket runs, maybe 1 trip to the local city.
Nothing too strenuous and I'm working up my understanding of neutral/Bmode and e-pedal..

[Piotrsko]

If it was a taxi, the charge status meter may have adapted to short trips between charges. Will it tolerate a 12v battery disconnect reset?

[320touring]

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

If it was a taxi, the charge status meter may have adapted to short trips between charges. Will it tolerate a 12v battery disconnect reset?

Interesting thought. Not going to try that at the moment, but worth considering later. At the moment it's the functional car and needed daily

It seems that it had it's MOT(inspection) in January then didn't do many miles before getting parked up.

I think it's sat a while and is now just getting used to being back working.

I suspect the guessometer will go up at the next full charge, but we shall see

[aerohead]

Seems reasonable! At 40-kWh, that's 1.186-gallons ( US ), and based on whether or not you factor in your charging efficiency, you're basically over 140mpg-e, at 4.7miles/ kwh.
My BOLT gives me a 'range' of possible range. I'm trying to avoid traffic, drive slow, low acceleration on uphill grades, low speeds, avoid heat of the day AC load, regen all I can, etc..
I'm indicating an average 4.9 mile/kWh and possible 340-miles @ zero% SOC, on the enlarged, recall, 66-kWh pack.
I won't know what she'll actually do until I 'know.'
The LEAF looks 'immaculate'!

[320touring]

I was unloading some plants and compost from my boot today and got looking at the lines of the MK2 Leaf.

There appears to a fair few design elements that could have been done differently - mainly in respect of improving aerodynamics.

Given the Leaf isn't at its happiest during sustained higher speed motorway work, I'm unsure why some of these have not been rectified. (Beyond the obvious "Accountants Vs designers and engineers battle that always impacts design choices)



I no particular order, I spotted:

The rear lights could have been designed to follow the line of the quarter panel - giving a cleaner transition off the side to the rear.



The gap at the top of the rear lights unit that is a piss poor fit.



The door mirrors not being faired in.



The front wipers not being under the bonnet when in the off position.



The gaps around the front lights on the front upper panel and bonnet.





These omissions are things I saw on an old Audi a2 I had years ago as well.

They probably wouldn't make a huge difference individually, but I reckon the cumulative impact could add a small amount to the motorway efficiency at higher speeds.