TEST on the highway: Nissan Leaf electric range at 90, 120 and 140 km / h [VIDEO]

With the kind permission of Nissan Polska and Nissan Zaborowski, we electrically tested the 2018 Nissan Leaf over a period of several days. We started with the most important study for us, in which we tested how the vehicle's range decreases as a function of driving speed. The Nissan Leaf came out completely, completely.

How Nissan Leaf's range depends on driving speed

The answer to the question can be found in the table. Let's summarize here:

• keeping the counter of 90-100 km / h, the Nissan Leaf's range should be 261 km,
• while maintaining the counter of 120 km / h, we got 187 km,
• maintaining the odometer at 135-140 km / h, we got 170 km,
• with a counter of 140-150 km / h, 157 km came out.

In all cases, we are talking about total battery charge under realistic but good conditions... What were our tests based on? Watch the video or read:

Test assumptions

We recently tested BMW i3s, now we tested Nissan Leaf (2018) in Tekna variant with 40 kWh battery (useful: ~ 37 kWh). The vehicle has a real range (EPA) of 243 kilometers. The weather was good for driving, the temperature was 12 to 20 degrees Celsius, it was dry, the wind was minimal or did not blow at all. The movement was moderate.

Each test drive took place on a section of the A2 motorway near Warsaw. The distance traveled was in the range of 30-70 kilometers for the measurements to be meaningful. Only the first measurement was done with a loop, because it was impossible to maintain 120 km / h at the roundabout, and each gas burst resulted in a rapid change in results that could not be equalized over the next several tens of kilometers.

> Nissan Leaf (2018): PRICE, features, test, impressions

Here are the individual tests:

Test 01: "I'm trying to drive 90-100 km / h."

Range: forecast 261 km on battery.

Average consumption: 14,3 kWh / 100 km.

Bottom line: At a speed of about 90 km / h and a quiet ride, the European WLTP procedure better reflects the real range of the car..

The first test was to simulate a leisurely drive on a motorway or an ordinary country road. We used cruise control to maintain speed unless the traffic on the road allowed it. We did not want to be overtaken by convoys of trucks, so we overtook them ourselves - we tried not to be obstacles.

With this disc, the search for a charging station can be started after driving about 200 kilometers. We will get from Warsaw to the sea with one recharge break.

> Electric vehicle sales in Poland [Jan-Apr 2018]: 198 units, the leader is Nissan Leaf.

Test 02: "I try to stay at 120 km / h."

Range: forecast 187 km on battery.

Average consumption: 19,8 kWh / 100 km.

Bottom line: acceleration to 120 km / h causes a large increase in energy consumption (the lane drops below the trend line).

According to our previous experience, quite a few drivers choose 120 km / h as their normal motorway speed. And this is their meter of 120 km / h, which actually means 110-115 km / h. Thus, the Nissan Leaf at "120 km / h" (real: 111-113 km / h) fit perfectly into normal traffic, in while the BMW i3s, which gives real speed, slowly overtakes the strings of the car.

It is worth adding that acceleration of only 20-30 km / h increases energy consumption by almost 40 percent... At such a speed, we will not even cover 200 kilometers on a battery, which means that we will have to look for a charging station after driving 120-130 kilometers.

Test 03: I RUN !, Which means "I'm trying to hold 135-140" or "140-150 km / h".

Range: predicted 170 or 157 km..

Energy consumption: 21,8 or 23,5 kWh / 100 km.

Bottom line: Nissan is better at maintaining high speeds than the BMW i3, but even it pays a high price for those speeds.

The last two tests involved keeping speeds close to the maximum speeds allowed on the motorway. This is one of the most difficult experiments when traffic becomes denser - overtaking forces us to regularly slow down. But what's bad from a testing standpoint will be good for the Leaf driver: slower means less power, and less power means more range.

> How does Nissan Leaf and Nissan Leaf 2 fast charge? [DIAGRAM]

At the maximum permitted highway speed and at the same time the Leaf's maximum speed (= 144 km / h), we will not travel more than 160 kilometers without recharging. We do not recommend this kind of driving! The effect is not only to consume energy quickly, but also to increase the temperature of the battery. And a rise in battery temperature means twice as slow "fast" charging. Fortunately, we have not experienced this.

Summation

The new Nissan Leaf retained its range well when accelerating. However, this is not a race car. After the city on a single charge, we can get up to 300 kilometers, but when we enter the motorway, it is better not to exceed the cruise control speed of 120 km / h - if we do not want to make stops every 150 kilometers. .

> Range of electric BMW i3s [TEST] depending on speed

In our opinion, the optimal strategy is to stick to the bus and use its wind tunnel. Then we will go further, albeit more slowly.

In the picture: speed range comparison for BMW i3s and Nissan Leaf (2018) Tekna. Speed ​​on the horizontal axis is an average (not a numeric!)

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