2018 or 2019?

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charliegomes

New member
Joined
Nov 25, 2018
Messages
1
Looking to get into a Leaf, and I'm trying to decide when to pull the trigger, and on which year.

I was led to believe that the 2019 model had switched to the liquid cooled vs. Air cooled battery system, which is part of what gives it a boost to range and longevity, and is just all around better.

There's some good incentives on a 2018 right now, as they're clearing out stock for the 2019s, so financially I'm interested in the 2018, but I'm less inclined if the battery is just that much better in the newer model, and will be a better investment long term.



I'm inclined to go with the 2019, but the price is still steep for what we can afford as far as trade in, rebates, and monthly payments (Financing). Also, my current car (2011 Venza) is fast approaching a drop off point for trade in value (high Kms), so I need to figure out what I'm doing sooner rather than later.



Note, I am aware of the extended range model coming out (local dealership says Feb?), but that will not be affordable for us, as much as I would love the 60kw motor.
 
charliegomes said:
I was led to believe that the 2019 model had switched to the liquid cooled vs. Air cooled battery system, which is part of what gives it a boost to range and longevity, and is just all around better.
...
Note, I am aware of the extended range model coming out (local dealership says Feb?), but that will not be affordable for us, as much as I would love the 60kw motor.
Who led you to believe it? There is NO change to the battery cooling on currently shipping '19 Leafs. There isn't any other than passive air cooling.

https://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/presskits/us-2019-nissan-leaf-press-kit outlines the ONLY change
For 2019, LEAF adds standard Rear Door Alert (RDA)5 (late availability), a system that can help remind customers of items that may be forgotten in the rear seat.

Another version of the 2019 LEAF with a higher range will be introduced at a later date.
Not sure what you mean by "60kw motor". It is 110 kW on the '18 and '19 Leaf, which is about 147 hp. 60 kW would be only ~80 hp.

'11 to '16 Leafs had 80 kW motors, which is about 107 hp.

The '18 Leaf and currently shipping '19 Leaf have 40 kWh batteries. Based upon slides like https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10155768448614413&set=g.170730229651313&type=1&theater&ifg=1 (I was present at that EVent when the Nissan corporate marketing guy put it up on screen), we can safely guess that the future longer range Leaf will have a ~60 kWh battery.

If you don't understand the difference in units, please see http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=520169#p520169. We've gone over this many times here.
 
Like the above poster said, the current 2018 and current 2019 leaf are virtually identical.

There are a lot of rumors that a mid year update to the 2019 model called the "e-plus" will be released with 200hp, liquid coooling, 225 miles of range, and a base price of $36000 but those are all just rumors right now. See article below.

https://jalopnik.com/the-long-range-nissan-leaf-e-plus-will-start-at-36-000-1829842708

There are also rumors that Nissan will announce the "e-plus" specs at the L.A. Auto show next week. So you may know for sure next week.

If you really want those specs on an EV right now for around $38k, and don't want to wait and see what Nissan actually does, that car already exists...it is called a Chevy bolt.
 
We do know there will be a future version w/more range (see slide). Nissan during the '18 Leaf intro in Japan did allude to longer range, more powerful version in the future.

https://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/releases/overview-2018-nissan-leaf even says
For those who want more excitement and performance, Nissan will also offer a new higher power, longer range version at a higher price for the 2019 model year.
The price is rumor. The whole thing about liquid cooling and thermal management are still rumors, as are higher power OBC. Not clear how much any of that will come true or if it's just wishful thinking originated from places like Push EVs. I'd never even heard of them before until their rumors started getting posted and others took them to be fact.

Hard to know how credible the rumors are.
 
LA car show starts 12/1, see if the 2019 has the longer range coming later this year.
 
FYI some news outlets are reporting that the 2019 Leaf e-Plus is going to be delayed due to the scandal regarding Carlos Ghosn: https://jalopnik.com/the-long-range-nissan-leaf-is-delayed-because-of-the-ca-1830654023
 
@charliegomes Right now, the short answer is neither - don't buy a new Leaf unless you get an incredible deal. The air cooled battery pack in the Leafs simply isn't good enough and at the end of the day, that (and TCO) is the most important buying criteria.

There are better alternatives on the horizon, so wait 6 months. You'll be glad you did.

My list includes the Hyundai Kona Electric, the Kia Niro EV, and the Kia Soul EV. All of those are built on the same platform, have large battery pack options, and come with a life time battery pack warranty.
 
RonDawg said:
FYI some news outlets are reporting that the 2019 Leaf e-Plus is going to be delayed due to the scandal regarding Carlos Ghosn: https://jalopnik.com/the-long-range-nissan-leaf-is-delayed-because-of-the-ca-1830654023

Officially, it is only the unveiling that is postponed. The news outlets are (rightly or wrongly) reading between the lines.
 
powersurge said:
RonDawg said:
powersurge said:
I don't care how good the Kona is.... I will never buy a Korean car.

Why?

I will never send my money to that part of the world. Too many Americans died for that messed up peninsula...

Yes, because sending your money to China (where the computer and cell phone you use is made no matter what the brand) is so much more ethical.
 
Does he realize that it was what is now North Korea we fought? Does he understand that they don't build the consumer products we buy? We may never know...
 
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