Early Leaf - Quick Questions

At a guess I'd say

1) 60km realistic range

2) not really

3) it will probably charge at max 3.3kw/hr, so if it was empty to full, maybe about 5hrs or so? I don't think Leafs as old as 2012 had the option of a 6.6kw charger. If you have to use granny cable, even slower.

4) I'd say its unrealistic to be honest. 105km per day and needing to charge in-between times.

5) you should get a granny cable and a type 1 public charging cable.

I agree with Niman on all points. You are too close with the requirements and you should look for a more suitable car.

If you look from 2014 or newer, the better battery is in the car, but you should be looking at cars with 10 bars. Low mileage models will be what you want and ideally with the faster 6.6kW On-Board-Charger, so you can charge faster from home.

You would need a home charger installed capable of delivering the faster charge, which is around 6kW or 30Amp when in use. Most EV owners have such a charger. A grant is available to help with the cost....usually costs the owner circa 5-600 euro after grant.

It won't have the range you need. Don't buy it. For 120km range in any weather you need a car with a 28 or 30kWh battery.

It will break your heart buying a car with a range that won't meet your needs.

I disagree. With 8 bars you would start the day with ~14kwh usable in the battery, 1st trip 35kms would use approx 6kwh. you then have 3 hours to charge, at 3.3kw. Including the ramp down in charging speeds as you reach full charge you should get it back into the high 90s percent. Second trip use another 6kwh. Then charge for 1 hour at 3.3kw means you would start your final run with ~10kwh.

I think yours is the ideal use case for a leaf of this vintage. You should low ball the seller, he will find it difficult to find a buyer. I have a 2013 with 10 bars and found it very usable, I have since doubled the capacity with a booster pack in the boot which will do over 200kms on a single charge now.

You would need a dedicated charger that can utilise the full 3.3kw charge rate. Don't bother with the grant, the chargers are a rip off. Get an electrician to install a commando socket and buy a Portable mode 2 charger <300 euro. Ive been using one for over 2 years. I don't think links are allowed but just google it or I can pm it to you. Also, future proof yourself, get a 7KW version.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the compliment ☺️I did in fact do it myself for very little money, relatively speaking. It wasn't easy and it took a long time but it's been going strong for over a year now.... It's actually a modular system I built, so can be fitted and removed in 20 mins, I use it for occasional long trips. the rest of the time it's storing solar energy and powering my house.

Sounds like a potential new business if the units can be built at a reasonable cost.

I'd suggest looking for a 132 leaf with the 6.6kw on board charger and get a home charge point installed so you can top it up between trips and then you will be well covered. If you are using the max range on the car every day you will be saving a good whack over running petrol / diesel.

My 132 Tekna has the 6.6 charger, is down to about 80% or something like that and adds 1/4 of the battery capacity per hour on the home charger. Range would be around 100km (or up to 115) if driven easy.

You are looking for the one with the dark interior as the light interior are almost all the first gen Japanese made ones with only a 3.3kw charger.

I heard of Muxan before but I always thought they were so expensive you’d be better of trading the car up to an alternative EV with the range you need. The OP mentioned that it was done for “very little money” which would be the crucial part of such a venture.

Is using Leaf Spy and looking at the QC and Hx values not done these days?

That was my go-to for a purchase made 2 years ago. Has it changed?

Just in case you go to look at it, and someone has already mentioned it, but check the heater. Ramp the temp up to max and make sure it's blowing lots of hot air. The heaters in the early cars are prone to failure and the car is effectively a write off if it breaks or is not working as the matrix is buried so far in the car it costs €€€ to replace. Go for a 132 reg onwards, the SV/Acenta spec upwards has the heat pump. You can check it's a Sunderland built car and therefore newer battery chemistry if the chassis number begins with SJ - its on the windscreen so simple to check.

@Bawnmore - well wear! Great to see one of the bargains in this thread go to a boardsie!

You forgot to share the most important bit though, how much did you get it for? And why did you trailer it? Not much in the way of CHAdeMO over in your area?

@Bawnmore - nice one! That range is very good going for a Leaf that age in this sort of 10C weather, you can consider that a nice bonus.

Are you sure? I had a 12 Leaf and have a 14 Leaf. If memory serves me, both have "B" mode for increased regen, but only the late 2013 (and later) have the Eco mode on the steering wheel for reduced acceleration and reduced power consumption (including the heating system).

I'm doubting myself now. I rarely used the 12 model, but I thought it had a different driving mode. I know it was faster off the mark than the later model.

That's spot on. I knew there was a change on the gear selector, but thought it was for "B" mode, not eco. And yes, the newer 2013 version brought the flap opener to the key fob...a very welcome addition. This was for the Acenta (SV) or better.

The 2011 leafs all had fast charging, as did any leafs originally sold in Ireland. Before MY2014, the UK had 3 trim levels, XE, SV and SVE. We didnt get the 12-13 XE here. The XE had fast charging as optional, meaning yes, if you bought a previously imported MY12 or MY13 UK leaf and it didnt have SV spec minimum, then yes chademo was optional