Buying a new leaf and cold weather question

[GRA]

Hello everyone,

I hope this question is in the right place for you leaf owners who have more experience with the car than me

I dont own a leaf and am thinking of getting one. (Probably 2013 model) My one concern is the distance and the performance of the vehicle in winter conditions. I'm from Ontario here in Canada and sadly there arent that many charging stations around. I would use the vehicle as a main commuter vehicle to and from work. The unfortunate thing is that my daily commute will range roughly 120km = 75 miles (round trip) :? During summer, spring and fall I'm sure the leaf will be able to handle it. I will be driving it through the city streets and side country roads so the max speed will be around 80kmph = 50mph when the roads are open and bumper to bumper stop and go when in the city.

My concern is in the winter if the vehicle is going to be able to survive the distance staying out in the cold outdoors for 8hrs while i'm at work (no plugs at all near the building or charging stations ) when the temperatures hit -20 degrees Celsius = -4 F, and have to drive the returning 60km= 37.5miles back.

There are no hills nearby so the whole drive is flat. So far the only thing I was thinking was to get the little honda generator and run it over winter when its very cold when the car is parked at work for few hrs to juice the battery up a little. Do you guys think the generator can fit in the hood compartment of the leaf like many of you have managed to fit the charging brick in there for theft prevention reasons?

Or do you have any other ideas like workarounds for this type of scenario? The company is not willing to install a charging station

Sorry for making this a novel I wanted to be as descriptive as possible.

Thanks for your input ahead of time.

Just a quick note. I've got 50K and 2 winters under my belt in Toronto. Don't attempt this, and don't save up to buy a 2013 thinking it will help you. In a non-CWP, I could maybe eek out 100 km. With the CWP, annoying other drivers (always at 75km or less) and white knuckling the last 10 km (ignoring the warning lights) I can just touch 120.

Feasibly, you 'could' achieve your range if you were willing to punish yourself everyday (why would you?), but still, only for one season. Canadian LEAFs will last longer than US ones (lithium is ok with cold, hates heat), I lost about 5% after 20K, but that 5% is more than you have to spare for year two.

Same goes for waiting for a 2013. It won't help you at all. When your white-knuckling a CWP 2012 LEAF, you are using the heat controls almost not at all, so it doesn't matter the efficiency of the new heater.

You need a plug where you work, otherwise you should just shelve your LEAF from Christmas to March break.

If you want to 'shoot the breeze' about LEAFs in Canada, feel free to send me an email - [email protected]
Jay

I wonder if a Focus EV would be a better fit, assuming Ford starts offering them in Canada. Owing to the Active TMS the battery should be warm at start, so it should lose less range on the trip in. Coming back you still might have problems, and I agree that a car with a longer range would be a better answer.