2015 Leaf/Volt battery for hot climate

A friend wants to buy an electric car. Would you recommend a Leaf for Texas, given that the car will be outside? Daily summertime highs are typically >100 for the hottest part of the summer. How's the 2015 Lizard battery doing?

I could try to steer her towards a Volt, which she just assumed would be quite a bit more expensive. How much less expensive is a Leaf than a Volt, for purchase (not lease)?
- Bernie

I got my 2015 in November of 2014, so far so good. I will report when I lose a bar. I feel like a test case of the lizard battery. It is 100 every day here in Tucson.

If she's willing to take a 2015 volt the price will keep going down as the 2016s come closer. The sales have dropped this year. If she plays hard ball at the dealer on price they will probably keep calling her back with lower offers.


I have had my 2015 leaf on the road for over a year and 24k miles later it's got 0% loss. Now it has been much much colder here though but to compare the 2011/2s around here have lost 10-14% in 3-4 years.

1) I would not buy. Do the math and it will cost way more to buy regardless of how many miles you drive. You also have the probability of owning a obsolete battery configuration in 3 yrs.
2) I live in DFW area and use quick chargers and could care less about the heat on the 2015. In fact one of the best features in the heat is leaving the vehicle on and lock the doors then returning to a very comfortable car with minimal range loss. I actually see more of an issue in the cold than the heat with range loss.
3) Last month she could have leased a S with QC,mats and flaps for a net cost of 127 per month,2499 down and 36/36 and got a NCTC card for two years. It has since changed but still better than a hybrid/plug in. Since 16s won't be out till January and they are changing the battery capacity a tad I am not sure what the best deal is currently.

By the way we have 4 and have had 16 folks lease after talking to them.

This is a person who buys new and owns her cars for 10-15 years at a time. Perpetual leasing might not seem like a great idea to her.

The technology is changing way to fast. Manufacturers are not supporting cars ten yrs down the road. I know first hand. I would hate to have to find an obsolete part for an obsolete car.
Do the math on a lease versus purchase. 22 cents per mile to 44. I lease two for nearly the cost of one purchased and would have to put 126000 miles on it to break even buying it. In just a few years the battery or whatever energy source will make these dinosaurs. Similar to PCs of old.
However she might do it it can be extremely affordable to use.Not perfect but a great value.

everestsdad said:

Do the math on a lease versus purchase. 22 cents per mile to 44.

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Do you have a spreadsheet available? I've seen dealers advertise up to $6.5K off on a new purchase. Boardwalk Nissan had advertised $3.5K Nissan discount and dealer $3k discount.
https://plus.google.com/u/1/+DanielCardenas/posts/GRA4pGg23ee

everestsdad said:

2) I live in DFW area and use quick chargers and could care less about the heat on the 2015. In fact one of the best features in the heat is leaving the vehicle on and lock the doors then returning to a very comfortable car with minimal range loss. I actually see more of an issue in the cold than the heat with range loss.

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It's important to qualify your statement for "new" Leaf buyers:
1) The range loss in cold weather is temporary (affects all LiOn batteries) and returns when the weather warms
2) The (less noticeable) range loss in hot weather eventually contributes to a more significant and permanent long term range loss.

And yes, the A/C is much more efficient than the heat.

Living here in Dallas, my 2015 LEAF seems to actually love the hot weather. I get more range with the A/C on than I did during the late winter/early spring with the heater off. In city driving, I regularly see between 105 and 110 miles of range on the GOM with the A/C on.

When it's warm outside (86°F, 30°C), I see 6 temperature bars. When it's getting hot outside (104°F, 40°C), I see 7 temperature bars.

BernieTx said:

This is a person who buys new and owns her cars for 10-15 years at a time. Perpetual leasing might not seem like a great idea to her.

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What's her daily driving like? If it's over 55 miles a day is she tech savy and willing to use an app to hunt down public chargers, not to mention spend time waiting? To commit to a Leaf for 15 years assuming a scenario with capacity loss of just over 2%/year she will one day have to live with an out of warrantee battery that is around 65% capacity.

If she drives under 40 miles a day then the volt is the best car for her. She'll do 99% of her driving on electric for many years and no matter what happens with the battery it won't affect her ability to keep the car for 15 years it will just shift her electric vs gas consumption.

If she drives over 55 then she really has a choice to make, does she want 0 emissions on a car that she probably can't keep 15 years or does she want partial 0 emissions and be able to keep the car 15 years? If she's around 70 miles a day an i3 Rex would close the gap of total cost a lot more than the purchase price would suggest.