Thursday, June 30, 2011

13. Ho-Hum...

     I am happy to report that after 5 weeks my LEAF has become... well... "just another car" to me, like a lot of other fine cars I've owned.  


     Oh sure, it's very fun to drive, fast, solid, agile in traffic, frosty-cold and pin-drop quiet on the inside; but otherwise it's starting to become just transportation.  I get in, turn it on, then drive to wherever I'm going.  Nothin' special.  I'm no longer mesmerized by all the cool displays of battery charge and energy use and typically don't even turn them on unless I'm demo-ing the LEAF to a friend.  


     I don't bother with the "Eco" mode and don't give a thought to "driving green."  I just drive.  To wherever I'm going.  With full-on AC.  As fast as traffic will allow.  With as heavy a foot as I like.  Yet I've never come even close to experiencing "range anxiety."  I just haven't been able to run this baby down anywhere near empty since I did that deliberately the first week when I was testing the LEAF's limits. 


     Now  I just drive it.  It's "just a car."


     OK, I admit that I never turn on the (excellent) sound system because I'm not over my fascination with the LEAF's extraordinary silence.  And, sure, it feels good to drive past all those $$ gas price signs knowing I haven't had to insert my MasterCard into a gas pump for more than 5 weeks.   And it's nice knowing that my driving has a zero carbon footprint because my home uses exclusively West Texas windmill electricity.  And, yeah, I admit that I love having people ask me about the LEAF, then running through my whole LEAF "spiel" and test drive.  


     But other than that, the LEAF has become just another car to me.  You believe me, don't you?   NOT!  :-)
     
     I love my LEAF!
     

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

12. Pike's Peak Hill Climb Race... In a LEAF!

  

     I've mentioned several times that my LEAF is a very agile car to drive around town because its electric motor delivers 100% torque instantaneously right off the line.  


     It handles Austin's steep hills effortlessly, and why not when it can climb the 12.42 miles to the top of Pike's Peak in only 14:33 minutes, an average speed of over 50mph all the way to the summit!   http://inhabitat.com/nissan-leaf-becomes-first-electric-class-pikes-peak-champion/




     “The LEAF was great fun to drive up the mountain” said LEAF driver and veteran Nissan off-road truck racing champion Chad Hord. “With the instant torque from the electric motor we were able to jump out of the many slow corners and the performance was very consistent from the bottom to the top since the electric motor wasn’t affected by the high altitude near the summit like the gasoline powered cars.”


     "The vehicle was so quiet during its ascent–with the exception of squealing tires–that it was equipped with a high-speed warning beep to alert spectators and race workers of its approach"


     My LEAF is one slick little car... and LOTS of fun to drive.  (No, that's not me on Pike's Peak - smile.)



Friday, June 24, 2011

11. One Month With No Gas!

     Today it's been a month since I took delivery of my LEAF.  During that time I haven't bought a single drop of gas for my Lexus.


     According to the CarWings LEAF owner's website, I've driven slightly more than 1,000 miles and consumed 215kWh of electricity.  At Austin's (high) electric rate of $0.14/kWh I've spent about $30.00 for electricity (or $1.00/day).  Considering that I normally spend $10 per day (!) to air-condition my home during the summer, what I'm spending to charge my LEAF is chickenfeed.


     Had I instead been driving my Lexus around the city at (conservatively) 20mpg, I would have burned up 50 gallons of premium gas.  Assuming premium at roughly $3.80/gal that's $190.00 worth of gas.  We all know gas prices are going much higher soon, but even a savings of $160/mo is nice.  Plus (according to CarWings) during this month I avoided spewing 626 lbs of CO2 into the air.


     The LEAF is very cheap to drive, frisky, nimble in traffic, eerily quiet, comfortably cool, and environmentally friendly.  What's not to like?


     It's also FUN... a BLAST to drive!


     I love my LEAF!



Sunday, June 19, 2011

10. Almost Outa Juice...

     Yesterday I deliberately tried to run down my LEAF's battery to the point where I'd see/hear its low-battery warnings.  I succeeded, but I really had to try to do it.  


     I had several stops to make at widely-separated locations around the city.  I deliberately chose the most inefficient routing I could think of with mostly freeway driving at 70mph (lots of wind resistance and very little regenerative braking).


     It was 103 degrees in Austin yesterday, but the LEAF air conditioning had no difficulty blowing frosty-cold air to quickly get the cabin comfortable again even after parking in the sun for an hour or two on several occasions.  The LEAF's energy display told me that I could add 4 miles to my range if I'd turn off the AC... fat chance I'd be doing that!


     When I finally got down to 12 miles of remaining range I checked the nav system and found that I was 8.7 miles from home.  I headed back to the house making two more stops along the way.  When I got below 10 miles of range I began receiving visual displays reminding me to recharge, and then the polite lady who lives in the LEAF nav system started issuing impossible-to-ignore verbal warnings to recharge.


     When I pulled into my garage I had only four miles of range remaining.  Was I nervous?  Not a bit because with the nav system I was able to predict throughout the last 12 miles that I'd get home easily with that 4-mile buffer, especially since I knew that the last 2 miles to my home would be low-energy-consuming slower neighborhood driving.


     At that point I had one more errand to run; so I took my Lexus.  No big deal, and the Lexus was very happy to be driven after three weeks in the garage.


     The LEAF performs exactly as advertised.  You don't have to be a rocket scientist to feel perfectly comfortable with the 100-mile range.  However, the LEAF is probably not the right car for people who just "can't be bothered" to pay attention to the car's easy-to-understand instrumentation (and also those who are just flat ignorant).




PS: People have asked me if I've noticed any performance drop when the battery charge is low, and the answer is "no".  The Li-Ion batteries seem to provide pretty much full power right to the end (much like laptop batteries); and I've not detected any noticeable drop-off in the LEAF's normal, brisk acceleration even at low charge levels.



Wednesday, June 15, 2011

9. The Stats Just Keep Looking Better

     For more than two weeks my beautiful Lexus has been sitting all lonely in the garage, shined up and full of gas with nowhere to go.  


     Ever since I got my LEAF I've been driving it everywhere and have not once felt the slightest inclination to drive the Lexus.  Why would I when the LEAF is so quick, agile, quiet, comfortable, and fun to drive?  However, I am going to have to make myself drive the Lexus once in a while just to keep the battery charged.


     My LEAF communicates with Nissan every time I drive it, and all the summary data then becomes instantly available on the Nissan CarWings website.  Here's what I'm learning:


1. Since I got the LEAF I've been driving it an average of about 40 miles a day, up to a maximum of 50-60 miles/day on weekends and maybe around 30 miles/day on weekdays.  At $.03/mile for electricity, those 40 miles/day cost me $1.20.  Compare that cost to the 2 gallons of gas I'd burn in my Lexus (very optimistically) to cover the same 40 miles for a total of roughly $8.00/day.

2. Even though I seized even the most feeble excuses to drive everywhere I could think of on weekends, with normal city driving I never got even close to using up my 100 miles of battery range.

3. During this same period of time I avoided emitting from my tailpipe a total of 352 lbs. of CO2!  

     I gotta feel really good about that.


Sunday, June 12, 2011

8. The AC Is SUPER Cold, and That's Just Fine With Me

     Today it was 98 degrees.  Austinites are accustomed to summer heat; and we rely on good air-conditioning in our homes, offices, malls, and cars.  Texans know good air conditioning, and I can tell you that the LEAF's AC is truly exceptional!  


     As I've mentioned before, because the LEAF's electric AC compressor doesn't depend on high engine rpm, it operates at 100% from the moment you turn it on, even if the car isn't moving.


     Today while stopped for a long time in downtown traffic, I actually had to turn the AC vents away from my hands on the steering wheel and towards the roof because the blowing air was making my fingers uncomfortably cold... this while the car was sitting dead still on baking asphalt that was probably 110 degrees.  Now that's what I call good AC! 


     At the same time, as I sat there motionless the LEAF was not wasting one erg of battery energy on anything other than keeping me cool and comfy.  There was no idling gasoline engine generating waste heat, and my LEAF wasn't putting one gram of CO2 into the air.


     Since I charge my car at home with Austin "green" electricity generated by West Texas windmills, my splendidly comfortable day of driving around town had a zero carbon footprint and cost me 3 cents a mile.  What's not to like about that?


     So far I haven't been able to identify a single thing about my LEAF that I'd consider a negative. If I ever do, I'll let you know.





Saturday, June 11, 2011

7. Is Half a Tank of Gas Enough?

    Gasoline engines get their best mileage when driven at a constant speed on the freeway, but their mileage is much lower with stop-and-go city driving.  The LEAF, on the other hand, is at its best with stop-and-go driving when the regenerative braking really shines and when you're not wasting a lot of gas idling in traffic.  


     When fully charged, my LEAF can travel roughly 100 miles around town; so when I pull out of my garage in the morning I have about the same potential city range as my Lexus does when it starts the day with the gas tank half full.


     So if you're trying to decide whether the LEAF's 100-mile range is enough for your normal driving, just ask yourself if you typically use more than half a tank of gas during a day of driving.  If you do, then the LEAF may not be for you.  


     However, if you normally fill your car with gas only once a week, then you'll never have to worry about running out of charge in your LEAF.  Even if you fill your gasoline car as often as every 3-4 days, odds are the LEAF's 100-mile range will probably never be an issue for you.


     Based on my experience so far, it's doubtful I'll ever find myself running really low on charge; but were that ever to occur it's a no-brainer to simply drive home, plug in the LEAF, and drive the Lexus while the LEAF recharges.


     In fact, I think the only battery issue I'm ever likely to have won't be with the LEAF's battery at all, it'll be trying to keep the Lexus battery charged when it's being driven so little.  As I said before, even though the LEAF can easily make the 50-mile, 70mph round-trip to the Austin airport, I'll be using the Lexus as my airport car only to exercise it and keep its battery charged.


     I should make one a comment about my Lexus IS350.  It's absolutely the finest internal combustion automobile I've ever owned.  I probably won't sell it for many years because I still need it for long trips, but I'll won't be using it for local driving ever again.


     I love my LEAF!



Friday, June 10, 2011

6. Paradigm Shift



     As I merged with freeway traffic on my way to work this morning it occurred to me that the LEAF is not just the next step in the evolution of the automobile, it's a revolution in travel.  


     Leaving the gym, my LEAF accelerated effortlessly and with eerie smoothness from a standstill to highway speeds.  The ride is as elegant and refined as any luxury car I've ever driven.  The handling is crisp, and you always know exactly what's going on with the road and the car.  Yet as I sped along wrapped in the LEAF's cocoon of silence there was a sense of almost complete detachment from the noisy world outside, much as if I was sitting at home playing a video game with the sound turned off.  How delightful.


     And then there's the cost of travel.  My routine morning commute to the gym and then to work is 8.7 miles.  At 3 cents/mile, this trip costs me all of 26 cents worth of electricity!  And with no tailpipe emissions.


     If that's not revolutionary, then what is?



Thursday, June 9, 2011

5. Favorite Features

     I'm delighted with all aspects of my LEAF, but here are a few features that stand out:


• IT'S QUIET.  
     No, I mean really, REALLY quiet.  I've read that the cabin noise level is lower than the top-of-the-line Infiniti, and I believe it.  The 600# of batteries under the floor deaden road noise from below, and there's no engine noise at any speed.  At 30mph you hear essentially nothing from the car, and even at 70mph you can barely hear the tires rolling on the highway and the sound of wind blowing past the windows.


• GREAT HANDLING.  
     With those 600# of batteries within the wheelbase the car corners as flat as a sports car.  Suspension is firm but luxury-car smooth.  Steering effort is light yet sensitive and refined, thus making driving effortless at all speeds. 


• GREAT AIR CONDITIONING.  
     I've mentioned this before - the LEAF's AC can literally freeze you out of the car on a 100 degree day if you override the automatic temperature controls and really crank it up.  Seriously... it doesn't take long before you want to switch it back to "Auto" to avoid becoming chilled.  
     I've never driven a car that could cool the cabin this fast or this cold while sitting still on a hot day.  I think this is largely due to the electric AC compressor that's running at 100% the minute you switch it on.  There's no fan belt; so AC performance is not dependent on higher engine rpm.  There's not the usual wait for cool air to arrive while you're driving out of the parking lot or waiting in rush-hour traffic.  
     When this AC is on, it's really ON!  When traffic comes to a dead stop on the freeway and every other car is idling, wasting gas, spewing CO2, and warming up inside, the LEAF AC quietly hums along full blast, sipping just the little juice it needs from the battery while the "Traction Motor" (which propels the car) is using zero energy.


• GREAT ELECTRONICS.  
     All instrument displays are flat panel, bright, clear, and easily understood.  When you start up there's just a basic display, but you can also use the buttons and touch-screen to drill down into the details of navigation and car performance (which tech buffs love to do).  


     To repeat myself:  This car is FUN!


  

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

4. A Typical Day in My LEAF

     Yesterday was probably a typical weekday for me.  I drove to the gym early in the morning, then to my office.  I gave one friend a quick driving demo of the car that probably covered about 5 miles including a lot of (energy-wasting) fast acceleration (for purposes of demonstration only, you understand).  I ran a couple of errands after work before driving 10 miles downtown for an evening at the theatre, then home.


     According to CarWings I drove a total of 40 miles averaging 4.9 kWh/mile and consumed a total of 8.4kWh.  


     At $0.124/kWh, that whole normal day of driving cost me $1.17 worth of electricity.  Compare that to a gas car getting 20mpg (you wish!):  $3.90/gal x 2 gal = $7.80 worth of gas.


     Additionally, CarWings reports that during my driving yesterday I avoided adding 26 pounds of CO2 to the Austin air by using electricity instead of gas.


     I love my LEAF more every day!  Still not a single negative to report.



Monday, June 6, 2011

3. It's Crazy Cheap To Drive a LEAF


Do you like my license plate?

     Nissan has a website named "CarWings" for LEAF owners only.  I've set my LEAF to automatically report its operational data to Nissan wirelessly at every startup; so I can log onto the CarWings website and look at cool stats and graphs about my energy use.


     Here's my summary after 12 days of driving:


• I've driven my LEAF a total of 390 miles with an average energy consumption of 4.4miles/kWh.


• I pay $0.14/kWh for Austin "green" energy which is supplied exclusively by West Texas windmills.  Austin's coal-generated electricity is cheaper, but I'm willing to pay the higher rate because I like the idea of driving my car on non-polluting, renewable wind power alone.






• At that rate it costs me about 3 cents to drive a mile in my LEAF with the AC running full blast.  Is that awesome, or what?


• I've had the car for 1/3 of a month already, and I've spent only around $12 to drive 390 miles.  Cool!


• According to CarWings I've so far eliminated 253 pounds of CO2 emissions I would otherwise have spewed into the air from my tailpipe over those 12 days!


     Not only do I feel virtuous driving my LEAF on wind power, but I'm also having FUN with this frisky little car.


     So far I haven't found a single negative to mention about the LEAF.  Kudos to Nissan for getting everything right from the git-go with this car.





Sunday, June 5, 2011

2. Trying To Think Up Excuses To Go For a Drive

     Ever since I got my LEAF 10 days ago I've found myself trying to think up the slightest excuse to go for a drive.  I've suddenly felt the need to run all sorts of little errands around town - all those things that have been on my "To Do" list for weeks are suddenly getting done.  


     Yesterday I tried to do every errand I could think of; but despite running all around from one end of Austin to the other, I was only able to rack up about 40 miles of mixed stop-end-go and freeway driving which left me with 50 miles remaining on the battery by the time I arrived home, plugged in, and topped it off with electrons again (which took about 3 hours).


     Today my shopping list still had one unfinished item.  I intended to pick up a new screwdriver the next time I happened to be going to Home Depot for something major, but I wasn't about to spend $5 for gas to drive all the way to Home Depot to get a piddly $4 screwdriver.  Today that became, "Gosh, I think I'll drive over to Home Depot to get that screwdriver; since I'll only be using 30 cents worth of electricity."


     Really, my LEAF is just so much fun to drive that I can't get enough of it.  The acceleration is totally silent but brisk and silky smooth, probably very close to what one would feel riding on a mag-lev train.  I have to use the cruise control even in my neighborhood because otherwise I'd soon be speeding without even realizing it.


     The LEAF makes quick work of freeway on-ramps, and I'm soon on cruise control at 70mph wrapped in no more sound than the faint hum of the tires rolling on the highway.  I have an iPod with all my favorite music connected to the USB port, but I almost never turn on the excellent sound system because it's such a novel delight to experience that cocoon of silence in the LEAF.


     And a word about the super-powerful LEAF air conditioner.  Believe me, we Texans know about air conditioning; and this AC is great!  Because the compressor is instant-on electrical and not driven by a fan belt, it's not engine rpm-dependent; and the AC is blowing ice cold air within seconds.  My car was parked for over an hour in 98 degree sun; yet the LEAF's cabin was well-cooled within a minute or two.  Amazing!  That may be the fastest cooling of any car I've ever driven.


     More to come...


     

1. INTRODUCTION - The LEAF Is a Game-Changer!

Hello and Welcome,


       I've never even thought about doing a blog before, but I'm so impressed with my new Nissan LEAF that I want to share my enthusiasm with anyone who's interested.


       In 1990 I bought the first Nissan 300ZX Turbo in Austin, and I was absolutely nuts about that car.  Everything about it was exciting: the styling, the power, the handling, the karma.  I never lost the excitement I felt for that Z after the very first drive.


       I've had my Nissan LEAF for 10 days now; and although it's obviously not as fast or sexy as the Z, it's gotten under my skin just like that 300ZX Turbo did.


WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT THE LEAF:
The car is GREAT -  solid-feeling, eerily quiet inside, with excellent handling and cornering -  really fun to drive.  It's remarkably peppy in stop-and-go traffic because the electric motor produces (silent) 100% torque right off the line.  I'd guess zero to 60 is about 8-9 seconds, plenty fast for commuting.  

       The AC is excellent (very important in Texas) and can even be started remotely with an iPhone app; so that the car is already cool when you get in.  All LEAFs ("Leaves"?) come fully tricked out with all the electronics boys love including great sound system, Bluetooth streaming audio, on-screen iPod controls, even a GPS navigation system that overlays a circle on the screen showing your driving range with your remaining battery charge.  There's plenty of room and legroom inside for five 6-footers.  The trunk is ample, and the rear seats fold down for hauling bulky items.  In short, it's exactly what I expected. 

WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT DRIVING A LEAF:
The battery is good for 100 miles on a charge in normal start-stop city driving because that's when it's taking full advantage of regenerative braking.  

       However, once you get up to freeway speeds, a new reality starts to dawn on you: Wind resistance sucks energy out of the battery faster; so true battery life at that speed is probably only around 75 miles total (or only one hour of freeway driving!) until the battery is toast.  At that point you'd better be back home in your garage.

At first realization, that's a little daunting because we're so accustomed to tooling all over the place at 70mph knowing there are gas stations everywhere.  Assuming your gasoline car gets 20mpg around town, in the LEAF you're basically leaving your home every morning with the equivalent of only 5 gallons of gas and, for practical purposes, no place to fill up again until you're back home.  

       Recharging can take up to 7 hours with the special 220v. charger or 17 hours if you plug into a standard wall socket; so it's not something you can do while you eat a burger.  There will soon be new public charging stations all around Austin, but it seems to me they have limited value unless you're prepared to leave the car plugged in for several hours at the mall, work, or airport.  Basically you've got the 100 miles you left the house with in the morning.  

       The good news is that's going to be much more mileage than most people will need, even for a full weekend day of shopping and errands.  Also, I'll wager that just about everyone who buys a LEAF has at least one more car in the family already for longer trips.

Fortunately there are all sorts of "can't-miss-em" displays on the dash and even audible reminders when you begin to get close to the end of your stored electrons; so you have ample opportunity to plan your trip to arrive home with plenty of reserve.  Only an absolute boob would ignore the many warnings and run a LEAF battery all the way down to the point of immobility (in which case Nissan will send out a free flatbed truck to haul your LEAF home for you).

Last weekend I decided to do a "real world" test and drove round-trip from my home in Northwest Austin to the Airport and back (about 50 miles total) at a steady 70mph, a common trip for me.  I left the house with a full charge and got back home with 25 miles remaining in the battery.  Not bad, but you'd certainly want to have a gasoline-powered second car if you intended to do much more driving immediately upon arriving home.  

       In reality, that airport test trip was the only time I've ever been able to use up 75% of my LEAF's charge before topping off again at home.  On a typical weekday I probably never drive more than 10-20 miles to work, an occasional errand, then home; and every night the car will get plugged in and topped off in a couple of hours (for $1-2).  Even on weekends it's rare that I put more than 50-60 miles a day on my car unless I'm driving out of town.  I automatically plug the LEAF in any time I pull into my garage; so the battery is constantly being boosted back up to near 100% between Saturday errands.  

       Of course eventually there'll be charging stations at the airport into which you can plug your car while you're gone.  In my case I can already see that my beloved Lexus is going to end up being demoted to just my "airport car" once every few weeks so I can keep its battery charged.  For everything else I'll be using my LEAF.

       Filling up an empty LEAF battery with 100 miles worth of electricity costs around $3.00 at Austin's (astronomical) electric rates - compare that to $20 for 5 gallons of gasoline.

So the bottom line so far is that the LEAF does exactly what I bought it for: It will allow me to do 99% of my normal round-town driving using only cheap, non-polluting, non-OPEC electricity.  

       And it's REALLY FUN TO DRIVE!

I'll be adding more thoughts as time passes. Thanks for reading this.

Bill