Two days with a Leaf

I had the opportunity to use a Nissan Leaf, Electric Vehicle (EV) for the last two days, and it turned into a comedy of errors that had nothing to do with the vehicle's performance but rather the fact that the range is extremely limited and terribly troubling for a new user who admittedly didn't plan ahead very well.

Day one started with great expectations of using a zero-emissions vehicle with the intent to charge it when I reached the city 45 miles north. As I searched for the charger, I realized I've never cared to acknowledge the presence of EV charging stations before, and didn't exactly know what to look for.

11 miles until empty...
As the rain dumped in raging buckets, I connected to a charging station only to find out it wouldn't accept my payment card. I found a station matching the card, but when I tried to use it, the machine refused to send the precious electricity into the nearly exhausted Leaf. Suddenly, a lady appeared beside me, accusing me of pulling the charger off her vehicle to charge mine. I explained my situation, and that I was innocent of her charges against me. She relaxed, and as she left she told me that the charger doesn't work sometimes. I gasped! Already late for a meeting, I decided to recharge afterward. This unfortunate encounter with a malfunctioning machine postponed my dilemma for a couple hours, only to find charging station #2 locked inside an underground parking garage!

5 miles until empty... My contact directed me across the city to a quick charge station, which dropped me into a set of one-ways and blocked accesses while alerts sounded through the computer system causing some minor flashes of anxiety and images of pushing the car down the dark rainy streets.

3 miles until empty... Found the charging station! After a 30 minute wait and a warm bowl of cheesy potato soup, I hit the road again. 80% charge = 84 miles until empty...

5 miles later - 64 miles until empty!
7 miles later - 48 miles until empty!
10 miles later - 23 miles to empty!

I lost 61 miles of travel and I suddenly needed to find a charging station along the I-5 corridor, which I hadn't planned for at all. With 3 miles of power remaining (if the number means anything at all) I rolled to a quick charger and charged to 40%, which BARELY got me to my original station to leave the Leaf overnight.

The psychological state I found myself in was interesting to reflect upon. Amidst the lights and alarms, and constant pleading of the onboard computer to find a charging station, I fell into the "I really don't care if you die" mode as I pushed the car to it's very last electron to make it back.

Interesting... Some additional self reflection may be required.

The roar of my V8 sounded so nice to me at 11:00pm as I left the Nissan Leaf to charge overnight... and not on the side of the interstate.

So, do I give up on the EV? Absolutely not! I made my way south to a university 35 miles away, only to barely make it back again. Even though I charged at the university, the station was a slower charging unit and didn't do much for me. Again, I returned blissfully numb to the constant alerts blinking, beeping, and requesting to be recharged.

I will use the Nissan Leaf EV tomorrow with these bits of well earned bits of wisdom:
1) find all the charging stations along the route and use the PowerShare app.
2) take all the time in the world to do what normally would only take a couple hours.
3) pack a couple energy bars.
4) practice being numb to the alerts before you develop ulcers.
5) have fun, because it really is an excellent commuter vehicle!