2019 "60 kWh" Leaf e-Plus

[OrientExpress]

We have a number of EVgo 85/100 kW chargers a few miles from the house, and what I found with the LEAF Plus is that if the charger is rated at 50kW, the LEAF (as well as the Kona) will only charge at 35-38kW peak, and with the 85/100kW chargers, that the most that they will charge is at about 55-57 kW peak. This is the same result I got with the Hyundai Kona. I have a Kia Niro coming tomorrow, and will try charging that one as well

At first I thought this may be related to the fact that the higher power chargers share the same power source, but even when I tried charging in the middle of the night with no other cars charging it stayed the same. It's more looking like that EVgo has simply set the max charging rate on these chargers lower than what they are capable of. I've reached out to EVgo for a comment on this, and will let you know what they say.

BTW, I took the LEAF Plus up to Lake Tahoe and back this last week, and saw none of the high battery temperatures that my early 2018 car would sometime exhibit. Multiple fast charges did not elevate the temperature either. I got 247 miles and 5.0 miles/kWh from a LEAF Plus on a drive from Lake Tahoe to San Jose.

Uphill it was 234 miles and 3.8 miles/kWh, still very respectable, and that included driving through a blizzard at 5800 ft. The uphill drive needed a 15 minute charge session at Pollock Pines to get through to Tahoe.

 

[webeleafowners]

We finally let our e-Plus Leaf get down to a 20% charge, so I plugged in LeafSpy. With the dash reporting 20%, LeafSpy says 29.8% and 17.9kWh remaining. So, it still hides at least 10% of the battery capacity just like the 40kWh version.

Thank you for reporting this back. Sad to hear Nissan has chosen to have that much of capacity still hidden. The actual range on the GOM could be substantial higher.

So take me to school here. Does this mean the the Eplus can be charged regularly to 100 percent as, you know, it’s not 100 percent??? Or is the reserve at the bottoms end.

Also. If at 100 percent, how is the regen...which kinda goes back to my first question.

Thanks in advance.

 

[OrientExpress]

You can charge to 100% looking at the percentage on the dashboard all you want. The 10% reserve amount is taken into consideration with that percentage.

 

[webeleafowners]

You can charge to 100% looking at the percentage on the dashboard all you want. The 10% reserve amount is taken into consideration with that percentage.

Thanks for the reply. Is that different than for example our 30 KWH SV? Right now I avoid 100 percent. Is their less impact with the Eplus?

 

[OrientExpress]

Thanks for the reply. Is that different than for example our 30 KWH SV? Right now I avoid 100 percent. Is their less impact with the Eplus?

The general thinking is that if you are going to be driving the car shortly after charging there is not an issue. Some say that if the car is going to sit for a while, then don't charge it up to 100%.

I've been driving LEAFs since 2011, and charged them both ways, and I don't see any difference one way or another. Certainly no issue on my 2018.

 

[webeleafowners]

Thanks for the reply. Is that different than for example our 30 KWH SV? Right now I avoid 100 percent. Is their less impact with the Eplus?

The general thinking is that if you are going to be driving the car shortly after charging there is not an issue. Some say that if the car is going to sit for a while, then don't charge it up to 100%.

I've been driving LEAFs since 2011, and charged them both ways, and I don't see any difference one way or another. Certainly no issue on my 2018.

Thank you. The Nissan Leaf Eplus SL is high on our radar for replacing Angela’s smart ED next year. The model 3 as well but with it proprietary charging compatibility it wouldn’t be possible for the areas we travel. There may be an adapter by the time we are ready to buy.

 

[LeftieBiker]

So take me to school here. Does this mean the the Eplus can be charged regularly to 100 percent as, you know, it’s not 100 percent??? Or is the reserve at the bottoms end.

The reserve is at both ends, but it seems that more of it is on the bottom. Also, keep in mind that the 24kwh Leaf is something like 95% charged when it reads 100%, and it has always been more or less this way. It may be more useful (or not) to say "avoid charging above 90% indicated charge if the car won't be used shortly afterward" to avoid confusion over indicated charge vs actual charge, and 100% indicated vs 95% real.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

Great video of Tesla 3 vs. Nissan Leaf up and down a mountain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a90pI-8xibw

 

[webeleafowners]

Great video of Tesla 3 vs. Nissan Leaf up and down a mountain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a90pI-8xibw

Thank you. Leaf did okay. Tesla is amazing but pricey.

 

[BrockWI]

Well that's the thing. Even the $37k or now $39k Tesla is the same price as the Leaf S plus and the Tesla has better range and more consistent charging infrastructure? I really want a Leaf, but for less $ and get more car with Tesla or wait until the prices come down on the Leaf's?

 

[LeftieBiker]

Well that's the thing. Even the $37k or now $39k Tesla is the same price as the Leaf S plus and the Tesla has better range and more consistent charging infrastructure? I really want a Leaf, but for less $ and get more car with Tesla or wait until the prices come down on the Leaf's?

The two cars are very different in character, so if you prefer sporty or comfortable, I suggest you choose that way. If you are on the fence there, too, then the Leafs will likely be discounted in late Summer, if you can wait. Definitely by Black Friday. If you want the Tesla for less, then you have to watch their prices almost every day.

 

[Evoforce]

Well that's the thing. Even the $37k or now $39k Tesla is the same price as the Leaf S plus and the Tesla has better range and more consistent charging infrastructure? I really want a Leaf, but for less $ and get more car with Tesla or wait until the prices come down on the Leaf's?

The two cars are very different in character, so if you prefer sporty or comfortable, I suggest you choose that way. If you are on the fence there, too, then the Leafs will likely be discounted in late Summer, if you can wait. Definitely by Black Friday. If you want the Tesla for less, then you have to watch their prices almost every day.

And, which one is likely to have less depreciation, a longer lasting battery, and has the better safety rating.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Well that's the thing. Even the $37k or now $39k Tesla is the same price as the Leaf S plus and the Tesla has better range and more consistent charging infrastructure? I really want a Leaf, but for less $ and get more car with Tesla or wait until the prices come down on the Leaf's?

The two cars are very different in character, so if you prefer sporty or comfortable, I suggest you choose that way. If you are on the fence there, too, then the Leafs will likely be discounted in late Summer, if you can wait. Definitely by Black Friday. If you want the Tesla for less, then you have to watch their prices almost every day.

And, which one is likely to have less depreciation and a longer lasting battery.

The Tesla will likely have the longer lasting battery. Depreciation will depend on whether or not Tesla folds.

 

[Evoforce]

I don't have a crystal ball but Tesla folding is a long shot. Short sellers are doing their best to convince as many as possible and spread a mountain of twisted rhetoric!

 

[LeftieBiker]

Musk himself is doing the best job of making people nervous, I think.

I know that you find it impossible to imagine someone knowingly choosing a lesser car over a greater car. Try imagining that you require a wheel chair. Would you choose a Model 3, or a Dodge Tradesman van, if those were your only two choices...? I personally find it impossible to imagine choosing superior performance and battery longevity (but not build quality) over much greater comfort and ease of access, in a car with adequate performance and (barely) adequate battery longevity...

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

I think the video actually showed relatively well for the leaf. Given the difference in epa values, they performed similarly range wise. The 71% (61% if you add back the reserve) battery used by the leaf the cover the 154 miles wasn’t bad given the elevation included in the drive.

The price difference, though mentioned briefly, is still bigger then reported. A Tesla 3 no frills is 40k, compared to about 34.5k for an S (you can generally get the leaf near/below invoice). Subtract the fed discount, and the Tesla is $36,500 and the leaf about $27,000. No doubt Tesla is a cooler beast, but still some price gap.
Tesla pricing has certainly become more competitive.

I thought it was interesting to see as well that the starting range for the leaf was 236, 20 miles above the epa range. And it sounds like they didn’t drive the car in eco often.

 

[webeleafowners]

I think the video actually showed relatively well for the leaf. Given the difference in epa values, they performed similarly range wise. The 71% (61% if you add back the reserve) battery used by the leaf the cover the 154 miles wasn’t bad given the elevation included in the drive.

The price difference, though mentioned briefly, is still bigger then reported. A Tesla 3 no frills is 40k, compared to about 34.5k for an S (you can generally get the leaf near/below invoice). Subtract the fed discount, and the Tesla is $36,500 and the leaf about $27,000. No doubt Tesla is a cooler beast, but still some price gap.
Tesla pricing has certainly become more competitive.

I thought it was interesting to see as well that the starting range for the leaf was 236, 20 miles above the epa range. And it sounds like they didn’t drive the car in eco often.

What changes on the car in ECO. Honestly it’s the only way I ever drive ours. Am I missing out on something by not driving in normal mode?

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

I was just saying that the 236 mile range reflected was likely in all "non eco" mode, meaning that for those of us ECO only drivers, hope to see even higher average range.

 

[webeleafowners]

But how does Eco mode actually work to use less energy. It has to come from somewhere. Just curious. I just like to use it because the pedal is less sensitive.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

Correct, I believe it is not much more then petal remapping. Lower more drawn out draws during acceleration do wonders for range. Same with coasting and trying to time intersectionlights (when not holding up other traffic).