Would a 2018/19 Leaf work for me?

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CalMark

Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2018
Messages
5
Location
Palm Springs, California, USA
I live in Palm Springs, California, but I drive to Los Angeles (107 miles away) or San Diego (139 miles away) every couple of weeks. Once I've arrived at either of those locations, I have plenty of time for recharging, but I wouldn't want to have to stop along the way for charging.

Would a 2018/19 Leaf work for me, or would I be better off waiting for the e-plus model? I've considered a Volt, but the seating position in that car feels very low to me, which I don't care for.

Thank you! :D
 
Unless you plan to drive at 75MPH, even the 139 mile trip is doable, especially with an SV or SL with cold weather package (heat pump). HOWEVER, you might have trouble with the 139 mile trip after three or more years because of capacity loss. I suggest you lease an SV with cold weather package, and line up a contingency charging stop on that route. Just 15 or 20 minutes on a fast L-2 charging station would make up any shortfall enough to get there.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Unless you plan to drive at 75MPH, even the 139 mile trip is doable, especially with an SV or SL with cold weather package (heat pump). HOWEVER, you might have trouble with the 139 mile trip after three or more years because of capacity loss. I suggest you lease an SV with cold weather package, and line up a contingency charging stop on that route. Just 15 or 20 minutes on a fast L-2 charging station would make up any shortfall enough to get there.

Thank you, LeftieBiker. Leasing is the way to go, especially with the lease cash available right now from Nissan.

I would wait for the e-plus model, but we I don't think we know when it's definitely going to be available, and I'm sure there's at least some chance that the lease incentives will be less generous.

More opinions are welcomed! Thank you all.
 
It looks like the "ePlus" Leaf will have a big battery but NO active cooling while driving, and will also cost significantly more. It will probably be a good car to lease for three years, but not a good bet for long term ownership. If you want to lease a car with no range worries, you might want to wait for that. If you are willing to take modest conservation steps just on the longer drive, you'll get a better deal on a 40kwh Leaf now.
 
I test drove both a 2018 Volt and a 2018 Nissan Leaf before leasing the Leaf. On balance, it was a toss-up. Same lease terms and monthly payment, too. The Leaf felt more comfortable, so that's what I decided on. Any regret so far? Sure, a bit, maybe. But only the regret of not being able to have both and maybe a Tesla, too.

So far I have what I signed up for. Comfortable, reliable transportation for fairly minimal commuter driving. That taken care of, of course I am now more conscious of being limited to staying within a circle with a radius of no more than 60 miles. From where I live, there are no practical road trip options, not enough fast charging stations out there to get even a couple hundred miles away.

The Leaf is the first new car I've ever owned, and chances are good I'd be loving any new car at this point. Any new car would be fun to drive, I suppose, but I really enjoy driving the Leaf, and I am neither a big fan of driving nor particularly fascinated with automobiles to begin with. The irony for me with the Leaf is that it is the first car I've had that I could see driving as far as I could (ICE expectations) and back over a weekend just for the fun of it... and it can't be done.

I've owned nothing but old cars until now, so owning a car with all of these telematics is also new to me. As I was exploring being able to dictate and listen to texts with the car, I remarked to my correspondent that I really could have used all of this cool stuff (smartphone included) 20 years ago when I had somewhere to go and something to say.

I guess I could say that the Leaf works for me so well that I wish it could work better. I guess that's an endorsement.
 
CalMark said:
I live in Palm Springs, California, but I drive to Los Angeles (107 miles away) or San Diego (139 miles away) every couple of weeks. Once I've arrived at either of those locations, I have plenty of time for recharging, but I wouldn't want to have to stop along the way for charging.

To be on the safe side, I’d stop at a CHAdeMO station somewhere around 1/3 to 1/2 of the way there. 15 minutes of fast charging should be enough. There are numerous such stations between the 57 and 215 freeways. That way you won’t have to drive slow (speeds on I-10 in the PS area are often in the 90 MPH range as you well know) and especially on that steep grade going eastbound out of Redlands you won’t have range anxiety. There’s also the notorious wind gusts between Palm Springs and Beaumont, and that will eat into your range. And the PS heat will degrade your battery, so don’t count on having that EPA-rated range beyond more than a year.

Same with San Diego, there are several CHAdeMO stations along 215 between Moreno Valley and Temecula, including a couple in the Hemet area if that’s the route you take.

Of course to use a CHAdeMO station you’ll need a CHAdeMO-equipped car.
 
I can understand not wanting to stop but there will be times when it will be needed for personal reasons more than range reasons so no matter what you do, make sure you register for the various charging station operators, get Plugshare, yada yada.
 
I have a 2018 SV and live in the Palm Springs area. In normal conditions I don't think you'll have a problem. You will gain about 20 miles of regeneration on the way back. If you have to because of rain wind etc. the Morongo Casino has 2 fast chargers on the 4th floor of the parking structure and the McDonalds in Beaumont at 22nd has 1 fast charger. I drove mine home from Orange when I bought it (about 88 miles and had 67 miles remaining when I got home). I have had it for about 2 months and have had no problem making round trips of 140 miles. I did stop at the casino for a fast charge but after doing the calculations after the trip I found I would have made it home with 30 miles remaining. I had not had the car long enough at that point to know how many miles I would gain on the downhill section heading east on I-10. I try to stay under 70 or slow to 65 if I am really trying to conserve charge. So far I am very happy with the car. I had a 2015 Leaf and a Fiat 500E before this one. Tried to like the Bolt but didn't. The leaf fills most of my requirements. Very happy with it so far. I have Level 2 charging at home using a Juice Box.
 
Thank you all for your very helpful responses, especially amhobby, since you live in the Palm Springs area as well.

Right now, I'm leaning toward "weaseling out" :D and getting a Subaru Crosstrek (Plug-In) Hybrid. I would absolutely love a fully electric car, but my gut is telling me to be conservative for now.

A significant problem with the current electric car choices is that the depreciation is huge due to the rapidly evolving technological advances. The rate of depreciation on hybrids and plug-in hybrids is higher than an "ICE-mobile", but not nearly as high as a fully electric car. Nissan is offering lease cash of $8450 (I believe) on the 2019 Leaf, but that's still not enough to overcome the residual value of 31% (12,000 miles per year) after only three years. If I decide I want to get rid of the car before the lease is finished, I'm screwed.

And yes, there are range concerns. I think I could make it work, but I'm afraid it would take more mental effort than I'd like to put into it. And since longer-range EVs are hitting the market very soon, there's a good chance I'd regret buying something now. Once the reasonably priced 200+ mile-range EVs are available, I'll feel better about jumping in.
 
A ~ 150 mile EV without a TMS when new for your commute is a poor idea. 225+ miles with TMS is reasonable. You really do want to plan for wet roads, wind, cabin A/C, traffic, detours, battery degradation and the unexpected. Also, running the battery from full to ~ empty daily is not a recipe for long life.
That said, I don't understand your Subaru choice unless you are buying used or plan to keep it for onwards of 10 years to spread out the new car depreciation.

In your shoes I would be asking myself how I can get along as cheaply as possible for another year or two until an appropriate EV is available. Perhaps a Hyundai if available, or a Bolt (that was hard to say -- I HATE GM.) The smartest would be a Tesla if you can swing the cost. I gather that Tesla is currently selling show-room and service cars that would be discounted off the new car price and still be eligible for tax credits. The best Tesla deals are probably before the end of the year to gain the full tax credit.
 
Good point about looking into a used Tesla. For about $34-37k there are a few Model S on the Tesla website, including ones with free Supercharging included. All have 200+ mile range, some even have the 85 kWH battery (265 mile range).

You could probably find one for less private party.
 
SageBrush said:
In your shoes I would be asking myself how I can get along as cheaply as possible for another year or two until an appropriate EV is available.

Thank you, SageBrush. That's exactly what I've been asking myself. I just completed a 5-year extension on my Volvo XC60 lease, but the bank wqouldn't allow me to extend it any further. We're at this in-between juncture, I believe, where the change from ICE to EV is taking place. By the end of 2019, we will have many more EV options on the market.

I'm currently renting a car. I may just continue renting as cheaply as possible for awhile.

Thank you to RonDawg as well.
 
RonDawg said:
Good point about looking into a used Tesla. For about $34-37k there are a few Model S on the Tesla website, including ones with free Supercharging included. All have 200+ mile range, some even have the 85 kWH battery (265 mile range).

You could probably find one for less private party.
That is also good advice but I was actually talking about 'new' Model 3 that have been used for test drives, etc.
 
You cannot count on having a Leaf getting you 140 miles on a daily basis.... 140 miles one way is a LONG DISTANCE..

People who have unusual needs should not try to stuff 20 pounds of mileage into a 20 pound (max) bag... If you want a Leaf, your daily single charge distance should be 50-60% of your total capacity..... Period. If you want to push it further, don't complain when it doesn't work...
 
powersurge said:
You cannot count on having a Leaf getting you 140 miles on a daily basis.... 140 miles one way is a LONG DISTANCE..

People who have unusual needs should not try to stuff 20 pounds of mileage into a 20 pound (max) bag... If you want a Leaf, your daily single charge distance should be 50-60% of your total capacity..... Period. If you want to push it further, don't complain when it doesn't work...
WHAT the hell is going on here ?! A sensible post from pS ?

::flabbergasted::
 
powersurge said:
You cannot count on having a Leaf getting you 140 miles on a daily basis.... 140 miles one way is a LONG DISTANCE..

People who have unusual needs should not try to stuff 20 pounds of mileage into a 20 pound (max) bag... If you want a Leaf, your daily single charge distance should be 50-60% of your total capacity..... Period. If you want to push it further, don't complain when it doesn't work...

Just to clarify, I don't drive that distance on a daily basis. It's once every couple of weeks. With that said, I think I've decided that the current Leaf is not going to work for me. Thanks.
 
SageBrush said:
RonDawg said:
Good point about looking into a used Tesla. For about $34-37k there are a few Model S on the Tesla website, including ones with free Supercharging included. All have 200+ mile range, some even have the 85 kWH battery (265 mile range).

You could probably find one for less private party.
That is also good advice but I was actually talking about 'new' Model 3 that have been used for test drives, etc.

Are they offering those now? It would seem like demand is still too strong to start offering discounted ones.
 
CalMark said:
I live in Palm Springs, California, but I drive to Los Angeles (107 miles away) or San Diego (139 miles away) every couple of weeks. Once I've arrived at either of those locations, I have plenty of time for recharging, but I wouldn't want to have to stop along the way for charging.

Would a 2018/19 Leaf work for me, or would I be better off waiting for the e-plus model? I've considered a Volt, but the seating position in that car feels very low to me, which I don't care for.

Thank you! :D

Unless you plan to work on the "no stopping to charge" thing, anything under 200 miles of range will not work for you.

The #1 rule of EVness is adaptability. Plan B, C and D if needed. Basic resources. Now you can pay to have all that done for you by getting a Tesla or a Bolt or one of a dozen options that will be available to "you" within a year (which means about 2 to me)
 
SageBrush said:
powersurge said:
You cannot count on having a Leaf getting you 140 miles on a daily basis.... 140 miles one way is a LONG DISTANCE..

People who have unusual needs should not try to stuff 20 pounds of mileage into a 20 pound (max) bag... If you want a Leaf, your daily single charge distance should be 50-60% of your total capacity..... Period. If you want to push it further, don't complain when it doesn't work...
WHAT the hell is going on here ?! A sensible post from pS ?

::flabbergasted::

So you are flabbergasted?

Only a fool would give the thumbs up to someone wanting to drive 140 miles on a 150 (MAX when brand new) car on a regular basis...

You want to do that? Go ahead. But don't condone that plan to a person who doesn't own a Leaf.... :)
 
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