Posted on 01/09/2015 10:03:38 AM PST by LogicDesigner
Interested in how the economics look with Euro fuel prices and electricity rates.
Quick look is 7 bucks a gallon in France?
Yep. See the link in post 4.
Williams - like all car reviewers who must praise the cars or manufacturers will cut them off - must have had a hell of a time trying to write the nice things he did about the Leaf.
If it were me - I’d have used the heater and when the damn thing died - I’d call my wife to come get me, and would have called the Nissan rep to tell him where the useless POS was so he could send a tow truck.
You need a better charger...were you using a 1 amp trickle charger?
I have a LEAF and drive it daily. It’s not crap. It’s great for usage within its parameters, and of course tools suck for doing what they’re not designed for (hammering nails with a screwdriver, or plumbing with a 3/16ths wrench).
Typical full charge is about 85 miles. Prudent practicality applied, don’t plan on driving it more than 60 because you might suddenly need some of that buffer and still want to get to a sensible place to charge. Yeah, you’re always in the “gotta fill up” mindset equivalent to running a car on no more than 1/4 tank of gas. (BTW: the Nissan-supplied towing service will, for free, take you either home or to the nearest Nissan charger.) This isn’t a problem if your daily routine is well within the 60 mile practical range; a large fraction (majority?) of people do under 30 mile round trips to work. I’m fortunate to have a charger at work, so while topping off isn’t usually necessary, it’s available when I have additional running around (like today). With care, you can stretch the range further - I’ve gotten it up to 114 miles.
Recharging can be as simple as plugging in (110v) a specialized extension cord with inline charger. Draws about 1400W, same as a cheap hairdryer. Takes about 21 hours for full from-zero recharge...but you’re not going to run it down that much, you’re going to plug it in when you get home, and you’re going to sleep etc for about half the recharge time, so most of the time it’s at 100% every morning (or good enough for the day’s use). If you’re going to own it more than 2 years, and it’s convenient, install a 220v charger at the parking location for about $1500 or less, and get full charge in 4 hours flat ... fast enough to let you set a timer (on the car) to charge during low-cost electric rates (arrange with your service provider).
We’re getting near the point where installing solar panels devoted to charging your car is in fact viable. Last I SWAGged the numbers, that setup cost about half the price of the car - an interesting option to those self-sufficiency minded.
It’s quiet. It’s peppy. Not _powerful_ per se, but accelerates from 0 faster than most and goes plenty fast on the freeways (though cruising at 85MPH does kinda drain the battery fast). There’s no “shifting” effect. EV issues aside, it’s a fine small car with satisfactory legroom and storage.
Of course I have the SUV (Ford Explorer) in the driveway too. No qualms about using that when a quick consideration of distance dictates its use.
I wouldn’t suggest an EV as your _only_ car, but if it suits your commuting habits it’s a great runabout/2nd car. EVs don’t suck anymore; they’re getting much better fast.
I'll see your B.S. and call you on double B.S. Your estimate of 25 miles is one-third of the EPA rated range, which is a fraction that has never been reported on for any electric car.
Can you site a source, any source, any at all, that shows someone getting one-third the rated range in an electric car? Just one will suffice.
All this means is that European LEAF owners don’t give a DAMN about the environment where the electricity is generated nor the poor saps who have to live in those horrible, rancid, NON-self-induced environmental hazards.
Basically, this proves that European LEAF owners are obviously a bunch of selfish bass-turds!!
So they are polluting the atmosphere more than the rest of them.
Dirty greenies!
Can you site a source, any source, any at all, that shows someone getting one-third the rated range in an electric car? Just one will suffice.
_______________________________________
You’ve seen reply 4 yet? Read it?
This was an honest review of somone who WANTED to like the car. Who was PAID to write nice things about the car.
And as much as he tried to sugar coat the Leaf; it was clear this is a useless toy.
Then we get into the Socialism aspects of the Leaf. How can you justify taking my tax dollars to subsidize your buying this little play thing?
Yes, you DO have to be aware that the available mileage is very sensitive to your immediate driving style and conditions. High speed, fast acceleration, HVAC use, etc all draw power fast. You do learn to (calmly!) adapt as conditions, need, and % remaining allow. Even turns into a fun game, seeing how far you can stretch a “mile” (”hey, it’s been on 47 miles left for the last 5 miles!”).
Yeah, that author had a bad drive home. A couple of those and you’re cured of doing things that risk a dead battery.
I drive a vehicle that is nearly as clean as the LEAF. I have a 7.3L PowerStroke Diesel in a 2001 Ford Excursion. I can go over 800 miles on a tank and I could pull three of those LEAFs home, SIMULTANEOUSLY, while doing it!
Yes, most of us are cognizant that it’s not “totally clean / no emissions at all”. Sure it burns fuel and dumps crud into the atmosphere via proxy - but does so at a site dedicated to it, and doing the conversion much more efficiently & far less pollution than a 4 cu ft internal combustion engine can.
Your choice is less total pollution at a concentrated location, or more total pollution dispersed over a wider area.
Like using the heater when its 20 degrees and snowing?
No Thanks.
What fuel generates the majority of the electricity in European nations? Isn’t it coal, still? Or has natural gas taken over? An electric car is truthfully powered by whatever is used to generate the electricity, as in a coal powered car, or solar powered car, or, whatever.
“You’ve seen reply 4 yet? Read it?” —Responsibility2nd
Alright, time for some basic math.
50 / 75 = two-thirds
two-thirds > one-third
I'm still waiting for you to back up your claim of one-third range with a source of anyone on the planet experiencing that.
Leaf v. Mustang, Cobra, Stingray, Barracuda, Maverick, Bronco, Firebird, Ram, Cougar.
How we’ve fallen.
“all Leaf owners must accept responsibility for sponging off the government like a gibs-me-dat.”
I’ve paid about a half-million dollars in taxes. Getting a reprieve on my state taxes for a year isn’t “sponging” any more than you taking the mortgage deduction.
There are a ridiculous number of LEAFs around Atlanta. So many that, as I stopped in a parking lot somewhere, a lady spontaneously asked me why she was seeing so many around. Last I counted, I saw about three dozen in one day.
France is 73% nuke juice.
So the argument has some merit, I believe.
A back-of-the-envelope calculation indicates driving a LEAF is like driving a similar car paying about $0.50/gallon for gas.
Georgia has a heavy state credit for electric vehicles.
5000 bucks on top of the federal 7500.
So the numbers look good in Ga.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.