Stanton
Well-known member
I usually don't quote USA Today, but I think the following data lends support to the decision Nissan must have struggled with during the Leaf design phase (and one we've debated here on the forum for YEARS):
"AAA conducted a simulation to measure the driving range of three fully-electric vehicles – a 2013 Nissan Leaf, a 2012 Mitsubishi iMIEV and a 2014 Ford Focus Electric Vehicle – in cold, moderate and hot weather. It tested the vehicles for city driving to mimic stop-and-go traffic between December and January, fully charging each EV, and then "driving" each on a dynamometer in a climate-controlled room until the battery was fully exhausted.
Brannon said two of the vehicles, the Mitsubishi and the Ford, were equipped with dedicated management of the battery temperature. "We were expecting that difference would yield differences in the optimal range of the vehicles in extreme temperatures," he said. "It did not."
The likely reason: There's only once source of power in an electric vehicle – the battery. If battery power is being used to heat or cool the battery, it takes power away from the vehicle's range, he said.
The average electric vehicle battery range for each full charge in AAA's test was 105 miles at 75 degrees Fahrenheit. That dropped 57% to 43 miles when the temperature was held steady at 20 degrees. Warm temperatures were not as stressful but still delivered a lower average of 69 miles per full charge at 95 degrees, AAA said."'
"AAA conducted a simulation to measure the driving range of three fully-electric vehicles – a 2013 Nissan Leaf, a 2012 Mitsubishi iMIEV and a 2014 Ford Focus Electric Vehicle – in cold, moderate and hot weather. It tested the vehicles for city driving to mimic stop-and-go traffic between December and January, fully charging each EV, and then "driving" each on a dynamometer in a climate-controlled room until the battery was fully exhausted.
Brannon said two of the vehicles, the Mitsubishi and the Ford, were equipped with dedicated management of the battery temperature. "We were expecting that difference would yield differences in the optimal range of the vehicles in extreme temperatures," he said. "It did not."
The likely reason: There's only once source of power in an electric vehicle – the battery. If battery power is being used to heat or cool the battery, it takes power away from the vehicle's range, he said.
The average electric vehicle battery range for each full charge in AAA's test was 105 miles at 75 degrees Fahrenheit. That dropped 57% to 43 miles when the temperature was held steady at 20 degrees. Warm temperatures were not as stressful but still delivered a lower average of 69 miles per full charge at 95 degrees, AAA said."'