Will your next EV be a Leaf or another brand - why?

[dvlax40]

Again, thanks for the comments - I welcome more. I'm especially interested in Volt owner perspectives (has the car worked out the way you thought in terms of battery use versus ICE)..

The more opinions the better - I'm still learning and very much appreciate everyone's comments.

As a former LEAF owner who sold the LEAF back to Nissan and bought a Volt, I'd say that the Volt has worked out much better for me than the LEAF. The reasons:

1. I live in Phoenix so obviously the lack of TMS in the LEAF is its biggest down-fall here. The Volt's TMS serves its purpose very well here in Phoenix.

2. If you can only have 1 car and you want to be able to make longer trips (like in your situation visiting your kids), the Volt is a much more suitable option for you. You can take advantage of the EV part around town and the extended-range gas option on longer trips.

3. There's no more range anxiety, of course. You're free to just hop in and go without having to worry too much about whether you're going to be able to make it back and if there are public charging stations where you're going to help extend your range or not.

4. With the LEAF, everything revolves around the battery. Worry about whether it's too hot, too cold, how it affects the range. Worry about when to charge to 80% and when to 100%. Worry about not leaving it at 100% charge for too long. Worry about not Quick Charging it too much to cause heat build up. Worry about waiting for the battery to cool down before recharge. Worry about the garage being too hot for it and debating whether parking outside is better for the battery or not. Worrying about whether to charge every other day to keep the battery at the optimal point of 40-60% SOC longer, instead of just topping off the battery to keep it ready-to-go. On and on and on. If you're a long time forum member, you probably have read about all these discussions here. You feel as if you need to serve the battery on the LEAF, instead of it serving you. With the Volt, the battery and the car serve you, not the other way around. Of course, if you lease, you may not care about any of this. Especially on a 2 year lease.

i agree with all but have a comment on 4:
part of being a first adopter is dealing with issues like this. Im not trying to blast people who jumped in, but we havent had a real mainstream EV since GMs EV-1 in the 90s.

I think there is way too much caught up in the battery, and worrying about it. Leasing is probably the best bet until more data is returned

that being said, the volt is not without its faults/compromises it just has more of a security blanket ie TMS, gas generator (and the increased cost to match ).

I actually am surprised as many people are leaf vs the volt all things considered. its probably more of a cost thing, but the volt is actually genius in that it is the perfect ICE bridge vehicle for the masses

 

[travisty]

My current plan is to save up to be one of the first with a Tesla Blustar. I love my Leaf and so does the family. I already have a family member who wants the Leaf when I get the Blustar. They'll just have to wait 3.5 more years :lol:

 

[lencap]

Again, thanks to all for the comments and suggestions. I continue to learn a lot - much appreciated.

I am a bit surprised that there have been so few comments about the upcoming BMW i3. That car supposedly will recharge much faster than others and according to at least one in depth review I read the car is FUN to drive. Review here: http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/BMW-i3-2013-electric-car-test-ride/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's not saying that the Leaf isn't fun, but the reviewer was very enthusiastic about the car as a fun vehicle as well as an EV. That adds another dimension to EVs that, hopefully, can only further increase their appeal. I'm particularly interested in other "not yet ready" cars you may consider - BMW i3/i8; upcoming Tesla models, etc.

I must say that it is very helpful to hear from longer time owners and those in warmer climates that have lost more battery capacity than they expected and their frustration with Nissan's response. My son is 82 miles from my home and as I initially noted I can't comfortably consider that range since it's mostly 65MPH+ highway miles. The thought that in 2-3 years my normal battery range will fall by 15-20% makes me a bit frustrated, but I realized that there was degradation before I bought the Leaf.

On a positive note, after almost 5 weeks of ownership the car has surprised me very much. Range anxiety is far less than when I started - the car usually recharges to at least 80% overnight using a standard 120V trickle charge, and my town has enough charging locations that I don't fear driving a bit beyond my comfort zone.

As many have also said there isn't a lot of choice right now. CA residents have more choices than the rest of us, but like many others I won't buy a car that isn't sold in my local dealership.

Range also seems to be an interesting discussion. I'm seeing two different schools of thought: (1) I want a car that is highway miles capable (200-300 mile range), (2) I'm willing to accept less range for a more affordable price. Both viewpoints seem more inclined to expect the future to offer more choices at increasingly attractive price points. I hope you're right! For me, the Volt seems to be a good "bridge" option, as has been suggested, with Tesla aiming for group 1 and the Leaf for group 2. When I get frustrated in the shortcoming of the Leaf, or any other EV, I remember that 3 years ago none of these choices were available, and then I realize how amazing it is to even have these options.

I leased for two years, got a great rate, the dealer is very friendly and the car seems reliable and solid. No complaints so far, nor do I expect them. As others have noted we're all "early adaptors" which I've been told is another term for unpaid tester with checkbook.

And most importantly this forum is amazing. Lots of very helpful people, great information and a friendly manner. Can't ask for more. Thanks again, and keep the comments coming.

 

[GetOffYourGas]

My current plan is to save up to be one of the first with a Tesla Blustar. I love my Leaf and so does the family. I already have a family member who wants the Leaf when I get the Blustar. They'll just have to wait 3.5 more years :lol:

I also intend to get a Blue Star when they are available, but I will keep the Leaf. Well... my wife can have the Leaf (truth be told, she already puts more miles on it than I do). My son may even learn to drive on the Leaf (he's currently 4 - yes, I expect it to still be running and useful to me in 12 years).

 

[RonDawg]

im really interested to see what Volkswagen/Audi are doing with electric vehicles. An all electric A1 would be my ideal car. or maybe im just nostalgic for my A6 already

As the owner of an A3 myself, the upcoming (and supposedly confirmed for the US) Audi A3 eTron has my attention, even though it's a PHEV and not a BEV:

http://green.autoblog.com/2013/03/27/a3-sportback-e-tron-plug-in-hybrid-confirmed-us/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Other than the current experimental A3 eTron and Golf EV, VAG doesn't seem to have the enthusiasm for pure EVs the way Nissan does.

 

[cwerdna]

I haven't followed it closely but an odd (to me) Frankenplug fanboy pointed to the VW eGolf at http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/12357-SAE-vs-CHAdeMO/page2?p=310491&viewfull=1#post310491" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Considering how few cars VW sells in the US, I wouldn't expect very large volumes of eGolfs.

I think he's 1 of the few/only Frankenplug fanboys over there. Most everyone else who knows about the 2 standards seem to want a CHAdeMO to Tesla connector adapter so they can take advantage of CHAdeMO chargers.

 

[RonDawg]

Considering how few cars VW sells in the US, I wouldn't expect very large volumes of eGolfs.

I have never seen an eGolf "in the wild" although according to automotive journalists, they allegedly exist.

 

[cwerdna]

^^^
I've never seen any VW EVs in the wild either but I did see a VW EV test car at Hybrid2Hotrods last year. I think it was a Golf.

I briefly spoke w/a guy who worked at the VW Belmont research lab and brought the car. I was more listening to conversations he was having w/other attendees. When I spoke to him, he himself owned (or was leasing) a Leaf w/o the CHAdeMO port, so he couldn't even use the free Blink CHAdeMO charger at the lab.

 

[surfingslovak]

I've never seen any VW EVs in the wild either but I did see a VW EV test car at Hybrid2Hotrods last year. I think it was a Golf.

There were quite a few of them in the Bay Area last spring. They were leased and/or driven by Volkswagen employees only.