Feasability of going from gas to only electric

[teknomage2012]

Yes get the leaf, we have now been 3 years without a ice; and as a mechanic am loving the near zero maintenance of our leaf.

Over 35,000 miles we have only had to top up the bug juice and 2 fresh tires!

No belts squeeking, no oil changes, no flailing parts like a volt.

And as stated, regardless of winter heating in our 2012 with its non heat pump ptc heater and battery degradation, the most important Fact is the 99% rule. Every day we start with a full tank it'd makes the daily commute on less than half it's available range.

Gas stations have become so foreign they are like walking into a casino!

The leaf battery is pocketed in a tunnel that directs cooling air over it, and with minimal effort that cooling tunnel can have shutters added to manage heat retention for the cold half of the year.

The leaf is a deal that cannot be beat!

And don't be scared of battery replacement; I'd pay $5500 to go well over 100,000 miles up front. The drivetrain will outlast any ice 20:1! The battery is a consumable like oil filters; understand?

Check my blog and mileage charts, the leaf responds very well to aeromodding. I'm currently at 160% of epa rating and we use ours as our 1 tone crew cab farm truck, fueled by the sunshine that lands on our homestead.

We have done up to 600 miles in one day in our leaf so range anxiety is just a buzz word ICE petrol head lovers use to scare people about technology they refuse to understand.

You will soon get over it...

[teknomage2012]

Older leafs are now passing the 150,000 mile mark and still making thier daily commute.

In the end their battery will make a nice battery backup for your home!

The 90% charge discharge efficiency stays flat even though capacity is lost due to degradation over time. So once the battery finally no longer makes the commute at somewhere above 200,000 miles it will still make a nice stationary smart grid balancing appliance for your home!

Down 5 bars at 141,000 miles - My Nissan Leaf Forum

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...cq3kZyb0aJBwNg

[Rayxoxo]

Not sure if any one mentioned this but usually, after the 3 yr lease, the batteries are due for replacing - Cost about $5 to $6000. that is what I was told by the salesmen.

[WindyDrew]

Originally Posted by Rayxoxo

Not sure if any one mentioned this but usually, after the 3 yr lease, the batteries are due for replacing - Cost about $5 to $6000. that is what I was told by the salesmen.

LOL. And you believed him! The battery is under warranty for 8 years 100k miles. Salesman don't want you to buy an electric car because the dealer doesn't make as much no very on them. Do your own research before spreading dealers lies.

[dremd]

Originally Posted by Rayxoxo

Not sure if any one mentioned this but usually, after the 3 yr lease, the batteries are due for replacing - Cost about $5 to $6000. that is what I was told by the salesmen.

My off lease car still has 12 bars indicated (full capacity) AND still has several years + 30,000 miles of warranty left on the battery.

Battery cost is correct though, typically $5,500 installed, but when you can get the car with a solid battery for that then why would you at this point. Also keep in mind the battery will likely keep dropping in price. Not to mention there are 150,000 miles cars with factory battery.

[dremd]

Originally Posted by WindyDrew

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LOL. And you believed him! The battery is under warranty for 8 years 100k miles. Salesman don't want you to buy an electric car because the dealer doesn't make as much no very on them. Do your own research before spreading dealers lies.

That's only true for the 30KWH cars in the United States, in some countries it's 100,000 miles with any battery.
It's 60,000 miles in the USA with the typical 24KWH pack.

[freebeard]

Rayxoxo -- If he says that's true, he should be ready to cut you a better deal.

[Isaac Zackary]

Originally Posted by teknomage2012

We have done up to 600 miles in one day in our leaf.

This really caught my attention! I'll have to look into your blog and such to understand more.

Thanks for all the other replies. I'll look over them in greater detail when I have time. Yes, I'd be willing to look at other models, but everything still seems to point me to the Leaf. For one, heat, It's snowing here in Colorado as we speak, and we're supposed to get 14 inches over the next three days. Two, It's roomier, and although that's usually not important to me, this is going to be a family car, and I need 4 seats with space.

Man, don't tell the wife it'll go 600 miles. Then I'll have to take her to see her mother in it.

[bennelson]

EVs are great. I built my electric Geo Metro a number of years back, and only recently upgraded to a factory-built EV. I'm now using a Mitsubishi iMiEV as my daily driver. JayRay spoke about the details of those cars a few posts back.

I got the iMiEV because I could get it for 50% less than the cost of a used LEAF. I also really liked the simplicity. The back seat folds FLAT. The entire back of the car turns into extremely usable cargo space. Much of my travel is often just me PLUS a bunch of equipment, so it's perfect that way.

Two big things that must be considered with EVs that non-EV drivers don't always think about are mountain driving and heat.

Heat has already been talked about quite a bit in this thread.
Heated seats, pre-heat, and heated steering wheels are all your friends. In fact, the heating in a good EV is LUXURIOUS compared to a gas car. With the LEAF, you have heated seats all the way around, and heated steering wheel on some versions. My iMiEV has a heated driver seat and a pre-heat function while plugged into the wall, which can be remotely activated from the keychain.
Heat DOES reduce range!
For me, on short trips in the winter, I preheat the car and blast the heat, and it's great. From what you said on your typical trips, I'm sure you would do the same.

When I have to do long trips in the winter, the heater cuts into the battery too much, so I hacked the heat system, and added an coolant heater, which I run on E-85. That way, I get my full electric range, and use a tiny amount of fossil fuel, appropriately, for providing heat.

I do NOT live in a mountainous area, so I'm not the expert, but I know that driving up large steep hills sucks juice. The upside is that all modern electric cars are using AC motors with regenerative brakes. When you go back DOWN the other side of the mountain, you can make up a lot of that energy used. "Eco" or "B" modes are your friend for sucking up juice from gravity.

There have been a few mentions of Total Cost of Ownership.
If that's the only thing a person cares about, it's pretty tough to beat an older, well-maintained, high fuel-economy, used car like a Honda or Toyota.
BUT, with an EV, you get a clean, modern, safe, fun to drive car, which you can run on renewable energy. In most places, you can also get on a time-of-day plan, which cuts in half the cost of electricity as fuel. Imagine paying 50 cents per gallon for gasoline!

I also love the fact that EVs can easily run on renewably sourced energy. For example, I'm on a plan with my power company where my electricity comes from all renewable sources. In addition, I have a 400 watt solar panel, so I do get a little "local" renewable energy right in there too.
Colorado is FANTASTIC for solar, and PV and EV go together like peanut butter and jelly.

You will be very happy with ANY modern Electric Vehicle. You might find that one particular make and model suits you better than another, but they are all great vehicles.

It sounds like a used Volt, LEAF, or iMiEV could all be great vehicles for you. (Not sure if the Soul EV is available near you or not, but that's also a great car!)

Pick one, drive it, love it.
You can't go wrong.

[triangles]

You could also consider a used Ford Focus Electric (FFE) if you can find one. The battery on the FFE is liquid cooled/heated so it deals with temperature extremes better than the Leaf. The FFE has what are called programmable "go times" If you always leave for work at say 7am you can program a go time for 7am with the temp set at 85F. This will use the grid power to preheat the car so it's nice and toasty. Plus this will also preheat the battery when it's 0F out to help with your range. The FFE's thermal management system keeps the battery between 50F and 95F to maximize range and protect it from excessive heat. You can also "remote start" with the keyfob. I put that in "" because all it does is turn on the climate control, not sure but it might heat the battery too if it's plugged in. I am not familiar with the Leaf but I would think they have something similar to these features. If you haven't figured it out I own a FFE. I love practically not needing a coat in the dead of winter on my commute to work here in northern Ohio. For the money the FFE is all around a better car it's just that Ford doesn't want to sell them.

The Leaf is also a good choice and vastly more available. I had seriously considered the leaf and was seriously leaning toward buying one. My main hold ups on the Leaf were lack of thermal management for the battery, the wonky knob used to "change gear", and the overall fugliness of the car. What sealed the deal for me is that the FFE was thousands cheaper compared to a comparably equipped Leaf. If DC quick charge and trunk capacity is important (2 things FFE lacks that don't matter for me) then I'd get the Leaf.