Nissan Leaf - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

NeilBlanchard · 10-14-2014, 08:33 PM

Hello folks,

We took delivery on a leased Nissan Leaf S today. Driving it home was pretty darn cool! It has the charging package, and a backup camera. All the seats are heated, as is the steering wheel, and the outside mirrors.

I checked out the EM Garage, and there are four Leafs listed, but none have any mileage data. Does the garage support EV's?

I will drive ours to work tomorrow, and then again on Friday (probably), and I will log my driving, when possible. I'll use a Kill-A-Watt with the stock EVSE for now - we plan on buying a JuiceBox Premium, which has charge logging.

Driving an EV is quite calm and quiet and smooth. A lot of fun. I am carrying over my ecodriving habits - shift into neutral (hold it in N position for 2s, just like a Prius) and coast.

rmay635703 · 10-14-2014, 09:34 PM

Cool...

Oddly enough I got a new volt Saturday, couldn't pass up half off and also getting a tax rebate.

I greatly miss dials and knobs, but am getting used to it.

Sadly my apartment has improper grounding, I cludged it up but the charging usually haults with a ground fault in the middle of the night, luckily I don't need a full charge.

Also getting the volt into neutral is "challenging" I can sort of do it, I also really wish I could turn off the touch screen and power steering.

Ah well.

redneck · 10-14-2014, 09:37 PM

.

Cool...

Looking forward to your reports.

>

MetroMPG · 10-14-2014, 10:40 PM

Wow you guys are lucky!

Going to do some aero mods to the Leaf, Neil??

Also: do you have to switch to N? Is the accelerator "glide" position between power & regen too narrow/sensitive?

And yes, you can enter kWh in the fuel log. Don't forget I drove the ForkenSwift EV -- and logged its energy consumption -- for ~6 years.

Daox · 10-15-2014, 10:22 AM

Woohoo, congrats to you two. I look forward to hearing/seeing more about these cars.

NeilBlanchard · 10-15-2014, 01:41 PM

The accelerator pedal feels reasonable at the balance point, but it is not as good as just putting it in neutral.

This is a leased car, and my spouse is the main driver, so I will have to live with the stock aerodynamics. The coasting is <i>okay</i> because it is heavier than my xA, but the aero is noticeably worse.

In the 13.2 miles I commuted this morning, I raised the displayed average from 3.6 miles / kWh to 4.0 miles / kWh.

The things that struck me, is that I no longer have to worry about warm up time, when driving and EV. And no idling. I drove it without the radio on, and you can hear a very faint gear whine. I turned on the defroster, and I was able to toggle off the A/C and the heat, to just get air flow - imagine that?!

I will be using my Kill-A-Watt until we get the JuiceBox Premium, so I will be posting the electricity mileage.

redpoint5 · 10-15-2014, 02:36 PM

I'm a fan of the Leaf, although I've only taken one for a 10min test drive. Hopefully they will be very cheap when the leases end. It looks like leasing is the most popular option, and it seems once the novelty wears off, many people switch back to a gasser. My hope is to replace one of my gassers for an EV in the next 3 years. Perhaps the new Tesla will be out by then. The shape of the Leaf bugs me because it looks weird, and isn't even that aero.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

I turned on the defroster, and I was able to toggle off the A/C and the heat, to just get air flow - imagine that?!

Miracle of miracles. I don't know why most cars don't give the option to direct air at the windshield, but not run the AC.

My Legacy would initially turn on the AC when I set the vent to defrost, but pressing the AC button would disable it. That was the only car I can remember that gave control over the AC when defrosting.

Xist · 10-15-2014, 03:45 PM

Does it automatically heat all of the seats? Since they have had seatbelt sensors for years, they should be able to adapt that.

How similar is the leaf to the shape of the Fiat?

I like the look of the Volt, but that is pretty much all that I know about it.

Cobb · 10-15-2014, 10:39 PM

I take it both vehicles are now more affordable? I was considering getting a prius V for a larger vehicle, but the Volt would be another story.

NeilBlanchard · 10-16-2014, 01:35 PM

There are three switches for the seat heaters: one for each front seat, and one for the whole back seat. There is a switch for heating the steering wheel. We think the side mirrors are heated whenever the rear defroster is on, but I'll confirm that.

The residual value of our lease is ~$12,200 for the 3 year old <36,000 mile Leaf S. MSRP new was ~$31,500, I think.

We have a Massachusetts MOR-EV rebate program - $2,500 for a vehicle with a plugin battery pack >10kWh (so the Volt qualifies, and all EV's), $1,500 for vehicles with a plugin battery pack <10kWh (so the Plugin Prius qualifies), and $750 for an electric motorcycle.