2019 SL Plus

[St6787]

I've had my Leaf for a couple weeks now, and I have been enjoying figuring out all the features and seeing what kind of range I can get driving my normal routes. I didn't think I'd like the ProPilot Assist, but it's been pretty nice to have in highway traffic.

Part of getting a new car is getting it set up how I want. This included hard wiring a radar detector and a front/rear dash cam, as well as a wireless CarPlay dongle. I had some brand new 225/45-17 Goodyear F1 Asymmetric tires in the garage that I had purchased for another car, so I bought these NISMO 17X7 Juke wheels (the 225 width will not fit on the Leaf's 6.5" wide wheels, and I have some almost new 215/50-17 snow tires that I will mount on the stock Leaf wheels anyways).

The tire and wheel package fit great and the tires are quieter and grip much better. I know wheel choice is personal and white isn't everyone's thing, but I like the contrast between the black car and the white wheels.

 

[Bombastinator2]

The thing that surprised me the most is how quick the thing is. The car i had before this one was a type4 GTI autobahn. The thing was sort of a hot-hatch dragster. Waaay more power than it needed. The only reason it’s top end was 145 is it had a governor on it from the factory. Take that off and it would have done more. The 2019sv is quicker though. Noticeably so. Wheelspin actually has to be avoided. I am occasionally surprised by torque steer. I thought i was buying an econobox. This is NOT an econobox. It’s the fastest car I’ve ever owned. And i used to make a point of buying fast cars

 

[BillHolz]

The thing that surprised me the most is how quick the thing is. The car i had before this one was a type4 GTI autobahn. The thing was sort of a hot-hatch dragster. Waaay more power than it needed. The only reason it’s top end was 145 is it had a governor on it from the factory. Take that off and it would have done more. The 2019sv is quicker though. Noticeably so. Wheelspin actually has to be avoided. I am occasionally surprised by torque steer. I thought i was buying an econobox. This is NOT an econobox. It’s the fastest car I’ve ever owned. And i used to make a point of buying fast cars

You will find that pretty much all BEV's beat all gassers off the line until you stop accelerating.

 

[Bombastinator2]

You will find that pretty much all BEV's beat all gassers off the line until you stop accelerating.

Wouldn’t surprise me.

 

[pjacobsma]

The thing that surprised me the most is how quick the thing is. The car i had before this one was a type4 GTI autobahn. The thing was sort of a hot-hatch dragster. Waaay more power than it needed. The only reason it’s top end was 145 is it had a governor on it from the factory. Take that off and it would have done more. The 2019sv is quicker though. Noticeably so. Wheelspin actually has to be avoided. I am occasionally surprised by torque steer. I thought i was buying an econobox. This is NOT an econobox. It’s the fastest car I’ve ever owned. And i used to make a point of buying fast cars

I have a friend who had a 300-horsepower Firebird in high school. The 0-60 time on the Leaf is the same as that car. But besides the power, what spoils me about an EV is the responsiveness. You don't have to wait for the engine to spin up or the transmission to downshift. You touch that pedal and the car responds instantly. At my age I don't drive like a maniac, but if I need to squeeze into a gap in traffic I really appreciate how I can count on the car to do exactly what I want quickly.

 

[Drew21]

The difference in responsiveness between even a first-generation Leaf like our 2014 and a typical older economy hatchback (like my 2010 Honda Fit) requires an adjustment period when swapping back and forth. My wife, the regular driver of the Leaf, rolls her eyes and sighs every time she's forced to slum around as a passenger in the Fit. She pretty much refuses to drive the Fit.

 

[Toby]

The thing that surprised me the most is how quick the thing is. . . .

An electric motor has maximum torque at 0 rpm. An ICE engine has to bring several different actions together in order to get up to maximum torque. By that time the EV is across the intersection and down the street.