Insights Into the First Month Driving an EV

1. The car is typically getting driven to work on weekdays, occasionally to dinner or to run errands in the evenings.  This generally runs the battery down to about 50% over 2-3 days.
2. We plug the car in about 3x / week at about a 50% charge.  It usually gets plugged in between 7 and 9 PM, and is usually fully-charged by 8 AM the next morning (still using a regular 110v, 15A charger, aka trickle charger).
3. Still getting about 1 mile per percentage of battery use, so it would get around 100 miles on a full charge, if I were to drive it to "empty".
4. It gets the best mileage in rush-hour, stop-and-go traffic.
5. It gets the worst mileage driving on the open highway.
6. Driving uphill takes a lot of juice.  Driving out US-40 / Colfax west from I-70, past Heritage Square, and up to the Dinosaur Ridge exit made the "distance to empty" computer drop from about 55 miles to 35 over a distance of just a few miles.
7. Coasting from Dinosaur Ridge down to Morrison, we regained 2% battery charge, and the DTE computer again displayed a reasonable remaining range.
8. A trip across town (Arvada to Highlands Ranch and back) uses about 60% battery charge for about 60 miles.
9. Driving habits do make a difference.
10. Driving in "ECO" mode doesn't make a huge difference (maybe about 5%)
11. Driving with the A/C on doesn't make a huge difference (maybe about 5%)
12. Driving with the heater on DOES make a huge difference (maybe 25-40%?)
13. The car is equipped with seat heaters and a steering wheel heater (standard, even on the base model), which don't drain the battery that much, and can supplant the need for the forced air heater a bit.
14. The car also comes standard with a climate control timer, so you can program the heater to come on early in the morning while the car is still plugged in.  Getting the car warm before stepping into it will reduce use of the heater in the mornings.
15. The USB port does let you play music straight from a flash drive. No iPod necessary.  (Sweet.)
16. The 240v, 30A Level 2 charger is scheduled to get installed on September 24th.  This should cut charge times by 2/3 - 3/4.  (Sweet.)
17. While I have not caused any roadkill in the new car, I can say that the squirrels and birds definitely don't hear you coming as well.