In-car navigation in our Nissan LEAF is very helpful, particularly for finding charging stations. However, finding a charging station is just part of the experience.
There is certainly a vast difference in the time one spends at different charging stations. Recently, I was charging up a Nissan LEAF at an airport, and though I was grateful to find a charger at the airport, I was confused by how slowly the charger refilled my battery.
The charger was a bit costly to be in “economy parking,” but with about an hour of Interstate travel, my electricity dissipates quickly — thus, I decided to park at the charging station. I wanted a full charge, and know charging is slower towards the end of the battery, but the charge was still slower than expected.
In the end, I got about 8 miles charge for $10. I found out afterwards that this was Level One charging, which is much slower than the Level 2 charging I’m used to. Next time, I will seek out a Level Two charger.
Anyway, though, it was late at night, and with a Nissan LEAF, if I found a Nissan car dealership that was locked or the charger was turned off, I would have to be towed. That’s something I’d rather not risk.
Even with my PlugShare apps and with the dashboard info directions, I didn’t find out till later that there was a faster charging station very nearby. I actually found out by calling the “Green” department at the airport. On my next trip to the airport, I will try these other ones, and add them to PlugShare.
Interestingly, the next time I charged was my first experience at a CHAdeMO DC fast charger. Fast, quick, and amazing after the long saga at the airport! Loved it. I found it at a gas station, via PlugShare. Wonderful. It would be nice to have one of these at the airport, as well as other places around my region.
Check out more stories from our long-term review of a Nissan LEAF.
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