A thread for people happy with their Leaf

I had to make my first post here after seeing so many other negative threads about the Leaf. I have nothing but good things to say about my Leaf and am a bit surprised to see so many negative threads.

I bought a 2013 model S in 2017 for $14,000 CAD, which became $11,000 after rebates. It had 52,000 km on it and all 12 bars. I commute 60km each way to work, and prior to buying the Leaf was paying ~$300/month on gas for my commuter. There was a free level 2 charger where I worked, which is what made me consider buying an EV. When I did the math, it seemed like a no-brainer, despite not knowing anyone at the time with an EV, and my colleagues telling me I would regret it.

7 years later, it has paid for itself many times over in fuel savings. It now has 160,000kms on it and still has 10 bars. I have only had to replace tires twice and brakes once. It has a range of ~100km, so not enough to get to and from work, but I have been lucky to live in a rural part of Canada, and start work early enough where I almost never have to compete for the public charger. My colleagues now often comment on how wrong they were to try to talk me out of buying it.

I have never read this forum so until today had no idea about weak cells, potentially not having access to the final 25% of range, etc., which is now making me nervous. But this one has been so good to me I plan to keep driving it for a few more years. The climate here on Vancouver Island is ideal for the battery and I have almost never needed to DC charge it, so hopefully it keeps going strong for a while longer.

So far so good with my 2021 Leaf SV, loving it so far. It was an impulse buy, but it has turned out great. It replaced my commuter car, a 2104 Kia Rio. Since the Kia Rio is very basic transportation the Leaf is an improvement in every aspect. I feel like I went from the outhouse to the penthouse.

The purchase price was pretty good too. It came out to a total of $12.5k after the used EV tax credit.

I bought it knowing I would be able to save money on commuting costs. I find that we are saving even more money than I expected because we almost always drive it on the weekends now, too. It is a no brainer when I think that taking the Leaf over our other car saves $5 or more in gas when we want to go somewhere. Those $5 bills will add up to a good amount over the life of the car.

jmortstar said:

I have never read this forum so until today had no idea about weak cells, potentially not having access to the final 25% of range, etc., which is now making me nervous. But this one has been so good to me I plan to keep driving it for a few more years. The climate here on Vancouver Island is ideal for the battery and I have almost never needed to DC charge it, so hopefully it keeps going strong for a while longer.

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Like with any car, people can have problems, often when they do, they come to forums looking for help. If you read everything here you begin to think problems are all there are. But you experience and mine so far have been nothing but good.
That is why I started this thread, so people will see how many people are happy with what they have.

Had a first Gen 2012 Leaf with the Canary pack that I bought second hand with 51K km and 11/12 bars. Drove it to 123K km when it still had 9/12 bars. Zero issues, saved a ton on fuel and servicing and was a great town run around/ kid transporter. Seriously looked at battery replacement on when the range got down to inconvenient levels, but batteries are not easy to come by in Australia, and new replacement packs don't really make sense economically yet unless you turn the old pack into a Powerwall which isn't straightforward. So I ended up selling it and picked up a 2017 Japanese import Gen 2 in full G-Spec. I looked at other EV alternatives but for sheer cost it was hard to go past another Leaf and I know plenty of people who've had them with zero issues. Have had it for a couple of months. Here's a summary if likes and dislikes between the versions

Likes
- One pedal driving. Nissan nailed it with this version
- Heat pump, heated seats and steering wheel (First Gen Australian version didn't have any of these)
- More powerful drivetrain. I never bother turning ECO off as it has more than enough grunt
- Guess-o-meter has definitely improved
- Not having to constantly manage trips and charging because of limited range
- A good mix of physical and virtual controls
- Apple/ Android Carplay
- 360 surround view and rear view mirror video display
- Larger boot space, although this comes with a cost in the back seat (see below)

Dislikes
- Whilst engine noise is lower, wind and road noise is definitely more prevalent in the Gen 2 version. Those bug-eyed headlines might've looked wacky but they obviously served a purpose
- Backseat room I think is poorer because of the lower roofline and higher floor.
- I really liked the head up display style binnacle digital speedo in the older version as it was always in your peripheral vision.
- No roof mounted sunglasses storage
- Auto dipping headlights are hit and miss

Anyway at the end of the day I'm really happy with my Leaf experiences thus far. Sure if you live in a really hot climate, need to be rapid charging often or doing really long road trips there are better alternatives, especially since Chaedemo is dying out. But as a city/ short rural trip runabout it's a seriously practical option and good value on second hand markets.

I drive EVs to get in HOV lanes in Los Angeles congested traffic. 50 miles commute each way, every day.
My first EV was 2017 Hyundai IONIQ, fun to drive, sexy car, only 80 miles range. It was a no milage restrained lease, which I drove 96000 miles in 3 years.
My second EV was a 2020 Honda Clarity Hydrogen Fuel, which they paid $15000 toward the cost of Hydrogen. I spent most of my time looking for Hydrogen stations, waiting in line to fuel, or fulling the car. The $15000 was supposed to last 60000 miles but finished at around 40000. I fought and made Honda take the car back after 2 years.
I bought my 2022 SV +, couldn't get a high milage lease. Certainly the ugliest of the bunch, with the lowest number of frills and bells, but I am happy with the performance. I get about 200 miles per charge driving all highway 75-80 mph. After 60000 miles the battery still shows 12 bars, which I learned is good.
I never had to worry about my previous leased cars, but since I bought this one, I got interested in this forum, and am learning a lot.

I like em so much I bought two