62kwh Leaf Plus Efficiency Posting

That's consistent with our usage and efficiency in Denver area. About 4.3-4.5 mi/kWh in summer. More like 3.7-ish in winter, running on dedicated snows depending on how cold it gets, similar usage.

Ok

September is in the books. The weather was beautiful for most of the month in Chicago.

S+ 574 miles and 5.4 miles/kWh. Maybe 35% freeway.

Today I has an amazing run between Skokie and Huntley which was about 75 miles freeway (60-75 mph) and 15 miles local (35-45mph) for 89 miles in total round trip. Outbound was 5.4 miles/kWh and return 5.3 miles/kWh. There was plenty of traffics and trucks, which helped I am sure, but still not sure how I managed such high efficiency in both directions at such high speeds. Left with 86% 249 miles on GOM, and returned at 55% and 160 miles GOM.

SV+ 588 miles and 4.7 miles/kWh maybe 15% highway.

The abundance of 75-80F weather minimized AC usage or draw.

That's awesome. I've been averaging about 5 m/kWh on my 2017 but I live at 5400 ft elevation and drive like a grandma (ie I obey the speed limits). Probably 50/50 city/highway (most highway is 55 mph). The range does drop quickly if there is snow or the temps are cold but our climate is pretty mild and snow doesn't last long here. I'm a bit of a hyper-miler too but I'm glad others are seeing some good numbers for efficiency.

oops! I guess this post is a bit off-topic. Sorry 'bout that, but congrats anyway on those numbers.

Haven't compiled stats yet but probably around 4.5 to 4.6 miles/kwh and my commute is 60-75 mph but short. I have noticed a significant drop this past week as the rain has semi returned. Even on dry days, the efficiency is lower because the air is colder. Interesting how noticeable and dramatic the change is.

Not sure how you guys do it- in our day-to-day summertime we average about 4.1, lots of dirt road and hills and little bits of heat even in the summer but we try to be as economical as possible. Can not seem to climb up out of that range given the location.

One other point I forgot to mention. New freeway surface for a large section. Very smooth road.

dmacarthur said:

Not sure how you guys do it- in our day-to-day summertime we average about 4.1, lots of dirt road and hills and little bits of heat even in the summer but we try to be as economical as possible. Can not seem to climb up out of that range given the location.

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How are you driving? What mode? What ideology? Realize in a highly efficient system; EVERYTHING matters. How often do you reset? Do you use your drive computer?

How are you driving? What mode? What ideology? Realize in a highly efficient system; EVERYTHING matters. How often do you reset? Do you use your drive computer?

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We drive as efficiently as most people in their mid-seventies, ECO all the time and coasting downhills etc, I don't see how re-setting helps because I don't care if I get 5 M/KWh one short trip all I really care about is the overall efficiency. I use LeafSpy to try to consume the least amount of power under differing conditions, but after a month or so the dashboard always shows me about the same- 4.1. Maybe 1/5 total miles on the thruway at 65-70 MPH.... heated seats until it gets super cold, never AC..... the rest is around the dirt roads and hills of Vermont which I am beginning to think are not the most efficient roads to drive on (although the Leaf is a super back road car until the snow is too deep...)

dmacarthur said:

How are you driving? What mode? What ideology? Realize in a highly efficient system; EVERYTHING matters. How often do you reset? Do you use your drive computer?

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We drive as efficiently as most people in their mid-seventies, ECO all the time and coasting downhills etc, I don't see how re-setting helps because I don't care if I get 5 M/KWh one short trip all I really care about is the overall efficiency. I use LeafSpy to try to consume the least amount of power under differing conditions, but after a month or so the dashboard always shows me about the same- 4.1. Maybe 1/5 total miles on the thruway at 65-70 MPH.... heated seats until it gets super cold, never AC..... the rest is around the dirt roads and hills of Vermont which I am beginning to think are not the most efficient roads to drive on (although the Leaf is a super back road car until the snow is too deep...)

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Ok, this makes sense.

Not resetting your meters regularly like daily means you never know what you are doing wrong...or right. 4.1 can mean 3.6 in winter, 4.6 in summer and by your location, that is probably pretty close. But your winters are longer than your summers so its probably more like 3.3/5.0

You mention Eco...Eco what? B? D? E Pedal? They all have roles in optimizing efficiency depending on driving conditions.

Finally; regen is NOT your friend. Avoid it as much as possible (which won't be a lot mind you but that is your goal) Better efficiency comes from minimizing power in AND out. Regen gives back much less than it takes. So constant speed and power is the goal. Naturally regen is the goto over friction braking but I am guessing your not so great roads means a lot of speed up, slow down and that is the toughest drive to excel at.

Finally; regen is NOT your friend.

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Yup this is why we try to coast down hills as much as possible, but this takes being attaentive as well.... and by ECO I mean the ECO setting, you have one too, but e-pedal only works for us in towns on these dirt roads it is too frigging hard on the old ankles..... can't let off but only a tiny bit on the pedal or everyone goes thru the windshield.

Tires at 40-44psi helps, especially around town. It does make the ride stiffer though.

The more you can time your approach to stop lights, the better as well.

Tires at 40-44psi helps, especially around town. It does make the ride stiffer though.

The more you can time your approach to stop lights, the better as well.

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Yup we keep the tires at 45 PSI nad we do not do stoplights very often, this is the sticks!

I'd guess a lot of it is the road surface. On a bicycle, I've felt a significant increase in drag on my usual routes after the roads were chip-sealed. A bike isn't a car obviously but the difference in rolling resistance from just that change was quite noticeable. Another data point - when I had my Rav4Prime out on the gravel, hilly roads near my folks' farm, I saw the efficiency drop quite a lot.

goldbrick said:

I'd guess a lot of it is the road surface. On a bicycle, I've felt a significant increase in drag on my usual routes after the roads were chip-sealed. A bike isn't a car obviously but the difference in rolling resistance from just that change was quite noticeable. Another data point - when I had my Rav4Prime out on the gravel, hilly roads near my folks' farm, I saw the efficiency drop quite a lot.

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Oh yeah, new pavement makes a huge difference. I am surprised you can't tell? But then again, you need new pavement for that.

But the car simply rolls easier and its noticeable to me. After all, bumps...even very small ones are an impediment to momentum

when I had my Rav4Prime out on the gravel, hilly roads near my folks' farm, I saw the efficiency drop quite a lot.

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sounds exactly right- are you our kid?

Ok, October is done. College visits are again in flight, and I had my first 1K miles on one of the cars in a month in quite some time in the S+.

SV+ 710 miles 4.3 miles/kWh. The SV+ did pretty well considering the cold end of month. Maybe 25-30% highway including a trip to Wisconsin.

S+ 1010 miles 4.9 miles/kWh. 50% highway this month, which sunk the average a bit.
- 330 miles of this was a 1 day round trip to Champaign with L2 charging in the middle.

I have a medium length (500 miles) in the SV+ and a 1100 mile trip in the S+ coming in the near future. I am very curious to finally see how the car does a 3 back to back DC charge day (possible 4! In the S+).

November is done, and a huge driving month for us, though colder weather and long highway trips were cutting down the efficiencies.

SV+ 1065 miles 3.7 miles/kWh
S+ 1437 miles ~4.5 miles/kWh (rough guess)

DougWantsALeaf said:

November is done, and a huge driving month for us, though colder weather and long highway trips were cutting down the efficiencies.

SV+ 1065 miles 3.7 miles/kWh
S+ 1437 miles ~4.5 miles/kWh (rough guess)

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rough guess? What method are you using to tabulate?

Our S+ averaged 3.3 kWh per mile for the month of November, at about 1100 miles driven- cold here, we simply use the heater more than when we first bought the Leafs, plus studded snow tires. I am surprised that yours is around 4.5, that is summertime range for us.

Dave - I reset the trip average many times on the way to and from Kansas, so I am sure any tabulation would be a little off. In short though I was being lazy.

Dmacarthur - my simple trick to higher efficiency in winter is to never use heat. My daughter does use it sometimes as we share the second car (wife has the SV+, and basically has the heat glued on from mid October).

No 0 heat is usually not enjoyable for most, that is kind of my cheap side leaking out ...then immediately freezing.