Tell me if a Leaf could work for my situation...

[Reddy]

Sounds like you will be trading one "record mileage" for another.

If you're willing to reduce speed and/or heat, you can easily get 70-80 mi. Not something I would recommend for a daily commute, but here's one posters one-time extreme experience, 77 mi at 28 F, average speed 35-40 mph, and still 2 bars left:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=11110

 

[TonyWilliams]

I am thinking of installing a 40 AMP charger in case I get a car in the future that van take advantage of it.

On the "40 AMP charger", what you really mean is a 30 Amp EVSE on a 40 Amp circuit. (The charger is built into the car.)

He might really want an EVSE for a 40 amp onboard charger, which is what all the Tesla Model S and Rav4 EV come with. That will require a 50 amp breaker.

The Clipper Creek CS-50 would do this.

 

[Phatcat73]

I just did a 54 mile (80% freeway) 1 way trip, no heat, eco mode, 55mph max and had 49% battery remaining. 51% consumed.

The same route home with heat, 70mph, eco off, consumed 70% battery life.

Both were at near freezing temps with light rain.

 

[GRA]

I just did a 54 mile (80% freeway) 1 way trip, no heat, eco mode, 55mph max and had 49% battery remaining. 51% consumed.

The same route home with heat, 70mph, eco off, consumed 70% battery life.

Both were at near freezing temps with light rain.

Thanks for that. So, assuming you won't routinely go past LBW, that means you had about another 10% of capacity usable on your trip home, so maybe 61 or 62 miles total to LBW (from a 100% charge?). Next time, you might want to try the 70 mph trip in Eco with the heat on (assuming you're warm enough), and compare. Temps around freezing should be ideal to show the advantages of the heat pump compared to the resistive heater.

 

[davewill]

I just did a 54 mile (80% freeway) 1 way trip, no heat, eco mode, 55mph max and had 49% battery remaining. 51% consumed.

The same route home with heat, 70mph, eco off, consumed 70% battery life.

Both were at near freezing temps with light rain.

It sounds about right, but it's hard to compare unless you do complete round trips. Even fairly modest changes in altitude can make the economy on an outbound leg quite different from the inbound.