2015 Leaf S Or 2019 Leaf SV Which is the better Car??

I have a 2015 Leaf S 19300 miles with Cold Weather Package, Charging Package and Pearl White Paint
I went to the dealer to get the Payoff info on the Lease i have 2 Payments left Plus the end of Lease 300.00 buyout
so it will be around $9300.00 Then I have to register it,title it,Pay Sales Tax, and inspection sticker and so on
i will be in it for around $10500 all in

The dealers says he will pay the last 2 lease payments with no money down at all
And put me into a 2019 Leaf SV with the Cargo Cover Premium Paint White Pearl all weather package which includes
Heated Seats Steering wheel Heated outside Mirrors Rear heater Ducts and Hybrid Heater
For less money than i was paying on the 2015 lease
So which is the Better Car 2015 or the 2019 and whats a hybrid heater? The heater in my 15 Leaf When on drops voltage by 15 volts
in cold northeast new england weather So I use the heated seats and steering wheel and blast the intermently
Will they discontinue the 40 Watt Leafs Soon And Just Make the 62 Watt Cars plus models
Any help or comments will be helpful from you guys
Thanks Norm

The "hybrid heater" is the same resistance heater you have in your S, plus a heat pump that provides both heat (in milder Winter weather) and A/C. This gives significantly better Winter range in temps above about 26F. The 2015 Leaf is a very good car, but in your climate you would be better off with an SV with All Weather Package. They might eventually stop making the 40kwh Leaf, but not for a few years. You won't believe the increase in range. The only real argument against the 40kwh Leaf is that it doesn't fast charge well more than once a day.

I drove my Dad's 2013 and 2016 LEAF's, and I have to say I like my 2018 much better. It has more horsepower, more range, and I really like the e-pedal. 2019 has the same range as 2018.
The hybrid heater will save you range over the standard "resistance" heater. Unfortunately, I have the resistance heater in my 2018 model S Leaf, and I only get around 100 miles of range (or less) in the winter with the heat on. It seems like I average around 2.6 Kwh/mile efficiency with the heat on. However, with the heated seats I can actually leave the heat off with the mild Oregon winters (this saves me a lot of range.

Here's more on the hybrid heater: https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=22950

My 2015 Leaf S Has the cold weather package But not the Hybrid Heater
I had to take the car to the Dealership for a Factory recall on the battery Straps Today
When i was under the car they showed me a big mice nest under the plastic cover
in front of the battery Pack they had to remove for the Recall
Well my car is out of production now Does the Hybrid heater use 15 Volts as well?
Im just thinking if they discontinue the 40 watt model in a couple of years how that
Will affect the value of the car at the end of the lease?
My 2015 had a 32500 MSRP
The 2019 Has a 36000 MSRP
In the 4 years i have had my 2015 it Really Dropped In Value
I wonder if the same would be True of the 2019?
And then what is next a whole new leaf body Or just the current body as a Plus
and who knows the Plus models now hopefully won't be 5K more than the standard model

Well my car is out of production now Does the Hybrid heater use 15 Volts as well?

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Your units of measure are wrong, and you don't understand your car's heater. Both the resistance heater and the hybrid heating system use 12 volts for the blower only, and 400+ volts from the main battery pack for heat and A/C.

As for ending production of the 40kwh version and the effect on end of lease value, you really don't want to expect a leased car to appreciate, or even to depreciate only slowly. They always depreciate rapidly - especially Leafs. That could, though, get you a possible buyout discount when the lease ends.

Disorder said:

My 2015 Leaf S Has the cold weather package But not the Hybrid Heater
I had to take the car to the Dealership for a Factory recall on the battery Straps Today
When i was under the car they showed me a big mice nest under the plastic cover
in front of the battery Pack they had to remove for the Recall
Well my car is out of production now Does the Hybrid heater use 15 Volts as well?
Im just thinking if they discontinue the 40 watt model in a couple of years how that
Will affect the value of the car at the end of the lease?
My 2015 had a 32500 MSRP
The 2019 Has a 36000 MSRP
In the 4 years i have had my 2015 it Really Dropped In Value
I wonder if the same would be True of the 2019?
And then what is next a whole new leaf body Or just the current body as a Plus
and who knows the Plus models now hopefully won't be 5K more than the standard model

Click to expand...

I am now leasing a 2018 SV with the tech package and cold weather package. I previously had a 2015 Leaf S with the charge package and cold weather package. So I'd say our situations are very similar. Personally, I think the 2018 SV is a superior car in nearly every way... it looks better, is faster, has about double the range, has apple car play, has a better dash display, and has epedal (love one pedal driving in town). I think that upgrading was a great choice and my lease payment is less than what my car payment was on the old one (I still had 20 months of payments left).

I decided that leasing the new Leaf was my best option because the range on old one just wasn't cutting it for me and was only going to get worse. Plus the new Leaf was a much nicer car in my opinion. I considered the SR model 3 as well but Nissan made the Leaf lease so much cheaper than the Tesla that I couldn't justify the difference in price... especially considering that Tesla doesn't have a service center within 100 miles of our house, was talking about closing all their dealerships at the time, and continues some (in the words of my wife the CPA) "questionable accounting practices". I am very happy with the new Leaf, the 150 miles of range is really the sweet spot for me to keep it between 20% and 80% SOC every day with my 60 mile round trip commute.

For you obviously It is a judgement call that depends entirely on your needs and expectations. If the old one suits your needs and you don't expect range to be an issue over the next 5 years then it might be a bit cheaper to keep that one. But I'd plan on it being essentially worthless by 2024 unless some of these aftermarket battery companies pan out... it'll be an ugly, dated car with slow QC and probably about 40 - 50 miles of reliable range at that point.

To answer your title question: the 2019 SV is a better car than the 2015 S.

One thing you didn't mention is the health of the battery pack in the 2015. You are talking about a new 2019 vs. your 4 year old battery.

Disorder said:

In the 4 years i have had my 2015 it Really Dropped In Value
I wonder if the same would be True of the 2019?

Click to expand...

I would expect the value of a 40kWh battery car to drop similarly, especially given the number of longer range EVs hitting the market. It may make sense to lease rather than own for that reason.

The Battery Seems Fine In the 2015 Leaf S No Problems So Far
I know in 4 years the Car will Be worth close to nothing
But at that time it will be a 9 year old car

I have been Leasing Cars for 11 years a 2008 Prius and a 2012 Prius and this 2015 Leaf S
So i am used to leases
As far as the Heater Voltage in the Hybrid heater it uses the same amount of Volts
as the regular heater if i understand your comment so what is the advantage of the
Hybrid Heater over the Non Hybrid Heater?
I have seen the the You Tube video's On the rapid charging on 2018 Leafs
Its the same deal on 2019's i think they call it rapid gate?
I never have charged my 2015 with a rapid Charger
Is the Battery Pack a Better Quality on the 2019 Versus the 2015?
I know cars drop in value form year to year but my 2015 leaf
seemed to drop in value quickly in 4 years i guess the 2019 will also
as mor models with longer ranges come out!

Disorder said:

The Battery Seems Fine In the 2015 Leaf S No Problems So Far

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You missed what I was asking. What's the SOH of the battery? How close are you to losing a battery bar (or have you already done so)? You should measure it with Leaf Spy Pro to find out before buying out the lease.

I went from a 2015 SL to a 2018 SV with tech and cold weather pkg. my 2015 had 86% SOH when i traded it.

The 2018 is a much better car and had 2x the effective range. That 2019 and 2018 are almost identical. Go for it.

Right now Nissan is offering 0% financing on Leaf purchase. Look into purchase. The difference between purchase and lease is you will have equity after 3 years.

Saying that, after 1 year owning the 2018 SV I traded it in for a 2019 SL Plus. The 230 mile range of the 2019 Plus was a game changer for me because I routinely travel between 2 homes 125 miles apart with no charging stations between then. I make that trip at 65 mph with 90 miles of remaining range.

The 2019 SL Plus is my 57th new car purchase. Only once did I lease and that was for a high end luxury car. Every other car/truck have been purchases. Cars are a commodity and with as many dealers in a 50 mile radius it’s fun to negotiate.

If you negotiate buying right and negotiate trade value you can do better purchasing. With purchasing there’s no acquisition fee, no disposition fee, bank fee etc. I’ve negotiated dozen of leases for family and friends. I’ve also negotiated early lease terminations for relatives that needed to get out of leases. When negotiating a lease I look at MSRP, Cap cost, Residual and money factor. I put together an excel spread sheet that calculates the payment with those factors.. it’s amazing how dealers hide fees that boost real lease payments. So I don’t look only how much a month. I’m not married to a CPA like you are, but I have a degree in accounting.

Thanks for the information
What is SOH? I have not lost any Battery Bars Yet
when i give it a Full Charge at 220 Volts it goes to 100 Percent and has all the bars at that time
I was not aware of 0 % Financing on the leaf before 2008 i always bought the Car Or Truck
with a regular car loan from the dealer I am not Married at all There is No CPA In my Life
What you say makes a lot of sense i just want the best deal with no money down
If i keep my current leaf for 4 more years at $200.00 a month i will be upside down on it
and i know it will be outdated which is very sad and should not happen in the old days
when a car was tired we get a good motor from the Boneyard and drive for years
But that was 40 years ago maybe some day there will be cheaper replacement batteries

SOH = state of health (of the battery pack) and it can be seen with the LeafSpy app on your phone. It will tell you a more exact value of the remaining capacity of your battery. On a 2015, the 1st capacity bar is lost at around 85% capacity (of original cap), so if you still have 12 capacity bars, you have between 85% and 100% of original capacity left. LeafSpy will tell you exactly how much, eg 86.5% or whatever, so you have a better idea on how much your battery has degraded so far.

The hybrid heater is much more efficient at moderate temps since it only moves heat from outside the car to inside. The heater takes roughly the same amount of energy to run as the AC does in the summer. The resistance heater on the S model is like a toaster. It uses the battery to create heat by running current through a resistor. Using this takes a lot more power and will reduce your range. One more thing to remember is that the hybrid heater only works well when there is sufficient heat outside to move inside. Once the outside temp drops below about 26*F the hybrid heater can't move any heat and a backup resistance heater will kick in. At that point, it will be the same efficiency as an S model.

Once the outside temp drops below about 26*F the hybrid heater can't move any heat and a backup resistance heater will kick in. At that point, it will be the same efficiency as an S model.

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Close but not exactly. When the temp falls below about 45F the resistance heater starts to supplement the heat pump, which can work down to about 5F but provides less and less heat as the temperature drops. Below about 26F the resistance heater is providing most of the heat, and below about 15F the contribution from the heat pump isn't noticeable, so yes, the range becomes the same as with a Leaf with no heat pump.

Thanks
For that Great Explanation the hybrid heater
I always thought the heater in my 2015 was like a toaster
thats exactly what it reminded me of its a good heater
But when you turn it on and see the volts Drop by 15
i use it sparingly and cycle it off and on to save the Range
especially when its cold out or else your distance drops
when its cold out it takes longer to charge and won't fully charge
I know the cold slows down the flow of electric molecules
How are the New batteries holding up in the 2018 and 19 Models ?
Have there been any issues my dealer told me they have never
changed out a Battery pack on any leaf since it came out
I find it odd that a lot of dealers don't even stock them but
some dealers may have 10-25 in stock i guess they rather sell
fossil fuel cars

How are the New batteries holding up in the 2018 and 19 Models ?

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They are holding up fine in milder climates. I still wouldn't suggest one for a hotter climate, or in cases where you want to drive hundreds of miles regularly using the DC Fast Charge, as the battery heats up too readily and the charge rate drops as it does.

Well
I never have used a Quick Charger
Put Have The Port For It On My 2015
I read In the Owners Manual Where Its Not Good For The Battery Life
On My 2015 Leaf It Shortens The Life Of The Battery??
I don't live In A Hot Climate Maybe 2 Months July And August Thats It
Most of the time it is Mild and not Overly Hot i live near the water in the country
so it is more pleasant

Having had a '14 SV and now a '19 SL, I would end the 1st lease and make the swap if you have been happy with your '15 S and prefer leasing over purchasing. As for your battery degradation concerns, you can likely expect a similar outcome based on my own observations. As for obsolesce concerns on the 40KWh pack, would also expect the same outcome. I personally look at EV's as rapidly changing technology with a resale pattern more like a used laptop computer than a car. The one aspect I would point out is the 40KWh pack makes the '19 a much more flexible tool on a daily basis and likely a more marketable used car when your lease terminates.

I just traded my 2015 SL for a new SL Plus. It is too soon for me to write much of a comparison, but it is quieter inside and both motor output and range are greatly increased. I used DCQC somewhat frequently with both 2011 and 2015, but I doubt that I will use it much with the 2019. The increased range means I should be able to drive all around the Phoenix metro area and get home without needing to stop at public charging. The increased range definitely makes the car more flexible.

^^^
I will be watching w/great interest in the two or three years to see how the battery holds up in your crazy temps.

cwerdna said:

^^^
I will be watching w/great interest in the two or three years to see how the battery holds up in your crazy temps.

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Time will tell--I will be recording data. The 2015 did much better than either the original or replacement batteries in the 2011. Several weak cells (located at the front of the pack if LEAF Spy cell numbers match the service manual) were really limiting range recently on the 2015. For a number of reasons, I decided to trade for a new plus.