Nissan Leaf

McGiver

Kramer wrote:

It'll still have at least a year's full manufacturer warranty, 4 year/200,000km battery warranty, very fast CCS charging, is more efficient, looks better & is likely far better specked.

Impossible. 19k if you're very lucky. Else they fetch ~20k

holdfast

I am thinking of buying a 62kW leaf. I commute in the region of 220km a day on rural roads. I am hoping to replace my diesel spend with the cost of the car plus electricity. I think with the deal they have now (0%) and what I can put together myself. It is doable.

What are peoples views on using it to commute that distance on a rural road ? I will be charging at home on night saver.

the_amazing_raisin

holdfast wrote: »

I am thinking of buying a 62kW leaf. I commute in the region of 220km a day on rural roads. I am hoping to replace my diesel spend with the cost of the car plus electricity. I think with the deal they have now (0%) and what I can put together myself. It is doable.

What are peoples views on using it to commute that distance on a rural road ? I will be charging at home on night saver.

I would strongly recommend looking at different brand EVs for that distance commute. The 62kWh Leaf has two problems with long journeys:

1. Rapidgating, the fast charging speed slows down due to the battery not being cooled
2. Chademo plugs, all new cars use CCS plugs and this will become the dominant standard at rapid chargers in future

I'd say the Leaf will handle the commute quite well. You may be forced to slow down a bit in the coldest months of the year to save energy, or take a mid point recharge if there's a charger available. But for the majority of the year you'll be fine


Ideally if your employer can provide workplace charging that would get rid of any possible range anxiety. If it's free, then even better, you could get free electricity for 90% of your driving

EDIT: Here's a video of a 62kWh Leaf driving Oslo-Geilo in the middle of Normegian winter. The distance is 226km and the outside temp is around -2C and it's up a steep hill. The car arrived with 16% leftover, so the likelihood is you'll be fine with your commute all year around

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieODd-PgSbs

the_amazing_raisin

Just wondering what range people are getting from the Leaf40 in summer & winter? I can see a fairly decent looking one up North which the missus might like but she's unconvinced about the range, she isn't too impressed with my Leaf24 so far

kennethsmyth

cruisey1987 wrote: »

Just wondering what range people are getting from the Leaf40 in summer & winter? I can see a fairly decent looking one up North which the missus might like but she's unconvinced about the range, she isn't too impressed with my Leaf24 so far

Depends on if using motorway or not - all 120kph approx 140Kms in winter or 180kms plus back roads.

slave1

holdfast wrote: »

I am thinking of buying a 62kW leaf. I commute in the region of 220km a day on rural roads. I am hoping to replace my diesel spend with the cost of the car plus electricity. I think with the deal they have now (0%) and what I can put together myself. It is doable.

What are peoples views on using it to commute that distance on a rural road ? I will be charging at home on night saver.

Look at the Kia e-Niro, solid range EV

optimal

holdfast wrote: »

I am thinking of buying a 62kW leaf. I commute in the region of 220km a day on rural roads. I am hoping to replace my diesel spend with the cost of the car plus electricity. I think with the deal they have now (0%) and what I can put together myself. It is doable.

What are peoples views on using it to commute that distance on a rural road ? I will be charging at home on night saver.

I recently got the leaf 62 and I did 60k on a really cold night with heating on full blast. On that basis, small as it is, I'm estimating about 275Kms range on rural roads at worst so it should be fine. I had a Leaf 30 which never gave me any trouble so I was quite happy to stay with the Nissan and it has loads of range for me for the vast majority of my use. And it's really well kitted out.

holdfast

Thanks Optimal and cruisey1987.

That is good to hear about the range with cold weather

I am unsure about the crack with the rapid charging after the rapidgate issue you brought to my attention cruisey1987 . But after doing a bit of digging its is less of an issue with the 62kW. As it has a bigger battery and it is less prone to overheating.

But in the back of my mind, in three I know my my commute will involve a journey of around 300km one way. So I will most likely want to rapid charge then and this will be twice a week for a year. So I don't want to wreck my battery on year three. Plus I dont want to be waiting around for it to cool and then charge making a three hour journey into a 4/5 hour one.

the_amazing_raisin

holdfast wrote: »

Thanks Optimal and cruisey1987.

That is good to hear about the range with cold weather

I am unsure about the crack with the rapid charging after the rapidgate issue you brought to my attention cruisey1987 . But after doing a bit of digging its is less of an issue with the 62kW. As it has a bigger battery and it is less prone to overheating.

But in the back of my mind, in three I know my my commute will involve a journey of around 300km one way. So I will most likely want to rapid charge then and this will be twice a week for a year. So I don't want to wreck my battery on year three. Plus I dont want to be waiting around for it to cool and then charge making a three hour journey into a 4/5 hour one.

Don't worry about wrecking the battery, it has a management system that will work to protect the battery from harm. There used to be a theory that repeatedly rapid charging would damage the battery but that seems to have been disproven in all but the extreme cases

What is bad for the battery is sitting idle with the battery at 100%. It's better to charge to 80% if possible. However if you need the full battery, and it sounds like you will, it's best to try and time the charging so that it'll hit full shortly before you leave, so as the minimise the time at 100%

Also give your car time to preheat before leaving and in winter I find it best to preheat to sauna levels, it really reduces the heating load for the first part of the journey

If you want to get your head around the rapid charging, try going to https://abetterrouteplanner.com/

They have presets for a lot of cars including the Leaf and you can simulate things like poor weather, etc. It'll calculate your route and tell you where to charge and how long. I'd set the charger arrival percentage a bit higher personally as there's generally only one rapid charger per location and if it's broken you'll want to leave yourself enough that you don't get stuck

holdfast

Super stuff cruisey1987

I checked that out the distance, its uses 38% of battery one way. That is a great resource to plan trips.

Good point on the preheating, not sure in summer. I also see that leaf 0% has another 50km on one review, maybe I will be testing this out.

the_amazing_raisin

holdfast wrote: »

Super stuff cruisey1987

I checked that out the distance, its uses 38% of battery one way. That is a great resource to plan trips.

Good point on the preheating, not sure in summer. I also see that leaf 0% has another 50km on one review, maybe I will be testing this out.

No worries, best of luck with the new Leaf

We get 17.5kwh per 100km in this weather and 15.5kwh in summer.

Red Silurian

Some advice please

I see my local Nissan dealer is selling a 161 30kWh leaf for €13,450, this seems like a lot considering a 171 note petrol is €12,450 and a 171 Diesel pulsar is €12,950 from the same dealer or am I incorrectly undervaluing the leaf?

NIMAN

colmtheperson wrote: »

Some advice please

I see my local Nissan dealer is selling a 161 30kWh leaf for €13,450, this seems like a lot considering a 171 note petrol is €12,450 and a 171 Diesel pulsar is €12,950 from the same dealer or am I incorrectly undervaluing the leaf?

Hes probably hoping to cash in on what he might think is more demand for evs at present?

Red Silurian

NIMAN wrote: »

Hes probably hoping to cash in on what he might think is more demand for evs at present?

Thanks what do you think a 161 30kWh leaf should cost in your mind?

RobbieTheRobber

colmtheperson wrote: »

Some advice please

I see my local Nissan dealer is selling a 161 30kWh leaf for €13,450, this seems like a lot considering a 171 note petrol is €12,450 and a 171 Diesel pulsar is €12,950 from the same dealer or am I incorrectly undervaluing the leaf?

How much mileage and what spec is it Colm?
I paid less for a 172 L30 last year but brexit has affected UK imports so don't know if that changes prices

slave1

colmtheperson wrote: »

Some advice please

I see my local Nissan dealer is selling a 161 30kWh leaf for €13,450, this seems like a lot considering a 171 note petrol is €12,450 and a 171 Diesel pulsar is €12,950 from the same dealer or am I incorrectly undervaluing the leaf?

In a private sale I would not pay more than €10.5k, the car is out of general warranty but pretty much bulletproof, battery warranty is 8years/160,000kms so check ODO but the battery is also pretty much bulletproof.
You're paying a high premium for unnecessary dealer used warranty.
If you're serious you need to invest in a ELM device to plug into the OBDII port and with free App (Leafspy) you can see health of battery which should be around the low 90%.

gomamochi1

slave1 wrote: »

In a private sale I would not pay more than €10.5k, the car is out of general warranty but pretty much bulletproof, battery warranty is 8years/160,000kms so check ODO but the battery is also pretty much bulletproof.
You're paying a high premium for unnecessary dealer used warranty.
If you're serious you need to invest in a ELM device to plug into the OBDII port and with free App (Leafspy) you can see health of battery which should be around the low 90%.

I have a 171 leaf 30kw with battery soh 82% which reckon is quite poor with 70000km on the clock. Had nissan dealer service last Sept 2020 and the soh was 92%. I have contacted nissan ireland as I think it's a warranty issue as it should be doing better than 140km a charge for a 30kw battery 2.5 years old. They told me to go back to dealer and check if out. Any recommendations? Thanks

slave1

gomamochi1 wrote: »

I have a 171 leaf 30kw with battery soh 82% which reckon is quite poor with 70000km on the clock. Had nissan dealer service last Sept 2020 and the soh was 92%. I have contacted nissan ireland as I think it's a warranty issue as it should be doing better than 140km a charge for a 30kw battery 2.5 years old. They told me to go back to dealer and check if out. Any recommendations? Thanks

I have a 162 and similar mileage, haven't checked the SOH in a while so I'll pop out and check it, but a lost bar on a 171 seems wrong, could be that that car requires the firmware update to resolve mis-reading of car SOH.
140km range in Winter looks bang on though.

gomamochi1

slave1 wrote: »

I have a 162 and similar mileage, haven't checked the SOH in a while so I'll pop out and check it, but a lost bar on a 171 seems wrong, could be that that car requires the firmware update to resolve mis-reading of car SOH.
140km range in Winter looks bang on though.

Asked the dealer about it in sept though he said the software was ul to date. I tried to explain about battery firmware update though would not or could not do anything!! That's why I rang Nissan Ireland. I must get the leaf spy pro and print out the firmware version to show them the updated one that is needed. Anyone on here have the correct one? Thanks

slave1

So back in from the rain! 162 L30, 68,920kms and she's 92.22% SOH.
Your 82% for a newer car (inferring late 171) with similar mileage does not ring right, I highly suspect it has the faulty firmware, bring to another dealer

Stealthirl

colmtheperson wrote: »

Some advice please

I see my local Nissan dealer is selling a 161 30kWh leaf for €13,450, this seems like a lot considering a 171 note petrol is €12,450 and a 171 Diesel pulsar is €12,950 from the same dealer or am I incorrectly undervaluing the leaf?

The Note and Pulsar were lower priced when new though. I think the top spec 1.6sc Note we got in 152 was €22k v €28 for a Leaf24 SVE

rodneytrotter15

I've noticed over the last few weeks when reversing the Leaf out of the drive it makes a squeaky/gratey noise and is feels like the footbrake is on and it takes slightly more throttle to move out. It's perfect one I start to move off and is perfect driving ( 161 with 58k ) Going to take it to Nissan but wondering if anyone has any initial thoughts on what it might be ?

olearydc

rodneytrotter15 wrote: »

initial thoughts on what it might be ?

I've noticed that - never a issue mind
Always presumed its just the brakes needing a bit of a clean after being parked with handbrake overnight - as we don't use them as much as ICE cars

the_amazing_raisin

rodneytrotter15 wrote: »

I've noticed over the last few weeks when reversing the Leaf out of the drive it makes a squeaky/gratey noise and is feels like the footbrake is on and it takes slightly more throttle to move out. It's perfect one I start to move off and is perfect driving ( 161 with 58k ) Going to take it to Nissan but wondering if anyone has any initial thoughts on what it might be ?

Crud on the brake discs, it's one of the unfortunate headaches with living with an EV


Because EVs have regen which reduces the need for the mechanical brakes, the discs get dirt and rust deposited on them which in turn causes that squeaking noise when setting off


As long as it isn't affecting your brake performance then it should be fine. You can get the garage to clean off the discs and calipers which should get rid of the squeaking for a while if it's getting bad


Over a long time, this can cause additional wear on the brakes, so it's worth keeping an eye on


It's for this reason that the ID.3 put drum brakes on the drive axle, the sealed system prevents any dirt getting in

KCross

rodneytrotter15 wrote: »

I've noticed over the last few weeks when reversing the Leaf out of the drive it makes a squeaky/gratey noise and is feels like the footbrake is on and it takes slightly more throttle to move out. It's perfect one I start to move off and is perfect driving ( 161 with 58k ) Going to take it to Nissan but wondering if anyone has any initial thoughts on what it might be ?

olearydc wrote: »

I've noticed that - never a issue mind
Always presumed its just the brakes needing a bit of a clean after being parked with handbrake overnight - as we don't use them as much as ICE cars

Its that ^

If it is really bad the foot brake might need some lubrication so that it releases easier. If the car is due a service maybe mention it there.

I've a problem with my 171 Leaf today.

The Air con/ fans are not working at all. There is the dull sound of something trying to start but no air blows through any vents at all at any of the settings low to high.

Anyone had this before?

Could it come under the warranty for repair?

It's a PITA with the windscreen fogging up.

peposhi

TheTorment wrote: »

I've a problem with my 171 Leaf today.

The Air con/ fans are not working at all. There is the dull sound of something trying to start but no air blows through any vents at all at any of the settings low to high.

Anyone had this before?

Could it come under the warranty for repair?

It's a PITA with the windscreen fogging up.

Get that done ASAP under warranty!
This happened to me in 2015 with a my six months old Leaf back then. No hassle replacing it - took a full day but no extra cost. Otherwise it could cost you an easy 2K to fix out of warranty...

peposhi

peposhi wrote: »

Get that done ASAP under warranty!
This happened to me in 2015 with a my six months old Leaf back then. No hassle replacing it - took a full day but no extra cost. Otherwise it could cost you an easy 2K to fix out of warranty...

Seriously??
I was reading up on the warranty. It's only 3 years for standard parts so unfortunately the car is out of warranty.

I really hope it's nothing as serious as what happened with your car.

peposhi

TheTorment wrote: »

Seriously??
I was reading up on the warranty. It's only 3 years for standard parts so unfortunately the car is out of warranty.

I really hope it's nothing as serious as what happened with your car.

Oh, sugar... we are in 2021 already! I counted 2020 and that your car is still in or coming out of your 3 years warranty period...

Well... the issue with the heater is common enough. Doubt Nissan will do an out of warranty repair as a good gesture... Get it checked and confirmed and perhaps get it done by a local garage... ask Phil in Electricautos, he would have help a few people getting this sorted...