Can LEAF go round trip from Livermore to Oakland or Fremont

[ScorpioLeaf]

I live in Livermore CA and it seems where ever you want to go, you have some elevated roads to travel. I was wondering if somebody has driven on these routes and give me some real range or experience. I want to travel on single charge as with 2 small kids don't think I can spend time charging at public charge stations.
(BTW, haven't bought LEAF yet, just wondering..)

1. If I want to take kids to Oakland zoo from Livermore, its 68 miles round trip on highway 580 which is within the LEAF's range. During this round trip there is Dublin grade which is quite elevated road. Do you think LEAF can make this round trip comfortably in single charge?

2. Another trip we sometimes make is to Fremont (40 miles round trip) or Milpitas which is @ 60 miles round trip on highway 84 and 680. On this route there is elevation on highway 84 and then on 680 (Sunol grade). I have seen many ICE cars having trouble keeping speed of 65 on sunol grade, do you think LEAF should be able to climb these roads and complete the round trip on singe charge?

3. This one I know is impossible with LEAF on single charge but just want throw it out there.. My son loves going to Gilroy Gardens (in Gilroy), and from Livermore its 120 miles round trip. If I take my SUV, its 6 gallons of gas and cost of $24, I would love to take LEAF to Gilroy but it seems I need 2 full charge to make this trip. I don't see many public charging stations close to Gilroy. Do you see any way to make this trip in LEAF or just have to use my gas guzzler. It would be so nice if Gilroy Gardens have EV charging stations

(BTW, not planning to get QC option as I'll be charging mostly at home)

 

[Nubo]

I haven't made your specific trip examples, but I can assure you from experience that LEAF will not even break a sweat maintaining 65mph on Sunol Grade, or 80 mph if you prefer but of course that comes at a price in energy consumption.

Whereas driving habits and conditions can make a modest difference in fuel economy for a gasoline car, the effects are greatly amplified for an electric vehicle. This starts to make sense when you consider that 70-80 percent of gasoline's energy is thrown away as heat, so driving habits only influence the 20 percent or so that actually goes towards moving the car. In an EV, most of the energy goes into moving the car. This is how you can get the LEAF's range in a car that is carrying the energy equivalent of 3 QUARTS of gasoline when fully-charged.

So, speed is the primary determinant of how far you can go for a given charge. There are other factors of course. When I was getting used to the car I found Tony Williams' range chart to be very useful in planning trips:

http://electricvehiclewiki.com/images/e/e1/LEAFrangeChart.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Levenkay]

(BTW, not planning to get QC option as I'll be charging mostly at home)

As do almost all of the people who *did* get the QC option. Nevertheless, DCQC is a wonderful thing to have when you need it (home equipment breaks, you just forgot to plug in, the infrequent longer-distance trip, unexpected extra errand, etc.). There are already enough DCQC stations around (particularly here on the West coast) that you can't claim a QC port is useless anymore. I don't remember anyone posting here to say, "Well, I just had my first DCQC experience, and boy, what a waste of money it showed the port to be". But there are several posts expressing the opposite opinion. You know your needs best, of course, but I'd suggest that you rethink your decision to pass up the QC option.

 

[RonDawg]

The Leaf puts out about 210 lb-ft of torque, more than my Audi with its 2.0 turbocharged engine, so it will have no problem making the Dublin or Sunol grades.

As mentioned above, speed is what will affect your range the most. If you drive at 80 MPH, you won't be able to do trip #1 or #2. But as you said some cars have trouble making the Sunol grade (though that's not my experience...it's the trucks that have trouble). This is where you can take advantage of the situation by pulling in behind them (as long as they're not going ridiculously slow) and conserving battery power.

Also, consider taking a non-freeway route. Instead of 580 to 680 to Fremont, why not take Vallecitos Road and Niles Canyon instead? More scenic, lower speed limits.

Also, I would re-think not getting the QC option. I can understand it if you live in a QC wasteland, but in the Bay Area there are many such charging stations. If you are leasing, it adds little to the payment, and if you are financing over the typical 60 months the added cost is even more minimal.

 

[GRA]

I live in Livermore CA and it seems where ever you want to go, you have some elevated roads to travel. I was wondering if somebody has driven on these routes and give me some real range or experience. I want to travel on single charge as with 2 small kids don't think I can spend time charging at public charge stations.
(BTW, haven't bought LEAF yet, just wondering..)

1. If I want to take kids to Oakland zoo from Livermore, its 68 miles round trip on highway 580 which is within the LEAF's range. During this round trip there is Dublin grade which is quite elevated road. Do you think LEAF can make this round trip comfortably in single charge?

2. Another trip we sometimes make is to Fremont (40 miles round trip) or Milpitas which is @ 60 miles round trip on highway 84 and 680. On this route there is elevation on highway 84 and then on 680 (Sunol grade). I have seen many ICE cars having trouble keeping speed of 65 on sunol grade, do you think LEAF should be able to climb these roads and complete the round trip on singe charge?

3. This one I know is impossible with LEAF on single charge but just want throw it out there.. My son loves going to Gilroy Gardens (in Gilroy), and from Livermore its 120 miles round trip. If I take my SUV, its 6 gallons of gas and cost of $24, I would love to take LEAF to Gilroy but it seems I need 2 full charge to make this trip. I don't see many public charging stations close to Gilroy. Do you see any way to make this trip in LEAF or just have to use my gas guzzler. It would be so nice if Gilroy Gardens have EV charging stations

(BTW, not planning to get QC option as I'll be charging mostly at home)

Living in Livermore, you really should get the QC, as there are QCs any direction you want to go but East. There's an evGo QC at the Livermore Premium Outlets just in case you need to go somewhere on short notice with a discharged battery, and Blink QCs in Pleasanton (at Simpson Strong-Tie on W. Las Positas Blvd. off 580) and Fremont off 680 (Ohlone College), as well as a Nissan QC at the Nissan dealership in Fremont off 880. There are also QCs in San Jose for trips to Gilroy, and lots around the South Bay.

For those Oakland Zoo trips, in Hayward there's a Blink QC as well as 10 co-located L2s downtown, with lots of places to eat, a movie theater, children's playground and a library within easy walking distance. And you can always come back from Castro Valley to Pleasanton on the frontage road that runs on the south side of 580. This starts out as E. Castro Valley Blvd. then turns into Dublin Canyon Rd., and brings you out right across from Stoneridge Mall right next to 580 - if traffic on 580 is heavy it's often faster to take the side road, but do watch out for cyclists.

We've been trying to get a QC in Gilroy for a couple of years with no luck, but at least there's one in Monterey now, even if it is inconveniently located. See Plugshare for a map of public chargers: in the box on the upper right, de-select everything but "High Power Stations" and "In Use Stations", then click on "More Options" and de-select everything but "Quick Charge" in the "Outlets (Local)" section, then close that.

In the Bay Area, unless you're only going to use the car for commuting and local errands, getting the QC option makes sense, because (with some inconvenience) you can reach anywhere in it using them.

 

[Becky50]

I totally agree on the QC option. It greatly expands the range of the LEAF in the greater SF Bay Area.

 

[DaveEV]

I totally agree on the QC option. It greatly expands the range of the LEAF in the greater SF Bay Area.

+1 on QC.

But I would not count on being able to do 68 miles on a single charge for the entire 3-year lease duration unless one is able to drive very efficiently.

 

[alcalira]

The thing about climbing hills in a LEAF is that you almost always go down the other side of the hill and regen will give back a good bit of the power you used climbing it. LEAFs have plenty of power for hills, btw. Livermore to Oakland Zoo and back sounds easy if you keep it under 65 (except when going downhill!). I routinely drive between Davis and Berkeley (70 miles) and have no problem making that trip. I spend 20 minutes at a QC on the way back and voila, 140 miles with one stop to recharge.

I totally agree about the importance of having the QC on a LEAF, especially if you want to use it for longer trips. The network of QCs is expanding quickly. For example, you could stop at a QC at Premier Nissan or Walgreens in San Jose on your way to and from Gilroy to make that trip feasible.

 

[ScorpioLeaf]

Thanks for all the replies. It seems the consensus is to get the QC package. I agree with all of you and I was also considering it but its going to add around $30/month to my lease payment. I'll see if any dealer can give me really good deal on 2013 with charger and premium package (rear view monitor is a must, got used to it with our other 2 cars)

As I live and work in the trivalley, kids daycare/school is in Pleasanton, so we are always in this area. Mostly I would drive per day is 30-35 miles round trip. There will be times when we go for long trips but that won't be that many (its hard with 6 months old ). I thought instead of keep paying $30/month for 36 months, it would be cheaper and convenient to just take gas car for those once in a while trips.

Thanks for also addressing my other concern to be able to drive and getting good range on Sunol or Dublin grades. I used to drive a 15 years old Nissan Sentra and it really struggled especially going south over the sunol grade on 680 if I have couple of people with me in the car or even solo. It seems LEAF should not have any issues and I like that idea to follow a slow moving truck to go slow to enhance the range

My other concern was to fit 2 car seats and double stroller in the trunk. I saw this blog where a lady put 3 car seats in the back. It was tight but it seems to fit fine. I think its time to go sign the deal :!:

 

[alcalira]

There are some 2013s around that you might be able to get a good deal on. My dealer, Hanlees in Davis, tells me that at the moment the finance rate on 2014s is actually better than on 2013s. You might want to talk with Karl Dixon there--he's very honest and won't waste your time.

One more bit of advice--since you are hauling little kids, get the black interior. The light-colored one shows every little stain.

 

[NYLEAF]

If the rear-view monitor is important to you, you should look at getting a 2014 w/o the Premium Package, because the RVM is now standard on all trim levels of the 2014. The Premium Package gives you the Around-View Monitor instead of the RVM, as well as the Bose upgraded audio system.

 

[ScorpioLeaf]

Update:

Thanks for the suggestions to get QC. I emailed few more dealers and got a good price on 2013 SV with premium and QC package. Just drove it home yesterday night

I'm a VPP, and paying 245/month + tax with 1500 down (includes all taxes and fees) for 36 months lease.

 

[ScorpioLeaf]

Btw, I drove from Oakland to Livermore which is 40 miles, mostly on highway 580 east with 47 miles remaining. LEAF performed well on Dublin grade and mostly recovered the lost miles on down slope.

I believe i should be able to make my trips to Oakland zoo or Fremont quite comfortably. May be will try the trip to Gilroy when feeling little adventurous :twisted:

 

[Becky50]

Congratulations! I know you will love your LEAF!

 

[Nekota]

I live in Sunnyvale and have made the round trip to Livermore (Wente Winery) several times and I drive through Fremont on the way. I do this with full charge and no topping up in Livermore and I average about 4.9 miles/kwhr.