A Journo Gets His FIRST Taste Of The Leaf And Range Anxiety

Now that electric cars are making a name for themselves in the automotive industry, people are starting to get the big picture why they are good and bad. Take, for example, about not having to worry about rising gas prices OR having some concern about making it to your destination, which is 30 miles away, and there's only enough juice for 25 miles of driving.

Well, you know what they say. With the good comes the bad.

**To hear about the journalist's first day with the all-new electric Nissan Leaf, click "Read Article"

Minutes after they dropped off the Nissan Leaf for its three-month loan, I had to drive it 26 miles to Santa Monica, Calif. Baptism by fire. Or by electricity. I had promised a friend I’d be on his Web TV show, so I had to go. Why he wanted me on, I can’t imagine. The real talent must have cancelled.

Now, 26 miles is well within the range of the Leaf. Nissan advertises range at 100 miles, remember. However, since the Nissan guys drove the car to drop it off to me, the drive had eaten up some battery charge. The remaining range listed on the dash was 61 miles. Theoretically, that shouldn’t have been a problem. Even I could figure out that 26 plus 26 was less than 61. So you’d think I could get to Santa Monica and back without incident, right?

[Source: AutoWeek]

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0to60 - 3/12/2011 9:56:57 PM

0 Boost

what happens if you get stuck in traffic?

Joe_Limon - 3/13/2011 12:44:57 AM

-4 Boost

good question. How quickly does air conditioning/heating eat up battery power at a stand still without having a engine that's producing excess power/heat?

800over - 3/14/2011 10:05:48 AM

+4 Boost

So you guys are saying you've never seen an ICE at the side of the road out of gas? You call roadside just like you do when you drive your malibu till it runs out of gas.

Whelan - 3/14/2011 10:29:27 AM

-1 Boost

Yes but when you call roadside they can bring you a couple of gallons of gas to add to your tank to get you to the next gas station for a fillup.

If you have an electric car, you would need a tow all the way back to your house. Last I checked AAA only has battery vans for car batteries, not LEAF powerplants.

So I would actually assume that costs for roadside assistance when owning a full EV would be higher as paying for a full tow somewhere utilizes more time on the job and manpower than a simple tire change or fuel assist.

I'm shocked that with all the tech and engineering in this car they would not have dropped in some kind of emergency backup system so that when you are at the point of dying that the back-up would kick in and get you 20 more miles or something. Similar to fuel tank reserves, light goes on you have a few gallons and typically know how much farther you can go to make it to a station.

Or maybe people just need to get used to the fact that these are not gasoline powered cars and EVERYTHING about the vehicle relies on just the battery (radio, A/C, wipers, headlights, steering, ABS, etc.) all draws from the system (even with regenerative braking helping out). No gas engine and alternator to power your goodies while moving about.

I'm sure the LEAF gets 100 miles on a charge if your driving in the day with no lights, no rain, no radio, no A/C, etc.

85bmw745i - 3/13/2011 8:10:49 PM

+3 Boost

Good question Joe, I wonder how that would affect range, versus the cost of fuel used while idling in traffic. I bet the cost are significantly less, as it cost much less money to charge an electric vehicle vs the cost of the gas consumed during the time idling in traffic.