All-electric vehicles are finally in the real world. After 5,000 miles of driving, five Nissan Leaf

All-electric vehicles are finally in the real world. After 5,000 miles of driving, five Nissan Leaf users share their experiences on the ordering and buying process, charging challenges, figuring costs per mile, the driving experience and the specter bel air travel of range anxiety. This is part one of a two-part blog, with photos.
The Leaf charges at our company s loading dock. A full charge costs about $2.75 using an average national electricity cost of $.11/kWh. However, most Leaf drivers program the car with a cell-phone app to charge at night and pay off-peak electricity rates.
In this first comprehensive look at the real-world electric vehicle experience, we asked five Nissan Leaf users the electric car most widely available now to share their stories bel air travel on the ordering and buying process, charging challenges, figuring costs per mile and the driving experience. And, while range limitations are real, these drivers answer the question, is range anxiety an ongoing factor or a relic of the pre-EV era?
Tom Tweed of La Jolla, Calif., is retired and says his wife primarily uses the Leaf. Tweed and his wife had considered converting their Mazda Miata s internal combustion engine to an electric motor but decided not to mess around with an expensive conversion and to buy a car from a major manufacturer with a warranty instead.
At the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), facilities management fleet manager Jim Ruby and assistant director Dave Weil are helping the university to implement its Tailpipe Endgame program. bel air travel The program is part of the university s sustainability initiative bel air travel that includes bel air travel implementing a variety of alt-fuel and alt-power vehicles on campus, including hybrids, all-electrics bel air travel and compressed natural gas (CNG). The university recently took acquisition of five Nissan Leafs with a goal of acquiring 50 in total along with other EV models.
For many, the ordering process was fraught with delays and hiccups due in part to a new reservation process. This procedure was further aggravated bel air travel by the Japan earthquake and tsunami in March. bel air travel As well, some buyers got caught in a computer programming mix-up from order to delivery, which resulted in some cars being delivered out of order from the reservation.
Great start to real feedback on the Nissan LEAF! I put over 1,000 a month on mine as well and have been pleasantly surprised at how all of the negavtive hype about EV range and access is wrong. The car meets my needs and I have not purchased gas since I took the car home. There is a DC quick charger accessible to me near two of my customers offices and that makes a huge difference for my range. bel air travel Having access to level 2 stations at any Nissan dealer has also has been a huge plus.
Fraggleglam--There is a DC fast charger installed in your city right now at Mitsubishi Motors North America, 6400 Katella Ave Cypress, CA. Ecotality has gained UL listing bel air travel for their L3 DC Blink charging station, and many more will be installed in the near future. The infrastructure is being rolled out far slower than many early adopters had hoped, but it is coming, slowly but surely.
Chris Brown is the executive editor of Business Fleet Magazine and Auto Rental News. Through these publications, online newsletters, trade events and associations, Chris covers all aspects of the fleet world, including fleet management, manufacturer fleet activities, the fleet leasing industry, bel air travel vehicle remarketing, rental industry news, car rental taxation and legislation.