Comments on: Consumer Reports: Chevy Spark Gas vs Chevy Spark EV

By: Zachary Shahan

Zachary Shahan — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 09:06:00 +0000

and would also love to get your opinion on this app if you are checking it out: http://evobsession.com/renault-zoe-ev-gets-ipad-app/

By: Zachary Shahan

Zachary Shahan — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 06:06:00 +0000

Awesome stuff. Let me know of that content can be reposted or if you like to discuss something else along such lunes. zach (at) importantmedia.org

By: PaulScott58

PaulScott58 — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 01:14:00 +0000

Bob, the DC chargers you see on the map are “Chademo” DC quick chargers. They are a different type from the SAE Level 3 units. There are thousands of Chademo in Japan and several hundred here in the U.S. The Nissan LEAF and Mitsubishi iMiEV use this standard. SAE created a competing standard for the U.S. and some Euro EVs, but to date, not a single unit has been installed. Both standards use 480 volt, 3 phase power, so manufacturers can install one unit with both connectors to serve all EVs.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Sun, 21 Jul 2013 17:08:00 +0000

Good info, but a question on the L3 chargers.

This map shows over 100 DC rapid chargers (set the filter to DC Quick Charge). Are those not L3s?

http://carstations.com/#

Sounds like the Spark might cause Nissan to step up their game. That’s good news. We need competition to drive range up and cost down.

By: PaulScott58

PaulScott58 — Sun, 21 Jul 2013 16:49:00 +0000

The article states, “A full charge is typically good for up to 82 miles of driving, though the lack of an onboard charging system means the Spark can take 7 hours or more to recharge.”

The car does have an on-board charger. If it didn’t, you couldn’t charge it at all. The Level 2 SAE connector that all modern EVs (except Tesla) use allows for charging from any L2 station in the country. In addition, the Sparc I drove last week had the SAE Level 3 port which allows the vehicle to be charged in as little as half an hour from a Level 3 charger. Currently, there are no L3 chargers installed anywhere in the U.S.

The Sparc is indeed quick. I sell the Nisan LEAF, and our car is quite fast as well, but the Sparc will clean its clock.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Sat, 20 Jul 2013 23:17:00 +0000

Congrats. Keep us posted.

By: arne-nl

arne-nl — Sat, 20 Jul 2013 17:01:00 +0000

Well, since this week I have my own affordable EV: the Renault Zoe. I am really curious about how the Spark EV compares to the Zoe. You can read about my adventures with my Zoe (and more of my ever more electricity-focused lifestyle) on my blog.