Wow! I average about 700 to 850 miles a month and just charge at home. Seldom charge anywhere else. I am amazed to hear these high miles.

Red Leaf: Since you work at Nissan, you can probably answer this one pretty well. What would the benefit of 110v charging vs 220v charging be on the Leaf's battery pack. The standard lingo I've read is with 220v it's %80 at 100k miles. So, is it safe to assume the same charging conditions at 110v produce 80% at 200k miles? - So you get a lifespan similar to a gas car?

(not counting the $1k clutch, and $2k oil changes in the gas car) hehe

Shannon: If you're not going to use the gas car for an extended period of time, you may want to prop it up with something to go easy on the tires. Not moving the tires for a long time can be rough on them. That said, I imagine its pretty common to have a dud sitting in the garage next to the EV. :)

It's interesting that in the1950's in U.S. we modified our electrical standards from 110v to 120v and from 220v to 240v yet we continue see the old voltage standards quoted all the time.

No way would I drive without A/C in L.A. I did that years ago with a car that didn't have A/C. Never again.

When I was in college and lived in Miami, my car's a/c didn't work. Wasn't long before the power windows stopped working too. L.A. is mild by comparison, the humidity makes a huge difference.

Stories likes this really annoy me. I waited 18 months to get my Leaf. When I got it I discovered that in our cold climate you can barely do 55 miles by avoiding driving on highways and running the heating only long enough to defog the windows. After having had 3 close calls on range on 50 miles trips in 4 weeks I had to sell the Leaf at a great loss and buy a Volt instead. I could not expose my children any longer at below freezing temperatures in the car and the risk of getting stranded on a highway on one of our regular trips to the zoo.

I am sure that one or two people are able to drive 80 miles in a hot climate with wind in the back down hill but in the Northern states do not expect to run more than 45 miles when running the heating and driving the legal speed limit on a highway.

One of the drivers here in Illinois had to stop for a charge on a 30 mile drive in a heavy snow storm (leaving with a full battery).

@Michael I live in inland Orange County and it's not hard to go without A/C for long periods of time. I primarily roll down my windows at low speeds and use A/C when on the freeway. It's only on the extremely hot days where the temperature is ~100 that you need A/C all the time. And those heat spells usually don't last long anyway.

dpgcolorado - I am wondering what your experience has been compared to dutchinchicago WRT cold weather range. Are you seeing similar differences in range? I assume that the situation is even worse in Colorado with the mountains. For all this showing off from folks in mild/warm climates, there is relatively little information on how the cars behave in an area with real winters.

dutchinchicago: Yeah, I imagine in snowy places, a Leaf with kids in the back would be a no-go. Really, I only intend to use the car for short trips myself, and save the long/cold trips for my Civic. I'm just out to cut the number of times I have to fill up for $35 bucks a tank myself.

Was your range issue the result of the battery not heating itself as in the 2012 Leaf, or because of the inside heater? In a way it seems like the range issue is unavoidable; if you're running the inside heater in snow, then the battery heater is probably going as well. I don't know, I think in you're area, especially with the 2011 Leaf, the Volt was probably better. I'm just curious how a 2012 Leaf would fare in the same conditions.

AC: We've had a lucky set of summers with the AC where I live. We used to have weeks of 114 F, but the past few years have been nice. I think when the economy crashed, the high temperatures oddly crashed with it. Better not say that too load or I'll jinx it. hehe.

dgpcolorado: Really, well ok. I didn't know Home Depot had them already. I was really impressed with the Leaf's backup cam too. It was the first I'd ever seen on a test drive. They need those on the 2012 Civics. You can't see anything short out of the raised back end.

Yeah, to add to Jose G's question. If you preheat a 2012 Leaf in a garage, or whatever, can you hold the temperature in the car with just the lower-powered seat warmers? I'd guess adding more passengers to the car would also help the temperature of course. But, can you maintain a reasonable temp with pre-heating, using just the seat warmers?

@Brian Schwerdt, I have my LEAF garaged so it doesn't get below freezing when charging and that likely helps range. I also preheat, which works well, and the seat and steering wheel heaters are enough after that most of the time, save for occasional windshield defogging (but the air is usually dry here in winter). I was surprised at how much the heated steering wheel helps—big difference in comfort.

The LEAF handles my 62-69 mile grocery shopping trips, with 2500 feet of elevation change, quite well. I was concerned about that before purchase, given zero charge stations here. Not a problem. And ten miles of that route is on dirt roads. I do have backup 120 Volt charging available if I can't make it back up my hill but I haven't had to use it. Bear in mind that I am at high altitude (that grocery run ranges from 8000' down to 5750') so drag is reduced here. And there are no freeways within LEAF range so the highest speed limits here are 60 mph. That 69 mile trip gave me the low battery warning at mile 66, so I had perhaps 10 more miles left, or a range of ~70 miles in temperatures of 27º to 30º. Not bad. I can't compare it to summer range because I've only had the car since December.

Other notes: the thing that surprised me the most about the LEAF was how it effortlessly accelerates up the steep hills here. I gave ten test drives and four rides in my first 550 miles and my friends were amazed at the LEAF's quiet but brisk acceleration up hills. (Nobody here has ever seen an EV before since I have the first one within 150 miles.) And the LEAF, being front wheel drive, handles snow quite well. I tried to get it to skid my first day home but within a half second the antilock brakes kicked in and I couldn't get it to break free When the tires are worn I expect the snow traction to decrease. I've purchased traction mats in case I have trouble with my steep curved driveway and don't have time to shovel all 400 feet of it. Haven't had to use them yet.

For sloppy driving conditions I have a Jeep Cherokee, so I don't have to take the LEAF (and haven't bothered with snow tires for it). I last bought gas on December 19th and still have a half tank. I mark when I use the Jeep on my calendar so I can be sure to drive it every two to three weeks to keep it in good working order. People who don't have one talk about the LEAF as a "second car" but, like other owners, the LEAF is my primary car and the ICE car is backup. I have more than 900 miles on my LEAF in less than six weeks.

@tterbo, For cold weather preheating is usually enough for me, but I dress warmly in winter and this is sunny Colorado, so if there is any sun it heats the car quite well. I try not to drive at night because of the danger of deer collisions. It also would never occur to me to leave the house in winter without gloves, although the steering wheel heater makes that unnecessary in the LEAF. Using the cabin heater takes a pretty big hit from the range but the seat and steering wheel heaters barely register on the power meter and don't change the range estimate on the "guess-o-meter" at all. The LED headlights seem to take more than the seat heater and even that is a tiny draw. The halogen high beams will move the power gauge, but it is small compared to the cabin heater.

However, if one was driving in cold weather below 10ºF for more than a half hour, the seat heaters might not be enough. I rarely drive in temperatures like that around here.

I also plan to get the Nissan evse upgrade so I can charge at 240V as it still looks like the most cost effective solution to faster charging.

There's probably some fog coating available somewhere. Maybe Amazon's got some over the counter fix.

dgpcolorado: Thanks for the info. I never leave home in my ICE car anyway without an extra jacket or sweats in the trunk. You never know when you'll need it. I hadn't heard much about the hill climbing ability much. That sounds pretty fun.

tterbo, sorry to be so late in responding to you. I am by far no expert on batteries, but my understanding is that there is no affect between Level 1 and Level 2 charging and very minmal affect on Level 3 if at all. I know there are a large amount of safe guards built into over and under charging the leaf battery. As for charging affect and battery life the real truth is that I do not think anyone really knows, but we will soon find out want we.
I would definitely looking into level 2 charging at the garage. I cannot believe people are going with just 120V it takes so long.
I also have found that my Leaf is now the primary car by far. Even with 4 cars in the family any short trip to eat out or shop the Leaf is preference. It really hurt though yesterday when I had to take a long 3 hour round trip and had to fill my Titan with gas ($75). Ouch on the pocket book and to think I once did that every week.
I also experiencing some of the shorter range on below freezing days (charge outside) but dealing with it. Also fogged windows but defrost is very fast and I cut off as it is done and cycle it on and off as needed.

@Brian Keez

You say that you are an opportunistic charger does that include charging at customers sites. I just wonder if you do and what is the reaction that you get from clients if you ask them to charge up your car.

I have a similar situation in driving to clients premises and just wondered if it is realistic option to ask for a charge paying for the electricity of coarse.