Miss Evie
She is at home in the garage charging up!
Friday, June 29, 2012
So Cool On A Hot Day!
Let me tell you how nice it is to drive the Leaf on one of the hottest days of the year! We had a high temp of 100 degrees Fahrenheit today and the heat index was well over 100. Even at 6 PM when I drove to the grocery story to pick up some much needed vanilla ice cream, it was still hot enough to make me sweat just walking to the car! But that is about all the more sweating I did on the trip. The beauty of the Nissan Leaf is that it doesn't take very long to cool off when you turn the car on. The air conditioning was pumping out cool air before I hit the end of my driveway. Then while I was inside the grocery store shopping I utilized the other beautiful thing about the Leaf's cooling system. I was able to take my key fob with me into the store and lock the car doors all while I let the car's cooling system run, so it would continue to cool the interior of the car! It was such a welcoming feeling to come out of the store with ice cream in hand and enter a completely cool car. I have owned Evie for over 5 months and I wouldn't trade her in for any other car! She is a beautiful vehicle to drive and I am sure we will have a very long relationship! Stay cool, everyone!
Friday, April 13, 2012
Came back with more than I left with!
Today I decided to run a little experiment. I was traveling about 12 miles to the local Walmart. I wanted to see if I could use as little of the mileage that the car's estimate gave me as I could. This meant that I would have to take it slow. Luckily I travel mostly back roads, so there wasn't a lot of traffic to contend with (ie. make angry at me for going so slow).
When I turned on the car, it said I had about 91 miles on my battery. With the magic of driving in the eco mode, it automatically recalculated itself to 101 before I left my driveway. Now my goal was to keep the mileage left at the end of the trip as close to 100 miles as I could. A challenge, but doable, I thought.
The trip to Walmart was slow but steady, averaging speeds around 30 mph. I pulled over to the side of the road twice to allow cars to get by so they wouldn't become angry with me. It was almost seamless and I don't think either of them even really had to slow down in the process. As I drove, I noticed that my miles actually were increasing instead of decreasing, so I am already on the way to my goal! The most miles that it showed me I could achieve was 111! I actually gave myself 10 more miles on my estimate when I drove 12 miles away from my starting point! Cool! When I pulled in to the parking space the miles left said 110. Now I wonder how many I can have when I pull in to my driveway after the return trip?
After shopping, my passengers and I were on our way back home. Starting with 110 miles, we were already up 9 miles from our starting point, so I had a few miles to blow. However, I didn't want to change anything up, so I kept the speed to around 30 mph. I did drive through towns and around turns that made me slow down to 25 mph at times, but all of that slowing down actually helps to regenerate power and thus add miles to my estimated miles available. On the return trip, I never once went below 105 miles left. I was feeling pretty good when I pulled into my garage and the meter told me I could still go another 108 miles! I had achieved my goal and then some!
So to recap: I started with 101 estimated miles, drove about 24 miles round trip, and ended with 108 estimated miles left! Where else does 101-24 =108 I ask you?
Is it possible to go somewhat long distances in a Nissan Leaf? It sure it, if you know how to drive and have the right conditions to go with (temperature, use of climate control, wind resistance, speed, and terrain, to name a few).
When I turned on the car, it said I had about 91 miles on my battery. With the magic of driving in the eco mode, it automatically recalculated itself to 101 before I left my driveway. Now my goal was to keep the mileage left at the end of the trip as close to 100 miles as I could. A challenge, but doable, I thought.
The trip to Walmart was slow but steady, averaging speeds around 30 mph. I pulled over to the side of the road twice to allow cars to get by so they wouldn't become angry with me. It was almost seamless and I don't think either of them even really had to slow down in the process. As I drove, I noticed that my miles actually were increasing instead of decreasing, so I am already on the way to my goal! The most miles that it showed me I could achieve was 111! I actually gave myself 10 more miles on my estimate when I drove 12 miles away from my starting point! Cool! When I pulled in to the parking space the miles left said 110. Now I wonder how many I can have when I pull in to my driveway after the return trip?
After shopping, my passengers and I were on our way back home. Starting with 110 miles, we were already up 9 miles from our starting point, so I had a few miles to blow. However, I didn't want to change anything up, so I kept the speed to around 30 mph. I did drive through towns and around turns that made me slow down to 25 mph at times, but all of that slowing down actually helps to regenerate power and thus add miles to my estimated miles available. On the return trip, I never once went below 105 miles left. I was feeling pretty good when I pulled into my garage and the meter told me I could still go another 108 miles! I had achieved my goal and then some!
So to recap: I started with 101 estimated miles, drove about 24 miles round trip, and ended with 108 estimated miles left! Where else does 101-24 =108 I ask you?
Is it possible to go somewhat long distances in a Nissan Leaf? It sure it, if you know how to drive and have the right conditions to go with (temperature, use of climate control, wind resistance, speed, and terrain, to name a few).
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Tried Out the "Route Planner" Feature
I've mentioned before that being a Leaf driver comes with the privilege of having Carwings, a technological dream! Carwings not only keeps track of your driving history and data, it also helps you with Navigation. I have never owned a navigation system before, so this whole thing is new to me as well. I tried to use it once in the car, but I was just playing around and decided I didn't have enough time to read about how to use it and put in the information I was looking for, so that ended my first try.
Well, today I had to go somewhere I'd never been before, about 27 miles from my house. Last night I decided to get on Carwings and use the Route Planner feature that is part of the Carwings program. I am not going to lie, the experience left some questions still in my mind. The program did it's job and got me to my destination, so I guess it worked the way it is supposed to and that is all that matters.
When I logged on to Carwings last night and began the Route Planner program it popped up with a black screen for the map and a screen at the left side for me to input the starting point and destination. After I typed in the addresses (or intersection, as I will never consciously put my home address in my nav system for security purposes), the map came up with a black screen and a blue line that was representing my planned route. Confusing part #1. Big problem, I can't see where the system wants me to go. I tried to click on the map to zoom in or out, but the map just stayed like it was. I read the directions and for some silly reason, it took me on a southern route to get on Route 1 North. That made no sense to me either. Why would I go a couple extra miles to get on the highway where my mileage would be eaten up by the faster speeds and wind resistance when I can go North on Route 13 and still make it to Route 1 at a different spot? Confusing part #2! Time to start over...
I typed in a different intersection for a starting point and clicked again for the route. Again the map came up black with a blue line representing my route. So, I read the directions given on the side and this time they made more sense. I knew I'd have to override one particular spot because it wanted me to get on Rt. 1 before the $2 toll plaza. I was not going to pay that toll, so I would just proceed to the Free Ramp Connector and make that nav system recalculate. There was no way to modify the route manually, like you can do with google maps, that I could see. Confusing part #3. Maybe I missed something. I don't know. It was late and I was getting tired. I sent my route to the car and logged off. Ready for the next day's trip.
Today when I got in the car, I turned on the map features and logged on to retrieve my planned route. It brought the destination right up on the screen and began the navigation with such a smooth, nice voice to listen to telling me when to turn. I followed her commands and was pleased and surprised that the system had done its own recalculating already and had me skipping past the toll plaza and using the free ramp connector to get on Rt. 1. So, the route I'd sent to it last night was not the same exact one that my car nav system ended up using. Confusing part #4! Not to worry, though, because the sweet voice of Evie guided me all the way to my destination without a hitch. It was truly delightful to know in advance when turns would be expected and which direction I'd need to turn. It made it easy to be in the correct lane at the right time.
Despite the four confusing spots in the whole experience, I would rate the use of the route planner a success. Because I knew in advance where I needed to go and could prepare it, it was nice not to have to sit in the car and type it all into the nav system before I headed out of my driveway. I'll definitely be using this feature a lot!
Well, today I had to go somewhere I'd never been before, about 27 miles from my house. Last night I decided to get on Carwings and use the Route Planner feature that is part of the Carwings program. I am not going to lie, the experience left some questions still in my mind. The program did it's job and got me to my destination, so I guess it worked the way it is supposed to and that is all that matters.
When I logged on to Carwings last night and began the Route Planner program it popped up with a black screen for the map and a screen at the left side for me to input the starting point and destination. After I typed in the addresses (or intersection, as I will never consciously put my home address in my nav system for security purposes), the map came up with a black screen and a blue line that was representing my planned route. Confusing part #1. Big problem, I can't see where the system wants me to go. I tried to click on the map to zoom in or out, but the map just stayed like it was. I read the directions and for some silly reason, it took me on a southern route to get on Route 1 North. That made no sense to me either. Why would I go a couple extra miles to get on the highway where my mileage would be eaten up by the faster speeds and wind resistance when I can go North on Route 13 and still make it to Route 1 at a different spot? Confusing part #2! Time to start over...
I typed in a different intersection for a starting point and clicked again for the route. Again the map came up black with a blue line representing my route. So, I read the directions given on the side and this time they made more sense. I knew I'd have to override one particular spot because it wanted me to get on Rt. 1 before the $2 toll plaza. I was not going to pay that toll, so I would just proceed to the Free Ramp Connector and make that nav system recalculate. There was no way to modify the route manually, like you can do with google maps, that I could see. Confusing part #3. Maybe I missed something. I don't know. It was late and I was getting tired. I sent my route to the car and logged off. Ready for the next day's trip.
Today when I got in the car, I turned on the map features and logged on to retrieve my planned route. It brought the destination right up on the screen and began the navigation with such a smooth, nice voice to listen to telling me when to turn. I followed her commands and was pleased and surprised that the system had done its own recalculating already and had me skipping past the toll plaza and using the free ramp connector to get on Rt. 1. So, the route I'd sent to it last night was not the same exact one that my car nav system ended up using. Confusing part #4! Not to worry, though, because the sweet voice of Evie guided me all the way to my destination without a hitch. It was truly delightful to know in advance when turns would be expected and which direction I'd need to turn. It made it easy to be in the correct lane at the right time.
Despite the four confusing spots in the whole experience, I would rate the use of the route planner a success. Because I knew in advance where I needed to go and could prepare it, it was nice not to have to sit in the car and type it all into the nav system before I headed out of my driveway. I'll definitely be using this feature a lot!
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Maintenance Schedule
My Leaf, Evie, and I made a return trip to the dealership here in Delaware on Wednesday of this week. Why are you already at the dealership when you've only owned the car for a month, you ask? Well, it wasn't anything bad. Infact it was a great trip. I merely had to pick up my registration and license plate. This will probably be the only trip to the dealership we make this entire year! How is that? Well, let me tell you about the maintenance schedule for the Nissan Leaf. It is amazing!
The maintenance schedule for the first five years is to rotate tires every 6,500-7,500 miles and get a battery check once a year. That is it. No more, no less.
Even though this recent trip was merely to pick up registration and have my new license plate installed, I was welcomed with smiles and helpful staff members at Sheridan Nissan. Our salesman, Chris, gladly went to his desk to get the screwdriver so that he could install the plate. He shared with me that he had gone from being the first salesman in Delaware to sell a Leaf (the one we own), to being the salesman in Delaware who has sold the most Leafs. He proudly shared that he currently had 3 on order.
He also told me that he had just returned from an intensive class where salespeople learned a lot more information about the Nissan Leaf. We'd had a question about driving through brackish water, since that can be a common occurrence here where we live in Delaware. We weren't sure how this would effect the batteries and other components on the car. He had remembered our question and got it answered at the class. He was told that we are able to go through the brackish water the same as we would in any other car. Proceed with caution, slowly, and through the lowest point possible. Common sense.
Chris and I shook hands and I hopped back in my leaf, most likely not to return for another 10 months. Are you jealous of my maintenance schedule yet?
The maintenance schedule for the first five years is to rotate tires every 6,500-7,500 miles and get a battery check once a year. That is it. No more, no less.
Even though this recent trip was merely to pick up registration and have my new license plate installed, I was welcomed with smiles and helpful staff members at Sheridan Nissan. Our salesman, Chris, gladly went to his desk to get the screwdriver so that he could install the plate. He shared with me that he had gone from being the first salesman in Delaware to sell a Leaf (the one we own), to being the salesman in Delaware who has sold the most Leafs. He proudly shared that he currently had 3 on order.
He also told me that he had just returned from an intensive class where salespeople learned a lot more information about the Nissan Leaf. We'd had a question about driving through brackish water, since that can be a common occurrence here where we live in Delaware. We weren't sure how this would effect the batteries and other components on the car. He had remembered our question and got it answered at the class. He was told that we are able to go through the brackish water the same as we would in any other car. Proceed with caution, slowly, and through the lowest point possible. Common sense.
Chris and I shook hands and I hopped back in my leaf, most likely not to return for another 10 months. Are you jealous of my maintenance schedule yet?
Sunday, January 29, 2012
I'm In The Top 100 In World Rankings!
If you drive a Nissan Leaf, you can choose to participate in a fun competition with people around the world who are also Leaf drivers. The Nissan Leaf comes equipped with something called "Carwings," which is a computer program that sends information from the Leaf to a database that keeps track of your driving history. It logs energy economy, eco trees, distance traveled, energy consumed by accessories, regenerated energy, and number of trips. You are also ranked according to your average energy economy, the worst being a bronze ranking, and going up through silver, gold, and platinum rankings. The database gives you daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly regional rankings as well as world rankings . It has been really fun to see how I compare to other Leaf drivers around the world so far in these first two weeks!
Twice so far I have earned top 100 rankings for a daily competition! The first time was last week I was 42 out of over 1,300 people worldwide for least amount of energy consumed by accessories. I guess it pays to drive without the heat on. Just this past Friday I ranked 95 out of 1,672 participating drivers worldwide for eco trees made. The eco trees are a fun way to keep track of how economically you are driving your Leaf. So, it would take into consideration your kWh usage and how you are regenerating energy with your braking, and so on. There are five sections to earn in order to "build" an eco tree, which looks like a pine tree. On my Friday trips I build 5.8 eco trees, which is the most I've built in a day so far. This new-found eco mode has been good to me this week!
Some other information I can share with you based on my Carwings report is that I averaged 3.7 miles/kWh. This past week my average jumped up to 4.2 miles/kWh! In total for the two weeks I've been driving the Leaf I have traveled 480.2 miles and have used a total of 122 kWh. My total takes into consideration that I've used 147.5 kWh, but have regenerated 25.5 kWh with my braking. This tells me that I need to work on perfecting my braking to recapture some of the energy that would otherwise be lost.
I'll continue to keep you posted on my savings and lessened carbon footprint. Stay tuned...
Twice so far I have earned top 100 rankings for a daily competition! The first time was last week I was 42 out of over 1,300 people worldwide for least amount of energy consumed by accessories. I guess it pays to drive without the heat on. Just this past Friday I ranked 95 out of 1,672 participating drivers worldwide for eco trees made. The eco trees are a fun way to keep track of how economically you are driving your Leaf. So, it would take into consideration your kWh usage and how you are regenerating energy with your braking, and so on. There are five sections to earn in order to "build" an eco tree, which looks like a pine tree. On my Friday trips I build 5.8 eco trees, which is the most I've built in a day so far. This new-found eco mode has been good to me this week!
Some other information I can share with you based on my Carwings report is that I averaged 3.7 miles/kWh. This past week my average jumped up to 4.2 miles/kWh! In total for the two weeks I've been driving the Leaf I have traveled 480.2 miles and have used a total of 122 kWh. My total takes into consideration that I've used 147.5 kWh, but have regenerated 25.5 kWh with my braking. This tells me that I need to work on perfecting my braking to recapture some of the energy that would otherwise be lost.
I'll continue to keep you posted on my savings and lessened carbon footprint. Stay tuned...
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
What's In a Name?
I don't know how many of you name your cars. I wasn't always one who did. Infact, this is only the second of the cars that I've owned that I actually gave a name to. The others were just "the Shadow" or "the Celebrity." Yes, those are the names of the models and that is just what I called them.
My previous vehicle, the Honda Odyssey, had a special name. I had wanted a minivan for years, even before we had kids. We had rented one to take on vacation with some friends and I loved the roominess, how it drove exactly like a car, and the fact that it made me feel "big" on the road without being too obnoxious. When we had kids and had to tote all the gear that goes with them, I saw the benefits of the minivan in a new light. The protection that it offered for our little ones, along with all the added features, such as sunshades and cup holders were all big attractors. When my husband pulled up in our driveway with a brand new Honda Odyssey and said that it was mine, I could hardly contain myself! I went on a drive around our quaint Virgina subdivision and immediately fell in love! It didn't take long for me to name her; the first car I'd ever give a name to. I think it took me a matter of minutes to think of a name. She was Milli, because she made me feel like a million bucks! Milli is very fitting for a minivan too, don't you think?
Fast forward to buying the Nissan Leaf. The car that would replace my Milli. This Leaf is metallic silver in color and has some sleek headlights. I knew right away she had a female personality, so I was going to be looking for a girl's name to give to her. Problem was, none came to me right away. We got the car on a Monday. The only thing that I could think of that day was Daisy, because it is my favorite flower. My car was going to help keep the planet green for all the pretty flowers, like Daisies, so maybe I should name it that. But as I kept looking at her and the pictures I'd taken of her to post to facebook, she just didn't look like a Daisy to me. I decided to solicit some help in the naming process. I changed my status on Facebook to "I have to think of a name for my Leaf." I knew with the collection of friends that I have that I was sure to get some good ideas, or at least some chuckles out of that post.
The following are a list of suggestions I got as replies to my Facebook status:
Queen Leaftifah
Ericson
Garrett
Kathy Leaf Gifford
Jennifer Jason Leaf
The General Leaf
Vivian Leaf
Auto
Fern
Feuille (French for Leaf)
Bruce Leaf
Lucille
Maple
BEANO (because there'll BE NO GAS!)
Margo
Maple
Autumn
Marsh, Jan, or Cindy
While these were all very thought provoking, I was still searching myself and had thoughts of Flora, Soleil, and I still had Daisy hanging around. None of these still spoke to me. My car didn't look at me and say, "I am _______." (Fill in one of the suggested names in the blank.) We went through the entire day and night on Tuesday without a name for my Leaf. Wednesday came and I was no where closer to a name. I don't have much time during the day to think about it, as I am a first grade teacher and those kids keep me on my toes and my thoughts occupied nearly every second I am at school. So, Wednesday when I got home I was doing some reading in the owner's manual (for the third night in a row, but I still hadn't gotten to the part about putting it in "ECO Mode" mind you.) As I read the letters that are used to describe vehicles like the Leaf jumped out at me. Electric Vehicle (EV). I thought of the movie Wall-e and the machine that Wall-e had fallen in love with. Her name was Eve (but pronounced like Evie). Evie sounded to me a bit "hippie-ish" kind of "save the planet" if you will. I gave it some thought through dinner. I sat down at the computer and looked at her pictures again. She was looking at me and saying, "I am an Evie!" It was finally decided! The Leaf is now named Evie!
And that is what went into Evie's name!
My previous vehicle, the Honda Odyssey, had a special name. I had wanted a minivan for years, even before we had kids. We had rented one to take on vacation with some friends and I loved the roominess, how it drove exactly like a car, and the fact that it made me feel "big" on the road without being too obnoxious. When we had kids and had to tote all the gear that goes with them, I saw the benefits of the minivan in a new light. The protection that it offered for our little ones, along with all the added features, such as sunshades and cup holders were all big attractors. When my husband pulled up in our driveway with a brand new Honda Odyssey and said that it was mine, I could hardly contain myself! I went on a drive around our quaint Virgina subdivision and immediately fell in love! It didn't take long for me to name her; the first car I'd ever give a name to. I think it took me a matter of minutes to think of a name. She was Milli, because she made me feel like a million bucks! Milli is very fitting for a minivan too, don't you think?
Fast forward to buying the Nissan Leaf. The car that would replace my Milli. This Leaf is metallic silver in color and has some sleek headlights. I knew right away she had a female personality, so I was going to be looking for a girl's name to give to her. Problem was, none came to me right away. We got the car on a Monday. The only thing that I could think of that day was Daisy, because it is my favorite flower. My car was going to help keep the planet green for all the pretty flowers, like Daisies, so maybe I should name it that. But as I kept looking at her and the pictures I'd taken of her to post to facebook, she just didn't look like a Daisy to me. I decided to solicit some help in the naming process. I changed my status on Facebook to "I have to think of a name for my Leaf." I knew with the collection of friends that I have that I was sure to get some good ideas, or at least some chuckles out of that post.
The following are a list of suggestions I got as replies to my Facebook status:
Queen Leaftifah
Ericson
Garrett
Kathy Leaf Gifford
Jennifer Jason Leaf
The General Leaf
Vivian Leaf
Auto
Fern
Feuille (French for Leaf)
Bruce Leaf
Lucille
Maple
BEANO (because there'll BE NO GAS!)
Margo
Maple
Autumn
Marsh, Jan, or Cindy
While these were all very thought provoking, I was still searching myself and had thoughts of Flora, Soleil, and I still had Daisy hanging around. None of these still spoke to me. My car didn't look at me and say, "I am _______." (Fill in one of the suggested names in the blank.) We went through the entire day and night on Tuesday without a name for my Leaf. Wednesday came and I was no where closer to a name. I don't have much time during the day to think about it, as I am a first grade teacher and those kids keep me on my toes and my thoughts occupied nearly every second I am at school. So, Wednesday when I got home I was doing some reading in the owner's manual (for the third night in a row, but I still hadn't gotten to the part about putting it in "ECO Mode" mind you.) As I read the letters that are used to describe vehicles like the Leaf jumped out at me. Electric Vehicle (EV). I thought of the movie Wall-e and the machine that Wall-e had fallen in love with. Her name was Eve (but pronounced like Evie). Evie sounded to me a bit "hippie-ish" kind of "save the planet" if you will. I gave it some thought through dinner. I sat down at the computer and looked at her pictures again. She was looking at me and saying, "I am an Evie!" It was finally decided! The Leaf is now named Evie!
And that is what went into Evie's name!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
ECO Mode
Well, after driving the Nissan Leaf for a week, I finally read far enough in the owner's manual to know that I can save even more energy and money than I already have been saving! There is an "ECO" driving mode, that had eluded me for the first six days. While riding in the passenger's seat for the first time I could do an indepth study on the question my husband was trying to answer. "How do you put the car in ECO mode?"
On the shifter there are only two directions you can shift; three if you count the fact that in the middle is Neutral. If you shift forward the car goes into reverse. If you shift backward the car goes into drive. I had no idea there was any other mode that I could shift into. My husband "knew" there had to be more to it. So I delved into the owner's manual.
I don't know how many of you have looked at an owner's manual for a new car recently. There are so many different sections and supplements. It is crazy! There are two pretty thick books to get through, if you count the navigation system manual, and two thinner books. All four of these books are bundled together in a neat little case that fits securely into the glove box of the car. Why do they call it a glove box anyway? No one I know keeps gloves in theirs. Anyway, I digress... I will be honest with you, that owner's manual package is a little daunting. I was determined to answer my husband's question, though. I needed to find out where the "secret button" was that would put this amazing machine into power-saving mode.
When I finally found the section that could answer my question, I couldn't believe how simple the answer really was! There was no secret button or hidden touch screen application. All we had to do was shift two times backward on the shifter and instead of drive, the car would then be shifted into "ECO Mode" I couldn't believe it! As soon as my husband shifted the car into this new magical mode, miles were added onto the life of our charge! I believe it was 10 in all, but 10 more miles is a lot when you are talking a car that only has a possible range of 100 miles/charge.
The ECO Mode allows the car to use less power for the engine and for the accessories, such as the climate control. That is right, climate control to me now is an accessory. I often drive without the heat on to save power on my battery. My commuting partner doesn't seem to mind. She just bundles up and wears her new purple gloves that she bought (after I had to let her borrow an extra pair of mine, since her old pair seemed to have gotten lost in her move).
The first week's average without using ECO Mode was 2.5 cents/mile in electricity. Compared to a gas-powered car, that under conservative estimates of getting 25 miles/gallon at $3.00/gal for gas, going 12.5 cents/mile. I am gaining a dime for every mile I go in my new car. Now that we have found "ECO Mode," stay tuned for how much more we save in week two!
On the shifter there are only two directions you can shift; three if you count the fact that in the middle is Neutral. If you shift forward the car goes into reverse. If you shift backward the car goes into drive. I had no idea there was any other mode that I could shift into. My husband "knew" there had to be more to it. So I delved into the owner's manual.
I don't know how many of you have looked at an owner's manual for a new car recently. There are so many different sections and supplements. It is crazy! There are two pretty thick books to get through, if you count the navigation system manual, and two thinner books. All four of these books are bundled together in a neat little case that fits securely into the glove box of the car. Why do they call it a glove box anyway? No one I know keeps gloves in theirs. Anyway, I digress... I will be honest with you, that owner's manual package is a little daunting. I was determined to answer my husband's question, though. I needed to find out where the "secret button" was that would put this amazing machine into power-saving mode.
When I finally found the section that could answer my question, I couldn't believe how simple the answer really was! There was no secret button or hidden touch screen application. All we had to do was shift two times backward on the shifter and instead of drive, the car would then be shifted into "ECO Mode" I couldn't believe it! As soon as my husband shifted the car into this new magical mode, miles were added onto the life of our charge! I believe it was 10 in all, but 10 more miles is a lot when you are talking a car that only has a possible range of 100 miles/charge.
The ECO Mode allows the car to use less power for the engine and for the accessories, such as the climate control. That is right, climate control to me now is an accessory. I often drive without the heat on to save power on my battery. My commuting partner doesn't seem to mind. She just bundles up and wears her new purple gloves that she bought (after I had to let her borrow an extra pair of mine, since her old pair seemed to have gotten lost in her move).
The first week's average without using ECO Mode was 2.5 cents/mile in electricity. Compared to a gas-powered car, that under conservative estimates of getting 25 miles/gallon at $3.00/gal for gas, going 12.5 cents/mile. I am gaining a dime for every mile I go in my new car. Now that we have found "ECO Mode," stay tuned for how much more we save in week two!
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