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I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

jeffgeerling.com

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Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#271

Post by thijson »

klardotsh wrote: post #234
lagniappe wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

and they're an absolute -nightmare- to maintain.... even with that being the case i still want one because russ hannaman had a point- everyone loves a car with doors that open like this \[]/ not like this =[]=

My 2017 i3 REX is just fine. It needs new tires before winter hits, an alignment (it gets knocked way out really easily, especially if you've ever taken it on a less than perfect road. Washington State has many such roads), and I should probably proactively do an oil change on the REX. Oh, and drivers seat heater has a short so doesn't work (the fix from BMW would be prohibitively expensive, but I may try a DIY re-wi…

I just took mine on a fairly long trip, around 370 miles. I used the hold charge feature once the battery reached 75%. It was fun to drive through a hilly region, the battery got me up the hill, then the engine plus regen charged it back up to the set point on the way down the hill. I liked that I didn't have to touch the brakes.

The fuel tank is quite small, but it doesn't take long to fill.

Overall fuel consumption was around 6-8 gallons for the trip.

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#272

Post by prmoustache »

ForOldHack wrote: post #205
1970-01-01 wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're not doing it with Corollas. They're doing it with Porsches and other sports cars.

Exactly what Tesla first did. Well, they a first did not have an existing ICE vehicle and based the styling off a Lotus Elise sports car.

They didn't based the styling only. They were using gliders[1] built by Lotus.

[1] chassis+body+suspension basically a car without powertrain and interior trim

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#273

Post by cosmic_cheese »

chelmzy wrote: post #251

Crazy he wouldn't go for a Bolt. I just bought a 2019 Chevy Bolt w/ 11k miles for $14.5k (so a bit over 10k after federal rebate). It has a brand new battery because all the Bolts were recalled for battery issues. Has around 250m range. Feel like I won the lottery. Still plenty of them available https://www.donohooauto.com/searchused.aspx?Make=Chevrolet&M...

I have a lease end coming up and the Bolt/EUV are on my radar, but one significant advantage that Leafs have is that the lower trims can have their head unit swapped out for a nice Pioneer or Sony unit from Crutchfield, just like is possible with many ICE vehicles, which can get you a nicer infotainment experience (including wireless CarPlay/AA) that isn’t encrusted with rent-seeking gunk.

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#274

Post by marcusb »

shrubble wrote: post #249
marcusb wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe its tiring for you. What’s tiring for me is that in every single one of these threads , people bring up the most extreme, outlier situations (500 mile trips) as a cudgel against EVs.

It’s not an outlier for a lot of people in the USA or the western part of Canada.

Citation please. It takes over seven hours to drive 500 miles non-stop at 70mph. I’d love to see a credible source that documents “a lot” of people are routinely driving this far in their personal vehicles.

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#275

Post by msh »

Miraste wrote: post #252
msh wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://aminacharging.com/articles/can-i-charge-my-car-in-a-...

That still didn't explain anything. Surely the car could limit itself to 80% of standard socket rated output for continuous draw, like they do in other countries. Are Norwegian outlets commonly installed so far below spec that that will cause them to catch fire? What was the impetus for this regulation?

I don’t know exactly for Norway as that was the best English article I could find. A standard danish outlet (they are crap) is 16A but is not rated for more than 6A if the load is continuous for more than 2 hours.

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#276

Post by boznz »

masklinn wrote: post #25

> Lack of standards: For 'L3' DC Fast Charging, the Leaf has a CHAdeMO port. Teslas and many newer EVs have NACS. Then there's CCS1 and CCS2. And charging stations are run by multiple vendors with multiple apps and payment methods. It's not like gas stations, like with Shell, BP, Buckee's, etc. where you just drive up, stick the gas nozzle in your tank, and squeeze. Afaik in Europe, CCS2 is the standard (and mandator…

I also rented a Jeep Avenger EV a few weeks back in the UK, several smaller, out of the way vendors still required their specific App and where contactless payments were an option it more expensive at around 80 to 90 pence per KWH. A week into the hire I found I could use my Tesla app and the supercharger network to charge my rental and the max there is only 51 pence per KWH and the supercharger network is expansive just works. An EV is a good option for the UK if you prefer automatics or EV's I will certainly hire one again.

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#277

Post by laughing_man »

PaulKeeble wrote: post #119
Bairfhionn wrote: post #24

My Problem was always the Range Anxiety. Until I got an EV and realized it's not really an issue. There is always an App for that (and even on my car the software gets improved in that regard). Infrastructure is getting better, even companies starting to see it as a benefit to have cheap/free chargers at their offices to get people back. I see more and more electric trucks on the roads. It feels good.

I think until you have one you don't realise quite what having a range of 200+ miles means in practice. You don't actually drive for 500 miles without a break, that is 8-10 hours of constant motorway speed driving and its not safe to drive that long. So when you take 30 - 60 minutes for lunch on a long drive like that and charge the vehicle you are going another 200 miles before again really taking a break. As it sta…

I agree with you on the drive time. A buddy of mine has a Model X, and he occasionally will make the 400 mile drive to visit. He stops about halfway to stretch his legs and eat lunch, the same thing he did when he had an ICE powered SUV. The only difference is now the car is charging while he eats.

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#278

Post by rogerrogerr »

BobaFloutist wrote: post #195
sillyfluke wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just to clarify, the hassle is needing mutiple recharges on a longish trip, not urban driving. The regret is due to unmet expectations based on advertised range as opposed to pratical range.

I mean the funny thing is that I've never driven or wanted a car with more than a 10-gallon tank, so my "ICE" (it's a Prius, so it actually does better than a full ICE car would) range is already <400 miles. Having to stop at a "gas station" for 30 minutes instead of 10 minutes every 4-6 hours really doesn't seem like that big of an ordeal, especially since I'm probably going to be stopping for meal breaks on that in…

Less than 10-15 minutes in a decent car. Tesla charges at 200kW+ in the lower SoC ranges; that’s approaching 1000 mph.

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#279

Post by laughing_man »

richwater wrote: post #247
PaulKeeble wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think until you have one you don't realise quite what having a range of 200+ miles means in practice. You don't actually drive for 500 miles without a break, that is 8-10 hours of constant motorway speed driving and its not safe to drive that long. So when you take 30 - 60 minutes for lunch on a long drive like that and charge the vehicle you are going another 200 miles before again really taking a break. As it sta…

> that is 8-10 hours of constant motorway speed driving and its not safe to drive that long [citation needed] considering plenty of people do it all the time (truck drivers)

Aren't truck drivers required to take breaks by law?

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#280

Post by barbazoo »

msh wrote: post #229
barbazoo wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Source?

https://aminacharging.com/articles/can-i-charge-my-car-in-a-...

> And since your car needs so much power stored in its battery to drive, it will probably pull more power than any other electrical appliance in your home.

Probably? No, it pulls less than my dryer which runs at 240V15A I think but also just the same as my 1500W space heater. You can totally control how much power the charger should draw.

> With that much power, there’s a risk of overheating and fire. Unlike a dedicated EV charger, a socket is simply not equipped to handle the amount of electricity needed to charge a car battery.

Wrong assumption leads to wrong conclusion. Any charger you can physically plug in will work in a house that's wired up to standard.

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