+2000 miles and going STRONG!

My how the miles fly by!  I adore my Leaf.  It is so fun, peppy, and quiet.  Every other car I ride in now seems deafening! 

My only recent bummer was a busted quick charger.  I drove lots of errands and went to stop at the Nissan dealership near my home to charge.  I am trying to always keep my battery pack above 10% and this would have been close.  (In other words, I would have made it home but it would have been below my goal of 10%.)  When I got there - an ERROR message.  (Some units seem more prone to this than others . . . )

 

Since it is  private charger, (and FREE!) it does not go "green' on the ChargePoint app, it's always white.  (With the other ones, you can tell if it's ready.)  I did call ChargePoint so they could report it out of order.  They did find another one 7.6 miles away - which is pretty close.  But I live only 5 miles away from this charger.  She was also quick to tell me that this other charger did have a $5 fee.  (I love that you always get a knowledgeable human when you call ChargePoint.) 

 

Luckily, the Nissan dealer also has the slower chargers (but faster than 110 V) right next door.  They were charging up two 2015 Leafs.  I unplugged one and used it for about 30 minutes.  The kids and I walked around the parking lot, admired the sunset, and played on the parking curbs (a line of like 20 balance beams by empty parking spaces.)  I went from 14% to 21%.  Not bad!  :)  We left when they started getting fussy.  (For me, 1% is equal to one mile in Eco mode.) 

 

 

My husband actually went on n adventure last week in the Leaf, driving out to Union, MO on back roads.  He  hypermiled and brought up the overall average to  4.7 miles per KWh.  The highest he could get consistently was 5.7 miles per KWh.  (He forgot to take any photos.)  Now the average I back down to 4.3 miles per KWh.  What do other folks average?  Post below!

 

I will try to post some videos of how it works with the kiddos.  Such a GREAT family car.  I used to think I could hold out for a hybrid minivan, now I might hold out for an electric one!  Oh my! 

 

National Drive Electric Week is coming up.  Attend an event near you!! 

https://driveelectricweek.org/ 

 

 

 

 

The first 1300 miles!

Well, I have already put over 1300 miles on the car!  Time (and miles) sure do fly.

I went to a conference in Michigan at Grand Valley State University.  I flew, but they did have at leat 2 EV charging areas on campus!  (And they were free!)

How cool is that??

I rarely have to use a Quick Charge these days.  I just keep it charged up at night.  I have not yet put in a Level 2 charger in my home (3 hours to fully charge).  My husband has bought the wire and a subpanel to add in the garage.  I will have him guest blog as he starts that process!

When I did have to stop at a level 3 quick charger, I learned I can monitor the progress on the Charge Point app - even if it's not a designated Charge Point charging station (but is their equipment.)

The reason there is no $ next to Total Amount is because it is FREE for everyone to charge at Bommarito Nissan!  Charges to 80% in 30 minutes, just like all Level 3 chargers.   

On the days when it was 100 F, my husband did try to quick charge at a level 3 charger and it was too hot.  The car had been driven a lot, so the batteries were hot, and the cable itself got too hot.  (The device is smart enough to shut down.)  What was cool was that I got a text message that said something to the effect of "You charge is taking very little charge.  Call this 800# for help."  This would be super handy if you left your car unattended to charge. When the car is plugged in, you can keep the a/c on.  The a/c kept up well with the high temps and cooled down pretty quick. 

Minor Complaints:  Headlights are not as strong as the Prius.  They are OK.

BONUS:  The intermittent wipers have a VERY slow setting that are PERFECT!  (Most cars I have to do it manually to avoid sqeuaking wipes if it is barely raining.)

I love my Prius, I do.  But after driving the Leaf all the time, driving my Prius makes it feel clunky and heavy, like driving a truck!  How funny is that?  The handling and acceleration on the Leaf are just so smooth!  

The car looks great.  Has a lot of crumbs in it now - we eat breakfast on the fly.  I am not stressed out about charging/range.  I have been averaging 4.0 miles per KWh.  If the car has 100% charge, I get 100 mile range.  (I have never gone below 8% though.)  I have never forgot to plug it in at night.  (Even if I did, there are a lot of Level 3 chargers around.  You would probably get 40 miles in ten minutes of charging.) 

I will be showing off the car as a family car, car seats and all, on September 21st at the St. Louis Science Center, with other EV vehicles.  Stay tuned for more info!