I Beat EPA's 73 Mile Range : Report your experience

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evnow

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 22, 2010
Messages
11,480
Location
Seattle, WA
On the lines of "I Beat EPA's 2.9 m/kwh" thread.

Have you got more than 73 miles of range on a single charge ? No, we aren't talking about estimated range based on current m/kwh - but the actual miles driven since last charge. Time to boast about it.

The format I'd suggest is ...

Code:
Total Miles Driven : 
Date               : (Approximate)
Leaf End Condition : (Normal/Battery Low/Battery Very Low/Turtle/Stalled)
Route / Terrain    : (eg. To city xyz & back using I-123 and state highway 456. 500 ft elevation gain/loss)
Speed              : (actual mix of speeds. Eg 30% @ 70 mph, 70% @ 40 mph)
Weather            : (temperature/rain/use of climate control)
Miles/KWh          : (on the Leaf dash, not carwings. Reset m/kwh before starting the trip)
 
I did about 85+ on the freeway this weekend to Healdsberg driving under 60 with no air conditioning, only fan on low. I would not doubt I could have gone further by my estimates but it was far enough once the car broke down:)
 
My first day with the Leaf, I needed to run some errands in Modesto and drove about 80 miles and ended up with 25 miles remaining estimate. The fourth bar just disapeared and I had three remaining meaning I had about 25% left. Mostly highway travel on hwy 99 at speeds just under 60mph. Nice sunny day, but only ran the fan with fresh air because I did not want to have the car fail me again by using the A/C.

20110402-120427.jpg
 
The purpose of the EPA estimate is to advise consumers on what they should expect, not what is possible under best possible conditions.
 
Googler said:
The purpose of the EPA estimate is to advise consumers on what they should expect, not what is possible under best possible conditions.
I for one still welcome Leaf users actual range experience and how they got it no matter what the EPA range is. Same for the miles per kilowatt hour.

That being said I feel that 73 miles total is a pretty good number when someone asks me what the longest commute I would recommend for the Leaf on one charge to someone that has no experience with an EV.
 
First Long Trip Experience:
(Day two of ownership)

3/31, sunny day, 68 degrees out, didn't use heater or AC on this trip--Left San Carlos, CA with 100% charge showing 111 miles estimated range and headed to Half Moon Bay. By the time we reached Skyline@Highway 92 (approx altitude 700') we had 71 miles range left. Down the backside of 92 and into Half Moon Bay, regen topped the range at 92 remaining (actual miles from our house to Half Moon Bay is 12.7 miles).

We ate lunch and headed down Highway 1 to Pescadero. Range left was 71 miles. Ate some olallieberry pie (best pie I have ever eaten) from Duate's Tavern and Cafe http://www.duartestavern.com They are known for the pie and artichoke soup, as well as the olallieberry syrup with the pancakes.

Headed back to Half Moon Bay with slight rolling hills and an ocean breeze headwinds. At this point the Leaf had 47 miles remaining at Half Moon Bay.

Finally, headed back up 92 hill to the summit at Skyline. At this point we had 21 miles remaining. Now, I had a bit of range anxiety but it was downhill for several miles, then a 3/4 mile uphill and another several miles downhill into Belmont. The rest of the trip was a few rolling hills back into San Carlos with 34 miles remaining. (total round trip was 61 miles)

This was our first major trip and a test run. It seems the miles given on the range meter are a bit off.

One note: I wish the regen was more powerful on steep downhills. Even with light braking I'd like more regen to slow the car down.
 
I've moved discussions about leaf regen vs prius regen to its own thread. Let us keep this thread clean and to the point.
 
Hello gasmiser 1 I live in El Granada, north of HMB, and we recently passed a westbound (on Hwy 92) red Leaf. Must have been you. I thought for only the second day of ownership you were rather daring going all the way to Pescadero. My Leaf arrives April 14th and now I have confidence that a trip to Pescadero is maybe OK. Also very odd is the fact that I own a 2005 Prius and a 2000 Insight (and a 2005 civic hybrid). I, like you, will be as ready as anyone for $5.00+ a gallon gas. And finally on the lighter side - at the El Granada post office the other day I saw the largest pickup truck I've ever seen protruding from the curb. It was a Dodge Ram 3500, Super Duty, 4X4 with SIX tires. And as usual it wasn't hauling any cargo and there was only one driver. Wonder what his MPG figure is?
 
gasmiser1 said:
The rest of the trip was a few rolling hills back into San Carlos with 34 miles remaining. (total round trip was 61 miles)
So, in this trip you didn't beat the 73 miles EPA range, right ?
 
evnow said:
gasmiser1 said:
The rest of the trip was a few rolling hills back into San Carlos with 34 miles remaining. (total round trip was 61 miles)
So, in this trip you didn't beat the 73 miles EPA range, right ?
--------------------------------------------------------
evnow-

I guess I forgot to mention a couple more trips to Redwood City and Palo Alto that evening via surface streets, and then pulled back into the garage will 11 "estimated miles" remaining and on the last red line of range--total for the day was 61 miles(long trip) plus another 21 miles(shorter 2 trips) for a day total of 82 actual miles and 11 "estimated remaining".
 
Kenneth said:
Hello gasmiser 1 I live in El Granada, north of HMB, and we recently passed a westbound (on Hwy 92) red Leaf. Must have been you. I thought for only the second day of ownership you were rather daring going all the way to Pescadero.................
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Kenneth- yup, that was me :mrgreen:
 
I drive 76 miles RT to work 5 days a week so I too beat the EPA rating. I arive home with between 19 and 30 miles left of the 76 miles around 74 of the miles are highway at 60 to 62 mph with no AC with only small hills in ECO mode for sure. When they add some local chargers I will try to up the speed to 65 as a test with knowing I can get a charge somewhere.
 
Gonewild said:
I drive 76 miles RT to work 5 days a week so I too beat the EPA rating. I arive home with between 19 and 30 miles left of the 76 miles around 74 of the miles are highway at 60 to 62 mph with no AC with only small hills. When they add some local chargers I will try to up the speed to 65 as a test with knowing I can get a charge somewhere.
Nice - thats what I wanted to hear.

Isn't having no AC difficult in AZ ?
 
91 miles on Monday with mixed driving (53mi freeway/39 miles city) at speeds exceeding 70mph, ECO, no A/C. I did stop for a 45 minute level II charge during lunch but when I got home I had 12 miles of range so I think I would have squeaked in without it. I'm really digging the regen on ECO mode. I would love to have a heavy regen option in normal drive. Can somone say software fix? :mrgreen:
 
I have a similar commute (62 miles RT) but am wondering if I'll need to look for charging at work given that:

A. I live in Florida and will probably run the AC most of the time
B. I have two different routes to work (turnpike or slower highway roads) but often choose the Turnpike when I'm running late

So my question is, if I am running late and take the turnpike (with speeds of 75-80mph...FL drivers are crazy) will I be able to make it home without charging at work?
Or do I need to plan on going the less traveled highways (with speeds of 55-60mph) most of the time?
 
evnow said:
Gonewild said:
I drive 76 miles RT to work 5 days a week so I too beat the EPA rating. I arive home with between 19 and 30 miles left of the 76 miles around 74 of the miles are highway at 60 to 62 mph with no AC with only small hills. When they add some local chargers I will try to up the speed to 65 as a test with knowing I can get a charge somewhere.
Nice - thats what I wanted to hear.

Isn't having no AC difficult in AZ ?
I work at 11am to 7:30PM so it is not so hot yet in AZ this time of year it cool fast after the sun goes down.
 
HankHillNeedsALeaf said:
I have a similar commute (62 miles RT) but am wondering if I'll need to look for charging at work given that:

A. I live in Florida and will probably run the AC most of the time
B. I have two different routes to work (turnpike or slower highway roads) but often choose the Turnpike when I'm running late

So my question is, if I am running late and take the turnpike (with speeds of 75-80mph...FL drivers are crazy) will I be able to make it home without charging at work?
Or do I need to plan on going the less traveled highways (with speeds of 55-60mph) most of the time?
Plan "B" is your best bet. Learn to leave early so not needing to speed.
 
i lived near Chandler and still consider it one of the best places to live in the area. as long as you dont park in full sun, A/C would not be needed now. temps there now probably barely hit 80 and usually hovers in the low 70's. just about perfect.
 
Today on my commute home I added a bit to test my range. My normal commute is about 60 miles, Foster City to Soquel, but it involves driving Hwy 17 an 1800 feet pass. Today I drove from Foster City to Moss Landing and back to Soquel, a distance of 94.6 miles. At Moss Landing, I just made a U-turn. This was during commute and I averaged slightly more than 60 mph not counting the climb up 17 which is traffic limited to about 55. The extra bit from Santa Cruz to Moss Landing is quite hilly, but I kept up with traffic at about 63 mph most of the time. I lost the mileage remaining readout with about 8 miles left to home, but never entered turtle mode. I'm very happy with that range.
-Corwin
 
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