Should I buy 2022 Leaf S Plus for commuting?

[SageBrush]

Cold-gating, depending on what you read, it refers to the range decrease while driving in cold weather.

No, it refers to low speed DC charging when the battery is cold

CHAdeMO

The problem with those maps is they do not show occupancy or number of plugs; and often are an unreliable indicator of whether the charging is working, or working at all. And what you knew a week ago is not enough to drive blindly today. And it gets worse by the month. Saying that CHAdeMO is OK for OP today (it isn't, but for the sake of argument) is kind of silly when the real question is its status for the duration of the car ownership. It also ignores the reality that as CHAdeMO takes its last gasps, Tesla and CCS are growing rapidly. My opinion is that if a person wants practical DC charging capability then the LEAF should not be considered.

 

[knightmb]

Cold-gating, depending on what you read, it refers to the range decrease while driving in cold weather.

No, it refers to low speed DC charging when the battery is cold

In that case, that affects any EV. Tesla does a smart thing though, it heats up the battery while the driver is approaching a Supercharger.

CHAdeMO

The problem with those maps is they do not show occupancy or number of plugs; and often are an unreliable indicator of whether the charging is working, or working at all. And what you knew a week ago is not enough to drive blindly today. And it gets worse by the month. Saying that CHAdeMO is OK for OP today (it isn't, but for the sake of argument) is kind of silly when the real question is its status for the duration of the car ownership. It also ignores the reality that as CHAdeMO takes its last gasps, Tesla and CCS are growing rapidly. My opinion is that if a person wants practical DC charging capability then the LEAF should not be considered.

I agree, it's not as fancy as Tesla. You have to manually check, either through the provider app or even plugshare. We've all done it for years, if my parents can figure out, I'm sure the OP can too.

I won't argue with your opinion about the state of ChaDeMo, I just don't agree it's as bleak as you present it here or where the OP is going to be using the EV. I'm biased of course, where I am, ChaDeMo is easy to find all over the state and with a good record of working when you need it. It's not the same all around the country, some states are better than others.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

It's funny, as both ate true in a sense. 1. Chademo support has never been as good as it is today, meaning there are more options than ever before...and it is still growing. 2. The number of manufacturers selling Chademo cars in the US is lower than it was a few years ago,.mainly as Kia moved over. (Oddly..its gone up this year in Europe with Lexus and Xpeng)

 

[rogersleaf]

Cold-gating, depending on what you read, it refers to the range decrease while driving in cold weather.

No, it refers to low speed DC charging when the battery is cold

In that case, that affects any EV. Tesla does a smart thing though, it heats up the battery while the driver is approaching a Supercharger.

CHAdeMO

The problem with those maps is they do not show occupancy or number of plugs; and often are an unreliable indicator of whether the charging is working, or working at all. And what you knew a week ago is not enough to drive blindly today. And it gets worse by the month. Saying that CHAdeMO is OK for OP today (it isn't, but for the sake of argument) is kind of silly when the real question is its status for the duration of the car ownership. It also ignores the reality that as CHAdeMO takes its last gasps, Tesla and CCS are growing rapidly. My opinion is that if a person wants practical DC charging capability then the LEAF should not be considered.

I agree, it's not as fancy as Tesla. You have to manually check, either through the provider app or even plugshare. We've all done it for years, if my parents can figure out, I'm sure the OP can too.

I won't argue with your opinion about the state of ChaDeMo, I just don't agree it's as bleak as you present it here or where the OP is going to be using the EV. I'm biased of course, where I am, ChaDeMo is easy to find all over the state and with a good record of working when you need it. It's not the same all around the country, some states are better than others.

Coldgate... In the dead of Winter, I use a ChaDeMo session to rewarm the battery pack after cold-soaking my LEAF outside & unused for several days. If it "Coldgates" I haven't noticed, and it gets pretty freaking cold in NE Ohio.

And yes, ChaDeMo (along with non-Tesla DCFC) around this area totally sucks for availability and reliability, and the cost/value is horrendous. Without DCFC, can still easily accrue 25K miles/yr on a 40 KWh LEAF on nightly home 240v AC 6.6Kw, that some on here label unacceptably slow. I can live with those metrics given a totally loaded SL 40 KWh was 1/2 the price of the minimal spec Tesla for my needs (sorry, RWD isn't my choice to get through NE Ohio snow). Rest assured, if I needed to road trip an EV, Tesla becomes the practical choice.