I have had my Leaf for two weeks now and I love it. So far, it is costing about half, what it costs to fuel my 2007 Prius. With my current driving, it looks like, I will only have to drive the Prius, two or three times a month, once I get a level 2 adapter plug aka charger.
Philip
We don't own one yet, but we're on the list. Glad to hear it is working out for you! I assume right now you just have the 110V charger that plugs into the wall?
"we must be the change we wish to see in the world"
Congrats - I'd love to hear more about it. A customer of ours has one in NV.
Top Gear did a recent test of the Leaf and a Peugot. Getting past their inane biases about range (hint, don't get one if you need to go further than it can go) Clarkson actually liked the Leaf alot. Bear in mind that Clarkson usually doesn't like anything that isn't very fast and/or very expensive and even then there's quite a lot he still doesn't like (the latest McLaren is too boring for his tastes...).
I particularly liked hearing the little snippets like Nissan redesigned the headlights to deflect wind from the side mirrors - because otherwise the wind noise was distracting. Also, they mentioned a quieter windscreen wiper motor. I have to admit it's this level of attention to detail that can separate the big boys from the upstarts. I mean - how much do you think it cost Nissan to redesign the headlights???
I think the Leaf is my current favorite. But I'm hoping to persuade the CFO (wife) to let us get one of the first CMax plug-in-hybrids from Ford. We'll see.
Anyway - if you want to share more ownership stories I'd love to hear them...
John H. Founder of Current Motor Company - opinions on this site belong to me; not to my employer
Remember: " 'lectric for local. diesel for distance" - JTH, Amp Bros || "No Gas.
I thought long and hard about this and decided there is a huge difference between a hybrid and a pure electric. One of the things I look forward to, beyond the obvious of efficiency and emissions, are getting rid of all the fiddly, expensive, and hard to maintain bits that go along with a gas-powered engine like lubrication, cooling, spark plugs, air cleaners, emissions controls, and so forth. Not to mention all the weight that gets dropped when you leave that stuff behind. For me going pure electric was a pretty easy decision. On the off chance I want to drive interstate I'll rent a car with the money I've saved on oil changes.
"we must be the change we wish to see in the world"
Dave -
I absolutely agree with you.
For my situation I aim to do most of my commuting on an electric maxi-scooter. For the family car we need to be able to drive a 500 mile round trip about 6 to 8 times a year. So, it seems like the PHEV is worth it (although I haven't run the numbers). My hope is that my wife will use the PHEV as a daily driver and do most of her daily commuting and errand running in EV only mode, me to commute on the scooter and then we go "up North" that we can take advantage of the range extender. Ideally I'd prefer a diesel plug-in hybrid - there are some in the works but none that I know of coming to the US in the next year or so.
A Volt would be an option - but financially I can't justify the cost this year - I'm hoping that when the CMax comes out I can afford it (and I'm a "ford guy")
John H. Founder of Current Motor Company - opinions on this site belong to me; not to my employer
Remember: " 'lectric for local. diesel for distance" - JTH, Amp Bros || "No Gas.
540 miles so far and no problems. This is my 7th Nissan, I guess you can say I am a Nissan man.
Range is about what I expected. Longest drive so far, starting with a 90% charge, 65 miles of mixed 40-60 mph driving, arrived home with an estimated 9 miles left.
Finished the SPX L2 EVSE install on Monday, charging time for a 17 mile drive, 1 hour, 30 mile drive about 2 hours. I picked the SPX unit; because, it has the ability to charge at 120 or 240 volts, field adjustable charge current settings, (12, 16, 24 and 32 amps,) and it is a plug-in unit. The unit comes with a 6-30p pigtail and set to 24 amps, for use on a 30 amp circuit, I swapped it out to use the 40 amp circuit, I had already installed for the EVSE.
Philip
2011 Nissan Leaf SL
First electric bill since getting the Leaf, $16 to run the Leaf for 800 miles. We also ran the AC a bit, so the cost was less than $16 to charge the Leaf.
I am going to give it couple of months, to decide, if I add more solar panels to be truly zero emission, or charge the Leaf on the cheap tier one electric rates. The payback on the additional panels with me doing the install is less than 7 years at $.09 KWh.
The lowest off peak EV rates are $.10 KWh, tier one residential rates are $.09 KWh and I can charge anytime of day for that rate, no waiting until 9:00 PM to charge the EV.
Those 30 solar panels on the roof, put me in a unique position, when it comes to charging my EV.
Your input and opinions would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
Philip
2011 Nissan Leaf SL
I'm curious.. If you replaced the heavy 12V lead acid battery
with a 12V lithium. Saving 25 lbs ?
would that help a tiny bit with acceleration and range ?
The LiFepo4 BattMan www.falconev.com
I doubt 25 lbs would make a measurable difference to either.
Philip
2011 Nissan Leaf SL