$4.00/gallon gas coming? Bring it on...

In reply to Nashco:

Thanks for that road trip detail! SWMBO has now asked to go test drive a Leaf. Hopefully on Saturday.

Seems like this is divided into 2 categories. Those that have time (electric) and those that do not (gas).

Not as dramatic, but I put 90 miles on my Leaf Thursday last week and will do about the same today. No big deal. Even with the cheapo trickle charger, the next day it was close enough to charged that I could drive it like normal and by the day after it was full again.

Perfect.

Also sold the Cruiser. I was a little sad at seeing how little all that blood & sweat was worth - next time I'll cry and see if it helps. The guy said it was going to his 25 year old daughter and two kids and she just got divorced. If true, at least she'll use it well.

Sine_Qua_Non wrote: Seems like this is divided into 2 categories. Those that have time (electric) and those that do not (gas).

As I detailed above, this 230 mile trip would have taken about 30 minutes less if I had taken my Saturn Sky (gas car). This was definitely a casual day, so we didn't mind the extra time charging to save a bunch of money AND the world (ha). As with many things, whether a gas car will save you time or not depends. For example, my wife and I drive EVs as our daily drivers. We NEVER have to stop for fuel on our daily grind. If I'm in a rush, the EV is a time saver. Of course, if I'm driving 300 miles to visit a family member in the hospital, I'm not going to jump into my EV as it won't be saving time.

EVs can save time. EVs can also take more time. Under what conditions and how much time depends on many factors.

Bryce

In reply to Nashco:

Do you have the "car wings" or whatever option it is which allows you to interact with the car via smartphone app?

Continuing the theme of finding things to worry about, I'm wondering about how often the charging stations are in use when you turn up, and also checking in on the car so I don't go for lunch and take up a charging spot much longer than needed...

We're not through the whole test drive list yet, but our discussions so far, while not quite ruling out the Leaf yet, definitely have us looking long and hard at our planning and efficiency (as people) and wondering how often we'd hose ourselves on time-sensitive trips.

Next test drive: Volt.

I'm jealous that you have the QCDC charging stations (fast charge) near you. The closest one to me is outside of the cars' range, so unless they build more I'll never see one. Not a big deal for me though, 98% of my driving is within an 80 mile round trip radius anyhow. This past weekend alone, it went to Chuck E Cheese, Wal-Mart (twice), grocery store, convenience store (twice), and the local pizza shop.

The only thing I've found so far that I don't like about the Leaf is the steering wheel heater. I used it last week on cold mornings. It heats up quickly, and in fact gets pretty hot. But 10 minutes later it shuts off and won't come back on for at least 30 minutes. I've read other Leaf owners have the same thing happen, so I don't think it's my individual car having something wrong. I reached out to Nissan USA and am waiting to hear back.

Beautiful picture by the way.

ransom,
I have CARWINGS on my car. I didn't own a smartphone when I bought the car, but got one quickly. In my nearly two months of ownership, I've found the number of times I've actually used it to be exactly zero. So I ditched my smartphone and went back to my old fashioned flip phone. I've got my charge timer and heater timer set via the cars' display screen, so I don't really need the app for my phone. I can check out CARWINGS on my home or work computer if I really want. It has some "fun" info about your driving, energy use, etc...but nothing that's a "I need the info this second".

I have Carwings and the Nissan Leaf app on my iphone. We use that to turn the heater/air conditioner on more than checking state of charge. This is a very Leaf-centric app, and it clearly has room for improvement, especially with lag time.

I use the Plugshare app significantly more frequently, which allows you to pinpoint the charging stations on the map, see what brand it is, see if the station is currently in use, see recent reviews of the station (good place to eat, any problems with the charger, blocked by non-EV, etc.), see if it costs money and how much, and details on exact location (ie. On the east wall of the building).

For an EV owner, Plugshare is the bees knees.

Klayfish, the steering wheel heater is designed that way. It's a known "issue" with the design/parts selected...but with that said, a poor functioning steering wheel heater is still more steering wheel heater than I've ever had and a pretty small issue at that.

Bryce

Oh yeah, and plugging up a charger while you're gone is a non-issue if you leave a note in your window that has your contact info if somebody needs the charger. There are pre-made placards all over the internet for those who like pretty signs, but a hand written note works too. Things that you quickly figure out when you enter the world of EV ownership.

Bryce

For the record, as a minimum dollar kind of guy, I have no smartphone and no carwings. I charge only at home.

Yeah, I guess I should mention that I already had an iphone (long before we got the Leaf) with an unlimited data plan. Carwings was included on our car as part of the package that included the DC fast charger port, which I insisted on getting for obvious reasons (we've got awesome infrastructure here and it keeps getting better). In my case, the Carwings and Plugshare usage don't cost me extra, they actually add value to things I already paid for anyway. As the saying goes, YMMV.

Bryce

ransom wrote: We're not through the whole test drive list yet, but our discussions so far, while not quite ruling out the Leaf yet, definitely have us looking long and hard at our planning and efficiency (as people) and wondering how often we'd hose ourselves on time-sensitive trips. Next test drive: Volt.

On your test drive, make sure the car is charged (so many aren't) Then..

1) drive in D and in normal mode, feel how smooth the car is. then switch to Sport and put the gear selector in L to get maximum throttle response and maximum regen. Feel the identity of the car change. Punch it from about 10 mph and grin a bunch.

For commuting, I drive in Normal and Low, and leave it that way, even on the highway. I only use D when it's really inclement weather out, as sometimes the switch from heavy regen to actual braking can confuse the car in low traction conditions.

Nashco wrote: I use the Plugshare app significantly more frequently, which allows you to pinpoint the charging stations on the map, see what brand it is, see if the station is currently in use, see recent reviews of the station (good place to eat, any problems with the charger, blocked by non-EV, etc.), see if it costs money and how much, and details on exact location (ie. On the east wall of the building). For an EV owner, Plugshare is the bees knees.

Plugshare is great. I also have ChargePoint, but that's for ChargePoint specific paid chargers. Using Plugshare this past weekend, i found a free charging station in a parking garage down by the movie theater we were going to in downtown Baltimore. Pulled in and charged the car while watching the movie. Came out to a fully charged car to go home in. Very cool.

I filled the MPV today at 2.96 a gallon! I need to go fill up the Duallie while gas is cheap! Every penny counts when you're getting 9 mpg! Woot!

Do the Nissan dealers have charge stations also?

chandlerGTi wrote: Do the Nissan dealers have charge stations also?

Yes. At least the ones near me do. So do Chevy dealers, Ford dealers, etc... They all let me charge free, even at the Chevy dealer. The whole "goodwill" thing.

My company just stated that I would be able to charge while at work so that adds another element....

Nashco wrote: Oh yeah, and plugging up a charger while you're gone is a non-issue if you leave a note in your window that has your contact info if somebody needs the charger. There are pre-made placards all over the internet for those who like pretty signs, but a hand written note works too. Things that you quickly figure out when you enter the world of EV ownership. Bryce

This brings up a good point as EVs become more and more popular. What do you do when all the charging stations are full? How do you handle people that park on a charging station (like the people at work that leave their food in the microwave after it's finished and just leave it)? I can't imagine everyone that drives an ev is that friendly, so I would imagine issues like this crop up fairly often. With our commutes, travel, and my impatience a hybrid would really be the only option I'd consider at this point, but it is great to have options.

Example: If we had an EV we could charge at work, but there are two charging stations for 6k people and several EVs. You can imagine those get taken first thing in the morning and generally the cars don't move the rest of the day.

In a public place that has charging stations, I'm sure it's first come/first served. I would think in a work environment, coworkers would share...or if it was a really large corporation it would go through HR or someone else who coordinates when people plug in/unplug.

For me, I'm still trying to get an outlet here at work. But I always make sure that any charging I do in public is a bonus, not a must. My trips are always short enough that even if I can't charge at work or wherever I'm going, I can make it back home. That may sound inconvenient, but with a realistic range of 75-80 miles (more if driven conservative or in better weather), that covers 95%+ of my trips.

We have 6 charging station locations here at work that are shared between electric car2go (carshare) cars and about a dozen EVs of employees. So far, it hasn't been an issue as none of us NEED to plug in at work. So far, nobody has got an EV that can't make it home each day without plugging in. As demand increases, I'm sure we'll work out a better system (like prioritizing those who need it to get prime hours, and those who want it to get other hours).

For the time being, I'm absolutely excited when other EVs are blocking up charging stations when I drive around. It's only happened to me two times in a year, and both times was only about a 15 minute inconvenience. FAR more common is gas cars parking in the EV space (we call this getting ICEd). Some states, like Washington, will now tow your car if you are in a charging station spot but not actually plugged in, just like parking illegally in a handicap space.

As with most things, as the need arises, solutions will be created. For now, it's just not a problem as there aren't enough EVs on the road that NEED charged away from home to clog up the chargers. The chargers that are usually used away from home are the fast chargers, but they only take a few minutes so it's rare to have a wating line, similar to a gas station.

Bryce

Well, count me in on this thread. Just made it home, leasing for 36 months. Numbers were way too good to pass up. Anybody want to buy a stickshift Mazda5?

In reply to bastomatic:

Nice!

We have that same water table, by the way.

Sweet!! End of month is a great time to get a deal. How far was your drive home if you just made it? Mine was 62 miles, all highway (in hindsight, I should have used back roads). I got the low battery warning my last 7 miles. Talk about an exciting first ride!

bastomatic wrote: Well, count me in on this thread. Just made it home, leasing for 36 months. Numbers were way too good to pass up. Anybody want to buy a stickshift Mazda5?

Nice...

mazda 5? with a stick?? you have my attention...PM me.

sjd

steved033 wrote:

bastomatic wrote: Well, count me in on this thread. Just made it home, leasing for 36 months. Numbers were way too good to pass up. Anybody want to buy a stickshift Mazda5?

Nice... mazda 5? with a stick?? you have my attention...PM me. sjd

lol...no pm's stupid force of habit... steved033 at gmail.com

Klayfish wrote: Sweet!! End of month is a great time to get a deal. How far was your drive home if you just made it? Mine was 62 miles, all highway (in hindsight, I should have used back roads). I got the low battery warning my last 7 miles. Talk about an exciting first ride!

Just made it as in "got it home a few minutes ago." Drive home was about 45 miles, at 80mph I had about 20 miles of range left.

The range estimator is awfully inaccurate so far. My 35 mile commute today drained about 15 miles of estimated range.