Orange Co Calif...wanting to test drive considering purchase

[richard]

The actual range in SoCal is probably 50 miles if you want not to think about it. Total range is probably high 60s unless you work at it.

BS. Don't listen to this, hbrocks. My "don't think about it" range is closer to 80 miles. You'd have to be hauling a barn door sideways to get 50.

 

[hbrocks]

You've got what sounds like a perfect situation - my only question is what took you so long? Had you jumped on board earlier you could've gotten lower pricing with a 2011 model and a $5000 CA rebate instead of $2500, but even still the Leaf will be a great deal for you. Maybe you can save a bit if you can find an '11 still for sale somewhere, especially since the '12 is not significantly improved in any way that I'm aware of. Otherwise, just make sure not to pay the $99 Aerovironment sucker fee and shop around for dealers that offer a discount off MSRP (Fontana and Kearny Mesa come to mind). I got mine at Surf City Nissan, and they've been ok (free tire rotation at 7500 miles was nice), but if I could do it over I'm sure I could've gotten a better deal at one of the aforementioned dealers.

Also make sure you will have enough tax liability to use the full $7500 credit, otherwise you may be better off leasing.

I've waited because of a few reasons...
-job situation was sketchy for a bit.
-Prius is still running strong and it's paid for.

I definitely plan on shopping for a 2011.
But...will I still get to use the write off/rebate on the older model year?

 

[PaulScott]

I've waited because of a few reasons...
-job situation was sketchy for a bit.
-Prius is still running strong and it's paid for.

I definitely plan on shopping for a 2011.
But...will I still get to use the write off/rebate on the older model year?

Yes, the rebates and tax credits apply for any new LEAF. I have two 2011s available, one silver SV and one white SL.

 

[fooljoe]

BS. Don't listen to this, hbrocks. My "don't think about it" range is closer to 80 miles. You'd have to be hauling a barn door sideways to get 50.

I dunno, everyone of course has his own definition of "don't think about it", but a 50 mile *average* commute is a pretty good conservative upper bound. I drive 50 freeway miles round trip every day with up to 10 or so more miles for lunch runs and errands, etc, and I wouldn't recommend the Leaf to anyone with a much longer commute. Then again, I like to take advantage of the HOV lane access to the fullest, traffic permitting, and that can really eat up the range quick. I've used 10 full bars a few times, and of course there's always the possibility that a few years down the road the capacity will diminish to the point where I need to start "thinking about it", i.e. driving more conservatively, avoiding climate control, trying to charge at work, etc.

 

[thankyouOB]

I think richard is right.
with a 50-mile commute, and 35-40 miles of that on freeways, I get home with 20 miles and two bars left, charging to 80%.
Sure, I dont drive 70 mph on the freeway, but then who does during commute times?

 

[fooljoe]

I think richard is right.
with a 50-mile commute, and 35-40 miles of that on freeways, I get home with 20 miles and two bars left, charging to 80%.
Sure, I dont drive 70 mph on the freeway, but then who does during commute times?

Well I think we're all right. I think Richard was looking at it as a safe maximum range for occasional distance runs, and Sandust and I are looking at it as a safe average commute that will leave a comfortable cushion for contingencies, side trips, and so on. I've no doubt 80 miles is attainable (perhaps with a little thinking about it), but no way would I recommend a Leaf if someone had to commute 80 freeway miles every day with no charging at work, unless he's an avid hypermiler or just really likes a challenge.

Anyway, we're getting a bit OT here, and I don't think there's any dispute that hbrocks's 30 mile commute to Edison, of all places , will be no problem at all.

P.S. An anecdote relevant to the maximum "don't think about it" range: We occasionally go out to my wife's sister's place in Corona, which is about 75 miles round trip and involves a nice high speed stretch in the 91 express lanes, some elevation gain, a wife that loves to blast the A/C and 2 screaming little girls in the back seat. No way will I take the Leaf for this trip without planning to plug in at their house. *Could* I make it? Sure. But would I want to have to limit my speed amongst the other drivers flying by at 80, tell my wife to cut back on the A/C, and risk my wife's wrath if we ran out a few miles short or had to stop for a charge en route, and/or bother my in-laws with asking for a plug? Well, so far we've taken her minivan every time.

 

[hbrocks]

P.S. An anecdote relevant to the maximum "don't think about it" range: We occasionally go out to my wife's sister's place in Corona, which is about 75 miles round trip and involves a nice high speed stretch in the 91 express lanes, some elevation gain, a wife that loves to blast the A/C and 2 screaming little girls in the back seat. No way will I take the Leaf for this trip without planning to plug in at their house. *Could* I make it? Sure. But would I want to have to limit my speed amongst the other drivers flying by at 80, tell my wife to cut back on the A/C, and risk my wife's wrath if we ran out a few miles short or had to stop for a charge en route, and/or bother my in-laws with asking for a plug? Well, so far we've taken her minivan every time.

Great story Joe.... :lol:

Thanks again everyone for sharing the knowledge.
I just stopped at Connell and they have 2 white 2011's still on the lot plus a used one and their demo model.
Was nice that I got the opportunity to pull my Prius right up alongside the Leaf and noticed right away that the hatch area of the Leaf is smaller.
Both cars seemed equal (overall) in size with the Leaf being slightly taller.
And yes...the interior was Very spartan.

 

[SanDust]

BS. Don't listen to this, hbrocks. My "don't think about it" range is closer to 80 miles. You'd have to be hauling a barn door sideways to get 50.

Glad to see you think yourself so special that you feel entitled to appoint yourself the fount of all true knowledge. Except in this case if someone is full of BS it isn't me. I'm just telling him what I and two other people who own Leafs get when driving in SoCal. You of course may be a magical driver or have a magical Leaf. I'm just telling him what he can reasonably expect. If he gets more great. But my guess is he won't.

Easy way to prove that you're right. How many miles does CARWINGS say you get per kWh? And what is your regional ranking? My regional ranking is 1514 and I get between 4.7 miles/kWh and 5.2 miles/kWh which is mostly the gold standard, no silver or bronze. At 68 miles I'm into the very low battery warning which means 80 miles of range isn't happening AT ALL, much less happening without thinking about it. No idea of how that compares to others but my driving is a very mild cycle and my guess is that 90% of drivers drive a more aggressive cycle.

Please share. I'm most interested in learning.

 

[padamson1]

BS. Don't listen to this, hbrocks. My "don't think about it" range is closer to 80 miles. You'd have to be hauling a barn door sideways to get 50.

...diatribe skipped...

Easy way to prove that you're right. How many miles does CARWINGS say you get per kWh? And what is your regional ranking? My regional ranking is 1514 and I get between 4.7 miles/kWh and 5.2 miles/kWh which is mostly the gold standard, no silver or bronze. At 68 miles I'm into the very low battery warning which means 80 miles of range isn't happening AT ALL, much less happening without thinking about it. No idea of how that compares to others but my driving is a very mild cycle and my guess is that 90% of drivers drive a more aggressive cycle.

Please share. I'm most interested in learning.

SanDust from what I've read you're definitely getting m/kWh on the top end of the scale (e.g gold+) and significantly higher than mine (4.5), so I am puzzled why your range is lower (and probably why richard made his post). In normal weather conditions when I charge to 100% I don't get the low battery warning till ~85mi. Stupid question: Is this maybe for 80% charge? If not, are you climbing or something when the warning comes on?

BTW - I didn't know there was a regional ranking, I've got to check my peer pressure index when I get home. ;-)

 

[davewill]

Easy way to prove that you're right. How many miles does CARWINGS say you get per kWh? ...

Carwings? You've got to be kidding. Nobody uses those numbers, They're so inaccurate they are meaningless. Makes it hard to take you seriously.

Anyway, 70 mi is super easy to do in SoCal, so long as you refrain from speeding on the freeway.

 

[SanDust]

SanDust from what I've read you're definitely getting m/kWh on the top end of the scale (e.g gold+) and significantly higher than mine (4.5), so I am puzzled why your range is lower (and probably why richard made his post). In normal weather conditions when I charge to 100% I don't get the low battery warning till ~85mi. Stupid question: Is this maybe for 80% charge? If not, are you climbing or something when the warning comes on?

That's charged to 100%. In all fairness I've only gotten the extremely low battery warning once. I was down to 8 miles and just drove around to see what would happen. The end result was 69 miles and a few of those were after the extremely low battery warning came on. Most of those miles were in ECO and I wasn't going over 60 MPH since I knew I needed the range. I didn't take it to turtle but I think I was close.

I know two other guys with Leafs and they more or less get the same range as I do, so I don't think my car has a problem, or at least an unusual problem. I know one other guy with a Leaf who suggests he gets more but he's something of a fanboy and I'm not sure how reliable his figures are.

Carwings? You've got to be kidding. Nobody uses those numbers, They're so inaccurate they are meaningless. Makes it hard to take you seriously.

Anyway, 70 mi is super easy to do in SoCal, so long as you refrain from speeding on the freeway.

You're not thinking. Sure CARWINGS isn't accurate in an ABSOLUTE sense. But it's quite accurate in a RELATIVE sense. That's easy to see. Days when I drive aggressively CARWINGS reports a much lower miles/kWh than on days when I drive like granny. Try it and see for yourself. I haven't seen anything that suggests that CARWINGS doesn't have a consistent bias.

Given that CARWINGS is relatively accurate, my point is that at the very least I'm getting more miles per kWh than most Leaf drivers. Since it may be impossible for me to get to 70 miles, much less get there "super easy", and no one else who I actually know can either, obviously I'm more than a little dubious when random people on this site start claiming they and everyone else routinely get 80 miles. I've gotten more than a 100 miles in a day but that was with multiple charges, and Tony Williams has gotten 100 miles but that was with some extreme driving. Now unlike some people I'm not such an A-hole as to suggest that this makes it hard for me to take you seriously or to suggest that you're full of BS, but you see where I'm going.

So what is your CARWINGS ranking and how many miles does CARWINGS say you get per kWh? Or is there some reason you don't want to share? It should prove most informative.

 

[thankyouOB]

Easy way to prove that you're right. How many miles does CARWINGS say you get per kWh? ...

Carwings? You've got to be kidding. Nobody uses those numbers, They're so inaccurate they are meaningless. Makes it hard to take you seriously.

Anyway, 70 mi is super easy to do in SoCal, so long as you refrain from speeding on the freeway.

agree.
i get 70 miles at 80% charge no problem, with 70% or more freeway. i never go over 65 except for a few thousand feet at a time to pass or avoid a truck.

(please dont insult me and call me names.)
I have been in platinum every month but one, and rank something like 350 last week. I dont look at it that often.

 

[garygid]

Do you need or want a ride to Cerritos on the 4th ... in my LEAF?

If so, PM me and maybe we can meet near some 405 exit.

It is about 72 miles RT for me fron Laguna Hills.

 

[GRA]

Love learning this stuff....!
Awesome,
see you guys in Cerritos!

help us out here. To give best advice, I think the key things we need to know are:
what is your daily commute
and
do you live in a single-family home where you can easily install a 220-line?
and, of course,
will it be your only car?

Thanks for the questions....
Being that I've been driving a Prius the past 7 years....and we very rarely "travel" much (and yes we do have a 2nd vehicle)...I feel pretty comfortable that I could pull-off something with a limited range like the Leaf.

My work is 30 miles round trip (Work at Edison...where we already have multiple charging stations for the Toyota RAV's and the Volt....).
We own a Townhome with a detached garage.

Is there any particular reason you're considering just the Leaf? With your short commute and ability to charge at each end, a Mitsubishi i would have more than enough range for your commute and some errand running, and be considerably cheaper. The Leaf's longer range gives you more utility for other trips, and is better for battery longevity if you plan to keep the car for many years (because you'll be doing shallower discharges). And you might also want to consider a Honda Fit EV (if you can wait a few months), Coda (assuming they actually sell some) or maybe a Smart Ed or Scion iQ if you only need a 2-pax commute car, assuming they are available for public sale/lease reasonably soon.

 

[davewill]

So what is your CARWINGS ranking and how many miles does CARWINGS say you get per kWh?

Haven't a clue. I haven't logged into it since it gave me numbers nearly double the real ones early on...and I've seen no reason on here to conclude they have any accuracy at all, relative or not. As far as I'm concerned, quoting them is a joke.

 

[hbrocks]

Hey everyone...
My Plans to attend this Saturday just got "way-laid".
I'll take a raincheck and hook up with all of you on the 11th in Irvine.

Best
Brad

 

[Boomer23]

Hey everyone...
My Plans to attend this Saturday just got "way-laid".
I'll take a raincheck and hook up with all of you on the 11th in Irvine.

Best
Brad

Okey dokey, Brad. Be sure to private message JPVleaf and check in with a potluck item to share. See you then.