I'm excited to say that we've been driving our Nissan LEAF for six months and we still absolutely love it. The LEAF has performed flawlessly for over 5,000 miles and so far, we've been driving for no fuel cost at all, thanks to our home's 5 kW solar panel array and the Time of Use electrical rates from our utility, Southern California Edison.
As I did last month, I'll take a moment to emphasize how remarkable it is that a car as revolutionary as the LEAF, the first mass produced affordable highway capable electric car, is as reliable as it is. There have been a few reported problems among the LEAFs owned by members of the MyNissanLEAF online forum, but really only a very few. Our LEAF has only been back to the Nissan dealer once, and that was for a recommended software update. Other than that, our LEAF has run absolutely solidly and reliably for half a year and served our family of five as our primary vehicle for that entire time.
Most of our driving is done within 35 miles of our home, so our LEAF works really well as our main car. Our 2007 Toyota Prius hybrid is our second car, and we've driven it about 590 miles a month for the past three months, a bit more than half as many miles as we've driven the LEAF. If a planned trip is within the 75 mile round trip range of the LEAF, we take the LEAF. We only choose the Prius when both drivers need to go to separate destinations, or if the round trip distance to our destination is longer than the LEAF's range.
After six months of having our LEAF as part of the family, our likes and dislikes are pretty clear. The dislikes are few. I would like to have had the option of power seats to add more adjustments to make it easier to find the most comfortable driving position. I'd also like to have had the option of leather seats. Of course we'd like to have about 50% more driving range to make it easier to get to some parts of Los Angeles and San Diego. The carpets in the car are ridiculously thin and more like a layer of flocking than a carpet, but with good floor mats as a mandatory option, this is a small problem. A bigger problem is the low powered 3 kW on-board charger. Nissan really needs to increase the capacity of the charger to shorten the time it takes to add some charge en-route to make longer trips more realistic. On the other hand, the 3 kW charger is just fine for the overnight charging that we usually do. The range and "remaining fuel" displays should be more accurate and detailed. Other than some minor gripes about the shape of the glove compartment and the need to make it simpler to shut off the voice guidance for the gps system, that's about all of our dislikes.
As I said, the things we don't like about the car are overwhelmed by what we love about it. I really like the smoothness and the quiet of the electric power train. I love the torque of the electric motor that is available as soon as I press the accelerator. The LEAF really feels faster than it actually is, and it jumps ahead of other cars at a traffic light. After six months with the car, I still find that I look for opportunities to drive it, and I often go for drives just for fun. The instrument panel is a festival of technology, with multiple readouts that show how economically I am driving, a gps screen that locates available charge stations if I need them and shows my driving range in real time, a Bluetooth connection for music as well as phone connections, and a smart phone app that lets me check the state of battery charge in real time and instruct the car to begin or end charging or to turn on the climate control so that the air is pre-conditioned before I arrive at the car. I really like the front seat room for the driver and passenger and the rear seats work really well for our son and daughter-in-law and their baby in a safety seat. The luggage space under the hatchback works well for folded strollers, diaper bags, folded camp chairs and groceries. I find the design of the car, both inside and out, to be pleasingly different and fresh.
The ownership experience has been really unusual, economical and fun. The car has had zero defects from the time of delivery to this date. We haven't had any scheduled maintenance, and there is none recommended until a 7,500 mile tire rotation and various inspections, and a brake fluid replacement and another tire rotation at 15,000 miles. So we haven't spent any money on maintenance or repair as yet. Neither have we spent any money on fuel, as I mentioned above. I've found it really interesting to track our energy usage and the energy economy of the car, as well as our home's energy costs, including car charging. Through the MyNissanLeaf online forum, I've found a wealth of information about the LEAF, as well as a group of like-minded LEAF fans, many of whom have become friends that I see at least once a month at gatherings. Being an early adopter has been energizing and interesting for me, and clearly, owning the LEAF has become a hobby. I'm able to share with interested people the knowledge that I've gained, and to help guide them to make the decision whether an EV will fit well with their lifestyle. It has been a lot of fun giving test drives to friends and answering questions about the LEAF in parking lots as we do our shopping, as well as at car gatherings and EV events. I've also become even more interested in the development of other EVs and alternative fueled cars, and my focus on online news sources has given me some expertise with which to judge new cars being offered by manufacturers.
I don't spend much time advocating for others to consider EVs for the purposes of reducing pollution and to help to reduce the effects of climate change. I find that in these contentious political times, these are hot button issues that fall on either supportive or deaf ears and I don't expect to convince many to change their views. But I strongly believe that we need to make changes in the way that we use energy so that the earth that we leave to our children and grandchildren is a healthier one. I also believe that we need to develop an infrastructure to build and support electric vehicles because oil will certainly not last forever. Whatever one believes about the wisdom of offshore drilling and drilling in sensitive environments to find cheap oil to feed our world's needs, there will come a time when the oil will be too scarce, too expensive or too damaging to the environment to obtain. I don't want us to wait until that time before we start using alternative energies for transportation. I don't understand people who are against electric cars. At the very least, electric energy is domestic energy from domestic sources. I think that everyone knows that some of our foreign oil comes from countries that don't have our country's best interests at heart. If some of us drive electrically, it will leave more oil for others to use, and it will help to lower demand and to lower oil prices. I think that the solution to our energy needs will be a multi-focal one, in which electric and other alternative fuels will be used where they make sense, alongside fossil fuels for as long as they are abundant. And it can't be overlooked that in almost all cases, the energy cost of driving an electric car is a fraction, sometimes as little as one tenth the cost of driving a conventional gasoline powered car.
The Numbers:
Month: September 2011
Total Miles at Month End: 5,193 miles
Miles Driven in Month: 1,026 miles
Electric Power Used for Charging: 323.0 kWh (measured at wall power source, includes public charging)
Public Charging: 14.87 kWh
Home Charging: 308.13 kWh
Energy Efficiency, Month of September: 3.18 miles/kWh (wall to wheels)
Energy Efficiency, Lifetime: 3.147 miles/kWh (wall to wheels)
Most Electric Energy Used for Charging in a Day in September: 20.9 kWh (5.5 charging hours)
Least Electric Energy Used for Charging in a Charging Day: 8.6 kWh (2.3 charging hours)
Average Electric Energy Used for Charging in a Charging Day: 13.4 kWh (3.5 charging hours)
Household Power Used for Month: 728.9 kWh (without car charging)
Total Power Used for Month: 1,037 kWh (includes car charging)
Solar PV Power Generated for Month: 679 kWh
Net Power Used or Sent to Grid for Month: 358 kWh net used
Electric Bill, So Cal Edison, Schedule TOU-D-TEV: -$10.75 (A credit in this amount will be added to our net metering total credit for the year, offsetting future bills for months with lower solar output.)
Solar Net Metering Year Total kWh at Month #7: 237 kWh (Total of 237 kWh net used for the year)
Solar Net Metering Year Total Cost at Month #7: -$368.59 (Total credit for the net metering year to date)
Cost for Charging Car in September: $0.00
Cost per Mile: $0.00
Cost for Charging Car, Lifetime: $0.00
Cost per Mile, Lifetime: $0.00
(If We Didn't Have Solar Power, Est Cost for Charging Car in September: $40.06)
(If We Didn't Have Solar Power, Est Cost per Mile in September: $0.039)
Average Miles per Driving Day: 36.6miles
Longest Day's Driving: 75.8 miles
Shortest Day's Driving: 10.2 miles
Number of Times we Took the Prius Instead of the LEAF Due to Low Charge: Never
Unexpected Low Charge and Unable to Reach Destination: Never