Our first Leaf was the 2013 model year. That was the year Nissan boosted cold weather driving range by 20+ miles with the switch to heat pumps, for an estimated 85 total miles. While I was able to get 82 miles from one charge (summer hypermiling), in practice the range was quite a bit less. The worst case, mid-winter driving to and from work in the cold and dark, the range was closer to 50 miles. For Jen’s 32 mile round-trip commute, that mean charging the car every night.
On long trips, recharging an EV has the same level of friction as adding gas to an ICE. In the case of commuting, EV refueling is considerably more convenient:
|
EV |
ICE |
| drive home | drive to station |
| wait in line for pump | |
| park near EV plug | pull up to pump |
| negotiate payment | |
| plug in | plug in |
| wait for tank to fill | |
| unplug (later) | unplug |
| drive away |
When the 2016 model year Leaf was released, the battery capacity increased from 24kWh to 30kWh, boosting the EPA rated range from 84 to 107 miles. That extra 23 miles was just enough to get us out to the ski resorts in the winter. It also made quite a difference in how often our Silver Leaf needed to recharge:
