Experience after 2 months

My Nissan Leaf Forum

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PHx

New member
Joined
Aug 23, 2011
Messages
1
Ok, I've had a leaf for about 2 months now. Admittedly, I also have a gas car, which I use when I need to go out of town. That said, the Leaf is the primary vehicle being driven about twice the miles as the gas car.

Overall, Nissan did an excellent job. I could complain about a number of things but I'll focus on the essentials instead.

1. Plugging in at night is no problem. It takes about 15 seconds - and another 15 in the morning.

2. Acceleration is great. The specs are above. But, from observing the Leaf's kilowatt meter, it appears Nissan restricted the acceleartion (probably for safety). Instead of immediately pegging at 80kw (the top of the meter), it gradually increases power over about 3 or 4 seconds. If you are already going about 10-20 mph, then it does give you the full 80kw, which you can really feel and observe as you shoot past other vehicles!

3. Range is reasonable. I'd like to see better, but for greater-city area driving, it's really hard to use up the range in one day. Realistically, I'm getting between 70 and 80 miles per charge. Another meter shows about 3.7 or so miles per kw, or about 250w per mile. It's better on roads without stop-and-go, even with regen. I haven't had to use the heat or A/C much yet, so I expect the range to drop maybe 10% in winter when I need both (defrost).

4. Comfort is reasonable. My own personal taste is that I find the front seats to have poor lumbar support. Also, the head rest protrudes too far forward, putting me into a hunched position. I solved the latter by turning the head rest around. Front leg room is great and the seat can be positioned comfortably high.

5. Visibility is poor. This might be typical with other Nissan vehicles. The front pillars are really wide and, when turning, you really need to move your head to look around them. The back window is small, so the rear view mirror is practically useless. The mirror is also annoying low, blocking vision to the upper-right. The side mirrors are small to, so I change lanes carefully.

6. The GPS map software works ok, but is lame compared to Google maps. Nissan should have licensed Google's software and chucked theirs. I usually use my android phone instead of the car's navigation - sorry tradeoff considering the car has a very nice screen.

7. The drive selector is crazy. I like the shape. But, it's opposite of a stick shift in that "reverse" is forward, and "drive" is backwards. I suppose it's supposed to match an automatic transmission selector - but it doesn't feel like one. So, I've accidentally put it in reverse a few time when I want forward, which is kind of dangerous! Also, if you move it too soon or too fast, it doesn't always work - stays in neutral - and then you take your foot off the brake and the car drifts instead of goes. One thing that would help: if it stayed in the position rather than bounce back to the middle, it would at least give a visual clue.

That's enough for now. I'd like to do some serious measurements and report back on kw for hill climbing at various inclines and speeds.

PH
 
It is interesting how a lot of reviewers mention what you pointed out in #7 about the shifter. I have test driven a Leaf twice and it felt pretty intuitive to me. I notice that it matches the Toyota controls where Reverse is a push forward and Drive is a pull backwards. I also think that it is meant to mimic a traditional automatic where Reverse is a push forward of Park and Drive is a pull back from Park.

For those that drive a VW, BMW or other similar manual transmissions, reverse is up... but so is 1st I suppose ;)
 
The visibility is poor as a result of a high slope on the windshield for aerodynamics so the A pillar is larger. The NAV suck because it is a Clarion with patched in Nissan spec software and not a properly done unit.
 
EricBayArea said:
It is interesting how a lot of reviewers mention what you pointed out in #7 about the shifter. I have test driven a Leaf twice and it felt pretty intuitive to me. I notice that it matches the Toyota controls where Reverse is a push forward and Drive is a pull backwards. I also think that it is meant to mimic a traditional automatic where Reverse is a push forward of Park and Drive is a pull back from Park.

For those that drive a VW, BMW or other similar manual transmissions, reverse is up... but so is 1st I suppose ;)
Yes, it works exactly like the Prius, including the lever moving back to a "home" position. I'll admit that it took me a while to get used to that when I got my Prius 7 years ago, but it has long been second nature. [Well, it's not exactly like the Prius, which also has a "B" position. I really wish Nissan had done the same thing for ECO instead of having to shift twice to get there.]

The three-speed stick shifts I remember (from back in the day when only performance cars had four-speed transmissions) had reverse up and 1st down.
Stick3Speed.png

Ray
 
PHx said:
The back window is small, so the rear view mirror is practically useless. The mirror is also annoying low, blocking vision to the upper-right.
It's not the back window that's the problem, it's the rear seat headrests. They're huge. Remove them and you'll get TONS of rear visibility...
 
GeekEV said:
PHx said:
The back window is small, so the rear view mirror is practically useless. The mirror is also annoying low, blocking vision to the upper-right.
It's not the back window that's the problem, it's the rear seat headrests. They're huge. Remove them and you'll get TONS of rear visibility...
I just fold the rear seats down when I don't have passengers. Removing them isn't an option since I carry passengers regularly. Also, the mirror can be moved up and down. Moving it up helps a bit (unless you're really tall).
 
mdh said:
The felt on the door armrest is really a bad choice.
+1!!!

After two months they're getting grungy. I'm pretty good about keeping my hands clean but one hazard of EV driving is that immediately before I get in the car I coil up the charge cord which has been sitting on the ground so my hands get dirty. Looking forward to getting leather.
 
smkettner said:
The whole center console could have been storage or open space. Just give me five buttons P, R, N, D, E

I thought about the buttons, but then that means I will actually look at the buttons before pressing. The shifter becomes second nature, just shift without looking at it like a stick shift.
 
GeekEV said:
PHx said:
The back window is small, so the rear view mirror is practically useless. The mirror is also annoying low, blocking vision to the upper-right.
It's not the back window that's the problem, it's the rear seat headrests. They're huge. Remove them and you'll get TONS of rear visibility...

Easier to fold the seat, how often do you carry passengers in the rear seat?. I never worry about a rear view mirror (side mirrors are important), keep an eye on whats in front of you.
 
trentr said:
smkettner said:
The whole center console could have been storage or open space. Just give me five buttons P, R, N, D, E
I thought about the buttons, but then that means I will actually look at the buttons before pressing. The shifter becomes second nature, just shift without looking at it like a stick shift.
I definitely want more storage space in the center console, and yes, the shifter is a huge space waster. Car makers started putting it there way back in the days of mechanical shifters because that was where the transmission was (with rear wheel drive). Steering column mounted shifters used to have problems with sloppy linkages. Now the shifter can go anywhere, and I think the Prius has the perfect answer; mount it on the dash. Your hand is close by on the steering wheel and you can shift without looking.

Ray
 
PHx said:
7. The drive selector is crazy. I like the shape. But, it's opposite of a stick shift in that "reverse" is forward, and "drive" is backwards. PH

The layout of the PRND is regulated by our federal government. The regulation is FMVSS102. The LEAF's shift arrangement has to be the same as an A/T in an ICE vehicle -- same thing for Prius and anyone else.

I also like the idea of push-buttons, but do like being able to "downhsift" going downhill or using regen in ECO to slow down. That would not be easy or as satisfying with push-buttons, like the Tesla Roadster has. You do not want to be looking for a button when driving hard.
 
4. Comfort is reasonable. My own personal taste is that I find the front seats to have poor lumbar support. Also, the head rest protrudes too far forward, putting me into a hunched position. I solved the latter by turning the head rest around. Front leg room is great and the seat can be positioned comfortably high.
I totally agree with this point and did the same with the headrest.

The really disappointing part of this is that Nissan cars generally have extremely comfortable seating -- it's what turned me onto the LEAF in the first place. And, the demo cars did actually seem to have decent lumbar support.

Has anyone looked into replacement seats? It's a shame to even have to think about that given the cost of the car, but I drive enough miles in it and have enough back issues that I think I'm going to have to do it.
 
kovalb said:
PHx said:
7. The drive selector is crazy. I like the shape. But, it's opposite of a stick shift in that "reverse" is forward, and "drive" is backwards. PH

The layout of the PRND is regulated by our federal government. The regulation is FMVSS102. The LEAF's shift arrangement has to be the same as an A/T in an ICE vehicle -- same thing for Prius and anyone else.

I also like the idea of push-buttons, but do like being able to "downhsift" going downhill or using regen in ECO to slow down. That would not be easy or as satisfying with push-buttons, like the Tesla Roadster has. You do not want to be looking for a button when driving hard.


Actually, no. FMVSS102 doesn't specify whether drive is a "pull back" or "push forward". That appears to be a design decision. They do have to display what's what though..
S3.1.4 Identification of shift positions and of shift position sequence.

A neutral is required:
S3.1.1 Location of transmission shift positions on passenger cars. A neutral position shall be located between forward drive and reverse drive positions.


http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/fmcsr/fmcsrruletext.aspx?reg=571.102
 
Devin said:
mdh said:
The felt on the door armrest is really a bad choice.
+1!!!

After two months they're getting grungy. I'm pretty good about keeping my hands clean but one hazard of EV driving is that immediately before I get in the car I coil up the charge cord which has been sitting on the ground so my hands get dirty. Looking forward to getting leather.

Getting leather?

Aftermarket or ??? I just picked up my 2012 LEAF and there was no leather option, was there?
 
Havent had the car for more than 4 weeks now. I enjoy every second of the car. I get my L2 installed tomorrow, very excited for this so i can enjoy the car more than 1 50mile trip per day as the supplied L1 charger takes a while....

I can agree with the door and center console armrests are not the best. The center console should of had a sliding armrest ontop of being leather wrapped. I can see the cloth needing to be cleaned and wearing down with constant usage. The door armrests should of been plastic or leather wrapped as well. I see there are companies doing the doors. That might be an option in the future. Other than that. I cant see anything else id change. I feel the car is quite sound and a perfect small family size vehicle to commute and travel locally (until L3's on the east coast flourish)
 
planet4ever said:
EricBayArea said:
It is interesting how a lot of reviewers mention what you pointed out in #7 about the shifter. I have test driven a Leaf twice and it felt pretty intuitive to me. I notice that it matches the Toyota controls where Reverse is a push forward and Drive is a pull backwards. I also think that it is meant to mimic a traditional automatic where Reverse is a push forward of Park and Drive is a pull back from Park.

For those that drive a VW, BMW or other similar manual transmissions, reverse is up... but so is 1st I suppose ;)
Yes, it works exactly like the Prius, including the lever moving back to a "home" position. I'll admit that it took me a while to get used to that when I got my Prius 7 years ago, but it has long been second nature. [Well, it's not exactly like the Prius, which also has a "B" position. I really wish Nissan had done the same thing for ECO instead of having to shift twice to get there.]

The three-speed stick shifts I remember (from back in the day when only performance cars had four-speed transmissions) had reverse up and 1st down.
Stick3Speed.png

Ray

+1 on this. if you notice, the shifter direction is the same as your body momentum on the direction the car is going. iow; you shift to reverse by pushing forward which is the same way your body leans when driving backwards? its the typical way of things.




on the side view to the left; standard complaint due to the rake and angle of the windshield and is pretty common in any high efficiency car. my Prius is the exact same way
 
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