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Nissan LEAF; Your Mileage May Seriously Vary

October 21, 2010 by 28 Comments
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The furor over the Chevy Volt seems to have subsided a bit, which means I can go back to picking on the other guy. I am of course referring to the Nissan Leaf, which unlike the Volt is a 100% electric car. No gas motors here. Furthermore, the Leaf is about $7000 less than the Volt, in part because unlike a hybrid there is no gasoline engine to mesh with the electric motors or drive system. Just a simple, battery-operated automobile.

As the old saying goes though, you get what you pay for. In the case of the Leaf, that means a lot less range. How much less? It all depends on how you drive.

GM has touted the Volt as a car for people who have “range anxiety”, i.e. those who don’t want their electric car to run out of juice while they are driving. The Volt boasts a total driving range of between 300 and 400 miles, including 25-50 miles of electric-only power. The Leaf, on the other hand, has been marketed as having a 100 mile all-electric range, which would cover many commuters. However, depending on how you drive and the external conditions, your range can vary…just as in any regular gas-powered car.

The reality is, depending on how you drive and external conditions, your mileage will more realistically range from 62 miles to 138 miles. The maximum range of 138 miles (which is very respectable for an electric car) is attainable only in ideal conditions on flat roads going a constant 38 mph. 38 mph? Seriously? That means it would take you over 3.5 hours to travel 138 miles…while at highway speeds (65 mph) the same trip would take just two hours.

Lets say you dare to take the car up to highway speeds of 55 mph in 95-degree weather with the air conditioning on? Well then your range plummets down to just 70 miles. If you’re stuck in stop-and-go traffic in the same weather, your mileage eeks even further down to just 62 miles. If it is a nice day out and you’re just running around town, averaging 24 mph, you can get about 105 miles out of your Leaf.

I appreciate Nissan’s honesty in this matter, and for many people who can plug in at work or home, this range is still perfectly within their commute. If you’re stuck in one of those infamous California traffic jams and your battery is running low, you might have some problems. For me, the only major drawback is the speed. The Leaf does not seem very comfortable at highway speeds, and I just can’t see myself stretching a 138 mile journey out over 3.5 hours. Soon-to-be Leaf owners, I hope you are a patient bunch.

Source: Automotive News

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About Christopher DeMorro

Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs. You can follow his slow descent into madness and non-nonsensical ramblings on Twitter @harshcougar.

  • http://www.midnightcheese.com/ Cale

    It’s all relative to the individual’s situation. I’m on the Interstate every day for a portion of my commute, but if I get to 65mph, it’s a really good day.

    People just have to be smart and figure worst case scenario when they leave the house. We do the same thing now when we get in the car and look at the gas gauge. Can I get to my destination without running out of gas? Can I get to my destination without running out of battery? I think people will be smart about it.

    • http://Web Holdfast

      Don’t just figure your commute today – also look head five years, since you’ll have the car for a while.

  • http://ChevronSpokesman? John McAvoy

    If I need to haul tons of stuff, my VW Golf will not cut it. Ergo, I have “stuff hauling” anxiety? If your commute is over double the average national 40 miles and you can’t plug in at work, buy my Golf!

    All this hanky twisting makes me ill.

    I take delivery of my Leaf in 2 months….

  • http://Web Lonnie

    Horses for courses. My wife and I have been talking about replacing my old Subaru with a “commuter vehicle” — something that gets great mileage for my daily commute — and keeping her van as our long distance/hauler. The Leaf fits our requirements perfectly.

    All cars get variable mileage based on driving habits; the range of variance is much more dramatic with the Leaf, of course.

    “…and for many people who can plug in at work or home….”

    All Leaf owners will have a home charging capability–it’s a requirement.

    Nissan runs you through a questionaire when you make your reservation as to how you plan to use the Leaf–if your driving lifestyle isn’t a fit, they’ll suggest you look elsewhere.

    Also, the Leaf has no problem with highway speeds–it’s been clocked at a high speed of 92mph–it’s just that running it at high speed will reduce your mileage. When I need to make a long-distance freeway trip, I’ll take the other car.

    “The Leaf does not seem very comfortable at highway speeds, and I just can’t see myself stretching a 138 mile journey out over 3.5 hours.”

    If 138 mile trips is a requirement, then indeed the Leaf isn’t for you.

    Finally,

    “However, there are some important caveats, as this chart from Nissan below shows.”

    Chart is missing–or at least I can’t see it.

    PS–@John McAvoy, how do you know you’ll take delivery in 2 months? I’ve ordered one, but have no solid information about delivery, and current speculation is that no or very few will actually be delivered in December. If you’ve actually gotten a delivery date, that’s good news!

  • http://Web Dave

    Where’s the chart?

  • http://solarchargeddriving.com Christof

    It never ceases to amaze me that the explicit/implicit assumption is that electric cars can’t/won’t vary in their mileage, but gasoline cars always will and do. Of course, ALL vehicles vary in their mileage due to speed, wind, temperature, road surface, and various other factors. Thus, it should NOT come as — or be represented as — a shocker that EVs don’t always go 100 miles. Yet, sadly, people still seem shocked that EV mileage will vary and, unfortunately, a lot of journalists feed into this ignorant and ridiculous sense of shock.

    • http://Web Mike from Duxbury

      Well, if it took 10 hours to refill my tank of gas at the gas station, you might have a point. How about the effects of cold weather on the range? Not an inappropriate concern for us in the New England who can’t afford two cars.

  • http://Web Jon

    The Volt can do road trips, while the Leaf cannot. But still – does the Chevrolet Volt make financial sense?

    Here is a way to compare costs…Electric vs Gas or Hybrid car
    http://www.befrugal.com/tools/electric-car-calculator/

  • http://Web Alex

    Don’t most people have 2 cars per household already anyway? if “range anxiety” bothers you, just get another car, like a used civic, as a secondary vehicle for road trips. you can find *decent* used civics for like 5000. problem solved, for less than the price of a volt.

  • http://coalitionoftheswilling.net Mr. Bingley

    Well I guess that answers the question of where all these “Green Jobs” that we are promised will magically appear if we buy these things: they’ll be the folks who will work at all the charging stations that we’ll have to build every 50 miles on all of our roads.

  • http://Web Alan S. Blue

    “If you’re stuck in one of those infamous California traffic jams and your battery is running low, you might have some problems.”

    I’d much rather have, say “5 miles of battery” left than “5 miles of gas” left right before I get stuck in a traffic jam. Once you’ve killed your accessories to minimize energy use, I’d imagine any electric vehicle (or any hybrid!) uses a hell of a lot less energy per second OF IDLING.

  • http://oceanaris.wordpress.com matt

    jut don’t turn on the radio, windshield wipers, a/c, or leave the glove box light on….otherwise the range will go down by 20%

  • http://Web luagha

    Remember that as a full electric, it’s not using any power when you’re stuck in traffic and not moving – just turn off the air conditioning and open the window if you’re worried.

  • http://Web Allan Erickson

    The time when cars were for driving is fast disappearing and we are now well into the time when they are just computer controlled transportation devices needing minimal driver input.

  • http://Web James H

    Isn’t highway speed about 75mph? It is around here, anyway. What distance do you get at that speed?

    Sure, people have range anxiety with gasoline engines, but there are gas stations all over the place, and it only takes about 5 minutes to fill up and be on the road again. This will of course factor into people’s purchase decisions. I’m sure it will be an option for many commuters, though, especially if they have other cars in the family for uses beyond strictly driving to work.

  • Jason

    What it needs is a trailer hitch and a power plug in the back. Then they could sell an accessory generator trailer with a matching streamlined body to pull behind it on those day when you have a little farther to go. Otherwise you could leave the generator trailer in the corner of the garage.

  • http://Web Fred

    It also depends on when and where you drive.

    Drive on rainy days when you need wipers and a defroster or in Canada between November – April when you need the heat on and you might be lucky to get 20% of the posted range.

  • http://Web melee

    It seems ridiculous to have to say this, but: Electric range matters because there is no way (today) to reasonably recharge on the go. Electrics recharge at about the same rate as you can refill a gas car with an eyedropper. A gas tank, however, can be refilled in a few minutes. That makes a big difference.

    Yes, you can plan your commute to be in the range that you have available. But then you get a call in the middle of the day that you need to go pick up your mother at the airport. Can you make it without a tow truck or not? And even if you don’t mind telling her to take a cab, isn’t it just plain easier not to have to constantly plan how to avoid being stranded?

    Someday we could have the tech to make quick electric recharging possible. Until that day, pure electrics are a hard sell. Range extenders make a lot of sense–and they create a market for such infrastructure without requiring it up front.

  • http://Web RonF

    How many watt-hours does it take to recharge the car? I need to know how much money each mile costs.

    • http://www.greensitedirectory.com Grant

      The Leaf takes 24 kWh to fully charge the battery (so that’s about 240 Watt-hours per mile). Using the national average electricity rate of about 12 cents per kWh, that’s about 3 cents per mile.

  • http://Web Mazzuchelli

    LOL. Does the world really need another smugmobile? Probably not.

  • http://Web Michael

    Did they detail how much these range numbers are impacted by use of auxiliary systems? The Mitsubishi i-MIEV, available in Europe is advertised at 100 mi range, but half that if you’re using the heater. Similarly, things like A/C and the radio will reduce range as well, although not as dramatically. Has Nissan made any relevant comments on this about the Leaf? Cause if the range is half that 62 miles, then forget about it.

  • http://Web Chris Bolts Sr

    If you live in hot climates, as I do, an all-electric car is DOA. Try telling someone in the middle of 100+ degree weather to do without air conditioning to spare the workload on the battery.

    “It never ceases to amaze me that the explicit/implicit assumption is that electric cars can’t/won’t vary in their mileage, but gasoline cars always will and do.”

    Umm…because gasoline cars have proven they can be driven for many distances on 1-2 tanks of gas??? I want you to try and take your electric car on a cruise across state borders or distances greater than 200 miles. Oh wait, IT CAN’T.

    Sooner or later people are going to start waking up from the green nightmare and realize we have lost so much time chasing after unicorns and leprechauns at the end of invisible rainbows when we could’ve been using that brainpower to discover newer and more efficient ways of using actual energy resources that can be used when humans call upon using them.

  • http://Web TB

    You know, speaking as someone who maybe puts fifteen miles a day on my car in stop-and-go city driving, 62 miles doesn’t exactly suck as a minimum range.

  • http://Web Mike

    Hell, didn’t electric cars 100 years ago get about 50 miles to a charge?? That’s some very poor performance improvement my friends. How about the battery and materials specific to electric cars? They are terrible polluters. Battery production and recycling is particularly onerous. This “green” croc is a scam of the highest order. Ginned up to line Al Gore’s pockets and exercise Gov’t control over every aspect of our lives. If you want to play Echo-Eddy, waste your own money. Don’t allow the Gov’t to rob me for NO ecological gains. I won’t go into the holier than thou syndrome suffered by these geeks.

  • http://www.biodiversivist.com Russ Finley

    Those of us who have been using electric vehicles for many years now are so accustomed to knowing our vehicles limits that we have no anxiety at all. People who have commutes that exceed the Leaf’s range need to get a life along with a different car.

  • http://Web Alex

    I’m gonna set off an EMP like in Ocean’s 11 but only, like, 100x larger and put the world back into the stone age. permanently. there, done. now you don’t have to worry about the environment OR energy or world hunger etc because all are out of your control.
    i wouldn’t be sad if the league of shadows decided to EMP the world. we have lost balance with the world. it needs to be reestablished.

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