Is the Leaf suitable for me ? Range anxiety.

[LEAFfan]

With the Leaf, you can regen up to 30KW as you go downhill.

Actually, you can regen up to 40kW even though the console meter will only show 30.

 

[cwerdna]

Doing 55-60 here means you'll need to stay in the right lane(s). I can say it's mighty inconvenient and annoying to be in the rightmost lane w/the people exiting and entering the freeway constantly. One will need to keep moving over to accommodate those entering. I've tried it enough times while trying test out "superhighway mode" in my Prius. SHM is not suited to Bay Area freeway speeds at all.

I didn't know about this mode, but it does sound useless, I would not drive 55-60 here.
...
Thanks, that may explain it.

I am leaning towards holding off on the Leaf. There is still enough life left in my 2007 Prius at this time to make it hard to justify switching cars just yet.

The Leaf is also not a good replacement for the Prius due to the range issue.
The Volt is adequate, but but too pricey.
The PIP has a very low electric range and apparently EV mode only works up to 60 mph so is not all that useful for half my daily commute where I drive faster than that.

The Tesla S with 60 or 85 kWh battery looks like it would be the best fit for all my trips, planned and unplanned. The price is very high, of course. Maybe in 2-5 years we can afford one. Or who knows if the PIP will have a larger battery and allow EV mode at all speeds by then ...

If you're curious about SHM on the Prius, see my post at http://priuschat.com/threads/shm-super-highway-mode-or-alternative-for-65-75-mph-range-hints.63930/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and links there. You need a ScanGauge II or something else that hooks up to the OBD II to observe engine timing (IGN on ScanGauge). You've got to keep IGN between 13-15.

PiP's max EV speed is 62 mph, IIRC. However, you'd want to probably switch to HV mode (and thus not be in EV) for the highway driving to save your charge. You'll use up a lot of juice at highway speeds. Best to preserve the charge for the lower speed portions.

 

[madbrain]

PiP's max EV speed is 62 mph, IIRC. However, you'd want to probably switch to HV mode (and thus not be in EV) for the highway driving to save your charge. You'll use up a lot of juice at highway speeds. Best to preserve the charge for the lower speed portions.

The speed limitation really kills the PIP for me since my 1-way daily commute is exactly 12 mile including about 9 freeway miles where I drive 70mph+.
The speed limitation of the EV mode means I would have to still use gas for my daily commute even if I charge it fully both at home and at work. Really not worth switching.
If I get a PHEV I would want one that can at least do my daily commute without using a drop of gas, otherwise there is no point.

 

[GerryAZ]

It sounds like you have decided to hold off on the Leaf for now. I think that is wise because your 60 mile roundtrip commute with A/C use at 75 mi/hr on the freeway would probably be OK when the battery is new but you might need to slow down to 70 when the battery begins to lose capacity. To make the trip in cold weather, you would need to make sure the heater does not come on.

Gerry

 

[planet4ever]

I didn't know about this mode, but it does sound useless, I would not drive 55-60 here.

I drive 60 on San Jose freeways all the time - 101, 85, 87, 280/680, occasionally 880. I stay in the right lane, and am not a bottleneck. No, I don't have to keep switching lanes to avoid entering and exiting traffic, but I do have to vary my speed sometimes. The truth is that I started driving 60 long before I got my LEAF, because Mr. Roadshow was encouraging it.

But I'll stick with my answer from page 1 of this thread:

My straight answer: No way. You cannot count on driving 52 miles at 75mph without recharging. Not both summer and winter and not after several years. You would have to slow down.

Your choice: Slow down or don't get the LEAF.

Ray

 

[Typ997S]

Thread Hijack!

I'm in similar situation as you, with a 7.7 kW PV system...I'm curious about the statement: "Using E-9 schedule would not reduce that by much as it is less favorable than my current E-6 TOU rate for my solar PV.
"

When I look at the E-9 vs. E-6 tariff, it seems that the rates are quite a bit lower for off-peak on the E-9 tariff, and a little lower for part peak, and then higher for peak. I'm curious as to why the E-9 is worse then...is it because you are "power positive" during the peak time, and thus "selling" at a higher rate, which offsets the savings on the other times? Could you please elaborate? Thanks!

 

[planet4ever]

When I look at the E-9 vs. E-6 tariff, it seems that the rates are quite a bit lower for off-peak on the E-9 tariff, and a little lower for part peak, and then higher for peak. I'm curious as to why the E-9 is worse then...is it because you are "power positive" during the peak time, and thus "selling" at a higher rate, which offsets the savings on the other times? Could you please elaborate? Thanks!

The E-6 peak time (1-7pm) comes closer to solar peak (about 1pm in summer) than the E-9 peak time (2-9pm). So with E-6 you sell more electricity at peak rate in the afternoon and buy less in the evening. Further discussion of this should probably go in one of the PG&E threads, such as:
Official California PG&E Thread
PG&E Rates w/ solar & ev
Your decision to go E-9B (with PG&E)?

But you also need to be aware that E-9 is changing dramatically next year, and most people think it is changing for the worse. See PG&E / CPUC - Non-Tiered Time Of Use Rates.

Ray

 

[Typ997S]

When I look at the E-9 vs. E-6 tariff, it seems that the rates are quite a bit lower for off-peak on the E-9 tariff, and a little lower for part peak, and then higher for peak. I'm curious as to why the E-9 is worse then...is it because you are "power positive" during the peak time, and thus "selling" at a higher rate, which offsets the savings on the other times? Could you please elaborate? Thanks!

The E-6 peak time (1-7pm) comes closer to solar peak (about 1pm in summer) than the E-9 peak time (2-9pm). So with E-6 you sell more electricity at peak rate in the afternoon and buy less in the evening. Further discussion of this should probably go in one of the PG&E threads, such as:
Official California PG&E Thread
PG&E Rates w/ solar & ev
Your decision to go E-9B (with PG&E)?

But you also need to be aware that E-9 is changing dramatically next year, and most people think it is changing for the worse. See PG&E / CPUC - Non-Tiered Time Of Use Rates.

Ray

Thanks! I had not noticed the difference in the peak time window. Looks like E-6 would be the way to go for me, especially with the upcoming change to E-9.