Leaf too big

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

groingo

Active member
Joined
Mar 4, 2017
Messages
30
The longer I own it the more annoying these problems become.
1. Thick windshield pillars and useless pillar windows make corner visibility difficult.
2. High roofline (fully 6 inches taller than my 03 Crown Vic), makes washing and cleaning a real pain.
3. Rear view mirrors cars aren't closer, they simply don't show when beside you.
4. Car is a rolling blind spot with high doors, small side windows.
5. Guess-O-Meter is very aptly named.
6. Fabric padding on door panels and console wears quickly.
7. Too tall of gear ratio for city driving, needs two speed trany, low range for up 50 m.p.h. and high for open road driving.
8. Far too heavy....weighs just 300 pounds less than my 03 Crown Vic.

Good points:
1. Am learning what to look for in my next electric.
2. Don't need to use wipers in moderate rain over 40 m.p.h. as windshield blows clean without wipers.
3. It is more efficient at current gas and electric prices but just barely over my Metro.
4. Learning all about momentum driving.
5. Fun car to just sit with and study to try and figure why they did what they did.
6. It's paid for and a good learning experience.
 
groingo said:
3. It is more efficient at current gas and electric prices but just barely over my Metro.
How much do you pay for gasoline and electricity? I pay about $15 per month. I was paying more than twice that in my diesel Golf that would get 60mpg on the highway. And diesel here is cheaper than midgrade. And that's a whole lot cheaper than the $200 per month I was paying for driving a Chevy Astro.
 
In Washington State the price of gas keeps bouncing around $2.80 a gallon with more increase in gas taxes due in July.
Electricity is climbing as well as PSE just increased rates for the third time in 2017 with another on its way.
Currently when you figure the cost of electricity, basic fee and sundry taxes on electricity and the cost of gas to go the same distance electricity it comes to $1.34 gas vs 0.89 for electric for a 22 mile round trip.
 
groingo said:
In Washington State the price of gas keeps bouncing around $2.80 a gallon with more increase in gas taxes due in July.
Electricity is climbing as well as PSE just increased rates for the third time in 2017 with another on its way.
Currently when you figure the cost of electricity, basic fee and sundry taxes on electricity and the cost of gas to go the same distance electricity it comes to $1.34 gas vs 0.89 for electric for a 22 mile round trip.
Ouch!

I pay less than 10¢ a kWh with taxes and all. My electric bill is up this past month about $15 from last year. In the winter it actually was about the same. Probably because I used to plug in the 1,000kW block heater on my diesel all night every night. And if I go downtown to the free charging station the charging is free. I did a 380 mile trip once in the Leaf using all free L1 and L2 charging (CHAdeMO isn't available) except the initial charge I got from home. So the whole trip cost me around $1.50. Diesel is around $2.70 per gallon. So at 60mpg it would have cost me a little over $17.

2. High roofline (fully 6 inches taller than my 03 Crown Vic), makes washing and cleaning a real pain.
I like the high roof. Finally I fit in a car. In my Golf my head rubs on the ceiling even with the seat inclined back more than I'd like. And my height makes a terrible blind spot where the review mirror is. Add to the fact my wife is short and therefore constantly creates another blind spot when she pulls down her sun visor. In the Golf I reinstalled the mirror as high at it will go, and now it's too high because it only lets me see the ground behind the car. But in the Leaf this isn't as much of a problem.
 
groingo said:
1. Thick windshield pillars and useless pillar windows make corner visibility difficult.
All in the name of roof crush strength. Try driving a Chevy HHR.
https://static.cargurus.com/images/site/2013/09/09/19/26/2011_chevrolet_hhr_lt1-pic-213246668282983325.jpeg

groingo said:
2. High roofline (fully 6 inches taller than my 03 Crown Vic), makes washing and cleaning a real pain.
All in the name of better visibility. Today's cars are a LOT taller than yesterday's cars.

groingo said:
3. Rear view mirrors cars aren't closer, they simply don't show when beside you.
4. Car is a rolling blind spot with high doors, small side windows.
You need to adjust your side mirrors correctly. I have no blind spots.
http://www.cheatsheet.com/automobiles/americans-are-not-adjusting-their-car-mirrors-properly.html/?a=viewall

(Hint: To correctly aim the mirrors in my LEAF, I lean a bit to the left and adjust the mirror just past seeing the side of the car. Do the same for the right mirror. You will NOT be able to see cars behind you with your side mirrors but you will be able to see cars next to you.)

groingo said:
7. Too tall of gear ratio for city driving, needs two speed trany, low range for up 50 m.p.h. and high for open road driving.
I will take the trade-off of not having to worry about a transmission in my car. Especially after the repeated transmission failures in the gen 1 Tesla Roadsters. That's why Tesla dropped the tranny (pun intended).

groingo said:
8. Far too heavy....weighs just 300 pounds less than my 03 Crown Vic.

Good points:
3. It is more efficient at current gas and electric prices but just barely over my Metro.
Much better crash survivability than the Metro. Probably right up there with the Crown Vic.
 
I cannot understand why someone would start a topic with these comments and "complaints". No offense to you, but I cannot see how the Leaf has negatives like being taller or more heavy than your old car. Also, your complaints about how much it costs to run the Leaf sounds totally off the mark.

I think that the list of comments are not really pros and cons, but fall into the category of "it is what it is".....
 
groingo said:
2. High roofline (fully 6 inches taller than my 03 Crown Vic), makes washing and cleaning a real pain.

It's also murder on aerodynamics. The high profile and abrupt tail is the main reason why your efficiency plummets at highway speeds.

I also hate how high you sit in the Leaf. It makes you feel disconnected from the road. I know this seating position is popular, I just don't buy into any of the reasons why.

So yeah, I concur; the Leaf is too big.
 
@powersurge First amendment rights, freedom of speech ;)

My first reaction to this post was "whatever, why bother complaining about features of the car that you can't change - it is what it is and hasn't changed since you bought it"

But, the OP obviously has some buyer's remorse and he/she is entitled to publicly vent about it.

I've never owned a car that was perfect, but my first cars were a Dodge Colt and a Pontiac Firefly so I am pretty forgiving of minor issues :D
 
I wish the Leaf was bigger :)
I'd prefer it to be taller, dislike having to sit down in the seats, I like the seating in something like a Rav4 or CRV.
I'd MUCH prefer the rear seats and cargo to be bigger. I can get by with the front seats but especially cargo area is woefully small.
Weight is OK, heavier is generally better for a decent ride. My old light(1650 lbs) Geo Metro got great mileage but drove very light, also basically a death trap, but I survived ;)
IMO the Leaf has too much low end power now(I never venture out of ECO) can't see why I'd want it geared lower :? High end seems OK, easily does 80 and I have no real need to go faster.
Never use the GOM and I agree about blind spots, MUCH worse than my Metro or Scion Xb. I removed the rear seat headrests for a bit better view.

All cars are a compromise, in my case being a BEV was #1 priority, I overlooked many things to attain that, if you like a smaller/lighter BEV then maybe an i3? I won't insult your intelligence by suggesting an iMe, although it is smaller and lighter :lol:
 
aarond12 said:
groingo said:
1. Thick windshield pillars and useless pillar windows make corner visibility difficult.
All in the name of roof crush strength. Try driving a Chevy HHR.
https://static.cargurus.com/images/site/2013/09/09/19/26/2011_chevrolet_hhr_lt1-pic-213246668282983325.jpeg

I once rented an HHR for a road trip along Route 66. It's the only car I've ever driven with a FRONT blind spot. I almost ran over a pedestrian right in front of the rental car office because the front visibility was so bad.

groingo said:
2. High roofline (fully 6 inches taller than my 03 Crown Vic), makes washing and cleaning a real pain.
All in the name of better visibility. Today's cars are a LOT taller than yesterday's cars.

It's not so much for visibility (see #1) but rather for ease of ingress/egress. It's one of the reasons why CUVs and SUVs are so popular. Nissan should have tweaked the design to make it more CUV-like; a lot of the design traits are already there. It may also not have ended up looking so awkward.

groingo said:
7. Too tall of gear ratio for city driving, needs two speed trany, low range for up 50 m.p.h. and high for open road driving.
I will take the trade-off of not having to worry about a transmission in my car. Especially after the repeated transmission failures in the gen 1 Tesla Roadsters. That's why Tesla dropped the tranny (pun intended).

Yup. The whole point of a transmission is because an ICE does not have a consistent level of torque across its rev range; too low a gear and the engine will be screaming at a given speed, too high a gear and the car will bog down if not stall. Electric motors have almost all if not all their torque available from the moment they start turning.

groingo said:
8. Far too heavy....weighs just 300 pounds less than my 03 Crown Vic.

Good points:
3. It is more efficient at current gas and electric prices but just barely over my Metro.
Much better crash survivability than the Metro. Probably right up there with the Crown Vic.

First of all, the Metro is much smaller than a Leaf. The Metro barely seats 4 people, not necessarily in comfort. The Leaf can fit 4 people easily and a 5th in a pinch.

Second, you also have to understand that the "Panther" platform the Crown Vic (and Lincoln Town Car) is based upon dates back to 1978 or 1979; the famous police Crown Vics actually share much of the same underpinnings as the "Wagon Queen Family Truckster" from the "Vacation" movie. It's why Ford had to stop making them despite demand from police departments and taxi fleets; the design is so old they could not make it meet future government standards for a reasonable price.

Cars in general have gotten heavier over the years due to mandatory government regulations (crash standards in particular) and consumer demand for niceties like electric windows and A/C. It's why you're far more likely to survive a crash in a Leaf (or any modern car, even a 3 cylinder Mitsubishi Mirage which is the closest thing on sale today) than an old Metro.
 
jjeff said:
I wish the Leaf was bigger :)
I'd prefer it to be taller, dislike having to sit down in the seats, I like the seating in something like a Rav4 or CRV.
I'd MUCH prefer the rear seats and cargo to be bigger. I can get by with the front seats but especially cargo area is woefully small.
Weight is OK, heavier is generally better for a decent ride. My old light(1650 lbs) Geo Metro got great mileage but drove very light, also basically a death trap, but I survived ;)
IMO the Leaf has too much low end power now(I never venture out of ECO) can't see why I'd want it geared lower :? High end seems OK, easily does 80 and I have no real need to go faster.
Never use the GOM and I agree about blind spots, MUCH worse than my Metro or Scion Xb. I removed the rear seat headrests for a bit better view.

All cars are a compromise, in my case being a BEV was #1 priority, I overlooked many things to attain that, if you like a smaller/lighter BEV then maybe an i3? I won't insult your intelligence by suggesting an iMe, although it is smaller and lighter :lol:

Sounds like you want a small SUV BEV. I think that would be a huge seller. Looks like the first to market will probably be the Tesla Model Y. VW also has an SUV "I.D." BEV coming in a few years and I hear murmurs that Ford might build a 200-mile SUV BEV, maybe similar to the Escape in size?
 
GetOffYourGas said:
Sounds like you want a small SUV BEV. I think that would be a huge seller. Looks like the first to market will probably be the Tesla Model Y. VW also has an SUV "I.D." BEV coming in a few years and I hear murmurs that Ford might build a 200-mile SUV BEV, maybe similar to the Escape in size?
Very true! My state was never one that got the BEV Rav4 and I've been eyeing the VW BUDD since I've read about it, of course VW is king of the concept cars, so I'm not holding my breath. As someone who's been waiting for the PHEV Outlander for over 4 years not to mention the BEV Nissan eNV-200 or even the very short lived BEV Ford Transit Connect, I finally settled on the Leaf and for the most part it's been a decent holding BEV. Who'd have thought 4 years later basically nothing better has come out :( (or at least available to me ).
 
I'm tall, so I love the headroom in the leaf. My only problem is the rear view mirror. I have a tall torso and sit very high. The rear view mirror blocks out cars, pedestrians...etc as it's in my direct line of sight. This is a physique problem though and one I solved in my old Acura by removing the rear view mirror. Relocating the mirrors in both vehicles is not trivial either.
 
hackdroot said:
I'm tall, so I love the headroom in the leaf. My only problem is the rear view mirror. I have a tall torso and sit very high. The rear view mirror blocks out cars, pedestrians...etc as it's in my direct line of sight. This is a physique problem though and one I solved in my old Acura by removing the rear view mirror. Relocating the mirrors in both vehicles is not trivial either.
You should try a Prius, '06 for sure! I have the exact problem, the rear view mirror is a major blind spot, very unsafe for me. In fact if I'm driving and in the slow lane and a car comes down a freeway on-ramp my wife always advises me of it. Otherwise I'd never see it, until they were basically on top of me :x If it were my car I'd rip the damn thing out, as said it's a MAJOR blindspot for me. I've also thought of remounting it as high as I could, which would make it much better. But as you said, moving the mirror is easier said than done and as my wife drives it 95% of the time and it doesn't effect her in the least, I've left it alone. It makes me wonder if it's why the British cars in particular liked to mount the rearview mirror to the dash, no blind spot there :)
I must be just low enough to not have the Leaf mirror block my vision, the Prius is right in the way for me :(
 
hackdroot said:
I'm tall, so I love the headroom in the leaf. My only problem is the rear view mirror. I have a tall torso and sit very high. The rear view mirror blocks out cars, pedestrians...etc as it's in my direct line of sight. This is a physique problem though and one I solved in my old Acura by removing the rear view mirror. Relocating the mirrors in both vehicles is not trivial either.
I have the mirror problem in most cars. It's better in the Leaf than in the Golf. Have you tried pivoting the base up as high as it will go? I find that this helps. A lot of folks don't realize that there are two pivots on the mirror stem that allows you to adjust height.
 
IssacZachary said:
hackdroot said:
I'm tall, so I love the headroom in the leaf. My only problem is the rear view mirror. I have a tall torso and sit very high. The rear view mirror blocks out cars, pedestrians...etc as it's in my direct line of sight. This is a physique problem though and one I solved in my old Acura by removing the rear view mirror. Relocating the mirrors in both vehicles is not trivial either.
I have the mirror problem in most cars. It's better in the Leaf than in the Golf. Have you tried pivoting the base up as high as it will go? I find that this helps. A lot of folks don't realize that there are two pivots on the mirror stem that allows you to adjust height.

I'm pretty sure I tried to adjust it, but may have neglected the full range of movement. I'll check it again when I leave work.
 
IssacZachary said:
groingo said:
In Washington State the price of gas keeps bouncing around $2.80 a gallon with more increase in gas taxes due in July.
Electricity is climbing as well as PSE just increased rates for the third time in 2017 with another on its way.
Currently when you figure the cost of electricity, basic fee and sundry taxes on electricity and the cost of gas to go the same distance electricity it comes to $1.34 gas vs 0.89 for electric for a 22 mile round trip.
Ouch!

I pay less than 10¢ a kWh with taxes and all. My electric bill is up this past month about $15 from last year.
I'm sure Puget Sound Energy is still WAY less than PG&E.

See links at http://mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=481368#p481368. The tiers have been flattened on some schedules. My baselines (aka tier 1) are still the same as I mentioned.

We can't dream of 10 cents/kWh.
 
I think that the size, and the ability to carry 5 adults is its best strength... In the size department, both the Chevy Volt and the Bolt suffer from the same thing... They can only seat 4 passengers... and tightly...

As far as the Leaf High roof= great headroom, and great visibility. A 6'4" passenger can get in and out of the front seat with ease... And not into my Cadillac CTS!!

The only thing I would add to the body of the car is to have the body 2" higher so that you don't have to step DOWN into the car....
 
On what do you base this? This is an electric car and the consideration of transmission ratios is very different than it is with an ICE... A two speed transmission would buy you VERY little in an EV...

groingo said:
Too tall of gear ratio for city driving, needs two speed trany, low range for up 50 m.p.h. and high for open road driving.
 
Back
Top