2015 SV Leaf - Expected full output range?

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NIKsleaf

New member
Joined
Jun 26, 2016
Messages
2
Location
Central Illinois
Hello,

If the total range = range + turtle range, what is the total range of a 2015 SV Leaf?

I am planning on driving a total of 82 miles (41 there, 41 back) for work (to and from).

Thanks again in advance, this is my first posting on this website.

Nicholas.
 
I believe the EPA range is the range to the Very Low Battery Warning (VLBW) but I'm not certain. I doubt that they include every meter of possible range, so if you keep your highway speeds below 65MPH (and as much of the trip at 40-45MPH as possible) you should be ok. You'll want LeafSpy installed so you can safely use the (almost) last dregs of available power.
 
Depends on energy consumption (mainly influenced by speed) and battery degradation. Other factors include heater and AC use, temperature, wet ground and so on.

Please see range chart at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=4295. Range will decrease as the battery degrades.

I wouldn't recommend and '15 Leaf for that much driving a day unless you have charging at work unless you drive very slowly. Eventually, it will become tougher to make it.

Will write more later when I'm in front of a computer and not typing on my phone.
 
I agree with cwerdna, while theoretically the Leaf should be able to make your commute, many factors come into play, including as he said gradual battery degradation. For your range I'd really suggest the 30kwh newer Leaf, that one would give you a buffer and should be good for years to come. Another option would be to wait for something like the Bolt which would give you range to spare.
 
NIKsleaf said:
Hello,

If the total range = range + turtle range, what is the total range of a 2015 SV Leaf?

I am planning on driving a total of 82 miles (41 there, 41 back) for work (to and from).

Thanks again in advance, this is my first posting on this website.

Nicholas.
Click to expand...

In what country, state, city?

Can you charge free or cheaply at work? If yes, ignore the part below. Charging at both ends means you only need to do 40+ miles each way. Easily done with any year Leaf.

If you can't charge at work, then this is not a car for you. You can do 80+ miles on a charge in the summer with some light AC. You can easily do it in the spring/fall if you don't use heat or cooling. You'll have problems doing that at all if the outside temp drops below 50F.

oh and BTW, "turtle range" is about 1 mile or so. Not enough to bother putting in your math. There is a low battery warning and very low battery warning you can drive through on a daily basis but you'll never count on turtle mode helping the range issue.
 
dhanson865 said:
In what country, state, city?

Can you charge free or cheaply at work? If yes, ignore the part below. Charging at both ends means you only need to do 40+ miles each way. Easily done with any year Leaf.

If you can't charge at work, then this is not a car for you. You can do 80+ miles on a charge in the summer with some light AC. You can easily do it in the spring/fall if you don't use heat or cooling. You'll have problems doing that at all if the outside temp drops below 50F.

oh and BTW, "turtle range" is about 1 mile or so. Not enough to bother putting in your math. There is a low battery warning and very low battery warning you can drive through on a daily basis but you'll never count on turtle mode helping the range issue.
Click to expand...
Yep on all of this.

OP, can you update your location info via your user name in the upper right > User Control Panel > Profile tab? That way, we don't need to ask in future posts/threads or do sleuthing to deduce it.

How much of the driving is city vs. highway? Will you have the ability to charge at your work/destinations?

If you left from home fully charged, if you had reliable (can use it every single day) charging at work, even if it's only 120 volts, that will help you make it back home w/o issue.
 
Central Illinois

I have the option to go 40 miles highway or 22 miles highway 16 miles city (highway + city may take a bit longer). -- there and back

//edit
Voltage won't be a problem. Got 240 in the garage and installers in the work.

I'm still working on finding if work has them around the parking lot; I don't believe so. However, I am working on petitionin them to change that.

P.S. I'm keeping the car I have now for sh*t errands.
 
LeftieBiker said:
I believe the EPA range is the range to the Very Low Battery Warning (VLBW) but I'm not certain.
Click to expand...
Don't think so given what I've dug up so far:
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/pdfs/EPA%20test%20procedure%20for%20EVs-PHEVs-7-5-2012.pdf

"the following day the vehicle driven over successive city cycles until the battery becomes discharged (and the vehicle can no longer follow the
city driving cycle)..."

http://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy/decoding-electric-car-mpg.html says "For the EPA range test, EVs are driven continuously on the combined city-highway cycle until the wheels stop."
 
NIKsleaf said:
Central Illinois

I have the option to go 40 miles highway or 22 miles highway 16 miles city (highway + city may take a bit longer). -- there and back

//edit
Voltage won't be a problem. Got 240 in the garage and installers in the work.

I'm still working on finding if work has them around the parking lot; I don't believe so. However, I am working on petitionin them to change that..
Click to expand...
Without any charging at work, you can forget about either when it gets cold (below 50 F might be right). It'll get dicier if there's rain or snow on the ground as well as once the battery degrades to a certain point. If you can charge even at 120 volts every single day at work (and you leave home w/a full charge), you should be ok for quite some time.

EPA range rating on a '13 to '15 Leaf and '16 Leaf S (all having 24 kWh batteries when new) when charging to 100% is 84 miles on their test. You can follow the links at http://priuschat.com/threads/car-and-driver-the-truth-about-epa-city-highway-mpg-estimates.67235/ to read about the EPA tests. That stuff was written before the Leaf shipped.
 
cwerdna said:
LeftieBiker said:
I believe the EPA range is the range to the Very Low Battery Warning (VLBW) but I'm not certain.
Click to expand...
Don't think so given what I've dug up so far:
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/pdfs/EPA%20test%20procedure%20for%20EVs-PHEVs-7-5-2012.pdf

"the following day the vehicle driven over successive city cycles until the battery becomes discharged (and the vehicle can no longer follow the
city driving cycle)..."

http://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy/decoding-electric-car-mpg.html says "For the EPA range test, EVs are driven continuously on the combined city-highway cycle until the wheels stop."
Click to expand...


Yikes! So the EPA range is dangerous to use as a guide. Great. I guess we start subtracting 10-15 miles from all of their figures...
 
NIKsleaf said:
I am planning on driving a total of 82 miles (41 there, 41 back) for work (to and from).
Click to expand...
NIKsleaf said:
Central Illinois
Click to expand...
You will not be able to make this round trip most days during the winter with a MY2015 LEAF. Even with a 30-kWh 2016, you will not make it sometimes in the wintertime, even when the car is new.

I recommend you wait for an EV with a larger battery
 
I live in Delaware near the coast. I suspect it is a little warmer than there. Once a week, I drive 41 miles to Dover, and back.. I would not try and make it without a charge along the route. I charge at the destination for a minimum of 1-2 hours. I have a 2013 Leaf with low milage.

In driving to Dover , the land is flat, and speed limit is 55 mph. I closely follow my battery usage, because it entertains me. I start with a 100% battery. On the way to Dover, I drive at the speed limit, since there is only 1 charger site (2 Level, 2 plugs) in the city, and occasionally is occupied. My battery remaining is usually about 50%, but can range from 42- 55%. Several folks have mentioned temperature, and that is true.. I also have to take into account wind speed, which can be quite strong here from the NE, especially in winter. On top of that, you also have to consider using climate control, which can add a double hit on very cold (or warm) days.

The charger adds about 19 miles range per hour of charging. I generally get 2+ hours charging. Driving home, I usually drive faster, more in line with traffic. If there is a strong tail wind, it can boost my miles/KW as much as 0.4 miles/KW.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Yikes! So the EPA range is dangerous to use as a guide. Great. I guess we start subtracting 10-15 miles from all of their figures...
Click to expand...
I'd always assumed EPA range rating was to battery exhaustion.

FWIW, before we knew the EPA range of the '13 Leaf, we only knew of it for the '11 and '12, which was 73 miles. I started the poll at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=11201 (or maybe a mod did it for me as I might've not been a paid member back then).

Back then, we had some crazy 100 mile BS going on.

I started http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=13264 to collect instances of that. http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=304180#p304180 took the cake, which was using very unrealistic and inflated European tests. I would NEVER want to tell an ICEV or even an EV driver that that the 84 mile on the EPA test '13 to '15 Leaf has a range of 124 miles!

Maybe the 100 mile BS was the result of Nissan's internal views on this back then as reported at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=261746#p261746. Even the '11 Leaf achieved 100 miles on the LA4 test.
 
2015 SV is not a good long term solution for you. May work for a couple years (if that) but the winters will be tough and when degradation starts becoming a factor, you'll be hard pressed to do your commute.

A 2016 SV would do it with the extra range, but if I were you, I'd still hold tight for a Bolt, a Model 3, Leaf Gen 2, or if you really want an EV now, get a Volt. A Volt will do a significant portion of your commute on electric.
 
Agree with above. I have a 2014 SL and a round trip of 56 miles in Virginia. In summer there is no problem going even another 15 miles driving conservatively. In the winter (avg. 30's F), I have to use an alternate route of 36 miles, and has tolls. Now, I could stretch it in the winter and make it, but it is not fun, is SLOW, uses no heat, and pisses off other drivers. I get 4.3 miles/kWH in winter and 4.7 miles/kWH in summer.

Realize that at roughly 18 miles on the GOM is Low battery, and ~9 miles is Very Low battery. If you need to be in that region of battery charge then there is no room for error (traffic jams, high/low temps, etc.).
 
LeftieBiker said:
cwerdna said:
LeftieBiker said:
I believe the EPA range is the range to the Very Low Battery Warning (VLBW) but I'm not certain.
Click to expand...
Don't think so given what I've dug up so far:
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/pdfs/EPA%20test%20procedure%20for%20EVs-PHEVs-7-5-2012.pdf

"the following day the vehicle driven over successive city cycles until the battery becomes discharged (and the vehicle can no longer follow the
city driving cycle)..."

http://www.edmunds.com/fuel-economy/decoding-electric-car-mpg.html says "For the EPA range test, EVs are driven continuously on the combined city-highway cycle until the wheels stop."
Click to expand...


Yikes! So the EPA range is dangerous to use as a guide. Great. I guess we start subtracting 10-15 miles from all of their figures...
Click to expand...
Just rediscovered http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2433 and http://www.smidgeindustriesltd.com/leaf/EPA/EPA_test_procedure_for_EVs-PHEVs-1-13-2011.pdf
Electric Vehicle - City Test Procedure Summary - Following SAE J1634 Recommended Practice, the
battery is fully charged, the vehicle is parked over night, and then the following day the vehicle driven
over successive city cycles until the battery becomes discharged (and the vehicle can no longer follow the
city driving cycle).
...
The city driving range is determined from the number of miles
driven over the city cycle until the vehicle can no longer keep up with the driving cycle.

Electric Vehicle – Highway Test Procedure Summary - The same test SAE J1634 procedure outlined
above, is used determine the highway energy consumption and the highway driving range (except the
vehicle is operated over successive highway cycles) .

Electric Vehicle - Adjustment Procedure used to Derive City & Highway FE Label (Window Sticker)
Estimates - EPA regulations require the city and highway energy consumption and driving range values
listed on the FE Label (window sticker) to be adjusted to more accurately reflect the energy consumption
and driving range that customers can expect to achieve in the real world. For EVs, EPA currently uses
the derived 5-cycle adjustment method described in 40 CFR 600.210-08(a)(2)(i) and (a)(2(ii), capped at a
maximum adjustment of 30% (i.e. multiply unadjusted values by 0.7).
Click to expand...
I also made mentioned that numbers I read from one of the PDFs at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=476731#p476731.
 
It seems to me, from the above, that the EPA test cycle gives the range to either Turtle mode or just before it, when the car begins to slow. That's still not great, but it's better than giving the range 'until the wheels stop'. I guess we should subtract 5 miles from the EPA range for a real world usable figure.
 

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