The Nissan Leaf and Miles Per Dollar

[nissangirl74]

How many miles per dollar does your car get ? The Frontier = a paltry 5.25 miles per dollar. The Nissan Leaf = 25.

This article has a link to a calculator that lets you figure out how well your car is doing based on how much you currently pay for gasoline. That number, along with some simple math skills, will let you figure out how much it costs to power your car vs. the Leaf for any given period of time.

http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/10 ... an-go-on-1


the Leaf = @ 25 miles per dollar, the Leaf can travel 12,000 miles for $480

the Frontier = @ 5.25 miles per dollar, the Frontier can travel 12,000 miles for $2,285. 72. Not including oil changes.

Difference = $1805.71

Does that mean that I am going to go trade in the Frontier for a Leaf? No. The Frontier serves too many needs that can't be met by the Leaf; specifically the hauling of 3 teenagers, their stuff, and antique Datsuns across the CA/AZ desert. I certainly would like to have one though. It'd be very nice to not have to pay a huge gas bill to drive back and forth to school everyday.

I think this calculator is a great tool to convert people who might be looking to upgrade from their Civic, Camry, Cobalt, etc. Especially if it could be used as a second car for commuting, running errands, and all the other places that are less than 100 miles away.

Check out the calculator and see how your ride compares. Could the numbers possibly persuade you to trade up?

[Jesda]

Would be a fun car to load with dead hookers and tow around Detroit.

[Dittoz7]

"Hookers? No officer...that's my compost heap."

[ADDirishboy]

My Mitsu get's 11.1 miles per dollar. Well, when it's not on its period that is.

[Jesda]

I'm at 5.42 miles/dollar on the Saab.

And if I add the last year of repairs and restoration... well... lets not do that.


The Nissan Leaf is like a smartphone from the late 90s. Its a bit useless, but it gives you a possible glimpse of the future.

[ScrapMetal]

3.36 MP$ in my 5.0 Bronco.

What that calculator doesn't tell you is Smiles Per $, everytime I hear the sound that comes out of my Flowmaster exhaust I get infinite amounts of those

[Rev_D21]

Meh, this MPG MPD crap has gotten out of hand. People are trading in good vehicles for these joke cars because of this hyped up crap. Sure I could get 40 miles/gal in an Accent but what I lose is 4wd and truck hauling capabilities. I'll pay the difference rather than give in to this 'your truck is a gross polluter' non-sense. Last decade the buzz word was 'terrorlst' this decade it's 'MPG'. People need to stop buying everything the marketers are selling.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

^Regardless, people like to know this stuff.
A MPD comparison is a good metric to use when buying/comparing new vehicles. I did a few comparisons like that when the Leaf first came out, comparing it to a Versa, a corolla, and a Volt, but I used excel and also factored in oil changes.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I'm more worried about how many funs-per-gallon and not-uglies-per-gallon my car gets. The Leaf scores negative numbers on both counts.

I have a 30 mile round-trip commute and could easily make use of a Leaf as a commuter. But even if Nissan gave me one and paid for the electricity to run it I'd probably end up driving my "gas-guzzling" V8 to work every day anyway. I smile EVERY DAY on the way to work. How many leaf owners can claim THAT?

[superDorifto]

But the MPD metric is inherently flawed unless you take into account electric generation and delivery rates.

Here in CT we have some of the highest rates in the country for power generation and delivery. When I add in all of my maintenance and fuel costs for my 240 I am paying ~$.17 to $.25 per mile. Consumer reports did a very comprehensive comparison on the volt when they tested it back in Sept of last year. Their test center was located in CT and their findings were that at least in CT if your car gets better than 20MPG it costs less to run regular old gasoline.

Hell, if you have a 30mi commute and you trade in a 15MPG truck for a 30MPG econobox your wyearly gas savings are only like $200 bucks. (i did the math out for a friend that was going to sink %k into a toyota beater rather than his S10)

Now in other parts of the country where electricity is cheaper...

[Kompresshun]

I'm more worried about how many funs-per-gallon and not-uglies-per-gallon my car gets. The Leaf scores negative numbers on both counts.

X2, i'm not driving something just because of how much money it saves me to drive it, if I despise driving it then how is that beneficial? That just means i'm going to pay for it to sit most of the time while I drive something I enjoy. No thanks.

I can't say I wouldn't consider something electric for small trips, if I had the extra money to afford a third vehicle, but even then I probably wouldn't. I prefer to enjoy what i'm driving, even if it's not getting the "Miles per dollar" that something like the Leaf gets, the extra money is worth it to be able to have a choice in what I drive. It's nothing but another silly marketing ploy that I refuse to buy into anyways, I'm sure there will be plenty that do though

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Yeah, people are different though. V8 exhaust note and acceleration make most of us on the forum smile, but real-time readouts on energy usage and fuel economy make others smile. Something tells me the fuel economy smilers are a much smaller bunch though.

[Jesda]

Yeah, people are different though. V8 exhaust note and acceleration make most of us on the forum smile, but real-time readouts on energy usage and fuel economy make others smile. Something tells me the fuel economy smilers are a much smaller bunch though.

They have small souls.

[superDorifto]

Yeah, people are different though. V8 exhaust note and acceleration make most of us on the forum smile, but real-time readouts on energy usage and fuel economy make others smile. Something tells me the fuel economy smilers are a much smaller bunch though.

They have small souls.

No they don't, they have a small zip-lock back full of humus and patchouli.

[Bubba1]

It's a nice calculator but it's only effective for a comparison if the cars are the same price. If you factor in the purchase price of a Leaf vs a gas-only econobox, the MPD's would tell a different story

[nissangirl74]

It's a nice calculator but it's only effective for a comparison if the cars are the same price. If you factor in the purchase price of a Leaf vs a gas-only econobox, the MPD's would tell a different story

True. I was only thinking about operating costs while assuming the vehicles were paid for.

[elwesso]

I think at a price difference so high, I would consider a leaf. Also there are some high initial costs with buying the car, having the charging system installed, etc.. I know there are tax subsidies for that. I had considered looking into one, but for 80 miles combined city/highway of my daily commute, I'm not sure I could make it year round... Assuming I wouldn't charge it at all at work.

I think at this point I'd probably spend the extra money for the Volt, have more creature comforts, and peace of mind in case I ran the battery too low.

Besides, its not like once you have a leaf you have to give up everything you have.. Personally, I think I'd come to appreciate my nicer cars a lot more after driving a leaf regularly..

[Jesda]

I suspect the charge would drop by 30% or more in Indiana's winters. In that case, you could rig up a generator and...

[Erosionranger]

Right now a Nissan dealer gets about $1.00 for every gallon of old oil the reclaimer hauls out of the dealership.

[Jesda]

Thanks, Erosion Ranger.