As one of the main writers on alternative fuels and electric cars, I’ve been curious to spend some time in our Nissan Leaf. Sure, I’ve driven them, but never really had a chance to spend an extended period with one, where I truly depended on it day in and day out. Several coworkers have had stints in the Leaf, each sharing different adventures and perspectives. Now it is my turn.

My experience shows that even for Leaf owners who can charge at work (we have a dedicated 240-volt charger at our national headquarters), that relationship is backwards. It means I can always get home, but I have to worry about getting to work in the morning.

Here’s how it went when I took the Leaf home for the first time: It was a Friday night, the car had a full charge, and the weather was temperate. I was confident I could make my 40 mile one-way commute home, but wasn’t sure how much of a range buffer I’d have. I drove slowly, not more than 55-60 mph, and without using the climate control. When I got home, even after a big hill, the car said I had 38 miles left--more than I’d expected. It was about 6 p.m.

I planned to go out to dinner that night with my mother, who lives about 6 miles away. I considered parking the Leaf at home and taking my wife’s traditional car to dinner, to avoid any worries. But with 38 miles to go, I figured my mom would be interested to see this car of the future. If we stuck close to home for dinner, I should have plenty of reserve left to take the Leaf. So I plugged it in at home while I walked the dog and did some errands for 45 minutes or so. When I came back, the car showed I could go 39 miles.

The Leaf’s dashboard also shows the time required to fully charge on both 120 and 240 volts. In this case, it showed it would need 10-1/2 hours to charge on the 120-volt outlet in my garage, meaning the car should be fully charged by 4:30 a.m. That seemed like no problem. (Had it been a weeknight, I wouldn’t have to leave until 8 or 8:30 in the morning, and don’t need a full charge to get back to work anyway, so this should have been more than enough of a buffer.)

What I didn’t count on was the electric-car double whammy: Time spent driving also means time not charging.

By the time we went to dinner and drove home, the Leaf indicated 14 miles of range remained. (I had driven about 16.) That was less than I expected, but not cause for panic. Our test engineers tell me such variance between projected and actual range is typical. But it was now 11:30 p.m. and recharging from 14 miles would take 16.5 hours, according to the dashboard readout. In other words, it would be fully recharged at 4:30 p.m. the next afternoon! So much for using the car for running errands on Saturday.

A couple of lessons were clear:

• It’s essential to have a Level 2 (240-volt) charger at home for every plug-in car, unless it’s the Chevrolet Volt.
• Calculating the time you’ll spend away from the charger is as important as the trip length, especially with just a 120-volt outlet to charge from. Extra range and extra miles aren’t enough. You need to know the charge time you’ll need to recoup those miles and have a plan to park the car to regain them.

A rough rule of thumb might be, if the recharge indicator shows you have extra time, make sure it’s triple what you think you’ll need: the buffer you’ll still want, the time to replenish the extra miles you drive, and the time you’ll spend away from the charger.

We spent the rest of the weekend using the Leaf sparingly, slowly building up the charge over the next two days. I felt some pressure already, because I had to take my wife to the airport on Monday morning. Fortunately, the airport is on the way to the office- if I go the long way and stay on the highway, which burns miles much more quickly. I really didn’t want to have to drive her there in a gas car, then turn around and go get the Leaf to return it to work. By Monday morning, the Leaf had a full charge and made the trip with no problem.

Clearly, relying on an electric car requires some forethought and advanced planning, unless your routine is consistent and without significant deviation. But despite that, the Leaf showed it’s possible not to interrupt so many drives with expensive trips to the gas station.

Like a gas car with a two-gallon tank that takes half a day to refill, driving an electric car makes you think very deliberately about how you use energy-how far you drive, how often, and how fast. That’s bitter medicine for Americans used to abundant and cheap fossil fuels. But until we have a battery that delivers 250 miles and a five-minute charge time, this is the EV reality.

Related:
Driving the Nissan Leaf: Hurray for traffic
Nissan Leaf: Full test results are in
Nissan Leaf heads to more U.S. markets
My weekend with the Nissan Leaf
Nissan Leaf: Commuting and justified range anxiety