BESIDES MORE RANGE, what would you like to see in LEAF gen 2

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evnow said:
TomT said:
Until the GOM can do look ahead and take in to account elevation changes and current road speeds, it will continue to be of marginal value. Simply tweaking the values is flogging a dead horse.
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Yes - and if we enter destination and select a route - the car has all the information needed to make an intelligent guess.

But here is where I think a software company may do much better than an auto company like Nissan.
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There are already apps that take account of temp, wind, terrain etc, so there's little excuse for the car companies not providing it. For example:

https://evtripplanner.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
Besides range, I'd like to see an option to have zero reference to "zero emissions" on the car at all. I'd like to see an option to turn off those stupid tree icons and use that screen real estate for something meaningful. I'd like to see them beef up the acceleration to something closer to 0-60 in 6 seconds, rather than the current 9 or 10 seconds. I'd like to see a real charge timer in the base model. And I'd like to see them work with the charging companies so that the car itself is your "card". There's already communication going on between the charger and the car, so why not have the car communicate your account information.
 
For long trips an integrated nav system that gave a proper range estimate would be great, but I probably would not use it, as I prefer to just get in and drive (novel concept...), but I would simply be happy with a predictable brain-dead range readout. If I knew I was headed over lots of hills or would be on the freeway a lot I would know it was a little optimistic, or if I knew I was going to need to go further I would keep my speed low.

The biggest failing of the GOM is that it wildly fluctuates, causing unnecessary anxiety and clouding the simple matter of knowing how much juice is left. A simple fine grained readout just seems like a no-brainer.
 
Another one, but this goes for the whole industry:

Give 3 key fobs and/or make it <$50 for a new one. There are less than $10 in parts in the fob, and y'all know you are reaming your buyers. Why not service your customers rather than gouging them?

Those Tesla guys seem to get it, and there is a lot of room for stealing away customers who are tired of getting fleeced by dealers and car companies for overpriced replacement parts and basic service.
 
Moof said:
7) Let me override the GOM by putting in my own preferred miles/kWh, and set my own desired reserve. I'd likely just set mine to 4 miles/kWh and 10 miles reserve and be done with it. The GOM vastly and needlessly amplifies range anxiety. I'd rather have a slightly pessimistic reading all the time than a wildly varying readout.
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LeafSpy does this already and the price is very reasonable.
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=14285" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nissan is just not very good at instrumentation or software development.
 
Zythryn said:
Nubo said:
Agreed. Existing Tesla owners are NOT going to want to rub shoulders with the hoi polloi if it means lower availability. While I think a tesla port for LEAF is a good idea going forward, it might be a separate network for some time until Nissan or other 3rd parties could bring enough charging infrastructure to the party to justify a shared approach that would benefit everyone. I think this will happen but no idea of the timeline.
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Completely disagree!
Tesla would love to have Nissan on board.

The current Leafs don't have the hardware, so this would be for the next gen Leaf.

Tesla has stated they would expect any company that wants in on the SC system to contribute towards building it out. So crowding should not be an issue.
Sure, temporarily at some locations, but short term only.
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We're not necessarily in disagreement at all, much less "completely". I did take pains to point out "... until Nissan... could bring enough charging infrastructure to the party to justify a shared approach that would benefit everyone".

An instance of what I like to call "The Invisible Disclaimer". :p
 
Location based charge timer. If I'm parked at home I want the timer to start charging when my power is least expensive, but if I plug in away from home, I want the car to start charging ASAP.

-G.D.
 
evnow said:
Better GOM ....snip.....
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+1
yea - why is it that WE can figure out, based on temps/altitude on a given trip (data all obtainable via the web), how far the car will go - but Nissan can't incorporate that kind of data into a GPS route via (perhaps) a blue tooth enabled smart phone.
.
 
1) I think a lot of the features being asked for would easily be accommodated if Nissan would only allow third-party apps on the info center with access to canbus traffic (read only), GPS, and charge start AND stop control.
2) phone mic mute button on the steering wheel (seriously - having to take my eyes off the road to find it on the touch screen is safety hazard). Perhaps make it so a long press of the phone button on the steering wheel hangs up but a short press just mutes.
3) fully recessed rear headrests that do no obstruct vision.
 
cgaydos said:
1. Synthetic Leather Seats. The early LEAFs had seats based on recycled materials, then in 2013 they add real leather and make it standard on the SL. WTF? Synthetic leather has been around for decades - why kill cows for the seats on a car meant to be environmentally friendly?
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I bet cows are more renewable and environmentally friendly than synthetic leather. Just saying.

7. 240V option for the standard EVSE. I don't want to put EVSEupgrade out of business, but I know the founder of that company has also suggested this to Nissan. Nissan should give up trying to push LEAFers into buying their partner Aerovironment's home wall EVSE and just make this feature standard.
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Agree - I've been saying this for a while.

11. Replace "zero emission" with "100% electric" on the outside.
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Also agree - I've been saying this since day one.

And for those talking about the location of the charge door. Since I own a Volt and Leaf I can say this.. The Volt's charge door location is more aesthetically pleasing. But the Leaf's charge door location is far more practical.
 
TickTock said:
1) third-party apps on the info center - I think a lot of the features being asked for would easily be accommodated if Nissan would only allow these with access to canbus traffic (read only), GPS, and charge start AND stop control.
2) phone mic mute button on the steering wheel (seriously - having to take my eyes off the road to find it on the touch screen is safety hazard). Perhaps make it so a long press of the phone button on the steering wheel hangs up but a short press just mutes.
3) fully recessed rear headrests that do no obstruct vision.
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oh, and..
4) Lose the tree
 
hill said:
evnow said:
Better GOM ....snip.....
Click to expand...
+1
yea - why is it that WE can figure out, based on temps/altitude on a given trip (data all obtainable via the web), how far the car will go - but Nissan can't incorporate that kind of data into a GPS route via (perhaps) a blue tooth enabled smart phone.
.
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Yep. I'd be happy if the nav system let me choose from a couple options:

1) "Adaptive DTE" using whatever hair brained scheme they prefer (preferably capped at 5 miles/kWh).
2) "City Streets" using 5 miles/kWh.
3) "Some Highway" using 4 miles/kWh.
4) "Highway/Hills" using 3 miles/kWh.
5) "Custom" using whatever number I enter.

Humans are pretty good at estimations, if given a steady number like SOC% we can include a quick fudge factor in our head to estimate that highway will be worse, and city will be better. Adaptive stuff fails (not just Nissan, and not just cars) when it fogs up the ability to have a steady reading for our brain to be able to process. Unless the GOM was dead balls on accurate, which it can't, then almost any adaptive algorithm is going to just get in the way.

Most folks would be best served with a consistently modestly pessimistic range estimate that monotonically decreased as the battery charge drops. There is much more danger to anxiety levels when you start a trip being told you will make it, only to be contradicted after only 5-10 miles of modest driving, than to start a trip expecting to need to stop for a charge and being pleasantly surprised at the halfway point.
 
adric22 said:
I bet cows are more renewable and environmentally friendly than synthetic leather. Just saying.
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We've had this discussion before - but leather is incredibly carbon intensive & curing of leather is highly environmentally damaging.
 
I've been eyeing the BMW i3. I figured out i was really looking at it for the Rex.

I've decided I want a range extender in my LEAF. (sorry, not really an EV purist).

10577_13422.JPG


Of course, a proper, robust DC charging network and a 150-200 mile battery go a long way toward reducing my Rex 'needs'
 
cwerdna said:
- Ability to get both the QC port and the equivalent of the premium package (better stereo + around view monitor) w/o having to go to the highest trim level (SL). That ability unfortunately vanished w/the '15 Leaf. You could no longer get SV with both the QC + LED & premium packages. Some people don't like leather and/or don't want to pay for it. Some don't like the black interiors. I belong to all 3 of these. Folks at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=382501#p382501" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; first noticed this and some are unhappy with it.
- Offer a somewhat darker grey interior (easier to keep clean) but not black. I don't like the black interiors offered. They look too depressing and somewhat cheap.
- Get rid of the 3.3 kW OBC. Make it 6+ kW on all of them.
- Include hybrid heat pump heater and cruise control on all trims (remedied recently).
- Give indication for how much braking is via regen vs. friction brakes.
- Removable head restraint for rear middle passenger
- Show % SoC values in Leaf app instead of just GOM values and 12 fuel bars
- Add ability to stop charging via Leaf app
- Allow setting ending SoC % via Leaf app
- Get rid of the useless trees in the dash and driving range circle button on the steering wheel
- Include EVSE that supports 120 to 240 volts (well, if it supported down to 100 volts, it'd work properly in Japan as well)
- Include standard spare tire or make it an option, preferably dealer installable
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roperld said:
Lighter interior options; only black is not good for keeping a BEV cool!
Show both SOC and battery capacity in tenths of a %.
Cameras instead of side mirrors.
Self parking option.
Collision-avoidance option.
Lane-keeping option.
Regeneration paddles on steering wheel option similar to Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive.
Show battery modules' condition in app.
Fold-down back-seat head rests.
Solar panel on roof for fan to cool interior option.
120-volts outlet in trunk.
Adapter for using CHAdeMO charrer with SAE Combo charging station.
Option to use Tesla Supercharger stations.
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I agree with most of these, but they are not going to happen because it makes it all too complicated and some LEAF drivers cant even use a QC without hitting the emergency stop button. In the perfect world, the LEAF would be a car like that if the drivers were as good as the car.
 
If you are talking about 'environmental impacts' then give up on discussing having more range.

EVs have a lower lifetime CO2 emission because they 'only' have ~25kWh of battery. Double the emissions for producing a battery twice as large and you wipe out the lifetime CO2 savings compared with an equivalent ICE. If you have to replace a battery twice as large during its lifetime, then you've really destroyed the argument for EVs over ICE, on CO2 grounds.
 
donald said:
If you are talking about 'environmental impacts' then give up on discussing having more range.

EVs have a lower lifetime CO2 emission because they 'only' have ~25kWh of battery. Double the emissions for producing a battery twice as large and you wipe out the lifetime CO2 savings compared with an equivalent ICE. If you have to replace a battery twice as large during its lifetime, then you've really destroyed the argument for EVs over ICE, on CO2 grounds.
Click to expand...

Best LCA study for an EV that is publicly accessible and its a Renault Fluence Diesel, Petrol and EV
http://group.renault.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/fluence-acv-2011.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

summary is page 91

anyway, assuming that same battery chemistry is used and improved upon, even doubling the range is not too onerous in LCA issues. changing chemistry to higher nickel and cobalt content would also be detrimental. doing both increased Ni, Co and increased capacity would tend to wipe out the LCA benefits versus the Fluence siblings
 
DNAinaGoodWay said:
I'd like to see some kind of "re-gen light", similar to brake lights, to let drivers behind me know I'm slowing down without braking.
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This should be mandatory. Surely a software update could handle this.
 

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