Who travels less than 100 miles?

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ilovecars

Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2009
Messages
22
With all of the hype of the electric vehicles coming on to the market in the next few years, it brings up some concerns... for example, if you need to travel further than 100 miles, what do you do? That's a huge advantage I see the Vol has over the Leaf. If you need to travel farther than that, you get stranded with your Nissan, but a Volt could keep on trucking, switching to fuel when the batteries run out.
 
That's exactly why electric vehicles aren't for everybody.

The real question is, how does someone with a long commute, or somebody who goes on lots of trips (like my grandparents who travel the country in a greenhouse gas creating machine aka RV) be more environmentally concious?
 
I agree, the Chevy Volt is much more appealing.

Why limit yourself to 100 miles? Who would be comfortable with that? Very few people.

If you did go with the Nissan Leaf, you'd still need a second car. Insurance, storage, upkeep, not to mention purchasing that second car... not worth it in my opinion!
 
You know what? There are already tons of people that have two vehicles... probably half of the country! And for those people, it makes tons of sense.

Have your electric Leaf for running about, groceries, school, soccer games, piano lessons etc. and use your other gas guzzling SUV for vacationing. Summer road trips, winter ski trips, whatever that might be.

This whole process is a long term thing. People aren't going to switch to full electric overnight. It's more than switching vehicles, it's a change in lifestyle. Once people realize that, and it may take a huge rise in fuel prices, then they will start shifting behaviour. Staying closer to home for holidays, driving less as a whole, all those sorts of things. Then the people who bought a Nissan Leaf now will be able to sell it for millions! :lol:
 
I still think 100 miles is not far enough.

Anyway, I bet Nissan has something up their sleeve. They'll probably release a high-capacity battery pack for the Leaf that will extend the range to 300 miles or something like that.

Only time will tell! Good reason to stay tuned to the Leaf Forum :)
 
I have a daily 60 mile commute... the Nissan Leaf is perfect for me.

If you are driving farther than 100 miles then the Nissan Leaf is not for you... and what the heck are you doing where you have to drive farther than 100 miles a day? Unless your a trucker, if you're COMMUTING farther than 100 miles each day, you need to move. Seriously. Not just the environmental impact, but what a waste of your time!
 
I'd just like to add that we have found renting for trips 300 miles and greater to be cost-effective for us. It won't be an over-nighter at that range, it is going to be a pre-meditated trip. So we can plan for the rental pretty easily.

We have found this reduces our insurance since our cars show lower miles per year, and we don't have to worry about breakdowns. Just call the rental agency and replace it.

That does still leave the trips between 100 and 300 miles. Both our parents live 100 miles away, and we make that trip quite a bit. Driving very carefully, we could do it in our RAV4-EV. But it is a lot easier to use our 2nd car (gas engine).

We hope that future generations of batteries will allow us to address that 100-300 mile gap. For now, we make do.
 
I'm in Tucson. About the only place we drive to is Phoenix - 92 miles away. There are plans to build several fast charge stations along the interstate - charge up to 80% in about 15 - 20 minutes. Then there will be charging stations in Phoenix and suburbs. Some of them have been built already. All charging stations will appear on the map on video touch-screen. Touch a charging station on the screen and it will tell you how many miles to it, how many stations it has, and how many of them are available at that time. Apparently there are plans to build charging stations from Phoenix to LA too. When we go to California, we usually fly as it is about a ten hour drive.

Our LEAF will be for driving near home. We are a two car family and the other one will be gasoline, hybrid, or maybe something like the Volt. It will be for longer trips.
 
The vast majority of trips and driving profiles are less than 100 miles per day. I will use my wife's car if I need to do more, but I usually have a trip of that length only a few times per year. For many, this range will not be an issue.

I would be a little cautious as I got to expected usage above 60 miles per day. HVAC, driving style, and environmental conditions could make that 100 miles in a controlled cycle more theory than experience.
 
My 2010 Prius will find the 2011 Leaf a great companion.

And, even though we do not normally even consider it, the occasional use of a rental might be a beneficial shift in our thinking.

Perkaps it will be a bit like taking cabs in NYC?
Seems foreign to us in suburban CA, but to others it is a "normal" part of their lifestyle.
 
I drive precisely 60 miles each workday....30 miles each way. It is very rare for me to need my car otherwise during the day and it is equally rare that I have to do trips beyond 100 miles, perhaps 2 or 3 times a year. In addition to the Leaf, we will keep an ICE car for my stay-home wife, which will cover us for any longer trips.

The Leaf is an ideal car for me, and I have waited almost 10 years for an affordable, mass-market, EV with enough range to commute at freeway speeds, without range anxiety or having to recharge at the office (although this has always been, and remains, an available option).
 
Let me ask you all a question: what do you do when you need more cargo space than your current sedan has?

Most people need more cargo space than that several times per year, just like most people need more range than this several times per year. What do you do?

Well, most people either borrow a big vehicle or rent one. Or have a bigger second vehicle, but commute in the smaller, more efficient one.

The same logic applies to range. You accept the disadvantage of your vehicle not working out several times per year (just like sedan owners do with cargo capacity) to gain more efficiency and lower operating costs. And in the case of EVs, you get the extra benefits of getting off oil and the extreme convenience of starting out every day with a full charge.

Plus, the Leaf can do 30-minute rapid charges, so it's not as range-limited as a lot of EVs in areas with such a charger.
 
ilovecars said:
With all of the hype of the electric vehicles coming on to the market in the next few years, it brings up some concerns... for example, if you need to travel further than 100 miles, what do you do? That's a huge advantage I see the Vol has over the Leaf. If you need to travel farther than that, you get stranded with your Nissan, but a Volt could keep on trucking, switching to fuel when the batteries run out.

Ofcource you use the other car.

There are 60 million households in the US with multiple cars. All cars in a family except one can be replaced with a BEV. The ICE car can be replaced with a Volt, later.

In any case, if you think the current situation can contine indefinitely and people don't have to make any life style changes, I suggest you educate yourself about Peak Oil.
 
Range Extender Option:
bunny.jpg


But seriously. The battery packs are exactly like harddrives were to computers years ago. When they first came out, I paid $2,000 for a HUGE (at the time) harddrive of 668 megs. MEGS! Now a 1T drive is under $100. EV's will go through the same growing pains. But as they catch on, the single biggest area for necessary improvement will be the power source. Eventually, we'll see larger, lighter, and (eventually) cheaper batteries that will give hundreds of miles. Trust me. :cool:
 
Of course, hard drives increase in capacity about 60% per year, while batteries increase at about 8% per year. But still, two decades at 8% is 4.5x.
 
Jimmydreams said:
Range Extender Option:
bunny.jpg


But seriously. The battery packs are exactly like harddrives were to computers years ago. When they first came out, I paid $2,000 for a HUGE (at the time) harddrive of 668 megs. MEGS! Now a 1T drive is under $100. EV's will go through the same growing pains. But as they catch on, the single biggest area for necessary improvement will be the power source. Eventually, we'll see larger, lighter, and (eventually) cheaper batteries that will give hundreds of miles. Trust me. :cool:

Continuous improvement... if it doesn't happen, THAT will be a first. Especially if there's money in it.

Is it coincidence that IBM Almaden research center that invented the disk drive is now working on a 500 mile EV battery?
 
I need a commuter car. I travel 32.5 miles each way daily and have a hybrid vehicle for longer trips the two or three times a year I need It. I think the Leaf will be just about right for me. Jim
 
javan said:
I need a commuter car. I travel 32.5 miles each way daily and have a hybrid vehicle for longer trips the two or three times a year I need It. I think the Leaf will be just about right for me. Jim

I am in almost the same situation -- my commute is 27 miles each way. I occasionally put an additional 10 to 15 miles on with lunch or errands. Even without charging at work (which may be an option, at 110 if nothing else...), I think the Leaf will work for me. And my wife's car has an ICE for longer family trips -- or we could swap cars for a day if I have a longer work-related trip. And, voila!, we've eliminated the biggest chunk of our family's carbon footprint. I am sure I will miss my Mini but maybe there will be a better looking, reasonably priced EV when the Leaf's lease is up.

However, if the Leaf takes a 20 - 30% range hit in winter, then the @ work charging will be vital.
 
Many, many families in the U.S. have two income earners and almost always they don't work in the same area; if you're lucky that you can have a single car that's great but one of you tends to be closer and the other farther away, typically in the opposite direction! --- in our case we do have multiple cars. One of us commutes 7 miles daily (with a smart fortwo coupe) and the other 28 miles daily (with either a Miata or Mazda3 GT 5-door); we also own a VW Routan for long trips (most comfortable of the group and we use it for hauling stuff quite a bit). I can tell you that the smart wasn't made for long trips, even though of course it's gas powered and has 'unlimited' range versus an electric so as others have said, until quick charge stations are as available as gas stations you'll be limited so you need to consider it. Each situation will be different so while 100 mile limit may seem a problem to some, others will have more than enough range to make the LEAF a great choice (BTW, the LEAF will replace the smart).
 
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