LeafHopper
Active member
I have some real concerns about using the Leaf in a hot climate. I live in Phoenix. In Nissan's design discussions, they mentioned that active cooling was not needed except in Abu Dhabi. The climate in Phoenix is not that different from Abu Dhabi. Not having active cooling will impact battery life. How much impact is a question that we need an answer to.
As reported in other forum topics, the air conditioning has a tremendous impact on the range of the Leaf. They seem to think that 95F is a hot day. What happens to the range at 115. In Phoenix we average 18 days above 110F. Do we leave the car at home on those days? More answers are needed. Some research on electric cars in general (not specific to the Leaf) has shown that an electric air-conditioner will use 38% of the electrical charge. They point out that many design factors such as window tints can affect this.
Range is also greatly affected by the kind of traffic you are in. In Phoenix, this varies from day to day. Sometimes wonderful, but sometimes terrible. We never know what we will encounter.
We also do not know what the impact of passenger weight will be on the range.
In my case, my wife wants to commute with her car pool a round distance of about 47 miles. These range limitations are a real concern for Phoenix and even Tucson drivers. I am keeping an open mind and I hope Nissan provides us with enough answers.
As reported in other forum topics, the air conditioning has a tremendous impact on the range of the Leaf. They seem to think that 95F is a hot day. What happens to the range at 115. In Phoenix we average 18 days above 110F. Do we leave the car at home on those days? More answers are needed. Some research on electric cars in general (not specific to the Leaf) has shown that an electric air-conditioner will use 38% of the electrical charge. They point out that many design factors such as window tints can affect this.
Range is also greatly affected by the kind of traffic you are in. In Phoenix, this varies from day to day. Sometimes wonderful, but sometimes terrible. We never know what we will encounter.
We also do not know what the impact of passenger weight will be on the range.
In my case, my wife wants to commute with her car pool a round distance of about 47 miles. These range limitations are a real concern for Phoenix and even Tucson drivers. I am keeping an open mind and I hope Nissan provides us with enough answers.