With the Chevrolet Bolt taking a break, the Nissan Leaf is now America’s cheapest EV. Not only does it start at $29,280 including freight, it also qualifies for a $3,750 federal tax credit, effectively dropping the price down to $25,530. Yep, that’s a brand-new electric car for around $25,000, but before you go rushing down to your local Nissan dealership, the Leaf comes with a bunch of caveats you should know about.
Splashing out the cash for the cheapest new Nissan Leaf only gets you 149 miles of EPA-rated range. That’s 110 fewer miles than the Bolt EV managed, and a severe limitation when it comes to weekend road trips. The Leaf will work fine as an everyday in-town car, but if you’re the adventurous type, it might not be able to handle your weekends.
Then there’s the fact that the Leaf is, well, old. The second-generation model came out for the 2018 model year, and not only was that six model years ago, it also wasn’t the best time for Nissan from a product perspective. As a result, some of the interior bits feel older than they are, from the litany of panel joints to the recession-era switchgear anywhere below the infotainment screen. The result is a weird mix of stuff that works well in a modern context and stuff that feels aged, but in a charmless way. However, that’s a minor quibble. The Leaf really has three big issues that you need to consider before signing on the dotted line.
The first is that the Leaf’s CHAdeMO connector restricts fast charging significantly. Not only is the charging rate capped at 50 kW, a litany of stations don’t offer CHAdeMO connectors, and different electronic protocols currently prevent CHAdeMO-equipped vehicles from hooking up to Tesla Supercharger stations, so don’t expect an adapter and software rollout anytime soon.
The base Leaf’s battery pack still isn’t liquid-cooled. As such, thermal management shortcomings may lead to accelerated battery deterioration, and while it’s unlikely you’ll run out of range before you make it to the office like David almost did with his first-generation Leaf, it is something that sticks at the back of the mind. If you’re okay with a small chance of being on an extremely short leash in a decade, a Leaf is fine, but with most cars still expected to retain like-new functionality after ten years of ownership, anyone looking to keep a Leaf for the long haul will be disappointed.
Finally, the biggest reason not to buy a new Leaf for cheap is because used ones are so cheap, and if bought from a dealership, may qualify for a $4,000 tax credit. For instance, here’s a certified pre-owned 2020 Leaf SV with less than 30,000 miles on the clock for sale at a Nissan dealership in Glendale, Calif. for $16,800. Once the $4,000 used EV tax credit is applied, that price effectively drops to $12,800. What would you do with five figures in your pocket?
Let’s face it, America isn’t doing great when it comes to cheap new EVs. Compared to Europe, where a Peugeot e-208 with 248 miles of WLTP range starts at £31,200 including VAT, or China where a litany of cheap EVs are available, there’s a missing market segment that would help young people, the demographic most keen on EVs, put more electric cars on the road. The Leaf doesn’t quite scratch that itch, so we’re waiting on a manufacturer to do it. Who will it be?
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The litany of articles that criticize the Leaf for having a mere 149-mile range while being limited to 50 kW charging *as though the Plus didn’t exist* are always a little questionable. But, yes, get a used one, they’re bigger than the Bolt. Upgrade to the Plus for 212 miles and 100 kW charging. The CHAdeMO scarcity is also needlessly alarmist for now
The Leaf also has a heated steering wheel so I give it points for that. That small luxury might be how I get my girlfriend to not hate it (a Leaf being quite hideous to behold). With used ones at rock bottom prices and no need for gas, I think it would make a great second or extra car.
I love that heated steering wheel on my so much! It is the perfect in-town car. Small and easy to get around parking lots, zippy under 45mph.
It works best as the town car with a bigger ICE ‘ranger’ for longer trips. That role is currently being filled by my ’04 V70 but it is starting to shit the bed. Now with two kids, I’m looking into 2017-2020 Siennas. The ones with the 300hp V6. It won’t get driven much, and I expect the resale value to stay high.
That’s a litany of “litany”
A brand new Bolt went for under $20k after rebates, which makes the Leaf overpriced.
I really like the Leaf, but I agree a new one would be a dumb purchase. These things will be worth next to nothing in 8 years, like 2016 Leaf I recently sold. These are a good used car purchase, though. I regularly see low mileage second generation Leafs in good condition for $10,000 to $13,000, and I have seen them for as low as $7,000. If you are just looking for a cheap car for commuting (which is all they are good for given the stupid CHAdeMO port), used Leafs actually represent a good value.
Also, Leaf battery degradation is highly exaggerated. Severe battery degradation was common on cars with the older battery chemistry (2014 and earlier), but batteries in newer Leafs are lasting far longer. They won’t last as long as a Tesla or Bolt battery, but you can reasonably expect this car to have 75-80% battery capacity after 10 years (my 2016 had around 80% when I sold it in January). If you are just using one of these for local commuting (again, which is all they are good for), it would be reasonable to expect one of these to still have a useful range after 12-15 years.
mine is 9 years old and still at 95%.
Wow. 95% is great – how many miles are on it?
I’m not too surprised, though. I bought mine used; the first owner was under the impression the car should be charged after every trip no matter how short, so the battery was fully charged most of the time. As a result, it was down to 85% when I bought it. I treated it better so it only lost 5% over 5 years and 60,000 miles.
2015+ Leaf batteries last a while if you aren’t fast charging often (which you basically can’t since CHAdeMO chargers are becoming rare) and don’t keep them fully charged all the time.
almost 50K so far, it’s a pure short commuter (obviously, not like you can go far, lol). I only plug it in at home, and only if I’m at or around 20 miles left, (and up until recently only on 110V) i
I bought it with around 9K on it, and it’s been a really great cheap around town car. The entirety of money I’ve had to put in it is a new 12v battery and a set of tires.
I concur. I have a ’15 with I think about 80% capacity (down two bars). I keep usually between 40-80% and almost always just use the 110v. That changes a bit in the winter when I want to use the heater without worrying, I’ll charge up to 100% overnight in those cases.
The most annoying issue on it has been that the SD card for the nav maps sometimes has a corroded contact which kills the entire infotainment system (except for reverse camera). A little isopropyl fixes it though.
I almost exclusively charged mine on 120V as well. I charged mine to 100% most days since I used to have a 50 mile round trip commute, but that didn’t seem to make too much of a difference. It seems like the key to Leaf longevity is avoiding fast charging, which is easy if you have a place to charge at home and use these things as local commuting vehicles.
It will be interesting to see how well the 2015+ batteries hold up over the years. Again, from what I have seen, it seems like 15 years is realistic if you treat the batteries well. I imagine the second generation cars will last longer since it is easier to keep the battery between 20 and 80% given the larger battery capacity. Plus, losing 30% of capacity matters less when you start with a 40 or 62 kwh capacity.
The Leaf was a good EV 10 years ago, and totally left behind 5 years ago. Nissan needs to refresh it to be competitive
We have a 2013 and it is great as a second car. it cost us like 7k total (no sales tax up to like 20k on used evs in WA) and is basically free to drive. Range is short but works for around town where gas is expensive. We considered a bolt as well but those seats were a deal breaker, the leaf is much more comfortable.
just to clarify your sales tax statement in WA
https://dol.wa.gov/vehicles-and-boats/taxes-fuel-tax-and-other-fees/tax-exemptions-alternative-fuel-vehicles-and-plug-hybrids
“In 2019, Washington State reinstated the sales and use tax exemption for the sales of vehicles powered by a clean alternative fuel and certain plug-in hybrids.
The exemption applies to dealer and private sales of new, used, and leased vehicles sold on or after August 1, 2019.”
Even as a used car don’t do it. I just got a Bolt for the same money and it has thermal management, a brand new battery replaced under recall, and CCS charging.
Battery thermal management and a CCS charge port are basic requirements since 2020. I had a 2013 Nissan Leaf. It was a great city car but utterly useless if you tried to quick charge due to thermal issues and slow charging speeds. The battery had less than 85% capacity remaining at only 40k miles and I lived in a very battery friendly climate and didn’t charge over 80% except for a couple of times right and I never left it at over 80% for more than an hour before starting to drive. DO NOT buy a new one or used for that matter. Almost any used EV with battery thermal management and CCS or NACS would be a much better deal. I am completely happy driving a used EV as my only car but it has NACS and a real battery thermal management system. For me EVs good, Leaf not.
You forgot to mention that this also has several Nissan badges predominantly displayed on it. 😉
Twice is at least one time too many to use the word ‘litany’ in one article.
It’s a litany of litanies.
Nissan Really just cannot get its act together with updating products these days. I understand that the Leaf is a low priority due to being a slow seller, but this has to be contributing to the recent pain Nissan Dealers have been feeling of getting stuck with glued down inventory. Even an update to a CCS port would likely due wonders for Leaf sales figures.
It honestly feels like they are just phoning it in on the Leaf and many others. I wonder if they are trying to get to grips with the company after being Ghosned.
I almost feel bad for Nissan with their Frontier. With the facelift, I think it’s quite handsome, but they’re asking more than comparable Tacomas or Gladiators for it (~$45K average). That is one heck of a hole to dig out of.