What leaf model got 124 miles per charge? Talk about setting people up for dissapointment.
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Nissan Leaf
- Thread starter efusco
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What leaf model got 124 miles per charge? Talk about setting people up for dissapointment.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
Yeah, adding in the reality factor it probably means the LEAF went from 73 miles to 80 miles of EPA range.
JC08 test cycle. Known to produce extremely unrealistic efficiency numbers.
Since the battery itself is remaining unchanged (aside from some packaging improvements which reduce weight), I suspect that most of the improvement in JC08 range comes from the improvements to the regenerative braking which allows the LEAF to recover more energy, especially in the slow-speed JC08 test.
I wouldn't expect any significant improvement in range/efficiency on the EPA highway test, though the city test should also show a similar improvement.
Lots of good incremental improvements in the '13 LEAF. If only they offset some of the weight savings with more batteries and/or battery thermal management, I think it'd be a lot more appealing. Once Nissan can get the highway range over 90-100 miles at 65 mph many of the arguments for range anxiety will go away. Rumors are that battery improvements will come in another year or two.
ChadS
Last tank of gas: March 2009
The "124 miles" (and the new 142 miles) comes from a Japanese city cycle. I agree that it is definitely not the number that US buyers are interested in, and anybody advertising the Leaf as being able to achieve that is just going to get disappointed customers. The new EPA rating system seems to be pretty good; those are the numbers I use: 73 for the Leaf, 265 for the Model S. Those numbers are pretty achievable by anybody unless you're going really fast or have really bad weather.
The improvement is 14%, so some people think maybe the new Leaf will get an 83-mile rating. I suspect, though, that the Japanese cycle benefits a lot from the new Leaf's 80kg weight loss, but that won't translate to a big gain on the highway. So the US rating might still be under 80 miles.
The improvement is 14%, so some people think maybe the new Leaf will get an 83-mile rating. I suspect, though, that the Japanese cycle benefits a lot from the new Leaf's 80kg weight loss, but that won't translate to a big gain on the highway. So the US rating might still be under 80 miles.
http://www.leftlanenews.com/nissan-updates-leaf-electric-for-2013.html
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Nissan has revealed its revised 2013 Leaf electric for the Japanese market. Although not the exact vehicle that will land in U.S. showrooms, the JDM Leaf should give us a good idea of what to expect from the North American-spec car.
The exterior styling of the Leaf largely carries over for the 2013 model year, but Nissan is introducing three new body colors – Dark Metal Gray, Brilliant White Pearl and White. Up-level models will also receive standard LED headlights with auto-leveling.
Inside Nissan is adding a new black interior color as well as an optional leather package. Cargo room increases by 1.35 cubic feet for the 2013 model year, thanks to the use of a smaller onboard charger that moves from the back of the car to the front.
Other interior tweaks include a new percentage readout for battery capacity shown in the Leaf's in the Multifunction Display, a foot-operated parking brake, light-weight Bose audio system and Nissan's Around View Monitor.
Nissan has totally revamped the Leaf's electric drivetrain for 2013, resulting in a 30 percent reduction in volume and a 10 percent reduction in weight. Those improvements will trim about 176 pounds from the Leaf's waistline.
Nissan says the Leaf's revised electric motor will net a snappier throttle response and quicker acceleration.
Nissan engineers have also tuned the 2013 Leaf's steering for better response, particularly in the medium-speed range.
No changes were made to the Leaf's battery, but improvements to the car's brake regeneration and heating systems should net a few extra miles of range.
However, even with those upgrades range anxiety remains a concern for Leaf drivers, so Nissan has upgraded the EV with three new functions – "Stop-off charging spot guidance", "Power-saving route guidance" and "Battery capacity at a destination forecast".
As previously rumored, Nissan is adding a new entry-level Leaf model for 2013. The base Leaf – known in Japan as the 'S' – will retain the standard car's electric drivetrain, but will delete added extras like fog lights in the name of a lower price point.
The 2013 Nissan Leaf is available for purchase now in Japan, so look for the EV to hit the U.S. market either later this year or in early 2013.
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Pretty good stuff, although surprised they didn't increase battery size.
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Nissan has revealed its revised 2013 Leaf electric for the Japanese market. Although not the exact vehicle that will land in U.S. showrooms, the JDM Leaf should give us a good idea of what to expect from the North American-spec car.
The exterior styling of the Leaf largely carries over for the 2013 model year, but Nissan is introducing three new body colors – Dark Metal Gray, Brilliant White Pearl and White. Up-level models will also receive standard LED headlights with auto-leveling.
Inside Nissan is adding a new black interior color as well as an optional leather package. Cargo room increases by 1.35 cubic feet for the 2013 model year, thanks to the use of a smaller onboard charger that moves from the back of the car to the front.
Other interior tweaks include a new percentage readout for battery capacity shown in the Leaf's in the Multifunction Display, a foot-operated parking brake, light-weight Bose audio system and Nissan's Around View Monitor.
Nissan has totally revamped the Leaf's electric drivetrain for 2013, resulting in a 30 percent reduction in volume and a 10 percent reduction in weight. Those improvements will trim about 176 pounds from the Leaf's waistline.
Nissan says the Leaf's revised electric motor will net a snappier throttle response and quicker acceleration.
Nissan engineers have also tuned the 2013 Leaf's steering for better response, particularly in the medium-speed range.
No changes were made to the Leaf's battery, but improvements to the car's brake regeneration and heating systems should net a few extra miles of range.
However, even with those upgrades range anxiety remains a concern for Leaf drivers, so Nissan has upgraded the EV with three new functions – "Stop-off charging spot guidance", "Power-saving route guidance" and "Battery capacity at a destination forecast".
As previously rumored, Nissan is adding a new entry-level Leaf model for 2013. The base Leaf – known in Japan as the 'S' – will retain the standard car's electric drivetrain, but will delete added extras like fog lights in the name of a lower price point.
The 2013 Nissan Leaf is available for purchase now in Japan, so look for the EV to hit the U.S. market either later this year or in early 2013.
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Pretty good stuff, although surprised they didn't increase battery size.
I'm more surprised to not hear anything about better thermal management of the batteries, particularly in hot climates.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
Nissan is still in denial about heat issues, so why would they build a thermal management system?
There's another range related consideration that a lot of people don't take into account. I say this as a person who owns and drives a Leaf daily. Its great that the car can do 73 miles per charge. But I always leave a buffer of about 10-20 miles. Maybe that is range anxiety talking, I don't know. But you won't catch me making a trip in the Leaf that put me at less than 10 miles remaining on the battery, preferably 20. Which leaves me a useable range of around 53 miles for a round-trip. Since there is little to know charging infrastructure in my area I can't count on a charge before coming home in most cases. And since I typically only charge my leaf to 80%, that means I really have around 40 miles I can use on a regular basis. I can charge to 100% on days when I'm planning a longer trip, though. Which is interesting being that our other car is a Volt and it also has about 40 miles of range. We actually get about the same range from both vehicles when looked at from a practical standpoint.
So if I had a low-end Tesla with 160 miles of range, I'd probably wind up with well over 100 practical miles using the same sort of calculation.
So if I had a low-end Tesla with 160 miles of range, I'd probably wind up with well over 100 practical miles using the same sort of calculation.
Yeah, me too.
A couple of times I took a longer than usual trip and did get down into the "near empty" region and the range gauge would start acting even more weird. I think once you get near 10 miles showing you really don't know for sure how much is left. Trying to drive down near completely "empty" is risking getting you stranded.
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From a LEAF owner perspective, that would be "a nice problem to have". We never really get into that comfortable 100+ range "warm and fuzzy" area.
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Even with non-energetic driving I'm not hitting the 265. With CC off and being extremely stingy with "orange", I get close.
ChadS
Last tank of gas: March 2009
surfingslovak
Member
Right, thanks for explaining that. I did my best to ignore the distance-to-empty gauge in the Leaf, and I all forgot about that. Although, a few owners argue that one can find some redeeming value in it, I have personally not recommended anyone to use that gauge for anything but entertainment.
The ActiveE I'm driving now has both a better guess-o-meter, and an accurate SOC indicator in %. I'm finding myself using that gauge every day, and I know many other electronauts do the same. Meanwhile Leaf owners have to resort to counting amorphous battery bars on a segmented battery gauge (see below). There was a successful project, which allows owners to project SOC from the charging display. That's rather tedious as well, and I'm hoping that this will no longer be necessary in the 2013 Leaf.
Here is a photo from the meeting with the Nissan engineering team at Google our local owners group organized last December. The engineers asked the audience if they would prefer an SOC indicator in percent over a guessometer.
That's a good point, Eric. Here is what the guessometer in my Leaf showed one morning after an 80% charge. Pretty impressive, wouldn't you agree? Unfortunately, the gauge dropped 40 miles after a 10 miles commute. That definitely did not give me a warm and fuzzy feeling, and if I didn't know any better, I would start wondering if I will be able to make it back home ;-)
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