people getting rid of their Leafs/EVs/PHEVs and going back to ICEVs

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.
hmmwv said:
I'm seriously considering getting rid of my LEAF, but I can't imagine going back to full ICE, I'll most likely choose a PHEV like Volt or a hybrid like the new Honda Accord Hybrid.
At the end of September I saw 2018 Honda Clarity PHEVs going for about $30,000 (before the tax break).
 
RegGuheert said:
hmmwv said:
I'm seriously considering getting rid of my LEAF, but I can't imagine going back to full ICE, I'll most likely choose a PHEV like Volt or a hybrid like the new Honda Accord Hybrid.
At the end of September I saw 2018 Honda Clarity PHEVs going for about $30,000 (before the tax break).

That's a great price for the Clarity, but no matter what I just can't get used to its looks. :D
 
RegGuheert said:
Coincidentally, my son just bought a 2018 Honda Civic Turbo instead of the Tesla Model 3 that he had a deposit on.
Was that because he didn't want to wait any longer for the 3SR, he still had nowhere convenient to charge (IIRR you said he lived in NYC), or other?
 
hmmwv said:
RegGuheert said:
hmmwv said:
I'm seriously considering getting rid of my LEAF, but I can't imagine going back to full ICE, I'll most likely choose a PHEV like Volt or a hybrid like the new Honda Accord Hybrid.
At the end of September I saw 2018 Honda Clarity PHEVs going for about $30,000 (before the tax break).

That's a great price for the Clarity, but no matter what I just can't get used to its looks. :D
Do you need the Volt/Clarity's AER, or would something like the Prime's 25 mile AER work for you? Although it's not going to win any awards, IMO the Prime's looks are a lot more acceptable than the Clarity or the regular Gen 4 Prius. There are a lot of 25-30 mile AER PHEVs out there now, and in Seattle you should have access to most of them.
 
GRA said:
IMO the Prime's looks are a lot more acceptable than the Clarity

:lol:

This is how you know looks are subjective. To me, the Clarity looks like a mid-sized Honda sedan. Not too different from an Accord, which is a very popular car. The Prime, on the other hand, looks like the clay mold was beaten with a stick, and left out in the sun to melt.
 
GetOffYourGas said:
This is how you know looks are subjective. To me, the Clarity looks like a mid-sized Honda sedan. Not too different from an Accord, which is a very popular car. The Prime, on the other hand, looks like the clay mold was beaten with a stick, and left out in the sun to melt.
Yep. I couldn't have put it better myself.
 
RegGuheert said:
GetOffYourGas said:
This is how you know looks are subjective. To me, the Clarity looks like a mid-sized Honda sedan. Not too different from an Accord, which is a very popular car. The Prime, on the other hand, looks like the clay mold was beaten with a stick, and left out in the sun to melt.
Yep. I couldn't have put it better myself.
I was extremely tempted to downgrade from my Leaf to a Prime. The looks don't bother me one bit. But the 4 seats and no spare tire do. So I got stuck between a 2nd generation Prius and an Avalon hybrid. And my wife chose the Avalon.
 
Sure, appearance is totally subjective, and what makes one person gag is another's masterpiece of form. However, judging by a cross section of reviews I've read the vast majority opinion is that the Mirai, Clarity and 4th gen. Prius' looks are considered polarizing, ugly or a weirdmobile, and that the Prime is an improvement on the Prius and the others (which is why Toyota is tweaking the Prius to look more like the Prime). Offhand, I can't recall a single professional review of any of the first three that called them attractive*. Is there any doubt that if any of the above looked like the Model S (or the Ford Fusion ftm) that they would appeal to more people? I personally find the Clarity looks reasonably normal from the side, but the front and rear are aesthetic disasters (although the front isn't as bad as the Mirai). It shares the rear-view ugliness with some of the Civic hatches I've seen recently.


*Here's the kindest I found about the Clarity:
But the Clarity wasn’t as ugly in person as I thought it might be, given the jarring funkiness of cars like the Toyota Prius Prime and Toyota Mirai. Aerodynamics shaped the Clarity, resulting in its Star Wars-ish face, but the unusual lines and angles are well integrated into the overall design and flow nicely. The result is an uncommon appearance that’s not entirely weird.

In the rear, you might be reminded of the short-lived Accord Crosstour, the car seemingly inspired by a certain Sir Mix-a-Lot song about bottoms. The Clarity looks like a hatchback, with its sloping rear roofline that blends into its bodacious booty, but it’s actually a sedan.
http://www.nydailynews.com/autos/latest-reviews/2018-honda-clarity-plug-in-ratings-review-article-1.3764564

I've got to wonder if that reviewer prefers the 4th Gen. Prius' looks to the Prime, which would put them in an extreme minority. :D
 
The more it looks like a Corvette or a Hummer the more people like it. Fast and powerful is cool and sci-fi isn't. I personally would like a car that looks like an Aptera.
 
I do not care much about how the car looks on the outside. Others see the outside a lot more than me. I care more about the inside and how comfortable it is.
 
IssacZachary said:
The more it looks like a Corvette or a Hummer the more people like it. Fast and powerful is cool and sci-fi isn't. I personally would like a car that looks like an Aptera.

That puts you in the Corvette camp. ;-) Me too - I like the Volvo P1800ES.

3666_436e8babebb5_low_res.jpg
 
In May 2017 I got rid of my 2012 Leaf that I had for a year. I loved the ride but couldn't cope with the limited range while having to rely on public charging. It held me back making trips, going to family etc.

I made a pledge to only return to EV when batteries where at least 60kWh. Looks like next year this will be the case and when the 60kWh Leaf has a different battery supplier and a TMS it will be a strong contender.

For now driving a Prius Wagon (+) and driving "EV style" getting good mileage (-:
 
camasleaf said:
I do not care much about how the car looks on the outside. Others see the outside a lot more than me. I care more about the inside and how comfortable it is.
While I'm in agreement with you, that's not how most buyer's minds work. if it were, the car companies wouldn't spend hundreds of millions every year designing the bodies and then showing people what their cars look like, and would just provide a spec sheet and interior model. Even with my emphasis on function over form, if you give me two choices with similar function and price but one's ugly, I'm going to choose the other one. For example, between a Nissan Juke and its replacement the Kicks, assuming they were otherwise about the same functionality, which would you choose? Even more on point, given the choice between the original LEAF body and the 2018 body, assuming they had the same battery pack and price, is there any doubt that the 2018 body would sell better?
 
camasleaf said:
I do not care much about how the car looks on the outside. Others see the outside a lot more than me. I care more about the inside and how comfortable it is.
That's far too sensible an idea. I'm going to have to ask you to leave.

;)
 
GRA said:
camasleaf said:
I do not care much about how the car looks on the outside.
While I'm in agreement with you, that's not how most buyer's minds work.

Which is why about 90% of the people in my town own 10mpg gas hog full sized SUV's and pickups even though most are single drivers with jobs and lifestyles that don't need such vehicles.
 
While some people do switch back to ICE vehicles, more people are making the switch to EVs.

In addition, most of the time I have heard of someone going back to ICE, it is because EVs don’t yet meet their needs.
The price/capability of EVs is rapidly improving. Most of those that returned to ICE will be back ;)
 
Zythryn said:
While some people do switch back to ICE vehicles, more people are making the switch to EVs.

In addition, most of the time I have heard of someone going back to ICE, it is because EVs don’t yet meet their needs.
The price/capability of EVs is rapidly improving. Most of those that returned to ICE will be back ;)
You can count me as coming back some day. Yes, the problem is that my needs changed and the EV I had didn't meet my new needs, and the ones that meet my needs are still too expensive.
 
GRA said:
Do you need the Volt/Clarity's AER, or would something like the Prime's 25 mile AER work for you? Although it's not going to win any awards, IMO the Prime's looks are a lot more acceptable than the Clarity or the regular Gen 4 Prius. There are a lot of 25-30 mile AER PHEVs out there now, and in Seattle you should have access to most of them.

My commute is 18 miles one way mostly highway, so the only vehicle that made sense is the Clarity and 2nd gen Volt. I occasionally need to carry 5 people so the Prime is out and Volt is barely making it because the center seat is meant for people with no legs. While the Clarity looks pretty good from the front, as soon as the rear quarter panel is shown it becomes unbearable, in a way this is similar to the LEAF.

It's hard going back to full ICE, I had the chance to use a late model Mercedes C300 recently and while it's super comfortable and handles great, the ICE just feels ancient. Other cars I'm considering is the 2018 Accord Hybrid, but with options it can get quite expensive.
 
hmmwv said:
GRA said:
Do you need the Volt/Clarity's AER, or would something like the Prime's 25 mile AER work for you? Although it's not going to win any awards, IMO the Prime's looks are a lot more acceptable than the Clarity or the regular Gen 4 Prius. There are a lot of 25-30 mile AER PHEVs out there now, and in Seattle you should have access to most of them.

My commute is 18 miles one way mostly highway, so the only vehicle that made sense is the Clarity and 2nd gen Volt. I occasionally need to carry 5 people so the Prime is out and Volt is barely making it because the center seat is meant for people with no legs. While the Clarity looks pretty good from the front, as soon as the rear quarter panel is shown it becomes unbearable, in a way this is similar to the LEAF.

It's hard going back to full ICE, I had the chance to use a late model Mercedes C300 recently and while it's super comfortable and handles great, the ICE just feels ancient. Other cars I'm considering is the 2018 Accord Hybrid, but with options it can get quite expensive.
Well, there's the Pacifica (Plug-in) Hybrid, at 33 miles AER it will do most of your commute. Course, it is a van, so you might feel the need to always wear a hoodie, ball cap and shades to avoid being recognized while driving it :lol: Base priced at $40k, but that's still more than $8k less than an i3Rex :eek: :shock: :?
 
hmmwv said:
GRA said:
Do you need the Volt/Clarity's AER, or would something like the Prime's 25 mile AER work for you? Although it's not going to win any awards, IMO the Prime's looks are a lot more acceptable than the Clarity or the regular Gen 4 Prius. There are a lot of 25-30 mile AER PHEVs out there now, and in Seattle you should have access to most of them.

My commute is 18 miles one way mostly highway, so the only vehicle that made sense is the Clarity and 2nd gen Volt. I occasionally need to carry 5 people so the Prime is out and Volt is barely making it because the center seat is meant for people with no legs. While the Clarity looks pretty good from the front, as soon as the rear quarter panel is shown it becomes unbearable, in a way this is similar to the LEAF.

It's hard going back to full ICE, I had the chance to use a late model Mercedes C300 recently and while it's super comfortable and handles great, the ICE just feels ancient. Other cars I'm considering is the 2018 Accord Hybrid, but with options it can get quite expensive.

If you can convince your employer to let you charge at work, then pretty much any PHEV available can make your commute on electricity.
 
Back
Top