Unexpected Consequence Of Owing A Is300H....

[ganzoom]

6 months ago because I was commuting 100 miles a day, even if I wanted to get a Leaf there was no way I could make the number look...But given our current situation the Leaf works perfectly as my main car, and the IS300H will do any longer trips.

I certainly don't think the government and manufactures can afford to keep on subsidising EVs...After-all I've essentially got a brand new Golf sized family car, thats fully loaded with technology, for £13K (+ interest free credit + free home EV charger + free electricity at ALL rapid charger stations !!! But if you are in a situation where an EV fits your lifestyle, and WHY NOT take advantage of all the government/manufacture incentives before the mass public catches on?? Since getting the Leaf, I've seen two Renault Zoe's, a Tesla S, and another 2 Leaf's in the last 3 days....When I picked up the Leaf last week, the dealer told me that had another 2 going out the same week, so sales of EVs are accelerating.

http://www.engadget.com/2015/04/03/tesla-first-sales-report/

So people are catching on, I really do think EVs will become mainstream very quickly, amazingly I've found the no issue towards charging/range anxiety, I plug my laptop in to the mains when I need to, I do the same with my phone, the Leaf is just another gadget that I plug into the main when needed. Infact it's much easier to plug the Leaf into the mains in my garage over night, rather than face the inconvenience of having to visit a petrol station.

It's also not just about the money, in the last 10 years I've owned:

Honda Integra Type R, described by EVO magazine as 'It's a car as sweet and all-consuming as any I've experienced at any price, and as pure and focused in its own way as any Porsche RS. Forget the accolade of greatest front-wheel-drive car. The Integra Type-R ranks as one of the truly great drivers' cars of any kind."

Nissan 350Z: Awarded 'Car of the year' back in 2004 by TopGear magazine.

Heavily tuned BMW 335i: Pushing 380bhp, with quaife LSD and bespoke suspension - For all intents and purposes as quick as a M3 in a straight line and around the corners.

So believe me, the last thing I want to drive around in is a 3 cylinder shopping trolley regardless of how cheap it is...I really really wanted to hate the Leaf on the test drive, the numbers made sense, but I've never really cared about the numbers before. But the truth of the matter is, even though the Leaf is a pretty mundane family run-about, and has a EV motor only capable of 80kw (109bhp), as a CAR for getting from A to B, it makes everything else I've ever driven or owned feel totally outdated and antiquated.

The ability to access 100% torque at 0 rpm, along with the concept of NOT having any gears or any engine noise/vibration, makes for a really fun and refined driving experience. Now that I've got use to the driving experience delivered by the EV drivetrain of the Leaf, I honestly have to say I wouldn't swap the Leaf for any of my previous cars ....and the really exciting thing about EVs is the current crop of car are essentially 1st generation machines.

If a company like Tesla, with little previous experience of building cars, can produce a machine that has been voted by the Consumer Reports (American version of Which) as the ' The best car ever tested'....2 years running...Can you imagine how good the 2nd/3rd generation EVs will be?? The likes of Toyota/Lexus need to forget the pipe dream that it 'hydrogen fuel cells', Battery EV cars have already arrived, they work, and people (like my self) are buying them with our hard earned cash (If I had a spare £50K I would buy a Tesla without a second thought)....I cannot wait to see how the car industry develops over the next 5-10 years, I think much like how apple shock up the entire mobile phone market in 2008, Tesla is going to do the same to the car industry.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2014/04/top-picks-2014/index.htm

[Roscobbc]

Gang - you are 'so' correct in everything you say - yes, take advantage of these vehicles before the general public 'learn' how good they actually are - the future? - well lets just take it as it comes! - BTW I took an extended test drive some years ago when my son wangled some test drives for me at the local Honda dealership where he had a Saturday job. The Integra was the very best balanced front wheel drive performance car I have ever driven - docile enough for Granny to plod around town - yet enough manic performance and handling to satisfy petrol heads. Also drove the Legend saloon - yet another underrated car that handled far better than it had any right to!

What is fascinating to me about the 'performance' versions of the Tesla is that in the 'States on the drag strips in stock trim they are at least the equal to, if not quicker than other vehicles that are acknowledged as being 'state of the art' performance cars. If only they did a two door coupe version! - it would replaces the C7 ZO6 and Challenger Hellcat as dream vehicles for me!

[rayaans]

I wouldnt say EV's are the future though. I think Hydrogen is the future, just needs to come down to a proper price

[ganzoom]

Regardless of the debate on Battery EVs / Hydrogen fuel cars, I'm loving what the Leaf can do.

I know many people don't feel comfortable about companies having access/monitoring data, but I love what 'cloud' based computing can do.

The Leaf sends all the data/trip information to a data centre in Japan, which than translates it into status I can understand (You have to 'opt in' and consent for data to be stored/examined).

It shows exactly how much energy each trip in the Leaf is using up/costing (Doesn't count 'free' charges ofcourse), but surprisingly shows that the Leaf is 'regenerating' nearly 1/3 of the energy needed for the traction motor. Clever stuff :D

[ganzoom]

So did first proper charge at home yesterday.

Had about 35% charge remaining on the Leaf yesterday before plugging into the mains, so with the Leaf having a 24kWh Battery, in theory it'll need 15.6kWh to recharge to full.

Our energy monitor says we used 23kWh of electricity yesterday, current average daily use (without having to charge the Leaf) is 7kWh. So the Leaf pulled an additional 16 kWh to go from 35% charge to 100%....So not quite 100% charge efficiency, but not far off. So I think it's safe to assume if the car needs 10kWh of power from the mains than that's how much power it will pull off the mains :)

[Bratman91]

Now that it looks as if the trade embargo on Cuba will be lifted, I wonder if they will skip a generation or two of imports and go straight to EV. Either way, I imagine that Cuba's car-related carbon footprint will siy-rocket.