S vs. SV

[atarihomestar]

Depending on how much it costs, I think I want to lease a Leaf. I think I'm okay with just the S, but I'm not sure. As far as I can tell, the difference between the S and the SV is:

1. CarWings -- My commute to work is 10.4 miles daily, and I can charge at work, so I don’t think I’ll ever be scrambling needing to find a charging station (but I have a smart phone, so I could just use that to find one) I also don’t think I’d use the climate control stuff. I’ll use the functionality built into the Leaf to turn on the climate control shortly before I leave for work, and before I leave for home. I don't think I'd need CarWings.

2. Navigation -- Like I said, I have a smart phone, and I love the Google navigation, so I don’t need the Navigation system.

3. Aluminum Alloy wheels -- I can live without those.

4. Cruise Control -- Once again, I can live without that.

5. 6.6 kW onboard Charger -- In order to use up the 12k miles in the lease, I’d need to drive about 30 miles per day. In a post on this site, I saw where somebody posted that with the trickle-charger you get about 4 miles per hour of charging. So my 8 hours at work should be able to cover it, at least for weekdays. Is there any way to charge faster without getting the charge package, and then installing a $900 charger in my garage?

So unless somebody can tell me how to charge faster without spending too much money, it seems like I’m good with a stock S.

Anyway, any advice would be appreciated.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Is there any way to charge faster without getting the charge package, and then installing a $900 charger in my garage?

If you have a 230 volt outlet, get the EVSE upgrade. Just use the Google search to find the FAQ for it, or look at topics in the Charging Forum.

 

[planet4ever]

5. 6.6 kW onboard Charger -- In order to use up the 12k miles in the lease, I’d need to drive about 30 miles per day. In a post on this site, I saw where somebody posted that with the trickle-charger you get about 4 miles per hour of charging. So my 8 hours at work should be able to cover it, at least for weekdays. Is there any way to charge faster without getting the charge package, and then installing a $900 charger in my garage?

Certainly. Even without the Charge Package the car comes with a 120v-240v 3.3kW charger built in. When charging at 120v that charger is only feeding the battery at about 1.1kW. You don't install a charger in your garage (that is in the car, as I just said), you install a 240v EVSE, which will triple the charging rate. Your cost for that can vary from $300 to $2000 or more, much of it dependent on whether you already have, or can easily get, a 240v circuit in your garage, or wherever you plan to charge the car. If you happen to have an unused electric dryer outlet in your garage, EVSE Upgrade will sell you everything you need for about $350.

There are some other things you will be missing by getting the S model (as I did):

• No B-mode, which provides more aggressive regeneration when slowing
• No LED headlights (which save some energy) nor any automatic feature on the headlights
• No fog lights
• A 4-speaker sound system, rather than 6 or 7 speakers, and no Pandora link for iPhone
• No heat pump. This is the biggie; the resistive heater is slow to warm up and a HUGE energy hog.
• No auto-dimming rear view mirror or HomeLink (for gates, garage door opener, etc.)

Ray

 

[RonDawg]

You can buy a Gentex auto-dimming mirror, with or without HomeLink, from sources like Amazon.com if you want such a feature. I believe that company also makes the OEM auto-dimming mirrors for Nissan, based on appearance.

CarWings is useful for its ability to turn on the climate control remotely so that you can return to a car that is pre-heated or pre-cooled without having to set a timer, or physically return to the car. Otherwise, for navigation and finding charging stations, your smart phone is usually better.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

The S will do you for commuting on weekdays, even at L1, but:

How far do you drive running errands after work?
What about weekends?
What's your EV terroir? Climate, topography, driving style?
Do you have a second car for long range trips?

I have a '12 SL, but I could do with an S just fine. It's 10 miles to work and I can charge there too, which makes a huge difference. The 3.3 kW charger is good enough as I hardly ever use public L2. There's no L3 here, so my QC port is useless. Winters are bad, but even without a heat pump, I could get 50 miles easy, even better to be able to charge and pre-heat at work.

The key is: how far do you need/want to go on weekends? L2 at home can come in handy, and the EVSE's are getting less expensive.

 

[stjohnh]

There are some other things you will be missing by getting the S model (as I did):

• No B-mode, which provides more aggressive regeneration when slowing
• No LED headlights (which save some energy) nor any automatic feature on the headlights
• No fog lights
• A 4-speaker sound system, rather than 6 or 7 speakers, and no Pandora link for iPhone
• No heat pump. This is the biggie; the resistive heater is slow to warm up and a HUGE energy hog.
• No auto-dimming rear view mirror or HomeLink (for gates, garage door opener, etc.)

Ray

How much you miss these things will depend on your situation. I have the S and my wife has an SV. What I miss most on her SV is the cruise control. Even though I didn't use it much on my ice, I use it much more Leaf. Depending on where you live, the heat pump may be a big factor as the heater in the S uses a lot more juice. Not a big factor in Palo Alto.

B mode isn't a big deal. A driving preference. Doesn't really affect range

LED headlights, nicer on the SV but not a big deal. I have read that the energy saved by the Led lights is minimal. Don't know for sure. The automatic headlights are useless to me. The lights in both cars do turn off automatically when you turn off car. Much more important to me.

FOG lights. Never use them.

4 vs 6 speakers. I can't tell the difference. Neither can my teenagers who like lots is bass and LOUD. You can play Pandora from your smartphone through the S speakers.

Autodimming mirror. I actually don't like this. It is Much harder to adjust in my wife's SV than in my S. Don't use Homelink.


My wife has quick charge package, and Even though I don't use it often, on those trips that are outside my range and I have to use public charging, the 30 min quick charge is REALLY nice. Even if 30 min quick charge is not available, the double speed of the 6.6 is charger is much better if you just need a few miles to get home.

 

[GlennD]

In my gas cars I rarely used the cruse control. In my Leaf I find it necessary. I find I can not drive at 55 to maximize my range for long trips. I let the cruse control take care of the speed.

Once a month I go to an amateur radio swap meet 39 miles away. With the cruse control set to 57 (55 actual) I have no problem.

 

[johnrhansen]

I wish I got the SV with the quick charge port. That would have had everything I needed. I have an S with the quick charge package. I love the big charger and the fast charge port. And the backup camera. I miss the efficient heater, the cruise control, and the B mode (in order of regret). I got a bit too excited and didn't do enough research before I jumped.

 

[electricD]

I have an SL with all the options so I can give you a little insight on them. I'll cover the ones you mentioned first.

1. CarWings. Nothing special. If you have a smart phone PlugShare is better for finding charging station. The rest of CarWings is just a game for the most part.

2. Navigation. You can read a lot on the forums about how disappointing it is. It's at least 2 generations behind everything else for cars in the 30K range and the only thing I find it useful is finding a short cut from time to time.

3 Aluminum Alloy wheels. I really like the 17" that come on the car. But they are only ascetic.

4. 6.6 kW onboard Charger. I drive about 30-40miles a day and charge my car from a 110v wall socket overnight most of the time. Unless I locate a rare charging station here in So Fla. that is actually working then the 6.6 kW is nice. But unless you are going to need a lot of charging I don't think it is necessary at all.

As for things that you didn't mention. I love the black leather and the 360 degree view camera. Bose system is nice but I would have axed it if I could.

Looking back I think that the S, no options, is the real sweet spot as far as value goes, especially if you lease. Even without all the extra option I got on mine, this would still be one of the best cars I have owned. And that has to do with the power train and it just being a great car to drive.

 

[CMYK4Life]

Get the SV. the 6.6 charger alone is worth it.

If you are good at negotiation.. you can get it for almost the same price as the S

 

[Klayfish]

The heater is the most functional of the differences. If you're in a climate that gets really cold, you may want to look at the SV or SL.

Also going to go on the assumption you'd get an S with the charge package, as that's a nice feature too. Beyond that, I think it mostly comes down to personal preference. After heater and charge package, the rest of it is mostly nice touches and upgrades that many wouldn't consider a "must". CARWINGS is cool and a neat toy, but it can be lived without. LED lights are also cool, but not a need. The user interface...radio and HVAC...are different. Rims are different. It's a matter of how much do those creature comforts matter to you? Do you want the higher end touches of the SV or SL?

I had started my LEAF search dead set on an S w/charge package. However, after test drives, research and getting dealers to trip over themselves I wound up with an SL. The price wasn't much more than the cost of the S, and I said "Screw it, I work hard and I'd like the bells and whistles".

 

[kubel]

1. CarWings -- I use CarWings a lot (not for the stats but for charging/preheating my car). It's a useful feature for me, so I would probably get it again.

2. Navigation -- The navigation system in this car leaves much to be desired, and since there's no easy way to bypass the driving lockout, it's even more useless. My 4 year old Garmin is superior to the LEAFs navigation system. I really wish they just made the center touchscreen android based and leave it unlocked so people can replace Nissan crap software with whatever they want.

3. Aluminum Alloy wheels -- I can go with steelies too.

4. Cruise Control -- I don't usually drive on the highway, so I agree, this can go if necessary.

5. 6.6 kW onboard Charger -- I would get the 6.0 kW charger, but I typically drive ~55 miles per day and even more when I'm using public charging. If you are only commuting with this car and don't plan on relying on public charging, stick with the slow charger.

6. Heatpump -- Must have here.

 

[TomT]

The OP didn't state where he lives - or I missed it - but if he primarily uses AC and not heat, the S is actually an advantage as its AC mode - as with the 2011 and 2012 - is noticeably more efficient that the heat pump SL and SV...

[*]No heat pump. This is the biggie; the resistive heater is slow to warm up and a HUGE energy hog.

 

[johnqh]

I had the same consideration as OP when I got my Leaf. The only must-have was QuickCharge (which I used several times after I bought it, so that proved it is useful) and rear-view camera.

With those options priced, the SV was $5K over S, and SL was only $1K over SV. So it was really a decision between S and SL(+$6K). I ended up with S w/ QC package.

 

[Staque]

The OP didn't state where he lives - or I missed it - but if he primarily uses AC and not heat, the S is actually an advantage as its AC mode - as with the 2011 and 2012 - is noticeably more efficient that the heat pump SL and SV...

What is the AC if not a heat pump?

I have a 2013 SV, and while I can't make a direct comparison (as it is my only Leaf), it does seem to use the "little sliver of energy" everyone talks about, once cooled down, even on a 90 degree day. Little enough energy that once I got Turbo3's app I've never even considered turning off the AC to increase range. And the car's black! So I wouldn't personally use this point as a tipping point.

 

[TomT]

On the 2011 and 2012, the AC was strictly that - a conventional AC system - and the heater was strictly a resistance element. It made for very efficient AC but very inefficient heat. On the 2013 SL and SV, they went to a reverse cycle heat pump to handle both functions. It is much more efficient at heating but less efficient at AC... There is still a resistance element, by the way, for temperatures below which the heat pump ceases to be efficient.

The OP didn't state where he lives - or I missed it - but if he primarily uses AC and not heat, the S is actually an advantage as its AC mode - as with the 2011 and 2012 - is noticeably more efficient that the heat pump SL and SV...

What is the AC if not a heat pump?

 

[goaliepride]

So I had the same dilemna, but went with the SV w/QC.

Needs: QC, fanciness

So essentially, with the S I didn't like half of my steering wheel being a plastic blank, I didn't like bluetooth not working for music (S problem), I didn't like the center dash interface thingy and loved the SV one, I could live with the wheels but thought the alloy ones look much nicer. I test drove both and there was just something intangible about the S that lacked what I liked about the SV, so I ended up getting an SV.

For me I paid 31.9 for an SV w/QC + headlight pkg, protection pkg, floor mats, mud flaps. When I was pricing the S I was looking at paying maybe 29 with QC, or with the same options maybe 29.6 or something. So for me the difference of 2.3k for something I'd have for 10-12 years (god I hope that pans out) had me want the fancier option. For me I consider it (let's say 10 years) a $230 permium per year, which I'm alright with.

Oh Also the SV has "B" mode which is what I drive in normally, the S does not have this mode.