Model S 30 KWh Would Have Been Enough

[DarkMatter]

That's as much a factor of the Leaf having terrible battery management, particularly for hot climates. Couple that up with absurd sprawl (seriously, 50 miles one way is absurd) and you make a strong argument for a car in the 50 kWh class at the least.

For comparison one of the other three EVs in the house here is a Soul EV, which has a 27 kWh battery pack. It has a bone fide 100 mile range, plus a little over 3 kWh of battery hidden from the range meter to protect against battery degradation. It's still not as nicely designed as the Tesla or BMW active solutions for battery temperature management.

 

[croman]

My 2014 still has 12 bars and delivers full range. 23k miles. Chicago might be ideal for it's battery chemistry.

 

[DarkMatter]

The 2014s also have a much better chemistry than the 2011s. Some of the 2011s and 2012s in southern climates got upgraded batteries when they were replaced, according to Internet lore.

 

[phaduman]

My typical days add 50miles to the car. I used my wife's B250 (MB, but with Tesla 28KWh battery & motor) a couple of times and the starting range of 87miles (with E+ setting) gave me a pause right away, right in the morning driving off. Since been in Tesla for 5months now, I have forgotten what range anxiety is. I charge to 70% daily and forget all about it. Weekend drives double up (100miles) but I still have enough juice left with 70% charge. These #s with mild CA weather. Anywhere else, and I can see why folks need more range cushion. The bigger batteries also gave the option to many to ditch their "weekend" SUVs/minivans, so you can have the EV do the occasional long drives. And finally, the larger batteries/range also created a bigger car with more space for all utility types. So many reasons why bigger battery has made MS such a practical car.

 

[Pipcecil]

I do agree Texas has some major sprawl - but there are plenty of midwest cities and southern cities that are sprawl, so it is not like Texas is in the only sprawl state around. Its usually the northeast and west coast that don't have that much sprawl - which would fit EVs much better.

Nissan's original batteries had TERRIBLE heat protection. There was no battery management (not even a fan) to cool them off and their chemistry was very susceptible to capacity loss. I was one of the "unfortunate" ones that had their battery replace before the new chemistry and they refused to give me a third with the upgraded chemistry despite degradation happening just as quickly (my only saving grace was the past few years have had mild summers so I lost around 25% vs 30%....). Trust me, I was in a whole part of that battery problem issues and lawsuits since I had one of the most degraded Leafs in Texas (arizona had it worse) - I lost 15% capacity in the first year.

But as a driver who must drive highway speeds most of the time plus with the strong winds you really have to buffer some additional range from your drive. The Tesla is the only EV that handles highway driving better than stop and go. Once the leaf got to 55+ you hit the high curve in exponential range loss. Add 65-70 mph free with a 20 mph headwind (normal) and you can watch your range collapse on you.

There are plenty of people that have an only urban life or have a small (or compact) city metroplex they live in, but most don't unfortunately. Add the rise of supercommuters (Dallas-Houston is one of the most highest supercommuter corridor) and those shorter range EVs just don't seem as feasible for most of the public. I made my leaf work - but it was extremely difficult. And no one but the most dedicated will put that much effort into it. In the end, the savings I had from NOT public charging all the time (quick charger or at work) was the same as the additional cost per month I pay of my Tesla versus my old leaf payment.