Autonomy challenge – Nissan LEAF e+

In this new autonomy challenge of #CircutorElectroChallenge we drive a legend of electromobility, a Nissan LEAF e+, up to the limit of its autonomy, using, as always, our best Efficient and calm driving skills.

Little did its designers know, back in 2010, that the leading, environmentally friendly family vehicle, as per the meaning of its name, LEAF, would be the best-seller for the next five years until receiving a complete redesign. which we enjoy today. In 2017 it became the first electric car to sell half a million units.

One of the important features of the Nissan LEAF e+, like the rest of the models designed in Japan, is the fact that fast direct current charging is done, unlike other electric vehicles, using the CHAdeMO connector and protocol and therefore it is necessary to verify that the charging point where we plan to stop, when we are traveling, has this connection.

The advantage of having the CHAdeMO protocol is that it has allowed, for years, the bidirectionality of the current, that is, that we can power our house from the vehicle, in the event of a power failure, as long as we have the bidirectional DC charger installed.

On Friday afternoon we pick up the car in the public car park on Paseo de Gracia, we open it simply by touching a button on the application downloaded to our mobile phone. The keys and cards for recharging are already inside the car. Perfect!

We disconnected it from the eNext to which it was connected and verified that the batteries are at 100% and its autonomy is 369 km. Can we overcome it in our challenge today?

Some very good consumption for such a comfortable and spacious car. So much so that it is the car used by MEC Carsharing, the Barcelona electric vehicle car sharing company that makes the experience of driving this type of car so easy for everyone. Simply download the application, register, locate a car in one of the 14 public car parks in the city, book and when you are next to the vehicle, open it using your mobile phone.

We will do the northern route, towards Figueres, Besalú, Olot and... how far will we go?
Saturday morning, we left from the Circutor headquarters, in Viladecavalls. The car is 100% charged and indicates a range of 388 km, although he does not know the route that we are going to propose. It is quite cloudy and cool, in fact four drops have fallen at dawn and we have a temperature of 9ºC

At 10:30 a.m., we make the mandatory stop, we are in the Empordà Service Area, a true classic in our challenges, we have a coffee, a pee and the control photo. We have a 66% battery, which would allow us to do, at this rate of 15.3 kWh/100 km, about 246 km more

Today, the Tramuntana does not blow so we continue towards the next control, in front of the Dalí museum in Figueres. In the capital of Ampurdá, the sun is shining brightly and after the obligatory photo, we face the N-260 road to Besalú, adjusting our driving so as not to increase consumption and reserve battery for the climbs that are coming up.

It is noon and we are in La Garrotxa, specifically in RAPTION 50 in the parking lot of the B-CREK restaurant in Olot, we have not stopped here to charge, we still have a 43% battery and a range of 155 km. We have stopped to greet our friend and collaborator Albert Fàbrega who explains that he is about to start what we could call a "Holy Challenge" that you can find out about if you visit his YouTube channel.

We continue our route towards the Bracons tunnels, here, you know, things get complicated, we have full confidence in the classics, however...

It's a radiant day, the temperature is 11ºC and the traffic is light. The ramps of the tunnels ask us for an increase in power that the Nissan LEAF e+ delivers easily and immediately, and, in fact, exceeds them with an increase in the accumulated average consumption up to 16.6 kWh/100 km and a loss of calculated autonomy of the order of 30 km, although the climb does not exceed 14 km. It is very noticeable that the ramps are an average of 3.5%

From there, the C37 takes us to the vicinity of Vic where we link up with the C25 towards Manresa, at the Gurb service station we do the last photographic control of the day, we have already traveled 240 km and we maintain a third of the battery for what we do not see jeopardize at any time our objective that is less than 100 km away that the aberte computer indicates. our consumption has already dropped to 15.5 kWh/100 km and the numbers come out.

We arrived at Circutor at 2:30 p.m., our consumption has dropped to 15.1 kWh/100 km and, after 332 km, we still have a 9% battery and the vehicle indicates a range of 15 km, therefore, We are going to eat in the city of Terrassa, without charging and finally leaving the Nissan LEAF e+ in our RAPTION 50 connected to the CHAdeMO socket, charging at 50 kW, with which we will recover 80% of the battery in a little less than one hour.

Results Autonomy Challenge - Nissan LEAF e+

We knew that we could achieve it, despite the low temperatures that have affected the performance of the battery. It must be borne in mind that the car stops showing its autonomy when the battery reaches 3% charge, but from the experience gained in the EcoBest tests in November 2021, we know that this model reserves energy to still travel more than 35 km.

Conclution:

The best of all? without any doubt, it is that you can do this or any other route with this car without having to buy it since Car-Sharing is ready for everyone and what with the MEC formula of including the recharge in the rental fee allows not having to worry about anything other than enjoying the experience.

Thanks:

Clarifications:

The Solidarity Tour is a 20 km route starting and finishing at the Circutor headquarters in Viladecavalls, which runs along very twisty secondary roads with slopes of up to 250 m.

The EcoBest tour is a 60 km mixed route that includes approximately 50% motorway, 25% city and the rest on interurban roads, very similar to the distribution of the WLTP cycle.

All our challenges are based on achieving maximum autonomy, in real traffic conditions, using efficient driving techniques and moderate speeds, always above the minimum marked on each road.