Maui, Hawaii

[Reddy]

Just got back from Maui and renting a Leaf from Shaun at BioBeetle. Thanks, awesome service! This is easy for anyone familiar with EVs so don't hesitate. Just a few notes. We stayed in West Maui about 1/2 way between the Kahana Center and 5A Rental Center charging stations. It takes about 1/3 battery to reach Wailuku DCQC (be prepared to be ICE'd unless after hours, weekends or holidays). Excellent food/coffee at the Wailuku Coffee Company on Market Street! We drove nearly 400 miles in two weeks (yikes!), checking out as much of the island as we could. Drove (on separate days) 1/2 way to Hana, some of the Kula Highway, up to about 4000 ft towards Haleakala, La Perouse Bay, north shore, Kihea beaches, West Maui beaches, etc. We were quite fortunate to have so many charging opportunities nearby but did need to modify some plans at times. This was mostly due to the lack of overnight charging at the condo. We EV'ers get so used to having a full battery when we wake up, it takes some re-thinking to plan charging. Fortunately, the businesses at the Kahana center (coffee, Maui Brewing Company, Angus Restaurant, dive shop, convenience store, etc) are ones that we needed to frequent anyway. Charged once at the Marriott in Kaanapali (they use the spots for Valet parking so had to ask to have a car moved), and enjoyed the beaches and Starbucks.

[EcoCarRental]

Just got back from Maui and renting a Leaf from Shaun at BioBeetle. Thanks, awesome service! This is easy for anyone familiar with EVs so don't hesitate. Just a few notes. We stayed in West Maui about 1/2 way between the Kahana Center and 5A Rental Center charging stations. It takes about 1/3 battery to reach Wailuku DCQC (be prepared to be ICE'd unless after hours, weekends or holidays). Excellent food/coffee at the Wailuku Coffee Company on Market Street! We drove nearly 400 miles in two weeks (yikes!), checking out as much of the island as we could. Drove (on separate days) 1/2 way to Hana, some of the Kula Highway, up to about 4000 ft towards Haleakala, La Perouse Bay, north shore, Kihea beaches, West Maui beaches, etc. We were quite fortunate to have so many charging opportunities nearby but did need to modify some plans at times. This was mostly due to the lack of overnight charging at the condo. We EV'ers get so used to having a full battery when we wake up, it takes some re-thinking to plan charging. Fortunately, the businesses at the Kahana center (coffee, Maui Brewing Company, Angus Restaurant, dive shop, convenience store, etc) are ones that we needed to frequent anyway. Charged once at the Marriott in Kaanapali (they use the spots for Valet parking so had to ask to have a car moved), and enjoyed the beaches and Starbucks.

Glad you enjoyed your Maui stay FYI for future Maui visitors - we are currently renting our Leaf to a Hitachi rep who is working on installing DCQC on Maui, he said there will be an additional 5 DCQC on Maui by March 2013, with plans for 20 in the longer term . This will make all of Maui, even Haleakala & Hana, totally accessible with 100% EV.

Shaun

[LEAFer]

... DCQC on Maui by March 2013, with plans for 20 in the longer term .

That's 1 DCQC per 36 square miles. If California wanted to compete with Maui's DCQC density ... the state would need 4,503 stations

[derkraut]

... DCQC on Maui by March 2013, with plans for 20 in the longer term .

That's 1 DCQC per 36 square miles. If California wanted to compete with Maui's DCQC density ... the state would need 4,503 stations

Well....with hundreds of Leafs now driving in the San Diego area, AFAIK, we do not have ONE public DCQC within 30 miles. I've more or less abandoned all plans to do more than local (40mi radius) travel in my Leaf. Sad, really. The Greater LA Basin, with probably over 1,000 Leafs, has only a couple, I guess.

[Becky50]

We stayed in Lahaina for week in early November and saw only one LEAF. It was driving between Lahaina and Kaanapali on a Sunday afternoon. It was white. Next time we will rent from Shaun instead of Hertz. Hopefully, we will be returning in the fall.

[KJD]

Glad you enjoyed your Maui stay FYI for future Maui visitors - we are currently renting our Leaf to a Hitachi rep who is working on installing DCQC on Maui, he said there will be an additional 5 DCQC on Maui by March 2013, with plans for 20 in the longer term . This will make all of Maui, even Haleakala & Hana, totally accessible with 100% EV.
Shaun

Be sure and post a picture of each of those DCQC as soon as they install them. Is Lahaina one of the locations I hope ?

[EcoCarRental]

We stayed in Lahaina for week in early November and saw only one LEAF. It was driving between Lahaina and Kaanapali on a Sunday afternoon. It was white. Next time we will rent from Shaun instead of Hertz. Hopefully, we will be returning in the fall.

The local dealer has been bringing in lots of Leafs in the past several months and I wouldn't be surprised if there were close to 100 Leafs on Maui. The recent great lease rates are the big reason for that. Hopefully we'll see you in the fall.

Shaun

[EcoCarRental]

Glad you enjoyed your Maui stay FYI for future Maui visitors - we are currently renting our Leaf to a Hitachi rep who is working on installing DCQC on Maui, he said there will be an additional 5 DCQC on Maui by March 2013, with plans for 20 in the longer term . This will make all of Maui, even Haleakala & Hana, totally accessible with 100% EV.
Shaun

Be sure and post a picture of each of those DCQC as soon as they install them. Is Lahaina one of the locations I hope ?

The plan is to install them in all the main areas of Maui - Lahaina, Kahului, Kihei, Makawao/Pukalani, Hana, Haleakala - which will make Maui 100% accessible by a 100% EV. We will add them to our EV charge station map as they become available - http://www.evcarrentals.com/mauievchargestations.htm

Shaun

[Reddy]

We stayed in Lahaina for week in early November and saw only one LEAF. It was driving between Lahaina and Kaanapali on a Sunday afternoon. It was white. Next time we will rent from Shaun instead of Hertz. Hopefully, we will be returning in the fall.

The local dealer has been bringing in lots of Leafs in the past several months and I wouldn't be surprised if there were close to 100 Leafs on Maui. The recent great lease rates are the big reason for that. Hopefully we'll see you in the fall.

Shaun

I saw several throughout my trip, including another red one at the Kahana Center charging station. I spoke with one owner who indicated at least 110 had been sold on Maui. Interestingly, most people I talked to were not super "EV literate" and I always tried to direct them to this forum for more info. Almost everyone at the DCQC was charging to 100% (even though that last 10-20% overheats the battery and is relatively slow). I think this is just the newbie effect since I never felt the need to charge past 80% at the DCQC even without having overnight charging at the condo.

Reddy

[Caracalover]

[quote]
I drove our Leaf to Haleakala to see how far it would get and I made it to the park entrance, which is 11 miles from the top, with 2 bars remaining & 8 miles on the guessometer. There are plans to install a DC QC near the park entrance which will allow 100% electrics to get all the way to the top.

Shaun[quote]
Aloha

Love your state, if I ever get back I will rent a Leaf, without a doubt.

After all that uphill the 8 mile range was likley not at all accurate. Have to wonder if you drove up at a speed over 35mph. I have done a lot of mountain driving and with two bars you still have a lot (LBW is at 17% or so) of the usable battery left, so 11 miles should be doable, although i don't recall how much elevation gain is past the park entrance. Perhaps try it again and turn around if you hit the LBW, and don't think you will make it. I have seen low numbers with half a battery when doing 55 up the mountain near me.

I think a QC at that location might be overkill, since once you are there you will use little to get to the top, and then you will be gaining energy all the way down. Many could end up well over 80% at the bottom. The closer to a full charge you have forces the use of actual brakes, which would not be good for that much downhill. It seems like it could be a bad plan, since there is no downshifting if you have a full battery. Not sure if you can alter the plan, but several L2 plugs would be a far better use of resources, or put the QC closer to the bottom.

Do you recall how much energy you gained on the way down? At least a bar or two?