I, for one, believe the Guess-o-Meter on the Leaf to be very accurate and I use it and trust it. However, I also understand how the car is coming to its conclusion about my estimated range. For example, if I'm gently driving down a 30 mph road for 5 miles straight with the A/C off and the GOM says I can do 100 miles, I believe it. But I also understand that the 100 miles is conditional upon me continuing to drive in the same manner I have been the last 5 miles.
When I give people test drives in the car, the first thing I have to do is explain to them how the GOM works. Otherwise it can be scary for them. They might get into the car with it reading 100 miles remaining. But then they want to jump out on the freeway at 85 mph to see what the car can do and see the GOM drop very quickly to 50 miles. At that point they will think they've already used up half of the car's battery in just a few minutes and that in another few minutes it will be dead on the side of the road. So I have to explain that they look at the SOC bars to see the capacity and then understand that the GOM has just re-adjusted its estimate based on the new driving conditions.
I will admit that the GOM is more likely to be optimistic than pessimistic. I also understand that there is "hidden" power left over when the SOC bars disappear. Although I've never tested this for myself. In which case, I would have preferred they design the GOM to be pessimistic on the range estimate and when the number reaches zero, that is when the car dies.
When I give people test drives in the car, the first thing I have to do is explain to them how the GOM works. Otherwise it can be scary for them. They might get into the car with it reading 100 miles remaining. But then they want to jump out on the freeway at 85 mph to see what the car can do and see the GOM drop very quickly to 50 miles. At that point they will think they've already used up half of the car's battery in just a few minutes and that in another few minutes it will be dead on the side of the road. So I have to explain that they look at the SOC bars to see the capacity and then understand that the GOM has just re-adjusted its estimate based on the new driving conditions.
I will admit that the GOM is more likely to be optimistic than pessimistic. I also understand that there is "hidden" power left over when the SOC bars disappear. Although I've never tested this for myself. In which case, I would have preferred they design the GOM to be pessimistic on the range estimate and when the number reaches zero, that is when the car dies.
