Pro's and con's of Leaf

kala85

[Deleted User] wrote: »

It will email you to tell you it's not plugged in, so if you check your mail regularly you should spot it, it's saved me a few times. You will have to set this up, think I did it on car wings, not sure.

If your mobile syncs to check emails every so often it should pop up on your phone.

And yes, you can also remote in to check if it's plugged in and/or charging and set it to start charging if it's plugged in.

What other information can be emailed from the car

There is a company that has a portable battery can't remember and I can't remember if it connects directly to the AC port of DC fast charge port.

If you're under warranty call Nissan and they'll send a transporter and they will bring you to your nearest charge point or home.

Always charge on the DC if you can even 8 mins or so will replace 6 Kwh worth of electricity (depending on battery temp) in the 24 Kwh giving you up to 32-40 kms range.

The 6.6 Kw charger will replace this in 1 hr or 2 hrs with the 3.3 kwh charger.

September1

josip wrote: »

Has anyone ever run out of charge in an EV on the side of the road?
What do you do in that scenario?
Is there a booster pack you can buy/borrow/hire to get you as far as the next charging station (I'm thinking of an equivalent to the jerrycan)
Do the AA/RAC have something in their breakdown vehicles from which you could charge?
Or is it a tow?

In nearly 100kkm in LEAF this has never happened. It also has never happened to any drivers I know. I think tow is best solution from ones you mention.

kala85

kala85 wrote: »

What other information can be emailed from the car

That's all that can be emailed but if your're talking about the app then you can get charging %, activate charge, activate AC, set timer for AC and see if it's plugged in.

In 40,000 kms I've never ran out of power either, there's plenty of charge points around.

peposhi

For 31k km only once I was very very close to due to 2 faulty chargers on the way. Plugged in at 1% left at the next charger. There was a lad in a BMW i3 that run out of juice in Co. Claire a while back. But this is not a trend, more so an incident. Besides... How many friends do you have who have run out of petrol even though the petrol stations are around each corner... I run out once too because I was being stubborn and adventurous... Oh, sorry... Twice hahaha

BoatMad

josip wrote: »

Has anyone ever run out of charge in an EV on the side of the road?
What do you do in that scenario?
Is there a booster pack you can buy/borrow/hire to get you as far as the next charging station (I'm thinking of an equivalent to the jerrycan)
Do the AA/RAC have something in their breakdown vehicles from which you could charge?
Or is it a tow?

This , I think is a common newbie question, and its a fair one, but in practice you dont drive an EV like that. You plan and most people recharge well within the ultimate potential range , in my case that > 20% and 50 km and my wife is >30% and 75km, often I ensure I recharge yet have enough range to get me to the next fast charger.

reports of people stranded on the side of the road are very few and far between

stesaurus

peposhi wrote: »

For 31k km only once I was very very close to due to 2 faulty chargers on the way. Plugged in at 1% left at the next charger. There was a lad in a BMW i3 that run out of juice in Co. Claire a while back. But this is not a trend, more so an incident. Besides... How many friends do you have who have run out of petrol even though the petrol stations are around each corner... I run out once too because I was being stubborn and adventurous... Oh, sorry... Twice hahaha

That was probably me I think. Stranded in West Cork. Complete let down of the infrastructure with 2 different chargers down in a blackspot that ECars directed me to.
Now I wasn't actually stranded. In fact I could have easily got a charge off a 3 pin cable from a hotel but I needed to be somewhere soon so just got a free tow back to where I was staying in Killorglin.
I'd say it's very difficult to run out of power but not impossible in certain parts of the country.

macnab

macnab wrote: »

Last weekend I drove my 30kw Leaf from Meath to Clifden and back.

Battery. From. To. Distance. Battery.
100% Home to Athlone 93.5km 42% left
92% Athlone to Galway 92.8km 35% left
92% Galway to Clifden 77.8km 56% left
Return
56% Clifden to Galway 78.5km 11% left
92% Galway to Ballinasloe 66.7km 47% left
92% Ballinasloe to Home 119.7km 10% left

All driven at max legal speed where possible.
Galway to Clifden return trip was 156.3km, started with 92% charge, finished with 11% charge.
The charger in Clifden was out of service.

What time did you leave home/reach Clifden?

iseedeadpeople

iseedeadpeople wrote: »

Hi folks just update on petrol head ev convert. Loving my leaf and found out only today that FCP are 100% free and as I live a couple of minutes from one my fuel bill this year will be next to zero.

I cannot believe more have not moved to EV yet. For me it was a mixture of ignorance and range. 200km was magic number for me.

I did 640 km over the weekend. It took 7hrs. How long would it take you?

And I know what I did is not typical, but ****ed if I'm going to have two cars just because one of the hasn't the legs.

Range (and I mean proper range, not nursed with the radio off and no passengers) will need to be 400 km before I will even consider the switch. I think EVs are a modern brilliance, but really only for the town bound or those with loads of time to waste and a point to prove.

BoatMad

Deleted User wrote: »

I did 640 km over the weekend. It took 7hrs. How long would it take you?

And I know what I did is not typical, but ****ed if I'm going to have two cars just because one of the hasn't the legs.

Range (and I mean proper range, not nursed with the radio off and no passengers) will need to be 400 km before I will even consider the switch. I think EVs are a modern brilliance, but really only for the town bound or those with loads of time to waste and a point to prove.

so my 180-190km gorey to athlone which is taking 15 minutes longer in the EV proves what , that you havent a clue maybe

and I did that recently for ZERO euro.

and the driving environment is much nicer , quite , more powerful then most small ICE cars , and yes AC fully on and three people on board

Yes there are situations where an EV takes longer, thats mostly an issue with the ability of the fast charger network to handle multiple simultaneous users, rather then a EV issue per se.

when you know what you are actually talking about come back to us

remember range is not necessarily a solution, charging a car with 80-100kwh batteries to give you 400km range is going to be proportionally as slow ( assuming current charger power ) as simply doing multiple smaller charges in a lower capacity battery

BoatMad

I did 640 km over the weekend. It took 7hrs. How long would it take you?

PS, one week after getting my leaf I did 580Km in one day , I estimated in added approx 30-40 minutes since several of the breaks I would have taken in the ICE anyway ( breakfast , lunch etc ) would have extended my ICE journey

I also did 690 Km over two days , and again since I charged during periods where the car was stopped anyway , I reckoned the EV added 30 mins or less to the journey over an ICE

my ICE by the way is a 3litre pickup, after 500km , I usually need to book into a hospital !!

Soarer

Deleted User wrote: »

I did 640 km over the weekend.

You're my new hero!

*swoon*

macnab

Deleted User wrote: »

What time did you leave home/reach Clifden?

264km of driving took 3.8 hours, add 2 x 30 minute stops gives a 4.8 hour journey time in total.

iseedeadpeople

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I did 640 km over the weekend. It took 7hrs. How long would it take you?

And I know what I did is not typical, but ****ed if I'm going to have two cars just because one of the hasn't the legs.

Range (and I mean proper range, not nursed with the radio off and no passengers) will need to be 400 km before I will even consider the switch. I think EVs are a modern brilliance, but really only for the town bound or those with loads of time to waste and a point to prove.

Glad you asked. Actually I did 1000km last weekend. Stop in dungarvan for a boost. Carrick on suir back to dungarvan (no stop) onto fermoy 25 min charge while I got lunch. Onto limerick. Street charge for the couple of hours in with the other half's family. Then off too cliffs of moher and back to limerick. Parked up on street for overnight charge. Then limerick to wicklow stopping once in port for top up while having a yummy tripple decker in o briens. That one boost got me back to wicklow with power to spare. Then charge up before going up to city and back plus up to work and back before giving it another top up at FCP.

Sooooo yeah over the 1000km mark and my fuel bill was zero.

BoatMad

BoatMad wrote: »

so my 180-190km gorey to athlone which is taking 15 minutes longer in the EV proves what , that you havent a clue maybe

and I did that recently for ZERO euro.

and the driving environment is much nicer , quite , more powerful then most small ICE cars , and yes AC fully on and three people on board

Yes there are situations where an EV takes longer, thats mostly an issue with the ability of the fast charger network to handle multiple simultaneous users, rather then a EV issue per se.

when you know what you are actually talking about come back to us

remember range is not necessarily a solution, charging a car with 80-100kwh batteries to give you 400km range is going to be proportionally as slow ( assuming current charger power ) as simply doing multiple smaller charges in a lower capacity battery

Slightly hostile reply considering it evades the actual question. I'm not asking how many Euro it cost.

iseedeadpeople

iseedeadpeople wrote: »

Glad you asked. Actually I did 1000km last weekend. Stop in dungarvan for a boost. Carrick on suir back to dungarvan (no stop) onto fermoy 25 min charge while I got lunch. Onto limerick. Street charge for the couple of hours in with the other half's family. Then off too cliffs of moher and back to limerick. Parked up on street for overnight charge. Then limerick to wicklow stopping once in port for top up while having a yummy tripple decker in o briens. That one boost got me back to wicklow with power to spare. Then charge up before going up to city and back plus up to work and back before giving it another top up at FCP.

Sooooo yeah over the 1000km mark and my fuel bill was zero.

Again, I wondered how LONG the trip took, not how many Euro it cost.

BoatMad

BoatMad wrote: »

PS, one week after getting my leaf I did 580Km in one day , I estimated in added approx 30-40 minutes since several of the breaks I would have taken in the ICE anyway ( breakfast , lunch etc ) would have extended my ICE journey

I also did 690 Km over two days , and again since I charged during periods where the car was stopped anyway , I reckoned the EV added 30 mins or less to the journey over an ICE

my ICE by the way is a 3litre pickup, after 500km , I usually need to book into a hospital !!

OK, so how long from leaving your door to completion of the trip, excluding sleep time. I don't get why anyone would need to stop on a 350km run to take breakfast and lunch, but whatever, just include the time the car was moving and the time it was charging (regardless of whether you were refuelling your self.

Please note, I am not trying to antagonise, so sorry if it seems that way, I just want a straight answer

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

Please note, I am not trying to antagonise, so sorry if it seems that way, I just want a straight answer

It's just your personality BoatMad, you can't help it, I know...... but do try.

Padraig Mor

Deleted User wrote: »

Again, I wondered how LONG the trip took, not how many Euro it cost.

It will take longer in an EV no doubt but the question is pointless without context. How often do you do such long trips? If it's quite frequent, current EVs probably aren't for you. If, however, your usage is closer to the majority of people - i.e. your normal usage is under 50 - 100km a day, and a 640km trip is a once in a blue moon event, current 150kmish range EVS will be just fine for most of your usage and 'worth the hassle' for occasional longer trips. What's the point in lugging around battery capacity for a 400km range (and paying for it!), if 99% of your trips are under 100km?

Padraig Mor

Padraig Mor wrote: »

It will take longer in an EV no doubt but the question is pointless without context. How often do you do such long trips? If it's quite frequent, current EVs probably aren't for you. If, however, your usage is closer to the majority of people - i.e. your normal usage is under 50 - 100km a day, and a 640km trip is a once in a blue moon event, current 150kmish range EVS will be just fine for most of your usage and 'worth the hassle' for occasional longer trips. What's the point in lugging around battery capacity for a 400km range (and paying for it!), if 99% of your trips are under 100km?

Thanks Padraig, but that's not really an answer. Why are all the answers to a simple question so evasive?

KCross

Deleted User wrote: »

Thanks Padraig, but that's not really an answer. Why are all the answers to a simple question so evasive?

A Cork-Dublin trip took an extra hour than an ICE trip would as I stopped 3 times for about 20min charges.

I drove at motorway speed and used aircon etc so I drove it like an ICE.

Each trip has to be calculated in isolation though based on where the chargers are located. You might find in some parts of the country that you have to charge ahead of schedule because of lack of charger to your next stop. i.e. you dont just drive until low charge light comes on and then look around for a charger.

If your requirement is to have an EV with near ICE range you will be waiting a while before you switch... you'll miss all the fun in the meantime!

It does sound like its not for you yet though.

The 24 Kwh Leaf can do 200 kms at 100 kph handy enough with a 25 min fast charge and have 20-30 kms spare just in case, that's having 20-30 % spare after each charge and charging to 80% in the 24 Kwh.

The 30 Kwh should do 250-270 kms with the same charge because it charges faster.

Then if people are charging you have to wait, this is where the 6.6 Kw comes in because if you charge once or twice on route and get into town youc an then find a standard charge point and charge from 30-95% in 2.5 hrs V 5 with the 3 Kw leaf. 50-97% takes 1 hr 30 mins.

If we go on a really long trip a couple of times a year we take the diesel and that's not my choice anyway, we're never usually in a rush and I prefer to take the old national routes where possible unless I'm going through a larger town maybe.

peposhi

Deleted User wrote: »

Again, I wondered how LONG the trip took, not how many Euro it cost.

I think I have a very straight answer for you

Since circumanstances and driving habits a totally different for each case it would be so much helpful if you take a Leaf 30kw for a weekend long test. Drive once more the distance you have previously covered and let us know what we should expect. Also you may advise the EV owners, if you are not satisfied with the results, to dump the EV and go back to an ICE cause you see - they're crap when it comes to long distances :):)

Totally messing with you...
But I actually do not see why you keep asking how long the bloody trip would/did/should take. It's irrelevant. If your daily business covers huge mileage and time is precious - get a diesel. If you do it occasionally... then it's a matter of personal preferences. I don't mind doing 3-4 stops for a 300km trip. Others do.

KCross

KCross wrote: »

A Cork-Dublin trip took an extra hour than an ICE trip would as I stopped 3 times for about 20min charges.

I drove at motorway speed and used aircon etc so I drove it like an ICE.

Each trip has to be calculated in isolation though based on where the chargers are located. You might find in some parts of the country that you have to charge ahead of schedule because of lack of charger to your next stop. i.e. you dont just drive until low charge light comes on and then look around for a charger.

If your requirement is to have an EV with near ICE range you will be waiting a while before you switch... you'll miss all the fun in the meantime!

It does sound like its not for you yet though.

Thanks KCross. Finally a straight answer

BoatMad

Deleted User wrote: »

Slightly hostile reply considering it evades the actual question. I'm not asking how many Euro it cost.

My sarcastic comments were directed at your " fu#kef if I'd have two cars" and facetious comments about driving with the radio off. You obviously don't know that with modern EVs aircon , heat radio etc has little or no effect . You sound like a EV doubter peddling mis truths.

That's why I commented as I did

BoatMad

Deleted User wrote: »

OK, so how long from leaving your door to completion of the trip, excluding sleep time. I don't get why anyone would need to stop on a 350km run to take breakfast and lunch, but whatever, just include the time the car was moving and the time it was charging (regardless of whether you were refuelling your self.

Please note, I am not trying to antagonise, so sorry if it seems that way, I just want a straight answer

A 350 km journey at an average N road speed of 80 km ( which is better then normal ) takes 4.5 hours f continuous driving , very few people drive for more then 2 hours without a break , so context is important , nor in Ireland would you have opportunities to do 350km non stop anyway

As I said , I completed 190km on N roads recently same trip in my truck and EV , the EV took 15 minutes longer ( fast charger in Carlow )

I fail to see the point for your question, but hopefully I've answered your question

On a 350km , I would hazard a guess that outside of commercial drivers , there would be at least one substantive break. Therefore that recharge time is effectively hidden

This s an important point , because your question is inherently biased against current EVs. On many journeys , recharging is capable of being combined with other activities. For example today I drove 200 km round trip for a 2 hour meeting , the car fully recharged during the meeting , hence the time difference with an ice = zero.

( in fact it would taken longer in the truck , as I would have had to refuel )

EVs are just different as the potential places to refuel are greater , a petrol car can't refuel itself and EV can

Context is everything

BoatMad

Deleted User wrote: »

It's just your personality BoatMad, you can't help it, I know...... but do try.

I was being deliberately sarcastic , see other post. Any poster coming on here asking a 350 km question clearly does not know anything about current EV range , EVs are clearly not the solution ( at present ) for say a long distance commercial traveller or time poor businessman , you equally have to question why someone wants an EV for journeys like that.

( Leaving aside remarks about driving with the radio off )

The simple answer of course is its the Int ( Distance /80 % range ) * recharge time from 20% to 100 where distance is greater then range

But again you can factor worse case time , including initial charge time , end charge time , delays queuing at fcps etc , the result worse case could be 2x your calculated time

It all depends on the purpose of your question and the question posers agenda

iseedeadpeople

Deleted User wrote: »

Again, I wondered how LONG the trip took, not how many Euro it cost.

i guess adding in the FCP stops extra hour and half tops. I dont count the street charging because that was while i was doing what i intended too at my destinations