I don’t think it will accomplish anything if I continue to report on my Nissan beyond today. I am still pleased that I bought it but I do wish I could have afforded the model able to go 300 miles instead of 218. Even so, I don’t drive much. I generally recharge the car about every two weeks, now $45. I plan on getting a level two charger. With it, I doubt I will ever need to use a commercial charger again. The level two charger will completely charge the batteries in ten or twelve hours. More likely, I will only need to charge it a couple of hours a day with my driving habits. Even so, I will be limited to about 90 miles to, and 90 miles back should I want to go somewhere. That is where the extra mileage would have come in handy should I have been able to afford it.

By the way, you get more than just more battery with the more expensive model. You get a lot more bells and whistles too, including self-driving. Also, you get a price tag about ten grand more.

I have gotten quite an education about charging the batteries. To top it off, Nissan is going to the Tesla charger standards next year. That will make it far easier to find somewhere to charge the car. I can use a Tesla charger but only as a level two charger. That means, if I go into Berger King (Which has Tesla chargers) while I charge the car, in the hour it takes me to eat a Whopper, the batteries will take on about 2 days charge for me. This would, of course work out well for me if I go to Berger King every other day for lunch.

Actually, that is very unkind and is a false representation. When I put the car on a fast charger, it will take a full charge in less than an hour. Most times, I get the full charge after getting down to 30%, so the charge takes right around 40 minutes. That is faster than the Tesla, if I have my facts straight.

I have noticed that I have changed my attitude in driving. I do drive a little less, not much. I also keep a keen eye on the charge level. When driving my gas car, sometimes I let that meter just almost hit empty. I don’t like that charge status geting much below 30%. I’m getting too old to walk that much and it is difficult getting a charge to a car 8 or 9 miles away from a charging station.

A thought that occurred to me was that they might like the idea of an after market option of small sixty or seventy pound battery packs that could be carried in the trunk. The two small battery packs would be used when the main batteries run low.

I don’t know all the ins and outs. I am sure there would be problems to overcome. It just is that I would not be nearly so afeared of running out of electricity if I had some reserve, especially if I could recharge the smaller ones separately.

Another thing I learned about the batteries is that it is better not to fully charge them. They last longer if you only charge them to 80%. That kind of limits me. It means I must operate the car between 30% and 80%. That means I need to visit the charger more frequently.

Well, I have a 7 year maintenance contract as well as the warranty. I figure the car is going to outlast me. So I compromise. I turn the charger off at 90% or there about. I still get 2 weeks off a charge and that’s fine.

Of course, if I had plans on living another 15 years, I might pull the plug a little sooner. I have no idea what it will cost to replace 60+ KWs of batteries, but I am not anxious to find out.

One more word about chargers. Not all chargers are public. If you plan on doing some serious driving, you will need to sign up with someone. Then all you need do when running low is find one of their chargers. You then identify yourself and plug in. You’ll likely have about an hour or so wait so you might plan accordingly.

Finally, one more thing about mileage. It varies. In the summer, you’ll use the air conditioning. In the winter, the heat. My car uses a heat exchanger so I get instant heat in the winter. Regardless of how your car keeps you warm or cool, it will cost you a few miles. Obviously, in nice weather, you’ll enjoy your best mileage.

As far as I am concerned, I think the advantages make up for any problems. If you don’t know what I mean, just test drive an electric car for ten miles, especially the Nissan Ariya. You will never again be satisfied with that gas car again.