Nissan LEAF. Is it still relevant? EV Review and test drive
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- čas přidán 15. 07. 2024
- EDIT - I guess not as Nissan stopped production in early 2024! The Nissan LEAF is older than it looks, with a heritage dating back to 2010. We tested a 2022 Tekna (top of the range) to see if it still has a place against ever-stronger competition in the EV market.
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#ev #review #electriccar - Auta a dopravní prostředky
We owned 2 generations of Leaf. The 30, and then 40 kWh Leaf. 30 struggled as we live in rural Ireland but the 40 was a brilliant car. The issue with charging didn't bother us as we charge at home 99% of the time. Hugely comfortable cars, very good at what they do, even if slightly dated at this stage.
Work colleague has the older one, bought cheap, crap range but used just for his work commute and local journeys, he reckons he’s saved a fortune and virtually no service costs. Not bad for a now 10 year old car.
Local commute fine, repair costs out the envelope.
If you like EVs, buy one and drive it. If you prefer ICE vehicles, buy one and drive it. The choice should remain for many years to come by which time the charging network and/or battery tech will be much better.
And I suspect it will remain the case. Government aims are utterly out of step with reality.
Totally agree with you. 10 years driving an EV and I totally love it. But I'm also realistic and know it's not for everyone (at the moment).
@@HubNut same with most things they try to meddle with
Politicians are not engineers and they have little to no idea how much of a task it is to electrify cars, never mind an entire society. They think punitive taxes and juicy subsides are the solution to every problem.
My sentiments exactly. Love the new tech of EV but still can't resist any ice with more than 5 cylinders. A bit of a fine line in leaving it to market forces but at the same time pushing for change and being at the forefront of it. I doubt it won't be the last time a UK government pushes back the full adoption period.
The best thing about the Leaf is the fact the computer systems have been fully hacked or reverse engineered. Thats what has has allowed third parties to do some great things that stop the car from being scrap before its CO2 debt of manufacturer has been paid off.
All manufacturers need to be forced to release their information so the aftermarket can create a proper repair industry
I had Tekna 40kw and now a Tekna 62kw. I have only charged once at ChaDemo point with my second car as Nissan "paid" for a charger for my first. I use my "granny charger" (13amp plug) when overnight visiting. I use the E-Pedal as much as possible. Some other EVs don't have the same level of recharge on braking that I am now used to. I fitted a spare wheel and a custom made boot floor.
1-pedal driving is godsent when you do a lot of driving in stop-n-go traffic.
The Japanese model did came with a space saver spare tire, its placed under the car at the rear. You do have to the metal rack type of thing to hold it and a bolt to lower down that metal rack.
Thank you, I was not aware of that neither was the dealer. I believe that Australian cars must have a spare wheel supplied. The spare tyre jambs in nicely between the Bose woofer and the rear panel and is clean if I need it.
@@lordpitnolen2196 Yes, but do check it again as if I'm not wrong you guys have the UK made Leaf and I don't recall they have spare tires.
Interesting review. I bought a new Mercedes 220d 3 years ago, it does 60 to 70mpg day to day and I only need to fill it up once a month, a full tank gives a 900 mile range. It’s a lovely car and very convenient and cost effective to run. Recently I’ve been looking at a Polestar on a scheme through my work. With a wall box I could keep it charged at home no problems with fuel costs being a little lower than the diesel Mercedes. What puts me off is the charging network away from home. Last year we did a road trip to Scotland in a PHEV car. We couldn’t find anywhere to charge the battery. Domestic supplies tripped out on the 3 pin plug, service area chargers were all in use, we found a bank of empty chargers but you needed an app to use them and there was no mobile internet to download the app…..Luckily we had the option of just running on petrol so did that instead.
Why not get a Tesla? No worries about the charging network then. Alternatively, pay for a Tesla subscription and use the Tesla chargers that are open to non Teslas.
Stick with your diesel.
The leaf connector is the betamax of the EV world. Great review as always 👍
I never get why Nissan never hasn't updated it. With Aria out they have the software and everything ready. But no. So stupid
The comments are hilarious Pro vs anti EV. Calm down people. There’s a place for both EVs and ICE and I think that’s the issue, at the moment with the current battery technology, EVs cannot replace ICE for long journeys but for the cities they are perfect. Now the problem is EVs are getting bigger and bigger requiring bigger battery packs and you’d could argue that’s not an efficient use of resources. Small and light would be the way to go for use in cities. At the moment, it seems that plug in hybrids would be the best of both worlds, smaller battery packs with a range of 50 or so KM with the ability to hold the charge for city use. That range would suit most people’s daily driving and you have the ICE for longer trips then there’s no need for 90kwh of expensive and heavy batteries - a better use of resources cheaper and the ability to get more of them on the road.
The way this comment seems to violently force me to write a comment when reading ICE as a German is peculiar. But lucky me, it’s delayed.
The issue with hybrids is the complexity and servicing costs of having both powertrains. Totally agree with the polarisation though - otherwise nice people seem to turn into rabid dogs because of a poo-storm created by some tabloids and a handful of CZcams influencers creating hand-wringing anti-EV content for clicks.
Hyundai created the sweet spot EV, the original Ioniq. Ultra-efficient design and smaller, lighter battery because, well, less power needed to drive the same distance. But it was binned - presumably because of market demand with people believing they need 65kWh+ batteries for one journey a year. Every other EV since, other than the Tesla, has been a step backwards.
I'm very sanguine about the future of EVs. Sooner or later sanity will reassert itself and lighter, smaller EVs whose manufacturers don't think we all need stonking 0-60 times and a ton of pointless gadgets will appear; new battery technologies will reduce weight and overheating problems, and the charging infrastructure will catch up. People will eventually realise that EVs may cost more to buy, but fuel and maintenance costs are less, so we need to adjust to a new model of car ownership. @@MrBinabanana
@@MrBinabanana agreed. There needs to be a mix of powertrains to suit the use. A 650kg 100kwh battery pack just doesn't make sense to me.
If we all drove normal-sized cars with a ~150-200bhp engine, weighing ~1,500kg, with a small electric motor that would do 40 miles on a charge, our personal transport environmental problems would be largely sorted. (And it would be safer for cars/pedestrians we hit.) 40 miles covers most journeys and means a small battery - less pollution from heavy metals.
Most of us could do that. We don’t need pointlessly heavy SUVs/crossovers (you can have an estate for extra space). We don’t need 500bhp in a family car. Or even 300.
And we could still have sports cars, etc. for occasional fun.
The current situation is what happens when you let people selfishly do whatever they want - and allow big businesses to propagandise them through advertising to ‘choose’ to drive needlessly large vehicles.
And the government have no intention of improving the charging network because rich people have driveways and garages, so they’ll be fine. That is the key problem with electric cars - or do you have spare hours a week to ‘fill’ your car? Electric cars are still the preserve of the rich - the poor will be shafted once they’re forced into them.
Good car to drive, extremely comfortable. I charge at home and save a fortune. Cheap to buy compared to most other cars. Most of my journeys are short. Ideal for my needs though not for everyone.
Just to say Ian. Another wonderful in depth video. 👏👏👍👍
It's fascinating to watch how divided people are over EV's to the point of insulting complete strangers online
I don't notice the same zealotry between diesel and gasoline
I'm putting it down to the cancerous effect of social media
Short memory huh? 🤣🤡
There used to be lot of petrol car owners hating on diesel.
Yeah, watch any old review of a diesel on youtube and the comment section is filled with "derv" insults.
@@GoldenCroc "old CZcams video" there's an oxymoron
@@Pyjamarama11 Well, everything is relative. Could be "old" in the sense of "earlier" or "old" in the sense of how some people percieve it. I took a little bit of both into account. More concretely, Reviews posted 3-4 years ago should suffice to see what I mean. Cheers mate.
I still have my 2016 Leaf. Still working perfectly for my needs. Mostly home charged but often top up on the 6KW chargers at supermarkets - why not. No drop in range, still about 120-140 in practice, and still plenty for the tootling around I do. And as you say, so easy to drive. Chademo isn't a problem for me as i only ever used that a couple of times.
Ive had a leaf now for almost 5 years. Its a great family car, for the price, an interesting option for those able to charge at home.
EV’s would have a better chance if politicians never got involved.
Or the media, too much influence!
You can clearly see when something was made up behind a desk.
Another issue with the Leaf is that the battery is passively cooled which means, a) when traveling, charging slows down with each successive recharge, and b) the battery degradation over the life of the vehicle is far worse than any other EV.
I've had a 2014 Leaf (24kWh) since 2019 and it was the most expensive second hand car I've ever bought (£7,500). But 4½ years later it's paid for its purchase price in fuel savings alone compared to the 2005 Honda Civic it replaced. In October we had a V2H (Vehicle to Home) charger fitted and now I can charge it on cheap overnight electricity and use it as a battery to power my house (and soak up free power from my solar panels). For our family it's the gift that keeps on giving.
It's a great daily driver, like you said it's not exciting but it's very competent and it only costs us 2.3p/mile if we charge at home (we get a lot of free solar miles in the Summer too).
The bump in the middle of the rear floor is where the high voltage emergency disconnect lives, in the event of an accident the emergency services can pop it open and remove a plug to isolate the battery. With regard to Chademo, we're just beginning to see CCS to Chademo adapters as commercial products (>£800) so there will be some scope to keep using Chademo vehicles in the future.
Thanks for the extra knowledge an actual owner can bring to the story.
Enjoying the variety of content on the channel 👍👍👍
Best thing is that they still have buttons in it, instead of a touch screen to control everything. Great video and review. Thank you.
I think the work you have done on EVs is some of your best. Straight to the point covering off my interests and concerns.
I have 2 EVs, and charge them both with the granny chargers. Not everyone needs a wall box
True, although it does depend on your driving profile I guess....
Excellent review Ian. Very complete and informative.
Good review. Saw you guys yesterday in cardigan. Was rushing somewhere so didn't stop to say hello 😊
A very fair and, dare I say, professional review. Well done.
Every honest review of EVs highlights the charging issue. Really puts me off buying one. Got to sort it out EV manufacturers!
Fine review Hubnut. Thanks!
You nailed it in regards to driving an ev in a rural area. I live in a larger rural city and we have two public plugs in town. Many people like me do a lot of miles since everything is far. Unless you have an employer that you can charge at, it’s a tough sell in rural areas. Keep up the great variety!
As far as cold weather goes ... the 2019 LEAF we bought two months ago has just been through a week of sub-minus-30 weather. (I live in Saskatchewan, because I am insane.) Never needs a boost, the cabin heats up in five minutes compared to 20-30 for the old Civic. The range isn't great even with the 62kWh battery, probably 150km in that bitter cold, but we're not regular highway drivers so it's just fine - and that's a worst case range, worse than worst-case for you Brits. Plug it into the side of the house at night, it's charged in the morning and you really don't need more than that. Best winter city driving car I've ever owned. I kinda like the "old-fashioned" interior with buttons for most things rather than having to navigate touch screen menus, too.
Hot tubs and saunas come to mind? 🥶🥶
Love the commentary and your style, good info
A superb, very objective review!
A lot of noncense, i drive a Nissan Leaf since 2018. . No problems at all. Okay chademo not the standard anymore bur available , I drove from Holland to the south of France. , nor any problem by loading with chademo I like this car..
Not a fan of EV's too expensive for likes of myself, maybe I'll be catching the bus as I get older, the infrastructure is tosh 😂
but that's every car. No room for cheap n cheerful because 5% profit margins for city cars back in 2014 are worth way less than in 2024.
Interesting that you have a Toyota Aygo as your pfp
We can all roughly agree how much better the Aygo/C1/108 was compared to the stand alone monstrosity that is the Aygo X.
That's an interesting one. I lease mine on a salary sacrifice scheme. As I no longer worry about servicing, repairs or depreciation and save a lot on money on fuel with chargers at home or work I am not spending much more than I was running the 11-year-old high-mileage diesel Mazda that finally expired on me, but the EV is a huge amount better in every way.
If you don't own one, how do you know the infrastructure is tosh?
@@PhineasPhlobbloke down the pub…..
@@MagicRat Yep, fat George down the Slug & Lettuce.
I’ve had my 2018 leaf Tekna 40 kwh for 3 years , It has 98000 miles on the clock but still drives perfectly and everything works as it should . Leafspy says my battery capacity is ~86.2% . Great little car .
We have a 2016 Tekna leaf which is only 24kw, it fits in with our life style perfectly. We both work from home, it's perfect for whizzing around locally for picking up and dropping off kids etc. We love it, so easy to drive and still able to shock boy racers at the traffic lights 😂. I think the type of EV you chose is definitely proprationate to its use and your life style and the leaf ticks all those boxes for us. I should add we still have a diesel as a second car which we don't use that often but still need for towing the caravan 🙄
I doubt any boy racers would be shocked at a leaf tekna's acceleration. It's equivalent to most standard petrol cars let alone a hot hatch. Also give it the beans a few times and watch your range disappear quickly. EV owners going on about acceleration always make me laugh as you never see one going quick on the road as they're too worried about impacting range.
I think you have it pretty much spot on.
If your daily driving isn't a huge distance and your company has charging points an electric vehicle is a fantastic choice.
I mean getting the boss to pay for your driving is a win.
If your drive is longer or you need to carry weight then EV are not the greatest.
What we do need is those who drive I.C.E. and Electric vehicles to realise is we are all road users, stop fighting each other and turn our gave onto those who are not delivering what they are supposed to The Government who for many years have let our roads turn to into a potholed mess.
@@lordbungle6235 can't argue with that. The holes round my way are getting so bad it would be best to simply resurface entire roads.
@@noggintube I am thinking about converting my vehicles to hovercraft 🤣 The only way I won't hit potholes.
Excellent review right here , Thanks.
A very thorough and interesting review. Thanks 👍
Brilliant video, always enjoy the electric reviews, enjoyed the Fiat 500 onto videos also.
Great review.
Wow, i didn't expect to hear Aberystwyth when clicking on this video. Lived there for 3 years and i miss is dearly, i'd move back in a heartbeat if i could.
It’s a good reliable and affordable EV for people who are really on a tight budget and who wants an electric vehicle it’s simple and minimalistic.
A fair and balanced review, most likely another car I would consider alongside the MG4 if I had to Change the family car. I actually need to drive a Leaf again and see how it compares to the MG4 I reviewed.
Great video. The competition has leapfrogged the Leaf, that mattered to me, but it doesn’t matter to everyone.
I hope the CCS charger adapter becomes widely available for these cars to keep running. Whatever your opinion, keeping cars on the road longer is a great thing, cheap motoring is a lifeline for many people, particularly if they need an “auto” this would be a great motor used at less than a fiver to charge at home on the right tariff with minimal maintenance.
Great down to earth review.
Im happy with my ev as a daily. I have a classic car for fun. If it works for you try it. Im not going to preach to others about it. Thanks for a fair review as allways.
Very fair and balanced assessment.
This video was electric 😂
another great video has always Ian and miss hubnut and hublets and hubmutts 👍
I'd love to see this car in sub-zero Arctic temperatures
Bjorn Nyland probably has made dozens of videos like that. Any EV would do better than the LEAF regards to extreme cold or hot 😅
Yup, Norway has PLENTY of experience of EVs in the cold. Doesn't seem to be s big problem.
I think I speak for the whole market when I say I think it’s probably just about the right time to launch the Leaf Mark III.
One of the best and impartial reviews on an electric car .I am not a fan of EVs but that Nissan has got a lot of things right so silly huge touch screen plenty of normal switches and dials looks like a "normal" car not ugly but no need for all that power and still the charging issues in the real world
Nice review.
The only thing that counts is if you like it or not. If it fits into your lifestyle ok then all is good.
A more balanced review of a fairly modern car regardless of the power source.
A vehicle with a reliable 150 miles even in winter is more than sufficient for 95% of drivers. The average car use per day is around 20 miles in the UK and most people do not go on journeys of over 100 miles with any sort of regularity.
We have an EV. It's not a Nissan though it has similar battery capacity and motor power but will do more real miles than the Nissan does. Our everyday need is low but round trips with an oldie to the hospital can result in 80 plus mile days.
We now have the ability to charge on cheap juice overnight even though we live in a Victorian terrace. Local authorities are slowly but surely making this happen.
I love cars and my all time favourite is the Ford Anglia 123E Super with the 1200cc engine. We had a 1967 vintage version and I loved everything about that car. To be brutally honest though in the modern world a modern car is so much safer and more practical.
Modern cars for ya!
More Bongs than the Hippy at Glastonbury's chillout tent ⛺ 😀
We were told recently that you break even with emissions at 70,000 mile or 7 years. BUT, we need to consider that the battery will require changing shortly after this time period, at a cost of over £10,000 in most cases. Some cars are requiring batteries early, some later. But for me Ian, it has to be insurance. Insurance companies are writing these cars (EV cars) off with very minor damage. One chap just had a slightly scuffed floor and it was completely written off because the insurance company couldn't tell if the battery had been compromised. Also, why are we seeing so many EV cars catching fire? One poor lady lost her entire house in the States, because her rental Mercedes caught fire and took her house with it. I like the idea of EV cars, but I find them stressful. Is it going to catch fire? Is the insurance going to be too expensive? Am I going to be landed with a huge bill for a new battery? Remember, it only takes ONE cell to short, and we get ourselves into a Thermal Runaway situation, which will engulf the entire vehicle in flames! Plus the elephant in the room is the purchase price. Who can afford them?
Wrong. The battery won't require "changing". It can be repaired or refurbished for a fraction of the cost of replacing it. Cleveleys Electric Vehicles in Gloucestershire, carried out a battery pack refurbishment on a 10 year old Leaf around 3 years ago. The work took 4 hours, and the cost was £500. Cleveleys posted a video of the refurb here on CZcams, specifically to allay the fears of people who seemed to think you had to spend the cost of an Apollo Moonshot on a new battery..... And equally, this EV fires nonsense is often grossly over stated. Did you realise around 300 petrol and diesel cars catch fire each day in Britain? With respect, your post contains some often quoted points and statements, usually from unverifiable sources..... For example, any reputable insurance company worth it's salt, could readily verify whether an EV battery had been compromised after an accident... In fact many modern EV's have battery management software with an integral facility to test the voltage of individual battery cells..... And affordability isn't the issue it once was, as many who choose an EV will lease it, not buy it. Plus there's also the used EV market. I saw someone get a 2016 Renault Zoe with 35k miles on it, for £4400 a few weeks back.... And incidentally, it was Volvo who published those 70'000 mile claims. Unfortunately those claims didn't take into account the Co2 and other pollutants produced during refining petrol and diesel. Nor did they factor in that older EV batteries can be 95% recycled, and the lithium and cobalt can be 90% recovered and reused. There isn't anyone recycling and reusing old burned petrol and diesel as far as I know. And you might notice that Volvo still continued to produce EV's, and have even introduced new models since making those claims.....
Not a shred of evidence to support the idea batteries only last 7 years.
@@simonhudson5033 Who needs evidence? It's fat George down the pub again. He's "heard" lots about electric cars from sources that can't be verified so it must be true.... Even a cursory glance at a few EV manufacturers websites would have illustrated the fact a new EV battery has an 8 year warranty, and won't suddenly stop working at 8 years and 1 day old. The likes of the Daily Mail are responsible for publishing drivel such as this....
Driven one for twelve months nearly. Love it, as a vehicle to both drive and enjoy - and with 99% of charging at home on off-peak it's very cheap also. I've needed a rapid charge I think five times in that time and never had a problem finding a chademo. In the UK there are probable more CCS, it just isn't as much of an issue as I think people are making it - to most users
There is a Brazilian Company featured on Dala's Ev repair that has Beta stage CCS adaptor for the Chademo Nissan and some people bought and used it and improved it by giving the Adapter a bigger battery.
Thanks for the video, Ian, solid review. If you can't charge at home, you're in trouble and that doesn't appear to be changing any time soon. So where does that leave us? Also note: Funny how EV videos get spammed heavily with positive comments from people with strange posterior-related photos.
Normally that phenom is quite the opposite spammed full of gammons
Lol unless you're talking about the busty bait bots 😂
Sorry. I'm a bit late dealing with the inevitable bots today...
The weird cubby in the back is the battery breaker. Pull off the plastic cover, unscrew the metal cover underneath and yank the big orange handle underneath. If you crash it and the fire brigade turn up, that's what they'll do.
Great video 👍 There is a CCS to ChaDeMo adapter but very expensive at almost 2k dollars 😬 Dales EV repair has some great videos about the development and final product. BR, Per (Denmark)
Not sure about the quality of that adapter ?!
As always pro’s and con’s fully explain, with real world experience, such as charge point. There is a place for all, these should be championed alongside ICE, as better is some circumstance, such as short urban journeys and where home charging allows
I'm surprised at how far behind Nissan are with the Leaf in the EV world. As you alluded to, their focus now is on the Aria. It's a shame that so many manufacturers seem intent on releasing SUV after SUV which is why I've not gone for one until fairly recently. I love the idea of EV and have just ordered my first, a BMW i4 eDrive 40 M Sport Pro which I'm eagerly awaiting. Not very HubNut, but happy to lend it for a test drive if you ever feel the need (I'm in Wales too).
I don't get the hatred towards EV. Like you've also alluded to in other videos, it's nice to have a variety in the fleet. I like all sorts of cars regardless of propulsion. I have my V8 in the garage. I love the smooth and effortless driving dynamics that EV offers for daily driving. Did not order mine to 'save the world', I ordered it because I actually enjoy driving EVs for daily driving.
I do like the look of the current Leaf, it's a shame the tech is lagging.
Still can't believe they didn't offer a CCS option. I supposed it's a bit of a BETAMAX Vs VHS situation.
I used to have a SEAT Mii electric which was a superb little car. Genuine 160 mile range with a battery that didn't intrude on space vs the petrol model at all. Exactly what you want when people say EVs are too big and fancy. Shame they only made a handful of them before stopping production.
Cool, i genuily been quite intresstes in the i4, bmw seams to be on of the only companies out there with some real towing capcity, 1600kg would be perfect for me. Just wish they wouldn't have switched to that horrible touch screen only. Have to wait until one of the first year version with at least some buttons are back from there lease.
I also don't mind EVs but I can't stand the Tesla boys that claim nothing goes wrong with them and everything is perfect. Witch simply is not true. They are the type of people that makes the hate for ev grow.
Nissan is just stupid not offering it with CCS today, since they have the technology with Aria
I've currently got a 30kwh leaf, had it 4 years and love it, but the passive cooling and Chademo have become an issue which they failed to rectify.
Mine still has all 12 bars ( allot don't) but what I don't understand is why all EV manufacturers ( and public) seem obsessed with SUVs/ cross overs , in a EV you are looking for efficiency but manufacturers have just made bigger, heavier less aerodynamic EVs and just put in ever bigger batteries to accommodate them on range.
Seems like madness to me .
I'm currently looking at Hyundai Ioniq 38kwh ( discontinued for some stupid reason) that's a decent family car that often achieves well over 5 miles per kWh, on a small battery does 150-160 miles in winter and 180-200 in summer.
The battery management is also fantastic with little degradation, only really let down by fairly slow rapid charging ( max 50kwh) but to me that's the way car manufacturers should be going, efficient vehicles.
@@davefitzpatrick4841 Just did some research and the ccs chademo adapter seams to be working now.
Apperantly it was to weak battery in it so it couldn't pull the contactors.
Classic Ioniq is cool but not certified for towing snd therefore i class is as worthless.
@@Iceeeen yea just watching Dala's video now Which is good , see he's going to order one so that will be interesting, fingers crossed, but for me the leaf is still let down by range and battery management, as I've said mine was a great first dive into owning a EV , I understand you need to tow so yea the Ioniq isn't for you , but for my needs I think it's just about perfect, I could stretch my budget and get a 300 mike EV but in reality I only do long journeys around three times a year and with a disabled wife we tend to take our time on those trips .
Either way I won't be going back to Ice cars ( doesn't make sense when I also have solar) although the leaf has it's flaws It has shown me EVs are the way to go ( for me personally) .
I test drove the Hyundai Kona and I believe it has similiar bhp, and again if you put your foot down all hell would break loose, it's too much power for the car to handle, and probably most people too. I drove the 150bhp Leaf and it was fine, and the VW ID 3 which was 200+ bhp but rear wheel drive, it seemed a lot more refined. The VW was like £37k and didn't even come with rear speakers as standard, it was far too basic and feature-less. Anyways I got annoyed with the whole thing and still have a diesel car, no regrets.
I'm thinking of trying either a late 30kwh gen1 or early gen2 leaf on my parents. They are getting on and increasingly use their small car for very short trips, less than a mile and a half each way. They used to walk most of the time but aren't so capable of that now. The small petrol car they have doesn't even fully warm up, sometimes for several trips in a row and as a result is causing the warning light to come on. They never take it more than about 30 miles from home either and rarely that far, so an 80 mile range and only home charging is no problem. An electric motor doesn't care how short your journeys are.
The only problem is my Dad won't have one because it wouldn't be capable of a theoretical journey that he hasn't been on in the last 15 years and never will go on anyway, but he will have a petrol car even though it is likely to mean some huge bills in the future when the catalytic converter dies due to the useage.
you can pick up a gen1 Leaf (go for 2014 or later) for peanuts now. Get a Tekna trim so they have heated steering wheel and seats, plus the all-round cameras.
Hi Ian, great video. The motor produces 217bhp not 241 as you stated. I thought it seemed a bit high when you said it. Keep up the great content
Its power is quite exaggerated by the weight bias by the battery that makes traction tricky, especially if fully laden.
200 bhp is sufficient for a typical EV, will be more than enough in any normal situation.
I love my Nissan Leaf, but I do wish it had from the onset ATM and CCS. Though at least there's an adaptor on the way. And it's perfect for my needs. Not to mention that it drives well in the winter, if for the shortened range.
It's VHS vs Betamax all over again.
Wales' 20mph in a land cruiser 80 series is 4th gear at 900 RPM very peaceful mellow experience!
Brilliant observation about the handbrake. My Renault Zoe has an electric handbrake that the car insists on turning on and will not allow me to park off handbrake free. If I leave the car for two days or more it welds itself on and I get endless weird error messages as I try and force it to release it. A good BANG!!! later and it finally releases which is loud enough for pedestrians to turn their heads to see what has happened. It really is a major pain and shows simple bad design.
Leaf is a great commuting car, if you can charge at home.
Why do modern cars look so big on the outside without having practical loading? We've gone backwards. I'm spoiled with my Peugeot Partner I guess but for me it's not the leccy power plant that puts me off cars like this it's the impractical load area and terrible visibility.
I still love my MK1 leaf and it it's used daily for the work commute of about 35 miles per day for which it's perfect for.
Mine is the 24kwh so summer range is around 90 miles and winter around 55 miles.
99% of the time mine is always charged at home overnight so it's very cheap to run.
Like Ian says a CCS adaptor is currently in development which will be great and keep the Leaf current for many more years.
I do intend to upgrade to the Gen 2 leaf maybe soon to one with the 60kwh battery for longer journeys.
In the same boat, have a 2014 24kw for local stuff. 90 miles a bit optimistic for mine (10 bars). Only charge at home but not convinced with current energy prices that it's the amazing saving over diesel that it used to be vs running our qashqai 55mpg. Brilliant car though, love turning heating on via the app!
@@JamieMcAlley I am lucky that I still have 12 bars on mine and its a late 2015 with 56k miles on the clock.
I think that for me personally it's cheaper than running a diesel also when you take into account the lack of Road tax and servicing costs there is still a saving there.
I've got the MK1 30kwh , had it 4 years it is a fantastic car let down by the battery tech and now Chademo.
I'm looking at the Hyundai Ioniq 38kwh , CCS charging a realistic range of 150-160 in winter and around 180-200 in summer, owners often reporting their cars achieve well over 5 miles per kWh, proper battery cooling/management and you can pick 2022 models up for around £18 .
Whilst I love my leaf I wouldn't touch another because of the passive cooling and poor battery management, the fact that although there are Chademo chargers still being installed far , far fewer than CCS that is though and they are generally dual purpose ( so CCS and chademo) and with more and more EVs on the road it's only making longer distance travelling in the leaf more problematic.
Having direct experience with a Leaf the chadma charging port was an issue.I looked into an adaptor to use CCS but its not as simple as a different plug its a different ampage so the actual entire charging system needs changing aswell.Classic example from my experience was choosing to charge at Peterborough services on the A1.There were 8 charging points but 7 were CCS.We were stuck there for 2 hours waiting for the Chadma point.EV,s outside of your home charger are a bloody nightmare and pounds per mile are no longer cheaper than diesel.Even 7kw/ hour home charging now costs about twenty quid to fill for 120 miles.
The Chadamo makes it the betamax of modern ev cars. Just charge at home and you'll save money and time. Avoid roadtrips.Nice car, good review.
There is an adapter now for ccs. czcams.com/video/wydql2N_F-k/video.htmlsi=UoofopgdPmbgOELm
Chademo is an actual standard whereas CCS has variations between manufacturers. Chademo is also designed with V2G in mind and V2G/V2H functionality was mandated for Japanese manufactured EVs in the wake of Fukushima as is presents the potential for EVs to provide grid resilience by acting en-masse as a utility scale grid storage facility.
We're onto our second Leaf (2012 24kWh, 2016 30kWh) and use of public charging is virtually nil for us. The upgrade was actually done last year with V2G very much in mind as we have solar and I'm hesitant to spend money on a static battery when a Leaf can do the job plus provide mobility.
Some very interesting info to be had in Robert Llewellyn's interview of David Slutzky of Fermata Energy on V2G's potential in electricity supply resilience and gaining income from your Leaf by way of their bidirectional charging functionality. Worth noting also that EV manufacturers are reacting to V2G demand and are now increasingly incorporating this in their vehicles, but the humble Leaf has had this almost from its debut.
Yes, I'm disappointed that V2G seems to be dying a death. Especially now EVs have so much more capacity.
My biggest upside on CHAdeMO is that when I go to charge my car it is almost always vacant. There are not so many other cars that use it. So I hardly ever have to wait for charging. Although very rarely I have found a place where all the stations are taken (so the CSS connectors are also usually available).
It has a Bose soundsystem, you just can't expect the bass to be 'rounder' , just more distorted.
I've experienced far better bass response in other cars.
I have the old typer and I love it.
As precarious as the oldest LEAFs are regarding battery health, I would still want one. Not least because if compared to any EV newer than 2015 - it should be a cost parity to give a 2011 LEAF a crash salvage 40-62kWh that enthusiasts offer in the Netherlands
Hi@@toyotaprius79 the last time it snowed it took 2 mins to get hot in my car and melt the snow. I will one day up grade my batties.It's crazy cheap to run. Before I got the leaf I had a old car that looked new but I got to ill to work on. That one goes on TV shows and films now. I sold it. It was on 'Good Omens', The leaf is stressless.
Nice mullet ian...welcome to 1985😊
EVs are a controversial topic and this is a great hubnut quality video about an EV. To fuel the discussion, the battery capacity of the nissan shown is equivalent to 1.36 uk gallons of diesel. For me, this small calculation is the strongest argument in favour of EVs. Cars with petrol engines, what a (really nice) waste 🙂
Having driven the earlier leaf and this one I think they’re ok at what they are designed to do. Somewhat lacking in character but a reasonable car if you have off street parking .
Thanks
Thank you!
Predictably, plenty of comments from people who despite not owning an ev or ever even driving an ev somehow think their opinion is worthwhile.
Everyone's opinion is worthwhile.
The main reason that the prices are either staying static or dropping is because of all the bad press. That's because of the poor quality Chinese batteries that are being used in order to keep production costs down and profits up.
I think that when a cheaper and safer alternative to this generation of batteries is developed and made available then the prices will stabilise and people will be more willing to put their hard earned cash into the product.
Am not American, but from what i gather online, there are people out there thinking EVs will be the death of America and proud owners of the last remaing gas guzzlers in existence.
It is Japanese yes dated in design and tech but it will be reliable if looked after! Think about that aspect.
I've owned an e+ Tekna one of these for three years and am very happy with it. Even the 62 kWh doesn't have any battery active thermal management, but it matters less with the bigger battery.
Don't do much public charging, but on one occasion, I jumped the queue for CCS as I was the only car that could use the one chademo connector 🤣
I'd sack the person who signed off that wheel design.
I can't believe Nissan didn't upgrade to CCS for the European market.
Exactly. A CCS can easily fit beside the CHAdeMO
But Nissan as is their reputation cheaped out
Oddly, Nissan did go with CCS on their new Ariya.....
I like the wheels, their design is reminiscent of the coil windings on an electric motor. There don't look like much fun to clean though.
I love my Leaf Ian... Ive just bought a 21 model 62kw Tekna like yours here for £16K at Car Giant in London with 20k on the clock... But sadly it might have to go back... why the insurance ! I was quoted £1500 for the year but when it came to buy the insurance 3 flags came up from my cousins additional car on my Employee Leasing Vehicle Scheme making my insurance jump to £7000 !!! 😧😲 Sadly EV insurance has narrowed and in the passed these flags could be overlooked as there was competition in the market 5 years ago,,, Now thats not the case and there is no market for Budget EV insurance as there is no competition there since Covid with many independent insurance providers falling by the wayside..
PAST not PASSED.
Ian please please dont let that mullet get to far advanced
I gather the charging rate (3:33) was 6.6kW for 7 hours (46kWh)
Hubnut can you do a review of a Ford festiva like circa 1988? I think they also went by the mazda 121 and kia something. My wife and I bought one new in I think 1987 or 88. Loved it! Drove great and ours was extremely reliable. It was very very hubnut imho.
I'd love to. Great cars. As you say, sold as the Mazda 121 and then the Kia Pride here - their first car sold in the UK.
Now. Where did I leave that tripod?
i have a 2014 leaf and commute 64 miles per day,no problems,1.85 cost on nitely recharge
Hello, can you please tell me when you get home after work, what percentage your battery is and also what percentage you charge it to? I presume you charge it everyday for a five day working week?
I think that it costs about USD $0.67 for 19.2 kWh per day that I drive from the house to work. That's almost USD $15 per month just roundtrip to work. Each kWh from Cobb EMC, my electricity provider, costs $0.053. I couldn't believe how cheap it is! The majority of the electric bill is the base charge, which is USD $70.
@@GavinScrimgeour hi i get home at 6pm with about 6-10% charge i plug in at 20amp 240volts for about 3hrs and charge to 100% my batterys have degraded to 10 bars on scale averaging 4.5 miles per kwh
@@bubbybunyan3883 Hello, thank you so much for replying. Your comments are very helpful and interesting. I have a 2017 Leaf with 11 bars (cheated out of the first bar) with 85% SOH. Have you used Leafspy on your car and if so, do you have a recent SOH reading? Also, what are the operating temperatures of your car? I live in Scotland and 9 out of the 12 months, the car is rediculously cheap to run. I get a cheap electricy rate of 7.5p per hour.
@@GavinScrimgeour temp stats about half scale,great car for my commute and around town.cheep transportation
If i haven't got a classic for Rustival i am bringing my 23 plate Hyundai Bayon Hybrid ( it's all ready booked in ) feel free to come and have a look over it
Not a problem! Everything welcome.
I tend to agree with you about power. I don't understand the fascination with manufacturers to have ridiculous bhp on EV's. I don't need silly 400+ bhp and sub 4 second 0-60 as seems to be common place on EV's. I'd prefer to have less and have more range. The top 3 selling cars in the UK for 2023 all have less than 200bhp. So give me an EV with 200bhp, 0-60 in 7 seconds, but a range of 400 miles please.
One word as to why the high power: Americans.
Regarding the more range in exchange for less power; thats not how EVs work. Effectively no such tradeoff for them. So your wish will likely not be fullfilled because of physics and market demands.
The power is essentially free and the more regen, the bigger the motor required. Having less power won't benefit range much at all; it's all up to your right foot.
I always enjoy a hub nut video and appreciate the leaf as they were a bit of a trailblazer . In a way I actually like the fact it' is bit dated. However as a life long car nut , especially in respect of classic cars , any future purchase of an EV that I may be forced into making will generate as much excitement as me buying new fridge. I find this very depressing.
Id still LOVE to have a Leaf despite its age, im a big Nissan fan anyway but ev cost is still above my wallet level (and others?) and i think thats what is holding them back right now 😢
2013 chevy volt. originally had 32 miles range. 130k miles later im only getting 50-55 miles of ev range. everyones right, the battery degradation is horrible, i will never buy another EV again. lol
Good to know as I was seriously considering EV
@@wts7759lfp battery lasts 3000 charge cycles before It drops to 80% of original capacity.
Multiply range by 3000 and you'll get many many miles out of that battery. (they're good to 5000 but can drop to 60% by that point)
Lfp=cobalt free, much less likely to catch fire.
I have the basic MG4. Quite simply brilliant in every way. I still love my classics but petrol feels from a time gone by now. Nissan did so much to pave the way to better motoring but the leaf has not kept up.
Nissan held the LEAF back, squandered it
I have a Cupra Born which is similar. Miles ahead of any other car I have ever driven.
When the smoke clears (figuratively), how about a review of a BMW i3? another electric-only platform which was released about the same time as the gen 1 Leaf, but is a completely different animal. Maybe the 2CV of electric cars, many pioneering and quirky ideas, not entirely practical, but a lot of fun to drive.
Its worth it if you need it or like it, second hand prices are hugely lower for a Leaf though, making it a better value.
If that car had a CCS charging port, it would be a far, far more practical alternative. Though UK charging structure still needs quite a bit of development.
I stuck to my old, very high kilometreage VW Golf IV for the longest of times here in Norway, until it finally just became too expensive to keep it on the road and have it pass MOTs. Thankfully, that coincided with the charging infrastructure really being up to snuff, and after watching lots of very thorough EV tests done by Bjørn Nyland here on CZcams, I felt more than comfortable about making the switch. I think something like 82 % of new cars sold here in Norway last year were EVs (though I bought a demo car from a dealer), so buying an EV here is about as common as...drinking water, really.
I agree, with CCS the Leaf would still be a pretty good car choice. You'd still have thermal throttling issues on long journeys but at least you could charge at nearly any station.
The fact that every Norwegian city of more than 10 thausand inhabitants have automated highway robbers, in form of toll booth barriers, where electric cars are exempt, as well as a lot of other incentives that punish ICE cars, it's no wonder that electric cars are popular in Norway. Just a bummer that the electric consumers pay with their own money for sub sea powercables to Germany and the UK, so the otherwise cheap hydro power now costs the same in Norway as in Germany and UK. Well, at least a select few make a ton of money on your suffering.
It's relevant to a point HubNut. The Leaf is now outclassed in several areas compared to more recently developed and produced EV's. It's biggest issue is the lack of a heat-pump and decent battery management. But, if you get a good enough deal from the salesperson, it could be worth considering. Personally for similar money, I'd look at decent used Hyundai Ioniq Mk 1's and perhaps the Kia eNiro. Both way ahead of the Leaf on tech and efficiency.
They have a heat pump on the posher models, and have done for about a decade. You don't get that on the lower-spec 40kwh versions. I was wrong about thermal management annoyingly.
@@HubNut the heat pump is on all models except for the early Japanese built ones and the unpopular base Visia spec on the later ones. Very good for the range on a 24kWh in winter.