On Wed, May 6, 2015 at 1:50 PM, Ben Goren via EV <[email protected]> wrote: > So...if the insurance company winds up totaling the car, as we suspect they > might...can anybody suggest an inexpensive EV suited to a retired couple? > > It would need to be freeway-capable with a reliable won't strand-them 50-ish > mile range in a Phoenix summer with modest air conditioning usage.
I see that some have recommended LEAFs, but I personally would have a hard time recommending one for Phoenix if you need 50 miles of range on the freeway in the heat and expect to keep that range for years to come. Phoenix was the epicenter of rapid capacity loss for the 2011-2012 LEAF, after two years owners could not make it 50 miles per charge. Now, if you lose enough capacity Nissan will install a new supposedly heat-tolerant battery (or you can buy one for about $6k installed if no longer under warranty) that should survive Arizona heat better, but no-one is really sure how long even the heat-tolerant "lizard" pack will last there. After 4 years in southern California my '11 LEAF with 2 capacity bars lost will do just about 50 miles on the freeway with light air conditioning usage from 100% to the first low-battery warning at which point there's about 12 miles of range left. In my opinion, all the affordable EVs are risky investments for someone on a limited budget who need a reliable 50 miles of range. They might consider a used plug-in hybrid, like a Volt, whose battery appears to be holding up much better in the heat. But they are also priced more than the LEAF on the used market. -Dave _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
