Should Leafs have an optional larger battery pack

[stanley]

I think Nissan would sell a lot more cars if it had more range. For some people todays range is enough. For others it appears to be too confining. Especially with so little public charging infrastructure in place.

 

[ENIAC]

More battery modules equals more weight which effects body, frame, suspension, etc. Also more cost and less interior space.

 

[EVDrive]

The answer is yes. 73 miles is not enough for mass adoption.
There is plenty of room under the trunk for 8 - 10 kwh's of extra battery.

 

[TonyWilliams]

The answer is yes. 73 miles is not enough for mass adoption.
There is plenty of room under the trunk for 8 - 10 kwh's of extra battery.

That would weigh 300 pounds, aft of the rear axle. Not a good plan (unless you're Ford Focus that sold 8 cars).

 

[EVDrive]

That would weigh 300 pounds, aft of the rear axle. Not a good plan (unless you're Ford Focus that sold 8 cars).

Not ideal of course.

in the next generation maybe they could put more batteries over the rear axle after they relocate the charger to the front.

 

[TonyWilliams]

That would weigh 300 pounds, aft of the rear axle. Not a good plan (unless you're Ford Focus that sold 8 cars).

Not ideal of course.

in the next generation maybe they could put more batteries over the rear axle after they relocate the charger to the front.

And move the six big emergency brake capacitors. You're not going to fit 300 pounds of battery in that area, though. Maybe they could "pull a Volt" and put batteries where the fifth passenger would sit, in the middle of the rear bench seat.

 

[GeekEV]

I think Nissan would sell a lot more cars if it had more range. For some people todays range is enough. For others it appears to be too confining. Especially with so little public charging infrastructure in place.

Wow, how ever did all the brainiacs at Nissan miss that? :roll:

Come on, seriously? They made the best compromise they could between size, weight, cost and real world need. If it had been economical to provide more range I'm sure they would have...


Sorry, I'm feeling sarcastic tonight!

 

[GaslessInSeattle]

I'd much rather have a quick charging network than have to pay more for batteries. with even a few DC QC's, we'd be golden!

 

[jkirkebo]

When they move to the next batteri chemistry (NMC, in 2015?) which supposedly delivers nearly twice the energy density, they should offer at least two different battery pack sizes, maybe three.

If we assume the same physical size pack as today (a great compromise IMHO, I want my trunk for other stuff):

Large pack: 42kWh, 125 mile EPA range, 175 mile ideal range
Medium pack: 33kWh, 100 mile EPA range, 140 mile ideal range
Small pack: 24kWh, 75 mile EPA, 105 mile ideal (the weight will be less than todays Leaf because of fewer cells).

At least the large and small sizes should be available. I would buy the large one

The small pack would maybe have to be half the size of the large one, using half the number of modules but connected 4s instead of 2s2p. That would yield exactly the same system voltage. Thus the middle pack might be harder to produce, with all cells the same size.

 

[tps]

I make it home from my daily routine with plenty of range left. Rather than the expense and weight of a larger battery I'd rarely need, I'd rather have QC stations for the occasional times i need a bit extra to make it home. I've already used public L2 charging in that mode a couple times, and I've gotten a bite to eat while the car was charging. But with QC I could have picked up in less than 5 minutes what it took 45 minutes to pick up with L2.

 

[TomT]

Porsche seems to have a good handle on that (911)...

That would weigh 300 pounds, aft of the rear axle. Not a good plan (unless you're Ford Focus that sold 8 cars).

 

[adric22]

I think Nissan would sell a lot more cars if it had more range. For some people todays range is enough. For others it appears to be too confining. Especially with so little public charging infrastructure in place.

Nissan's CEO addressed this exact concern on camera. He said they do not care about the people who complain that they drive long distances and need more range. He said they can't produce enough Leafs to even fill demand for the car they have now. So why should they be trying to redesign it already?

I'm sure Nissan is working on a longer range version, but ultimately business and economics will determine wether it will be successful in the marketplace.

 

[nosuchthing]

Personally, I'm swapping for higher density batteries and 6.6 on-board charger as soon as they hit the market.

We try to turn the card around as fast as we can recharge it and it ain't always possible. Range limitation is a BIG problem, because we have to forgo a lot of trips (at least in Ca) when they near 70-mile freeway range and there may or may not be an L2 available at or near the destination. 125-mile freeway range with 42 kW batt would put the car in a very good position to compete with ICEs.

 

[KJD]

Personally, I'm swapping for higher density batteries and 6.6 on-board charger as soon as they hit the market.
We try to turn the card around as fast as we can recharge it and it ain't always possible. Range limitation is a BIG problem, because we have to forgo a lot of trips (at least in Ca) when they near 70-mile freeway range and there may or may not be an L2 available at or near the destination. 125-mile freeway range with 42 kW batt would put the car in a very good position to compete with ICEs.

The next question is how much would you be willing to pay for a car with a 125 mile range ?

I myself have said that it would be great to have a larger battery as an option, but the truth is that the current 2012 Leaf was a bit more than I wanted to spend on a new car already.

Just as a point of comparison, the base model Tesla has a 40kwh battery and the cost is 49,000. Truth is that is a budget buster for me. Now maybe in 3 or 4 years a used one will have a price low enough for me to consider, but right now the Leaf and its 75 mile range what I can live with.

http://www.teslamotors.com/models/options" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Someone else said that a few quick charge stations along major highways would make the Leaf a lot more usable and I would have to agree with that conclusion.

 

[jkirkebo]

The next question is how much would you be willing to pay for a car with a 125 mile range ?

I myself have said that it would be great to have a larger battery as an option, but the truth is that the current 2012 Leaf was a bit more than I wanted to spend on a new car already.

Personally I'd pay up to $8k over todays Leaf for a 42kWh version.

 

[Yodrak]

Sounds like the Leaf is not a good match for your driving needs? Makes one wonder why you bought it.

... We try to turn the card around as fast as we can recharge it and it ain't always possible. Range limitation is a BIG problem, because we have to forgo a lot of trips (at least in Ca) when they near 70-mile freeway range and there may or may not be an L2 available at or near the destination. 125-mile freeway range with 42 kW batt would put the car in a very good position to compete with ICEs.

 

[TomT]

I'm not sure if we are talking a real-world 125 miles or an Alternate-Reality-Nissan-LA4-125 miles, but if it was the latter, it would not make enough difference to appreciably affect how I used the car. The former definitely would, however...

The next question is how much would you be willing to pay for a car with a 125 mile range?

 

[palmermd]

I'd much rather have a quick charging network than have to pay more for batteries. with even a few DC QC's, we'd be golden!

Best answer so far!

 

[IBELEAF]

I guess it all depends where you live and how you use it. In Seattle area even with my real world 60 miles Leaf has been fine for 92% of my trips in the past year. 2% of the trips where I had to use L2 charger and another 4% where I had to drive very efficiently. The remaining 2% was where the Leaf wouldn't reach the destination even if it had larger battery pack, so what's the point of paying premium for that 2% use?

 

[planet4ever]

I'd much rather have a quick charging network than have to pay more for batteries. with even a few DC QC's, we'd be golden!

Best answer so far!

You guys may change your minds if it turns out that in a couple of years the average QC costs $20. Even if it's only $10 (and I doubt if it will be less than that) you will be paying 20 cents a mile and spending a third of your travel time twiddling your thumbs.

Ray