Range advice

[jenniparker]

Very interested in buying a Leaf, but worry about the range. I live in a major city 6 million plus, and commute 20 miles each way to work on very congested HWY. Some of the things I have read about the actual range of the leaf freak me out. I don't want to be stuck on the side of the HWY coming home. BTW, I live in SE and am a teacher, so winter is mild and don't do the work commute in the hottest months.

Should I look at a hybrid instead?

 

[epirali]

Very interested in buying a Leaf, but worry about the range. I live in a major city 6 million plus, and commute 20 miles each way to work on very congested HWY. Some of the things I have read about the actual range of the leaf freak me out. I don't want to be stuck on the side of the HWY coming home. BTW, I live in SE and am a teacher, so winter is mild and don't do the work commute in the hottest months.

Should I look at a hybrid instead?

Actually the Leaf sounds perfect. Keep in mind the slower you go the better your range. So ironically traveling 70-75 gives you less range than stop and go traffic. Unlike gasoline you use almost no battery when stopped.

But either way 40 miles round trip is only about 50% of the range of a new battery.

 

[TimLee]

See the couple of statements I made about range yesterday starting at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=8802&start=6780#p364639" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.
40 miles will work well for a year or two.
Beyond that there are issues due to capacity loss, even in the someone moderate southeast.
You don't say where in the sotheast. Where I am it hits 20F for several days a year and I like heat when it's that cold.
For that you will need the heat pump heater on the SV or SL.
Otherwise 40 miles will not work well in year three.

 

[jenniparker]

See the couple of statements I made about range yesterday starting at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=8802&start=6780#p364639" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.
40 miles will work well for a year or two.
Beyond that there are issues due to capacity loss, even in the someone moderate southeast.
You don't say where in the sotheast. Where I am it hits 20F for several days a year and I like heat when it's that cold.
For that you will need the heat pump heater on the SV or SL.
Otherwise 40 miles will not work well in year three.

I live in Atlanta. Thinking about doing a 2 year lease though. Have a minivan that is costing $60/week in gas.

 

[RegGuheert]

Welcome to the LEAF forum!

I live in Atlanta. Thinking about doing a 2 year lease though. Have a minivan that is costing $60/week in gas.

I agree that a 40-mile commute in Atlanta on a two-year lease is a perfect fit. I recommend that you get a LEAF with a heat-pump so that you have the maximum range while using the heat. I think that means you need to get the SV or SL model.

There were reports that during the huge ice storm this winter, while many ICEs ran out of gasoline when stuck on the freeway, some LEAF owners were able to stay warm in their cars for a very long time and then drive home. Here is a thread on that topic: Atlanta winter traffic jam: 25 miles in 9 hours.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

The key is to understand the dynamics of the car. Even here north of Chicago when we were subzero I could do more then 60 miles on a charge, but the compromise was speed and very little heat. 40 shouldn't be a problem south of Fairbanks

 

[TimLee]

^^^ I agree a two year lease on an SV or SL will work for most people with a 40 mile daily use. Has some modest room for side trips but you need to drive modest less than 65 mph speeds.

 

[jenniparker]

Thank you all so much! Lots of great info. One more question. I've seen the good accident / safety reviews, but they were all from front or side. If someone slams into me from behind on the HWY. Are my kids gonna fair as well as with any other compact?

 

[RegGuheert]

Are my kids gonna fair as well as with any other compact?

While I don't know the answer to your question, I will say that I do not consider the LEAF to be "compact". It sits in our garage next to our 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid and the LEAF is quite a bit larger than the Honda. If you have had a chance to sit in one, perhaps you would agree.

One good thing is that the rear seat is not right up against the back of the vehicle as it is in some very small cars or even the jump seats in the Tesla Model S. (Note that Tesla put a lot of effort into strengthening the rear of that car to allow those to be safe seats.)

I will say that in my interactions with Nissan at their headquarters, Nissan has often stressed and is rightfully proud of their focus and achievement of providing a vehicle that is extremely safe. They get high marks in my book in this regard!

 

[TimLee]

I agree with RegGuheert on vehicle size.
The LEAF is at the low end of the mid-size range on EPA ratings.
I also have a mid-size 2009 Altima.
Is a bit harder to get into than the Altima in the front if you have knee problems but there are seat travel extension brackets that can help that.
Back seat is quite a bit tighter too.
But it does not feel like a compact.
MUCH more roomy and comfortable than the Prius.

 

[WetEV]

Thank you all so much! Lots of great info. One more question. I've seen the good accident / safety reviews, but they were all from front or side. If someone slams into me from behind on the HWY. Are my kids gonna fair as well as with any other compact?

Happened to me. Traffic stopped. I stopped. Car behind me didn't, hit me hard. As in, totaled the car hard. Crumpled up part of the cargo area floor hard. I was fine. I'm happy to report that the seat and head rest feels nice and comfortable when getting slammed hard from behind. Anyone in the back seat would have been fine as well. (There wasn't anyone else in the car.)

Leaf is heavier than the average car of the size due to the battery pack, and is larger than the average compact, so has more crush space.

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/nissan/leaf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/insurance-loss-information" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[jenniparker]

Thank you all. So much...I'm convinced. I've got to persuade hubby, but I'm pretty sure he won't be crying over the mini-van leaving. I know there is a $7,500 tax rebate for 2014 and GA does a 5K one. Do you think I could wait til the 2015 Leafs roll out in the fall and still get the same rebates??? I know that's a tough one, but you seem to know your stuff!

Thanks again,
Jennifer in the ATL

 

[RegGuheert]

Thank you all. So much...I'm convinced. I've got to persuade hubby, but I'm pretty sure he won't be crying over the mini-van leaving. I know there is a $7,500 tax rebate for 2014 and GA does a 5K one. Do you think I could wait til the 2015 Leafs roll out in the fall and still get the same rebates??? I know that's a tough one, but you seem to know your stuff!

I don't know anything about the GA tax rebate, but the Federal tax credit is supposed to stay in place for the first 200,000 LEAFs sold in the U.S. We are still well below 100,000, so there is little chance it will disappear before MY2015s come out.

 

[TimLee]

Thank you all. So much...I'm convinced. I've got to persuade hubby, but I'm pretty sure he won't be crying over the mini-van leaving. I know there is a $7,500 tax rebate for 2014 and GA does a 5K one. Do you think I could wait til the 2015 Leafs roll out in the fall and still get the same rebates??? I know that's a tough one, but you seem to know your stuff!

Thanks again,
Jennifer in the ATL

Depends on th GA legislature for the GA tax credit. They worked hard on killing or substantially revising this past legislative session. There is a lengthy thread on it.
Many think it will be gone or substantially revised by spring 2015.
I don't know if waiting till late in the year puts you at risk or not.
There is a pretty good chance 2015 will have the more heat resistant battery. With regards to that waiting is good.

 

[pdaunno]

Jennifer,

I live in Atlanta and commute I-85 daily. My total commute is about 57 miles round-trip and most of them are on 85. I am able to do that commute and get home with around 25-30% of the charge left. I've had my LEAF for 2 months and have driven about 2100 gas-free miles. You should have no trouble with your commute. I did a 2 year lease and hope when my lease is up the 2016s will have a longer range. You can get a good deal from Aziz at Town Center Nissan. Also, it is not a $5K rebate but a tax credit that you can take over 5 years depending on what your tax liability is per year. The $7500 federal only applies to a purchase not lease but typically the dealership will deduct it from the price of the car before calculating the lease. Also, check if you are entitled to Nissan VPP which gets you the vehicle at $1000 below invoice.

 

[apvbguy]

Very interested in buying a Leaf, but worry about the range. I live in a major city 6 million plus, and commute 20 miles each way to work on very congested HWY. Some of the things I have read about the actual range of the leaf freak me out. I don't want to be stuck on the side of the HWY coming home. BTW, I live in SE and am a teacher, so winter is mild and don't do the work commute in the hottest months.

Should I look at a hybrid instead?

as long as you watch your speeds going to and from work, you should have an addition 20-30 mile of low speed driving available to you.
at less than 40 mph you can expect to get 80+ miles per charge, the faster you go the faster your range will diminish

 

[apvbguy]

Thank you all. So much...I'm convinced. I've got to persuade hubby, but I'm pretty sure he won't be crying over the mini-van leaving. I know there is a $7,500 tax rebate for 2014 and GA does a 5K one. Do you think I could wait til the 2015 Leafs roll out in the fall and still get the same rebates??? I know that's a tough one, but you seem to know your stuff!

Thanks again,
Jennifer in the ATL

as for the mini van versus the leaf space wise, you will be amazed at the amount of cargo capacity the leaf has when you fold the rear seats down

 

[DanCar]

See the couple of statements I made about range yesterday starting at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=8802&start=6780#p364639" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.
40 miles will work well for a year or two.

Nissan updated the battery in 2013, and probably improved the range loss due to heat. So people who are driving for 3 years have a worse experience.
http://insideevs.com/nissan-ceo-carlos-ghosn-second-generation-battery-is-coming-online-now/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Also there is reason to believe, sometime soon we will see new heat resistant batteries. I say this for two reasons:
1) Nissan previously said that testing for new heat batteries would finish in April 2014
2) E-nv200 starting production in May 2014 was likely waiting for new batteries.

 

[LeftieBiker]

MUCH more roomy and comfortable than the Prius.

Let's not get carried away. Maybe roomier for the front occupants, but the Prius has more cargo space. We have a Leaf and a PIP, and the PIP gets used for loads the Leaf won't carry. And yes, I do put the seats down!

 

[TomT]

With the ludicrous electric-only range it has, I call it an AlwaysPIP... :lol:

We have a Leaf and a PIP, and the PIP gets used for loads the Leaf won't carry. And yes, I do put the seats down!