Tesla vs Leaf comparison

After 7 years and 5 Nissan Leafs I replaced the last Leaf with a 2023 Tesla Model Y Long Range. Here are some observations

Tesla Pros;
Very comfortable seats
Memory power seats, steering wheel settings and mirrors.
Massive acceleration
Great charger network with FAST Super Chargers
Single pedal is much better than Leaf and option to full stop or coast
Get a audible ding when stopped at a red light when light turns green
Huge nav screen with beautiful satellite view
No Key Fob to carry, Your Phone is your key. Leave car and it turns off and doors auto lock
Emergency key is credit card shaped and 1/2 the width
Ability to regulate charge limit to any percentage via smart phone
Phone Bluetooth as your key
Frunk space
Trunk space
Tight steering and suspension
App for Apple Watch for Siri to control doors, truck etc
When parked watch Netflix if you want.
Came with 10,000 miles and 2 years of Free Super Charging

Tesla Cons:
No blind spot alert in side mirrors
(Autopilot) Adaptive cruise hunts
Headrest pushes head too far forward and isn’t adjustable
Lane keeping is abrupt when disconnects
Lane keeping requires turn input occasionally or disconnects
Cruise, if disconnected a few times because hands on wheel aren’t sensed it won’t activate cruise for remainder of trip
No Ultrasonic sensors on 2023 to alert pulling in too far in garage
No Apple car play or Android auto
No SiriusXM
Can’t lock passenger window switch
Didn’t come with any charger (EVSE). You must purchase Mobil charger for $230 or fixed charger for $350. Fortunately they supply an adaptor to convert a J1772 to Tesla so I’ve been using my hard wired seimans EVSE and my extra Nissan EVSE to charge the car.

Thanks Flyct,

Question about the Tesla adjustable cruise. One significant improvement I noticed between our 2019 propilot and the 2023 (model year) pro pilot is that the 23 ability to pick up road side speed limit signs has improved dramatically, especially in construction zones. (Though occasionally it will also pick up the lower truck speed limit signs as well) Besides the stoplight awareness, any other comparison points between the Tesla and Leaf level 2 systems?

I've heard that the model years of Tesla vehicles are determined by the delivery date. Yet you have a 2023 that was delivered in 2022?

Just trying to understand how the Tesla model years work. We're also considering a Model Y Long Range.

There are no model years as far as Tesla is concerned. As an example, if you look at a Model Y produced during 2020 vs. 2022 you will find a myriad of both software and structural changes. These changes are implemented as soon as they are ready and have nothing to do with year of production. If you compare that to a Leaf as an example, any updates are only applied with the the introduction of a new model year.

lebikerboy said:

There are no model years as far as Tesla is concerned. As an example, if you look at a Model Y produced during 2020 vs. 2022 you will find a myriad of both software and structural changes. These changes are implemented as soon as they are ready and have nothing to do with year of production. If you compare that to a Leaf as an example, any updates are only applied with the the introduction of a new model year.

Click to expand...

Thanks lebikerboy. I understand the continuous model evolution approach that Tesla uses, but registration/insurance requires a 'model year'. In past discussions of that concept as it relates to how Tesla does things, the bottom line conclusion was that the 'model year' assigned to a given vehicle is just the calendar year in which delivery of the vehicle was made. Maybe this isn't the case, it's only 'what I've heard'.

It's not that important, more a matter of curiosity on my part. If it does work as I describe above, it doesn't seem possible to take delivery of a 2023 'model year' Tesla in 2022. Just trying to resolve that apparent discrepancy in my mind.

UPDATE: Okay I just searched and here's a discussion covering this question:

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/when-does-tesla-change-model-year-designation.123619/

A key point made there is that they seem to start calling them the next years model in the last few weeks on the preceding year. Seems there were issues with people refusing deliveries near the end of the year because it was 'last year's car'. So that perfectly explains the initial post.

Many manufacturers update designs in the middle of model years. When you order parts, there can be a VIN cutoff number when the change happened in the middle of a model year. Any VIN before that gets the old part while later VINs get the new part, even though both 'old' and 'new' cars are from the same model year.

All the listed Teslas for sale in December were listed as 2023s with vin numbers showing 2023 model year.

The 10th digit of the VIN identifies the year

L=2020
M=2021
N= 2022
P=2023

They skip letter O to avoid confusion with the number 0

My 2023 Nissan Leaf is 1N4CZ1CV2PXXXXXXX
My 2023 Tesla is 7SAYGDEE9PXXXXXXX
My 2022 F350 is 1FT8W4DT0NXXXXXXX

Newer model year isn’t necessarily a better car. Tesla eliminated the Ultra Sonic Sensors in front and rear bumpers so there’s no way to pull into a garage and know exactly how far you are from an object like your were with previous years. There’s a big stink in the Tesla community about the USS being eliminated.

Flyct said:

All the listed Teslas for sale ...

Click to expand...

I guess I have more to learn then. The one way of buying a new Tesla that I'm aware of involves clicking on 'Order Now' at Tesla.com:

https://www.tesla.com/modely/design#overview

I've not seen a VIN shown during that process, but I do now see 'See Early Delivery Options' which leads to a list of already-made cars nearby. But I haven't been able to find a VIN for any of those yet.

Is that where you see VINs for for-sale Teslas, or are you going through some other channel?

bobkart said:

Flyct said:

All the listed Teslas for sale ...

Click to expand...

I guess I have more to learn then. The one way of buying a new Tesla that I'm aware of involves clicking on 'Order Now' at Tesla.com:

https://www.tesla.com/modely/design#overview

I've not seen a VIN shown during that process, but I do now see 'See Early Delivery Options' which leads to a list of already-made cars nearby. But I haven't been able to find a VIN for any of those yet.

Is that where you see VINs for for-sale Teslas, or are you going through some other channel?

Click to expand...

If you click on existing inventory it will bring you to a page listing prebuilt cars. No VIN numbers but listed as 2022s. In December there were a few prebuilt listed as 2022 model years. https://www.tesla.com/inventory/new/my?arrangeby=relevance&zip=33197&range=200

Con:
Ze1 leaf looks better

Congrats on your new Tesla Model Y! It sounds like you're loving it overall, especially the fast charger network and the ability to use your phone as the key.

Tesla dropped prices mid January and all model Ys are eligible for full $7,500 tax credit until sometime in March when government will announce any changes due to battery Composition.


SOOO my wife had me order a second Model Y from the existing inventory link. This one was $50,990 and after 7,500 tax credit it will net about $44k plus tax etc. I have a VIN and sales rep told me it’s built and on the way. It should be here before the end of the month.

It’s still a dual motor AWD version but with 279 miles of range vs 330 for the Long Range and 0-60 is 5.0 seconds vs 4.8 seconds.. Everything else is identical. You can only order this version from existing inventory link and can’t special order it. It is only built in the Austin TX factory with the newer 4680 battery.

It should have more range than my previous Leaf Plus cars and ability to use my current J1772 L2, a Tesla L3 super chargers and L3 CSS chargers with an adaptor.

I saw those standard-range (but they won't call them that) Y's around here too, and it was tempting. We decided not to give up the 15% range. So I'm taking a chance on the tax credit. It may get cut in half next month, or I might get lucky and IRS may still not be ready to clarify the rules then. My delivery is estimated to happen around May.

Interesting study showing climate impact on Tesla Model Ys.

https://www.notateslaapp.com/news/1613/a-look-at-tesla-s-battery-longevity-in-different-climates-insights-from-recent-study

I could be curious to see the comparative impact on 2020 Leafs. Dave have enough data to give perspective (even if data set is small)?

That is an interesting study. Not sure if there is enough information about the LFP battery to be included in this? I have recently bought a MYLR - mainly because I wanted the dual motor/performance. I do wonder, however if the LFP battery is a better option for the hot climate that we live in and also if the ability to charge to higher levels more or less equalizes the realistic range with continuous 100% charging being more acceptable.

I do agree with most of the "comparisons", yet not having lots of TESLA experience. My comments:
- I like the single pedal in the Leaf better, likely because I'm more used to it,
- The HVAC controllability is far better in the Leaf to me and much faster reacting. The TESLA A/C is counter-intuitive at times (i.e., seems heat comes on when it's hotter than hell outside. Could be heat "inertia"?). TESLA vent design is just OK at best.
- Old school - probably would like more "buttons" for the most common controls (e.g. all aspects of cruise control) - screen is distractive at times - hope I get used to this. The Leaf is so conventional in its design that switching between my other ICE car is easy.
- I will really miss the ProPilot now that I finally got thoroughly familiar with it (when to NOT use it). I'm not paying massive $$s for a software update that doesn't always rate well and seems quite variable in content.
- As I'm a Frank Sinatra auto singer (I wish), The karaoke makes up for any shortfalls :lol:

Just IMOs

bobkart said:

Thanks lebikerboy. I understand the continuous model evolution approach that Tesla uses, but registration/insurance requires a 'model year'. In past discussions of that concept as it relates to how Tesla does things, the bottom line conclusion was that the 'model year' assigned to a given vehicle is just the calendar year in which delivery of the vehicle was made. Maybe this isn't the case, it's only 'what I've heard'.

It's not that important, more a matter of curiosity on my part. If it does work as I describe above, it doesn't seem possible to take delivery of a 2023 'model year' Tesla in 2022. Just trying to resolve that apparent discrepancy in my mind.

UPDATE: Okay I just searched and here's a discussion covering this question:

https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/when-does-tesla-change-model-year-designation.123619/
A key point made there is that they seem to start calling them the next years model in the last few weeks on the preceding year. Seems there were issues with people refusing deliveries near the end of the year because it was 'last year's car'. So that perfectly explains the initial post.

Click to expand...

My 2023 Model X was delivered on October 31, 2022