NISSAN LEAF | The Second Installment

NISSAN LEAF | NISSAN LEAF

Introducing the Nissan Leaf! Part 2

We couldn't make it to FISCO...

Since March 11th, energy issues have been a subject of active discussion. Beyond the nuclear accident, there are concerns about oil depletion, CO2 emissions, the separation of power generation and transmission, and smart grids. Cars are deeply intertwined with all these issues. And as a vehicle that could shape the future of automobiles, OPENERS has turned its attention to the LEAF, an EV (electric vehicle) released by Nissan. How will life with the LEAF redefine our concept of cars for a new era? To delve into this profound question, OPENERS has introduced the LEAF as our fourth long-term test car.

Text by Dai MatsuoPhotos by JAMANDFIX, Seiichi Saito

Theoretically, it should be fine

Recently, OPENERS featured the AUDI twincup. To cover this event held at the Fuji Speedway, we decided to use the Nissan LEAF, which we had introduced as a long-term test car. However, there were a few hurdles to overcome for this plan. The biggest hurdle was the LEAF's driving range. While the catalog claims a range of about 200 km, as became clear in the previous report, this can be reduced to around 100 km depending on usage. The distance from my home in Shinagawa to the Fuji Speedway (FISCO) is approximately 99 km, so according to the specifications, we should be able to reach it without issue.
The second hurdle was that the AUDI twincup event started at 10 AM and continued with contests until evening, followed by an awards ceremony back in Shinagawa at Laforet Tokyo starting at 7 PM. Furthermore, due to my schedule, I couldn't leave Shinagawa until 8 AM, making the possibility of charging at highway service areas very low. The final hurdle was that FISCO itself had no charging facilities at all, let alone rapid chargers.

Arriving in Gotemba with little left

Departing Tokyo precisely at 8 AM, we took the Shuto Expressway and then the Tomei Expressway. While the initial drive was smooth, we ran into construction work on the Tomei Expressway, causing traffic jams. When we considered rapid charging at the Ebina Service Area, we realized we wouldn't make it to the Fuji Speedway by 10 AM. However, by switching to ECO mode, turning off the air conditioning, driving slowly within the speed limit in the driving lane, utilizing the momentum on downhill slopes, and minimizing acceleration on uphill slopes, we managed to display a remaining range of 156 km on the meter panel by the time we passed Ebina Service Area. In the morning, when we turned on the LEAF's power button, the displayed range was 186 km, so we felt hopeful. We planned to finish the evening coverage early and then rapid charge at the Ashigara Service Area. But that plan failed.

Expansion of rapid charging facilities is an urgent issue

FISCO's parent company is Toyota, as you know. While they haven't released an electric vehicle yet, and the upcoming iQ-based electric car, the FT-EV III, is a city commuter not designed for long drives to the suburbs. However, as we enter a new era for automobiles, I felt they should at least install a few rapid charging stations. Furthermore, if EVs are to be commuters within urban areas, considering housing situations in cities, widespread adoption is fundamentally impossible without charging facilities in apartment complexes. I strongly urge manufacturers to collaborate and work towards the proliferation of charging facilities.

There was no choice; we decided to give up on FISCO. I contacted the photographer. The LEAF's navigation system can constantly display the distance required to reach a charging location from our current position, but there were no rapid charging stations even at nearby dealerships. Reluctantly, we left the LEAF at the Shizuoka Nissan Gotemba Hagihara branch for a 200V regular charge and headed to FISCO in the photographer's car. Incidentally, the remaining driving range displayed when we left the car at the dealership was 21 km.

After finishing the coverage, we got back into the photographer's car and went to pick up the LEAF. The charging time was 7 hours. Nissan has set charging fees: 100 yen per hour for 200V regular charging and 500 yen for 30 minutes of rapid charging. Therefore, this 7-hour charge cost 700 yen. However, for individuals, if they join Nissan's ZESP membership, it's free for the first five years after enrollment. At the end of the charge, the remaining range was 113 km. A full charge using 200V takes 8 hours, so this was unavoidable, but if the power consumption were similar to the outbound journey, we wouldn't reach the venue in Tokyo. However, the return journey unexpectedly extended the range. This was not only because we drove even more economically than on the way out, but also due to the many downhill slopes. Because it was downhill, regenerative braking was effective, and we were charging while driving. We drove very slowly, so it took over two and a half hours from leaving the dealership to reach Laforet Tokyo, but I should add that we didn't need to charge the next day to go to the editorial department in Kinshicho.

CHAdeMO Council Data http://www.chademo.com/jp/

As you can see from the list of rapid chargers by prefecture below, the Kanto region is well-equipped, with a sufficient number of stations, especially at the service areas along the Tomei Expressway. Therefore, driving between Tokyo and Osaka with the LEAF is not difficult, as long as there are no time constraints like this one.
However, the number of chargers decreases sharply as you head towards the Tohoku region. It is expected to be quite difficult to travel to the disaster-stricken areas by LEAF to offer support. If charging facilities were enhanced not only in the Kanto region but also in Hokkaido and Tohoku, EVs would undoubtedly become even more widespread in Japan.

The key to using the LEAF in daily life is to drive at moderate speeds with a calm and relaxed mindset. If you do that, you might not need to worry about the limited driving range.

List of Rapid Chargers by Prefecture

Last updated: 2011/12/06
	Prefecture	Publicly Available ◎	For Registered Members ○	Private ×	Total
Hokkaido & Tohoku Area Total 75	Hokkaido	26	0	1	27
	Aomori Prefecture	6	0	0	6
	Akita Prefecture	9	0	0	9
	Iwate Prefecture	6	0	0	6
	Miyagi Prefecture	7	0	0	7
	Yamagata Prefecture	7	0	0	7
	Fukushima Prefecture	13	0	0	13
Kanto Area Total 306	Tokyo	59	5	23	87
	Kanagawa Prefecture	85	20	7	112
	Saitama Prefecture	24	0	15	39
	Chiba Prefecture	12	0	12	24
	Gunma Prefecture	11	0	5	16
	Ibaraki Prefecture	4	2	5	11
	Tochigi Prefecture	15	0	2	17
Chubu Area Total 81	Yamanashi Prefecture	5	0	2	7
	Nagano Prefecture	12	0	1	13
	Shizuoka Prefecture	21	8	7	36
	Gifu Prefecture	8	0	1	9
	Aichi Prefecture	10	5	1	16
Hokuriku Area Total 43	Niigata Prefecture	16	2	1	19
	Toyama Prefecture	7	0	1	8
	Ishikawa Prefecture	8	0	1	9
	Fukui Prefecture	6	1	0	7
Kansai Area Total 95	Mie Prefecture	6	2	1	9
	Shiga Prefecture	3	1	1	5
	Kyoto Prefecture	25	0	0	25
	Osaka Prefecture	10	24	2	36
	Hyogo Prefecture	12	2	2	16
	Nara Prefecture	1	0	0	1
	Wakayama Prefecture	3	0	0	3
Chugoku Area Total 77	Shimane Prefecture	9	0	0	9
	Tottori Prefecture	15	0	0	15
	Okayama Prefecture	25	1	4	30
	Hiroshima Prefecture	16	0	2	18
	Yamaguchi Prefecture	5	0	0	5
Shikoku Area Total 29	Tokushima Prefecture	6	0	1	7
	Kagawa Prefecture	2	0	1	3
	Ehime Prefecture	12	0	1	13
	Kochi Prefecture	6	0	0	6
Kyushu & Okinawa Area Total 95	Fukuoka Prefecture	14	0	4	18
	Saga Prefecture	9	0	1	10
	Nagasaki Prefecture	6	8	2	16
	Kumamoto Prefecture	7	0	1	8
	Oita Prefecture	5	0	1	6
	Miyazaki Prefecture	3	0	1	4
	Kagoshima Prefecture	4	0	4	8
	Okinawa Prefecture	4	20	1	25
	Total	585	101	115	801