Why would anyone buy a nissan leaf right now???

[Marktm]

The automatic braking saved my wife one dark night in a rural dark road. The car auto braked for a 200 lb black wild hog that crossed in front of the car. My wife didn’t see the hog and without the auto brake she would have hit it.

Unrelated, but my family has had three bumpers/doors replaced on Suburbans hitting wild hogs in TX. We try not to drive at night on rural roads anymore. Luckily, the Suburbans sort of take in stride. A smaller vehicle might not!

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Also let me add that our 2020 Leaf SL Plus replaced our 2019 SL Plus that was totaled after being T-Boned by a uninsured, meth head. The side air bag features saved my wife’s life since the impact was directly on the passenger side doors.

T boned by car doing at least 40 mph and the side bags did nothing for me. I can't say I know what happened thru out but I don't remember the bags touching me or my head hitting anything. My crappy Ecopias with questionable traction on the wet roads allowed me to easily slide sideways until I hit the curb (the wheel did not survive)

But what amazed me was the inside of the car had ZERO indications of any damage at all.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Still basically 0 Leaf Pluses available around us on Carvana, etc.. looks like they sell as soon as they list.

I think that what is happening is the Leaf Plus is emerging - belatedly - as the polar opposite of the Teslas, and thus the main alternative for those whose priorities are comfort, familiarity and all around functionality as a family car, rather than performance and range. People buy Teslas when they want one car, and Leafs when they want a second car that won't be road tripped.

The LEAF+ is cheaper. By every other metric it loses, and usually loses badly.

:lol:

 

[rpiotro]

Still basically 0 Leaf Pluses available around us on Carvana, etc.. looks like they sell as soon as they list.

I think that what is happening is the Leaf Plus is emerging - belatedly - as the polar opposite of the Teslas, and thus the main alternative for those whose priorities are comfort, familiarity and all around functionality as a family car, rather than performance and range. People buy Teslas when they want one car, and Leafs when they want a second car that won't be road tripped.

The LEAF+ is cheaper. By every other metric it loses, and usually loses badly.

In what way?

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I think that what is happening is the Leaf Plus is emerging - belatedly - as the polar opposite of the Teslas, and thus the main alternative for those whose priorities are comfort, familiarity and all around functionality as a family car, rather than performance and range. People buy Teslas when they want one car, and Leafs when they want a second car that won't be road tripped.

The LEAF+ is cheaper. By every other metric it loses, and usually loses badly.

In what way?

His way. Its all a matter of personal opinion. I have ridden in a T3 twice and it hardly beats "any" car on "all" metrics

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

Well, the M3 SR+ beats the Leaf handily on price, with the SR+ now at 41,199 after delivery fee before tax; a base Plus can often be had now for almost 20K less. Nearly the same usable range, with admittedly slower charging.

 

[SageBrush]

Don't forget heated steering wheel and ease of entry & exit. And a reasonably soft, compliant ride. The funny thing is that Teslas could have all of these, but Musk, like others here, only values what Musk thinks is valuable. He has tunnel vision, with the other end of the tunnel apparently being Mars.

Why don't you say that Nissan only makes what Nissan values -- a mushy ride ?
I know -- Lefty wants a mushy ride, so that must be what everybody wants except Musk. :roll:

Unlike the people here simply defending their choice of a cheap car, I own both the LEAF and the Model 3. I like them both, but for different reasons. My LEAF was a dirt cheap EV, and that is awesome. The Tesla is an expensive, brilliant car and EV. The only problem I have (and it is not a big deal as things go) is that driving the LEAF after I drive the Tesla emphasizes the LEAF's lack of power, mushy drive, and numb steering. <<shrug>> it is what it is.

 

[Marktm]

For me, there were several advantages of the SV Plus compared to the M3 (my daughter has a long range M3 - and it's a really nice EV).
- The price after all rebates (assumming the $7500 tax credit) and discounts, including all TTL's was about $15K less than the Tesla model 3 standard range plus - and that included the purchase of a 100k mile (all inclusive?) warranty.
- I was familiar with the Leaf and was somewhat intimidated by the Tesla's electronics (although the satellite based navigation screen is super). After getting used to the new Leaf features, I'm liking it more and more.
- I wanted the CHAdeMO V2X enabled protocol for my home microgrid - Tesla may eventually enable V2X, but what decade?
- The ergo of the Leaf is a better fit for me - much more conventional and very comfortable - especially the ride in the back seat.
- Love the trunk space of the Leaf - maybe not as much total space as the frunk/trunk of the M3, but works very well for my business needs (hauling used electronics around).

So far, very pleased. With all the new offerings coming out, and not having done an extensive comparison, it's possible I could have done better, but the steep discounts right now (and V2X) pushed me to go for it.

 

[GaleHawkins]

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/how-to-choose-between-the-chevy-bolt-ev-or-nissan-leaf/

 

[cwerdna]

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/how-to-choose-between-the-chevy-bolt-ev-or-nissan-leaf/

I've only skimmed it but it doesn't seem well-written esp for 2021.

There are typos like "Chevy Volt EV". Huh? There's never been a Volt EV. And, Volt's dead. Not sure why they'd bring up the Soul EV. Gen 1 Soul EV has been discontinued for awhile and gen 2 never made it to the US (https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1129105_report-kia-soul-ev-not-returning-to-us-market and https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/kia-soul-ev-dead-canceled/).

Not sure what's meant by "The Bolt SE has an optional at-home charging AMP that will provide 25 miles of range per hour of charging. " There's no Bolt SE. There are two trims: LT and Premier. It's been this way for '17 to '21 model years.

They don't even bother mentioning the Federal tax credit that is still $7500 for Nissan and $0 for GM (https://fueleconomy.gov/feg/taxevb.shtml).

 

[LeftieBiker]

What are the Left and Bolt features like?

Heh. It's sad that the current state of online "journalism" is to just run it through Spell Check and then publish it - regardless of incorrect words. I try to avoid sites like that. OTOH, even the NY Times and the national news programs are regularly letting gaffes through. I now really understand how older people felt in the Sixties and Seventies when the English language went through declines...

 

[user 10599]

About 65 - 78 miles one way depending on which route I take to avoid traffic. I go from Ventura County to almost Orange County on SE side of LA. And the freeway conditions are miserably bouncy when you do get to go at higher speeds. So I want both range and comfortable suspension.

 

[GaleHawkins]

About 65 - 78 miles one way depending on which route I take to avoid traffic. I go from Ventura County to almost Orange County on SE side of LA. And the freeway conditions are miserably bouncy when you do get to go at higher speeds. So I want both range and comfortable suspension.

Butt testing the suspension on a long test drive can be revealing. When we bought our 2016 Leaf SL with 22K mile it a 60 mile range. After we lost our 4th battery bar Nissan bumped our range to 150 miles. The difference was like night and day.

In your case I would not want an EV with less than 300 miles of range.

 

[user 10599]

I figured 250 range from the VW would work well. Charging to 80% to preserve battery life yields 200 miles, which covers the longest route round trip in the rare instances I take the longest route both ways. Even after degradation has reduced it to 80%, that would be 160 miles, which also covers my roundtrip. And beyond that, I can then start increasing the % that I charge to until degradation has reduced the battery to below 64%. That should take longer than I will want to keep the car.

 

[SageBrush]

I figured 250 range from the VW would work well.

I presume that is 250 EPA miles ?
Meaning nice weather, 65-ish mph speed, and no headwind.

 

[GaleHawkins]

I figured 250 range from the VW would work well. Charging to 80% to preserve battery life yields 200 miles, which covers the longest route round trip in the rare instances I take the longest route both ways. Even after degradation has reduced it to 80%, that would be 160 miles, which also covers my roundtrip. And beyond that, I can then start increasing the % that I charge to until degradation has reduced the battery to below 64%. That should take longer than I will want to keep the car.

Sounds like you have given this a lot of thought.

How do you like your Clarity from Honda?

I saw the first one resently but the western tip of Kentucky has mostly Toyota hybrid. Many think all EV's have tanks.

This is Chevrolet pick up truck country and guys driving EV's may not be on very manly.

 

[GaleHawkins]

I figured 250 range from the VW would work well. Charging to 80% to preserve battery life yields 200 miles, which covers the longest route round trip in the rare instances I take the longest route both ways. Even after degradation has reduced it to 80%, that would be 160 miles, which also covers my roundtrip. And beyond that, I can then start increasing the % that I charge to until degradation has reduced the battery to below 64%. That should take longer than I will want to keep the car.

Sounds like you have given this a lot of thought.

How do you like your Clarity from Honda?

I saw the first one resently but the western tip of Kentucky has mostly Toyota hybrid. Many think all EV's have tanks.

This is Chevrolet pick up truck country and guys driving EV's may not be very manly.

 

[Triggerhappy007]

About 65 - 78 miles one way depending on which route I take to avoid traffic. I go from Ventura County to almost Orange County on SE side of LA. And the freeway conditions are miserably bouncy when you do get to go at higher speeds. So I want both range and comfortable suspension.

That's longer than my 55 mile one way. Can you charge at work?

I was wanting a Clarity hybrid, but I can't charge at work so having to stop and buy six gallons of gas at a time was a huge turnoff.

 

[WetEV]

I figured 250 range from the VW would work well. Charging to 80% to preserve battery life yields 200 miles, which covers the longest route round trip in the rare instances I take the longest route both ways. Even after degradation has reduced it to 80%, that would be 160 miles, which also covers my roundtrip. And beyond that, I can then start increasing the % that I charge to until degradation has reduced the battery to below 64%. That should take longer than I will want to keep the car.

Your conclusion is close to correct, but you might need to consider loss of range in bad weather as well, as Sage has pointed out. Audi e-tron loses about 10% at 0F. Rain, wet roads and snow/slush also all reduce range, and that can be more dramatic, especially the slush. I usually suggest not using more than 50% of the battery when new on any frequent trips. I'm not sure if thes "rare instance" is frequent enough to use this rule-of-thumb. Audi e-tron does about the stated range at 70 MPH, good weather light winds. Other makes have different EPA to real range ratios. I'm not sure what to expect out of VW brand.


Also, charging to 100% right before departure and limiting discharge to 20% is easier on the battery.

 

[SageBrush]

I usually suggest not using more than 50% of the battery when new on any frequent trips.

I'm guessing you mean that new battery range should be ~ 2x frequent trips.
That seems like an excessive margin at first glance but my experience agrees with the suggestion for 4 season driving in the USA where highway speeds are easily 75+ mph. People willing to drive slower can make do with a smaller battery. Winter driving can also sap range but that is more of a YMMV. A heat pump can help a lot (although not always), and driver behavior matters greatly.