2013 Leaf SV vs 2012 Mustang 5.0

[CMYK4Life]

So I had a friendly little race with my co-worker this morning. On the way into work we ended up next to each other on the road. He has a 2012 Mustang 5.0.

There is a 2 lane traffic circle then a 55mph zone about 3 miles from work. I took the inside lane on the circle. We both sped through that and stomped the pedal once out of the circle and in the 55MPH zone.

I must admit, at the start the Leaf held its own. He was unable to pass me until the mustang really 'bit' on second gear. After that the Leaf was toast. Great fun though!

At the light he rev'ed his engine.. I made a mean face and honked my horn... (I guess I could have put the Leaf in reverse and used thath sound)

 

[RonDawg]

Like this guy who raced his Leaf against a classic Corvette, you should have used "simulated" engine sounds:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xayEpDO75kk[/youtube]

:lol:

 

[Nubo]

At the light he rev'ed his engine.. I made a mean face and honked my horn... (I guess I could have put the Leaf in reverse and used thath sound)

This would be a good sound for those stoplight moments:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZZxXVS9Qyc[/youtube]

 

[ksnogas2112]

The only way you honked the horn would be if you upgraded/modded it. Otherwise you just meeped the horn because it only goes meep meep :lol:

I enjoy blowing away the rumbling big torque pick em up trucks around here.

 

[TomT]

I've never understood these reports and almost am inclined to submit this to Mythbusters... Look at the documented performance numbers for the Leaf... The Leaf is NOT that fast a vehicle. Any decent car in the hands of any decent driver should be able to easily toast it. From 0 to 20 or so it is not bad but even then, lots of vehicles are much faster... That being said, in the hands of a poorer driver with poorer reactions times, the Leaf IS easier to get launched...

I enjoy blowing away the rumbling big torque pick em up trucks around here.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

This has been discussed before and frankly I don't understand it either. The Leaf supposedly isn't that fast but I find it effortlessly pops out in front of the herd at lights... even when the herd is partially comprised of expensive performance cars. The best explanation I have thought of is they can outperform me, but doing so is a fairly violent event in an ICE car, compared to the smooth quiet spring loaded launch in an EV.

Also, everyone quotes 0-60 times, but you rarely accelerate from 0-60. If you're on surface streets, you're accelerating from 0-45 mostly.

 

[CMYK4Life]

I've never understood these reports and almost am inclined to submit this to Mythbusters... Look at the documented performance numbers for the Leaf... The Leaf is NOT that fast a vehicle. Any decent car in the hands of any decent driver should be able to easily toast it. From 0 to 20 or so it is not bad but even then, lots of vehicles are much faster... That being said, in the hands of a poorer driver with poorer reactions times, the Leaf IS easier to get launched...

I enjoy blowing away the rumbling big torque pick em up trucks around here.

I know the leaf is not a sports car. However its still better than most cars I have driven. Mustang guy and I both knew the Mustang would win... its the fact that the Leaf could hang with the Mustang for just a few seconds that made it fun... I would never do that in my old car because I didnt want to go above 4,000 RPM's for fear hurting the engine.

I would love a Leaf 'sport edition' or 'super sport'. Bigger motor? Different tires? I like speed. I like pep. The current Leaf has this - I want more.

 

[johnqh]

I've never understood these reports and almost am inclined to submit this to Mythbusters... Look at the documented performance numbers for the Leaf... The Leaf is NOT that fast a vehicle. Any decent car in the hands of any decent driver should be able to easily toast it. From 0 to 20 or so it is not bad but even then, lots of vehicles are much faster... That being said, in the hands of a poorer driver with poorer reactions times, the Leaf IS easier to get launched...

I enjoy blowing away the rumbling big torque pick em up trucks around here.

Of course, they can outrun you. But then when they get back, it will need to get checked by mechanics.

Full power is quite damaging to an ICE engine.

 

[DTB]

On paper the Leaf won't beat very many cars but it is the instant and effortless power that always surprises people. No hunting for gears or waiting for RPMs to build. In the real world people don't tend to react until you are passing them and by that time they are playing catch-up.

 

[evnow]

The difference between ICE & EV is that anyone on an EV can get that 0-60 advertised performance while in an ICE you have to be an expert.

 

[elmobob]

I find the 0-60 on paper for the leaf to be understated, but then again it could be that the instant torque makes it feel faster than it is. I had a Celica GTS manual transmission with a 2 liter engine who's 0-60 was supposedly 8.5 secs as supposed to the leaf's 9 secs, the Leaf feels 4 times as powerful accelerating full throttle.

 

[supra410]

At the light he rev'ed his engine.. I made a mean face and honked my horn... (I guess I could have put the Leaf in reverse and used thath sound)

This would be a good sound for those stoplight moments:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZZxXVS9Qyc[/youtube]

HOLY CRAP!!!! That looks like some sort of catastrophe after a night of binge drinking! crazy!

 

[RonDawg]

I would love a Leaf 'sport edition' or 'super sport'. Bigger motor? Different tires? I like speed. I like pep. The current Leaf has this - I want more.

You can get one now. It's spelled T-E-S-L-A :lol:

 

[RonDawg]

I find the 0-60 on paper for the leaf to be understated, but then again it could be that the instant torque makes it feel faster than it is. I had a Celica GTS manual transmission with a 2 liter engine who's 0-60 was supposedly 8.5 secs as supposed to the leaf's 9 secs, the Leaf feels 4 times as powerful accelerating full throttle.

The instant torque available throughout the motor's rev range is what gives BEVs that "feels faster than it really is" kind of acceleration. That's how it's possible to, initially at least, "blow away" supposedly much faster cars from a stop. Those cars are having to rev up to the powerful part of the torque band, and if it has a turbo it is also trying to overcome that lag.

My "range extender" is a 2006 Audi A3 with the 2.0 Turbo. It is rated at 200 HP and 207 lb-ft of torque. Its 0-60 time is 7.1 seconds.

The Leaf has slightly more torque (210 lb-ft) but barely half the horsepower of the Audi. Off the line the Leaf has the advantage, and I say the Audi won't catch up until it's doing about 30-35 MPH. That's enough time to scoot into a hole of traffic before someone else closes it on you.

 

[BEVeedom]

That silent, catapulting, off-the-line torque is an addictive drug that is irresistible. I'm sure that there will be sub-6-second 0-60 mph times coming soon (under $50K).

The BEV has all of the advantage off the mark and every drag racer knows that is where the 1/8 or 1/4 mile American drag race is won.

Enjoy your rad ride, I'm loving mine.

Pat

 

[EatsShootsandLeafs]

I've never understood these reports and almost am inclined to submit this to Mythbusters.

Nothing mystical here, but something most people are woefully missing in their posts:

0-60 of the Leaf is poor, like 9-10 seconds. 0-35 is excellent. Grab a random ICE car and go into a car and driver review and I suspect you'll see that the 0-35 of the Leaf is comparable to a typical car that has a 0-60 somewhere in the 7's. But after 35 or 40 its acceleration drops off precipitously.

In regard to the Leaf taking out big torque trucks, I will admit to nothing on the internet other than suffice to say regardless of what extreme measures one in a Leaf takes trying to beat a modern Hemi-powered RAM, the Leaf will lose, and massively.

The Leaf can hold its own in any drag race that doesn't go above 40. If it does, the thing is embarrassing.

 

[EatsShootsandLeafs]

OK further to my last post, it's not super easy to find 0-30 and 0-60 times on different cars from the same publication, but here goes:

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/12/review-2013-nissan-altima-sl-3-5-video/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/02/review-a-week-in-a-2012-nissan-leaf/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

2013 Altima 3.5
0-30 2.6 (3.2 with TC)
0-60 5.5 (6.2 with TC)

2012 Nissan Leaf
0-30 2.92
0-60 8.96

Whether these numbers are all optimistic or not isn't entirely the matter. The Altima's 0-60 is only marginally twice as long as its 0-30, whereas the Leaf takes 2/3rd of its 0-60 time in the later half, demonstrating very good 0-30 time and comparatively poor 31-60.

---

A few more numbers here from edmunds, though without comparative Altima times I don't a ton of stock in them: http://www.edmunds.com/nissan/leaf/2011/road-test-specs2.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

The Leaf can hold its own in any drag race that doesn't go above 40. If it does, the thing is embarrassing.

In routine acceleration on surface streets, 0-40 is the use case. You usually aren't going 60 on surface streets.

trying to beat a modern Hemi-powered RAM, the Leaf will lose, and massively.

What is it about a RAM pickup truck that makes it so fast?

 

[LEAFfan]

I've never understood these reports and almost am inclined to submit this to Mythbusters... Look at the documented performance numbers for the Leaf... The Leaf is NOT that fast a vehicle. Any decent car in the hands of any decent driver should be able to easily toast it. From 0 to 20 or so it is not bad but even then, lots of vehicles are much faster... That being said, in the hands of a poorer driver with poorer reactions times, the Leaf IS easier to get launched...

I've raced many sports cars to 40-45mph and haven't lost yet. My claim to fame was beating a brand new Nissan Z to 45. She rocked it back and forth, revved her engine, and I smoked her to 45. I backed off because of the speed limit and she flew by me finally at 65 and then made a U-turn thinking she had won. :lol:
To be fair, my reaction time is much faster than the average driver.

 

[toasty]

What is it about a RAM pickup truck that makes it so fast?