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This is the thread for those of us that also have a full Electric Vehicle in addition to our 6.7L diesel. No, that hybrid doesn't count! It has to be a full, non-ICE, 100% electric, never change the oil, vehicle.
My daily driver is a 2015 Nissan Leaf S. The university I work at has free charging stations if you pay for access to the parking garage. It works out really well for me as the upcharge to get in the garage isn't much more than to be in the open lot. About the only time I'm at the gas station is to get diesel for my F-350, to get Ethanol free fuel for my lawn equipment, ATV or the generator in my RV trailer. I haven't put gas in a car in almost a year.
Anyhow, post which EV you have. Here's a quick picture of the back of mine.
I don't have an electric vehicle, but I have to ask - what are your thoughts about where the electricity comes from that you are charging your car with? If it is a fossil-fuel burning power plant does that affect your thoughts on the electricity you are using to run your car?
In Colorado a lot of that power comes from coal and natural gas is being phased in more and more. Solar and wind are such a small percentage that they aren't worth talking about yet. I don't have solar on my house because it doesn't make financial sense. My house isn't oriented the right way to get the best bang for the buck.
My EV purchase was not an environmental decision - I'm no tree hugger. Otherwise, why would I buy a diesel truck? It was almost all a financial decision: free charging. Plus, I don't have to change oil, filters, spark plugs, etc. Brakes and tires are about the extent of routine maintenance.
Does the battery last the life of the vehicle? If not that would be a huge expense when the time comes.
I hate battery powered anything because when I need it most the battery is dead and won't take a charge and needs replacing which is usually half the cost of the tool to begin with.
"Range Anxiety" is a real thing. My wife hasn't driven it enough to get a feel for the range. The battery warranty is 100K miles. Mine is recharging the full 12 bars (whatever that means) and between 110 and 121 miles.
A new battery is going to cost $5,000 from what I hear. That would be a good number of years down the road. If you're not one to read the manual and use common sense (and you're REALLY plagued with range anxiety) you can kill the battery. Charging too frequently (like after you've driven only 5 miles) will result in an unhappy battery. I'm not **** about my charging routine.
Mine will cruise at 94 MPH but that eats the battery just like it would a gas engine. After a year of ownership I'm better at maximizing the range. Keeping to 65 MPH or less really helps. If I were to take the good flowing side streets instead of the interstate I would end up with more range.
Using the heat or A/C will chew into your range. Oddly enough, if I engage the cruise control range is reduced. The A/C works great without regard to speed. It will flat out freeze me. Very impressive. There is a timer that will turn on the heat or A/C for a 30 minute range if the car is connected to a charging station. That's pretty sweet. In the winter I leave work in a car that is already toasty warm, even the steering wheel heat up on the timer. Since it's connected to the charging station that timed heat isn't deducted from my range.
It has good power. I carried four 30 lb propane tanks to get filled. I could tell the extra weight was there but it did well.
If I turn off ECO mode it will spin the tires off the line. It's quite peppy but not Porsche fast.
That’s an awesome deal Jim, so I suppose you don’t charge it at home much?
I have 220 power here at the house. I had it already for my table saw. So that gives me level 2 charging which would be about an 8 hour timeframe to charge from zero to 100 percent. Plain 110 power would require 20 hours. The car came with a charging unit with a long cord. I needed an adapter to fit my 220 outlet.
You're right, I don't charge much at home. In the past year I've charge at home maybe 8 times. If my numbers are correct an almost complete charge at home will cost a bit less than $3 at overnight rates.
We recently traded in our 2015 White Nissan Leaf SL on a 2018 Gray Leaf SV. These cars are amazing. They are quiet, nimble, easy to park, surprisingly comfortable and I just love the instant torque. When you do a short run to the store my wife says she doesn’t feel guilty at 2 cents per mile. Our PSD Ford oil changes cost more per mile than the Leaf costs to run on electric.
The main reason we traded was for increased range. The 2015 has a range of about 90 miles and the 2018 has a range of about 160 miles.
In the 3 years we owned the 2015 the only maintenance we did was $10 for wiper blades once and a few tire rotations which were free.
Next Wednesday I’m test driving a Tesla Model 3. I probobly won’t buy it this year because we already bought the ‘18 Leaf and we won’t qualify for a second $7,500 tax credit. But I expect there may be a M3 in our garage next year.
DID I MENTION THAT THESE CARS ARE AMAZING?
Here are pictures of our 2015 and our 2018 replacement. Check out the license plate on the 2018.
