Submitted by Jessica Jensen
I usually write about law but occasionally you’ll find me writing about other topics (like my house fire this winter). This is the first installment in a series I am calling the EV Journal, “EV” meaning my electric vehicle.
I waited over a year for my 2011 Nissan Leaf. If the truth be told I hung on to my 1997 Honda CR/V for 4 years longer than I intended to because I wanted my next car to be all electric and it wasn’t until the Leaf that there was a viable, affordable option.
Buying my Leaf felt a little like getting a mail order husband. I made a reservation and a $99 deposit on line and waited almost a year before I actually received a tentative delivery date (also on line). About six months before my car arrived, I was notified (guess how?) that I could test drive a Leaf up in Tukwila. I and about a thousand other prospective Leaf buyers got about 10 minutes each to test drive and check out a Leaf. I was sold anyway, but it was fun to see the car in the flesh. It absolutely exceeded my expectations.
My shiny red Leaf arrived on one of the few sunny days we had last August. So here’s a recap of the pros and cons of an EV. I haven’t pumped gas since last August and it costs me about $1.58 to fully charge my Leaf (smile). The Leaf was billed as having a 100-mile range, but the range is closer to 70 miles because accessories like headlights and the heater suck up electricity.
The Leaf has the usual creature comforts like comfortable seats and legroom (even in the back), back seats that fold down, GPS, hands-free Bluetooth, and a nifty program that locates EV stations along your route and directs you to them if needed. There’s also a small solar panel on the roof to charge accessories.
The biggest surprise was how peppy and quiet the Leaf is. It goes from 0-60 almost immediately and it’s so quiet they include a beep-beep back-up sound so pedestrians and bikers can hear me back up. What’s missing is a decent place to stash a trash bag and a sunroof option (heck, I’d take a moonroof).
My biggest challenge so far is traveling south beyond Centralia. I can go roundtrip to Tacoma, Shelton and Centralia no problem without stopping for a charge. Seattle is a one-way trip unless I charge up for the journey home. This used to be a major issue unless I was going overnight (because of the time it took to charge), but Seattle just installed a fast-charge station where I can charge in 20 minutes! I can check my email on my iPhone while charging and be on the road again in no time. I’ve done the trip to Seattle only once when my partner Mark and I spent last New Year’s Eve in Seattle and plugged into a regular outlet at the hotel garage to charge up overnight. I’m looking forward to my next trip to Seattle soon so I can report how it goes finding and using the fast-charge station!
My Leaf turns 1 this month. Overall, I LOVE my Leaf and would do it again in a heartbeat. The Leaf is quiet, fun to drive and I enjoy being an EV pioneer. Stay tuned for EV adventures where I’ll be discussing longer trips, range, charging stations and the long-anticipated EV Highway.
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