Considering buying used Leaf, range questions

I live in NW WA and I am considering replacing my Honda Fit with a used 2013-14 Leaf. I am comfortable with the range for my daily driving. However there are two trips I at least once a month that I wonder if a Leaf would be adequate without using heat (basically April thru October). What about in winter months (temps run 40-55F) especially if at night in the rain when I would be using headlights, wipers & probably some heat & window defrosting to minimize fogging.

Trip 1: 70 miles 30 on freeway at 65mph, 70% on 2 lane black top averaging 50 mph. I am pretty confident I could make this on a single charge but would love to hear from experienced owners.

Trip 2: 90 miles 90% on freeway averaging 65 mph. Odds of making it on a single charge seem low but again would love to hear from experienced owners.

Thanks!

For #2, forget it. You will need to charge along the way. See http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=4295. On a new Leaf with new battery, you'd need to stay below 55 mph.

You said NW WA... at least you have a good CHAdeMO infrastructure thanks to http://www.westcoastgreenhighway.com/. If you want to take advantage, you should get a Leaf w/that inlet. And, no, it can't be added later.

#1 can also be dicey in winter even with a new Leaf depending on terrain and which Leaf model (heat pump vs. resistive heater model), never mind level of battery degradation on a used one.

danev said:

... especially if at night in the rain when I would be using headlights, wipers....

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You should understand that power draw for these items is relatively insignificant. Even with incandescent headlights, it's only around 100 watts -- LED even less. One mile of travel takes (very roughly) 250 watt-hours. So, 2 1/2 hours of incan headlight use would reduce only 1 mile of range. And how often do you drive a LEAF for 2 1/2 hours? I also hear people worrying about using the radio, etc... Most things that run off 12 volt system aren't worth worrying about unless a fraction of a mile is going to be important.

cwerdna said:

You said NW WA... at least you have a good CHAdeMO infrastructure thanks to http://www.westcoastgreenhighway.com/. If you want to take advantage, you should get a Leaf w/that inlet. And, no, it can't be added later.

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Hopefully, the OP can be a little more specific about his intended driving routes; if he literally means NW Washington, as in "Olympic peninsula", that's very different from the I-5 corridor. The ChargePoint map for the peninsula shows one L2 station in Port Angeles (a Nissan dealership) and one in Sequim; other than that, nothing. This is in comparison with several hundred spread around the Puget Sound area.

Don't forget the three near Neah Bay, the real NW tip of Washington. Edit, well, maybe Blaine will want some action, as they are farther North, but not as far West.

OP here, thanks for input so far...
Trip 1 corridor is Bellingham to Coupeville - I-5 to Mt Vernon, 520 to Coupeville - for short trip
Trip 2 corridor is Bellingham to Seattle (Greenwood area) -I-5 - for longer trip

danev said:

OP here, thanks for input so far...
Trip 1 corridor is Bellingham to Coupeville - I-5 to Mt Vernon, 520 to Coupeville - for short trip
Trip 2 corridor is Bellingham to Seattle (Greenwood area) -I-5 - for longer trip

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No problems. For the first couple times taking "Trip 1", stop at the DC fast charger at the Burlington Factory Outlet mall for ten or fifteen minutes; you should have plenty of reserve by Coupeville. Hopefully, you can recharge while visiting there. In a pinch, Chargepoint shows a couple public L2 stations in Oak Harbor.

Trip 2: I've driven between Bellingham and Portland several times, with two somewhat offsetting conditions: my car was newer, but there were way fewer charging stations. I had to drive from the Burlington QC (where I usually charged to very nearly full) to one of the few QCs I knew of in Seattle: either the Harvard Market or the Discovery Place Blink, and had a fair bit of anxiety; the GOM was usually down to around 5 miles. Now, though, there's a QC in Tulalip (although it's apparently fairly expensive). There are a couple DCQC stations at Nissan dealers (Magic Nissan of Everett, for one), but they're low power (as DCQC units go), and only accessible during business hours. Still, there are scads of L2 stations, and you'd only need a few miles of cushioning to make it to Seattle.