Real world experience with a Leaf
Automotive journalists get to drive lots of cars, but don't get to live with them for long.
Into my fifth month driving a base model Nissan Leaf in Houston. Currently using the "trickle charger" at home, plan to install a 220 volt 30 amp circuit soon for a L2 6.6 kW/hr charger. My daily commute is less than 40 miles on a combination of level urban streets and Interstates with overpasses. I arrive home with 50% or more of remaining charge; plug-in overnight, ready to go next morning.
Wife's Tiguan is our intercity vehicle. Tesla installs charging stations between cities, very few Level 3 CHAdeMO equivalents for Leaf or Volt drivers. Nissan dealer is three blocks from office building, with three other L3 chargers within a 3 mile radius, one near restaurants.
Love the torque, love the silence, love the wide variety of fuels used to power the grid. Leasing to mitigate risk of premature battery decline or range obsolescence. Unknown maintenance costs for the electronics, expect the motor itself to be long lived.
The best design compromise single car drivers is probably a plug in hybrid with small engine optimized for charging the battery when needed, simplifying the drivetrain. Chevy Volt is a good example, BMW i3 is another. Not impressed with complexity of the Prius.
For the naysayers, consider the serendipity of cross over technical advancement. Laptops created a mass market for lithium ion batteries, which made the Tesla roadster possible.
I have probably purchased my last ICE powered vehicle.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
