Author Archives: lukefrugalev

About an hour out of Toronto sits Hilton falls, a sawmill from the 19th century. Thankfully the sawmill is long gone, although some of its structure remains. The fall are quite a wonder to explore in all seasons, and its only 70 km, hence close enough so that one need not worry about charging althoughContinue reading “Hilton Falls”

A recent opinion post in the Edmonton sun suggested it was impossible to drive from Grand Prairie AB to Winnipeg MB in January. Setting aside why anyone would choose to drive the 1800km or so between the two when reasonably priced flights are available. I wondered as I read the column if Gunther (the nameContinue reading “The Gunther challenge: Can you drive an EV from Grand-Prairie AB all the way to Winnipeg MB in January?”

To extend the life of your EV battery, most EV manufacturers do not allow you to use the full rated capacity of your battery. For example, my 2018 Nissan Leaf is usually at about 36 kWh usable, which dips down to about 34 kWh when it gets really cold. In my leaf, this appears toContinue reading “Accessing the top battery reserve”

Exploring Ontario’s “west-coast” would not be complete without a stop at MacGregor provincial park which sits along lake Huron, about 240 km drive from Toronto. The beach is nice, and there is lots of hiking and exploring to be done in the park. Curious about how your EV gets its juice? The nearby Bruce powerContinue reading “MacGregor Point Provincial park”

Avid readers of this blog will note the importance of DC fast charging on long distance EV road-trips. As of 2022, very few new EV models offer Chademo connectors for DC fast charging, even Nissan appears to be switching to CCS for their fast charging connector on the upcoming Nissan Aryia. This might frighten someContinue reading “Is Chademo a dying standard?”

At the tip of the Bruce peninsula sits Tobermory. Ever wanted to walk the deck of a 100 + year old boat? Explore the steam engine’s of the day? Then Tobermory is your chance. There is lots to do and see, with charging in both Orangeville and Owen Sound, the 300 km route is noContinue reading “Tobermory”

Another in our series of regional hops. I recently had to make a last minute trip to Hamilton for work. Round-trip, its about 160 km from Toronto, the 2018 Nissan Leaf made it there and back with about 10% to spare. The Leaf only consumed $3.50 worth of electricity on this trip, hence I decidedContinue reading “Toronto-Hamilton”

Much has been written about the EV incentive program in latter years. Briefly, many jurisdictions offer EV subsidies lowering the cost of a new (or in some cases used) EV’s. Here in Canada, Quebec (which has them) has four times the EV sales ratio vs Ontario (which does not have them). These incentives do nudgeContinue reading “Is the EV Incentive program a good use of public funds?”

Summer in the city is usually hot and steamy, so why not hit the beach and enjoy some of (Ontario’s) west coast magic. Sauble beach sits about 230 km North-West of Toronto, an easy drive for even a first generation Nissan Leaf. Ive done this trip many times in both the 2015 and the 2018Continue reading “Sauble Beach”

Most EV’s present the driver with information on how much charge is left in the battery, usually in the form of a percentage. But it turns out, the bar is not necessarily accurate as the car vendor is trying to nudge you into making sensible charging choices, to maximize battery life. While this post willContinue reading “Decoding the state of charge”