Out of the Blue and Into the Black: 2011 LEAF SL to 2013 SL

[laalan]

Which sales guy at connell?

 

[Boomer23]

I worked with the General Manager, Mark.

EDIT: It wouldn't be a bad idea to contact Mark Ranauro if you're interested.

 

[DaveEV]

Looks like you got a good deal on your turn-in and new LEAF to me - looking forward to your impressions on the '13 compared to the '11.

Git writing already!

 

[TonyWilliams]

Well, it looks like a bit of red to get in this car, but overall a fair tradeoff. There are few days when a LEAF is comfortable for me on range, but I do miss that smooth, quiet ride, particularly on the Michelins.

Congrats.

 

[laalan]

Maybe I can trade in two 2011's for a 2013.
Will explore it. $17k as a trade in works for me, although I would rather sell to a private party.

 

[iluvmacs]

This coming Saturday I trade in my '12 SL for a '13 SV+LED+Premium. Love the new features, and we wanted to shift from owning the car to a lease. Didn't originally expect such a ridiculous depreciation on the Leaf, and we thought it was best to cut our losses now. I managed to get the dealer to agree to $19K trade-in, which when we agreed on that a few months ago was $3K under KBB, but now is spot-on (interesting to watch KBB prices fall like that!).

 

[Boomer23]

I updated the driving impressions post on the first page of this thread, and added some edits to the first post.

 

[Valdemar]

I wish they offered the tan or light grey leather interior on the SL which I'd prefer. Although it is probably one of the least important reasons why I haven't yet pulled a trigger on the '13 I'm waiting for the MBZ B-Class EV to come here later this year, on paper it looks like it can be a good alternative to the Leaf, but the lack of DCQC is surely disappointing.

 

[GRA]

Reserved for driving impressions

Okay, I think that after having driven the car for about 120 miles, I can make a few comments.

The bad news first. The 2013 seems slower off the line. Others have mentioned this and I agree. Nissan appears to have toned down the quick spurt of acceleration from a standing start, something that most of us instantly liked about the LEAF and we never stopped enjoying. Don't get me wrong, the '13 isn't slow like a Prius or a Versa. It's just that you really have to put your foot in the A pedal to get it going fast at a stoplight. So that feeling of leaving the unsuspecting ICE car in your dust and watching it dwindle in your mirrors is now less fun. It's a bit like Nissan tuned a bit of ECO into Drive mode. So fairly fast takeoffs are still possible, but you need to give it much more pedal to do so, and even at that, you get less of a kick in your backside as you do it. It's only noticeable when starting from a standstill, and the midrange power is great, possibly even better than the '11 car. Some here have guessed that the '13 is faster from mid to higher speeds than the earlier cars. I really want to drag race a '11 or '12 car if we can find a safe venue, just to validate the seat-of-the-pants feel. I've read that the torque figure is down for the 2013 compared with the '11/'12 cars, so that probably has a lot to do with it.

I've always been more concerned with 40-60 and 50-70 passing speeds than winning stoplight drag races, so assuming your impression of an improvement in that area is correct, I'd call it a win. It will be interesting to see a mag which previously tested an '11 do 0-30/40/50/60 and passing tests on a '13, so we can compare. Or maybe you or some other owners will do a head-to-head.

 

[laalan]

Boomer has me thinking of 2013's. While my car was in for the battery check and reprogramming at Cerritos Nissan, I took a look at the cool multi camera display. Awesome to be able to see what is in front of the car as well as the sides.

Now the process of negotiation continues. Wife wants a red one.. So the trick will be to trade two blues for a red. Stay tuned.

 

[Boomer23]

Boomer has me thinking of 2013's. While my car was in for the battery check and reprogramming at Cerritos Nissan, I took a look at the cool multi camera display. Awesome to be able to see what is in front of the car as well as the sides.

Now the process of negotiation continues. Wife wants a red one.. So the trick will be to trade two blues for a red. Stay tuned.

Apologies if I've added unwelcome temptation to your life, Alan.

The red was my second choice. It would look great with black leather.

The Around View is truly awesome. I'll try to post some pics in a few days. I hadn't realized that you can turn it on with a button at any moment, and see your clearance from objects at any corner of the car, and get an overhead view of how you're parked in a slot, even as you are pulling into it. Truly cool and one of my favorite upgrades on the car.

 

[laalan]

You are costing me money Phil. Will be dropping off two blue Leafs for one red one. Ironically enough, it is the red one I saw at Cerritos Nissan and they are dealer trading so I can pick it up tonight. Mark and his wife are super nice! Very up front. Feels like it should be an easy transaction tonight.

Thank you for the lead!

 

[JPVLeaf]

Doh! That was quick. Alan, can you share some details?

 

[Boomer23]

You are costing me money Phil. Will be dropping off two blue Leafs for one red one. Ironically enough, it is the red one I saw at Cerritos Nissan and they are dealer trading so I can pick it up tonight. Mark and his wife are super nice! Very up front. Feels like it should be an easy transaction tonight.

Thank you for the lead!

Cool Alan. You'll be happy, I'm sure.

 

[laalan]

Same deal as Boomer except I wrote a check. Easy. Same model in red.

 

[Boomer23]

Some updates posted on the wheels and tires, and the Around View Monitor, with pictures on the early posts of this thread.

 

[Valdemar]

I've now read at least a couple of reports that mention the '13 MY offers tighter handling. Has the suspension/steering been revised or this is largely due to larger diameter rims/lower tire profile/better tires?

 

[Boomer23]

I've now read at least a couple of reports that mention the '13 MY offers tighter handling. Has the suspension/steering been revised or this is largely due to larger diameter rims/lower tire profile/better tires?

I hope someone knows, because I don't. My guess is that the improvement for the SL is largely due to the wheels and tires, but if the S and SV have improved handling, then Nissan probably tightened things up.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I've now read at least a couple of reports that mention the '13 MY offers tighter handling. Has the suspension/steering been revised or this is largely due to larger diameter rims/lower tire profile/better tires?

I hope someone knows, because I don't. My guess is that the improvement for the SL is largely due to the wheels and tires, but if the S and SV have improved handling, then Nissan probably tightened things up.

Just the Nissan Juke 17 inch wheels and Michelin tires on my 2012 made it a whole new car.

 

[malloryk]

congratulations, Phil! Sounds like a solid deal. I was wondering what the early birds were gonna do when their '11 leases started to run out. I still have no idea what I'm gonna do in January. I've already sunk so much money into it I feel like I should just keep it. But all these updated features sound so good!