It seems like every year, some car undergoes a massive transformation. It was the Toyota Prius in 2023, the Hyundai Santa Fe in 2024, and now the new Nissan Leaf is eyeing the trophy for makeover of the year. A crossover instead of a hatchback, it’s bigger and better-equipped than the old one, and promises serious range, but what about pricing? Well, Nissan’s finally sharing how much the new Leaf costs, and it looks like a proper bargain.
The new Leaf will launch in three trim levels, and we’re starting with the entry-level one. It’s called the S+, and not only is it inexpensive at $31,845 including freight, it’s not some short-range special. This trim features a 75 kWh lithium-ion battery pack, a 160 kW motor, a total output of 214 horsepower, and an estimated EPA range of 303 miles. Yep, this isn’t just the least-expensive new 300-mile EV in America, it’s also the cheapest new electric car in Americ,a period.
So how did Nissan manage such a low starting price? Well, you don’t get rear seat air-con vents, or the clever multi-position cargo floor, or a holder for your sunglasses, or rear USB-C ports, or alloy wheels, but the big cost-saving measure is the exclusion of a heat pump on this trim. There’s no battery heater on the Leaf S+ either, so expect a greater cold-weather range penalty than other trims, but 44 miles more range than the fully loaded Platinum+ trim may make up for that.
Besides, you still get some good equipment levels on the Leaf S+. The gauge cluster and the infotainment are both displayed on 12.3-inch screens, a 360-degree parking camera system and robust advanced driver assistance system suite come standard, you get a proximity key, and automatic climate control, a NACS charging port, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Sure, a pair of tweeters to augment the four full-range speakers would be nice, but for the money, the new Leaf S+ is a bargain.
Want more kit? The $35,725 Leaf SV+ actually undercuts the old Leaf SV+ by $1,605 including freight, and it adds dual 14.3-inch screens, alloy wheels, rear seat air-con vents, a heat pump, rear USB-C ports, wireless smartphone charging, a six-speaker sound system, paddles for easy adjustment of regenerative braking, a sunglass holder, front parking sensors, and the adjustable cargo floor to the new Leaf. The downside? Range takes a 15-mile hit to 288 miles.
There’s also a $40,485 Platinum+ trim with a push-button frosting panoramic moonroof, big wheels, auto wipers, a Bose system, a power liftgate, and a heated steering wheel if you feel like balling, but not only does that sort of money buy you a larger EV, the loaded Leaf will only do about 259 miles on a charge. Best to keep things cheap and cheerful then, and undercut what you’d pay for a Chevrolet Equinox EV, Hyundai Kona Electric, or even a Fiat 500e.
In case you don’t road trip often and think $31,845 is too expensive, there is a shorter-range trim on the way with a 52 kWh battery pack. Nissan hasn’t divulged pricing for this standard-range S non-plus trim, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it clocks in below $30,000. For now, though, the Leaf will launch in America with the big pack this autumn as the least expensive new electric car you can buy, and it’s a proper long-range model with modern DC fast charging and all that. With the third-generation Leaf coming soon and the next Chevrolet Bolt in the works, it looks like America’s finally getting inexpensive long-range EVs. It’s about time.
Top graphic image: Nissan
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
I mean, how many of these base models are we going to see? That’s the real question.
Also, does the base Equinox EV have a heat pump? If it does, it’s still a better deal than the Leaf. I live in Upstate NY, an EV without a heat pump is borderline useless to me.
Based on this page, I believe it does?
https://www.chevrolet.com/electric/ev-range-battery/cold-weather
This implies that all Chevy EVs do, so that’s good. I think it’s strange that for the most part it’s not listed in the equipment if you build an EV on their site, but maybe they figure the average person has no idea what the benefits of a heat pump are.
Anyway, if the base Equinox EV has a heat pump, then it’s still the better deal. I’ve seen these listed in the 31k-33k range, and honestly, it seems like a pretty good value for what it is.
Not content with only disappointing customers in hot climates, now they’re going to disappoint customers in cold climates instead. I hope EVs are still at a point where the people buying them do their homework and know better than to buy one without a heat pump or battery heater in northern states. Someday they’re going to have to stop assuming that though.
I’d look at a Leaf (since Toyota is so far behind in the category) but there’s no way I have to charge any EV. I’d be a lot interested in a BYD or Xiaomi, though.
I think it seems perfectly cromulent. If I were in the market for a commuter EV I’d probably hold out for the upcoming Toyota CHR to be honest, but this is a nice little offering. Isn’t 300 miles for $30,000 what so many EV skeptics have been clamoring for? Well here it is, and I’m wholly unsurprised to see people kvetching about it.
Would I buy an EV? Maybe, I wouldn’t say I’m particularly passionate about them one way or another…but seeing all the hate they get almost makes me want one more, and my next car is going to be a boring commuter of some sort so I’ll probably look at a few.
You must be new around here. Commenters clamor for something and when manufactures offer it the response is, “ No! Not like that!”
Of course the other option is, “This is exactly what I’m looking for, it’s perfect…… for me to buy used in 5 years at a fraction of the price!” Well if not enough people buy it new, good luck finding your used unicorn a few years later.
If the Slate ends up at 27500 I’m going to rewatch my favorite movie with Walter Mathow The New Leaf.
I think Nisan execs might have learned a painful lesson after pricing the Z poorly at launch.
I was figuring they would try pricing this new Leaf above $35k. The fact that it is under $32k with a 300 mile range, and an even cheaper model is coming, is impressive.
Chevy has the larger Equinox EV starting at $34k and the cheaper Bolt is coming soon which will probably be right around the price of this Leaf but be probably slightly smaller in size.
I’d guess the Bolt won’t be as competitive as the Leaf, because the Nissan has sedan-ish aero while the Bolt is going to be stuck with its previous upright proportions which will sap its range. Unless they can afford to price it really low, I think the Bolt won’t be great.
New Bolt is going to be a small SUV in shape, they saw that their Bolt EUV greatly outsold the hatchback version
From what I saw the new Bolt is just the old Bolt EUV with a new front clip and rear panels; they didn’t even bother putting camo on the test cars outside of these areas.
The big change is underneath. Instead of running on its own unique battery architecture, it runs on the same (newer) kind as all of GMs other EVs. Hopefully this gives it more range, faster charging and NACS capability
“, it runs on the same (newer) kind as all of GMs other EVs.”
And in the long run, this means it will be easier/better for getting parts and service.
The 1st gen Bolt/Bolt EUV won’t be as easy to get parts for in 20 years.
But I would still buy a used one as they are CHEAP.
I’m currently looking for one. Yeah $10k-$15k for ones under 50k miles is insane. It’s a no brainer for a cheap commuter right now
The Bolt is going to be a value-play for Chevy. If they are saving tens of millions by reusing a lot of the tooling for that vehicle, they should be able to undercut Nissan on MSRP. They already have the Equinox EV which is close to the Leaf in price, but seeing as how the Bolt will be smaller, probably have a smaller battery pack and reuse most of the tooling, I can only guess it starts at under $30k. Possibly closer to $25k which would be WILD if possible.
If Nissan executes on this properly and this ends up not having any fatal flaws, I think this new Leaf can be a good-to-great success for Nissan.
When I was in the market for a car last year, the things that stopped me from getting a used Leaf+ (the one with over 200 miles of range) was that it didn’t have any good fast charging… still retaining that stupid Chademo plug. And I was only interested in “+” version that has just enough range for my purposes. But that version isn’t nearly as common as the shorter range versions that won’t do the job for me.
Now that it has NACS and up to 303 miles of range, the biggest flaws the Leaf had are fixed.
And if the 75kw base version can do 303 miles, I’m gonna guess the 52kw version will likely be good for around 200 miles… which is not bad.
I haven’t seen as many crazy lease deals now the federal money has disappeared people seemed to really go for the ayria with some of the crazy lease deals they had like $50 to $100 p/m with nothing on either end. The leaf was even cheaper and I started to see more of them. I’m not convinced it will sell well at that price even though objectively it’s not terrible when you compare it to others in the market. People want a dirt cheap car. Plus with the media pushing stories of ai data centers making electric rates go up it’s bound to loose some interest in people that don’t really care and just want the cheapest mode of transportation possible. I assume those people probably already got on a dirt cheap lease or bought something cheap. But the rest will probably just wait for lease returns. They were already selling basically 0mi used versions of the previous gen for about $15k. I can’t imagine lease returns will be more then that maybe $12k with 15k mi possibly even cheaper.
I’m sorry, how are automatic wipers relegated to the most expensive trim!? My BMW from 25 years ago has automatic wipers. I just assumed these were standard on basically all new cars! Does the review mirror have a toggle instead of being auto dimming too???
“I’m sorry, how are automatic wipers relegated to the most expensive trim!”
I’m fine with that. My current car has automatic wipers… and I don’t like it because it doesn’t work consistently. Give me regular wipers with an intermittent mode that works consistently.
Like heated seats and power tailgates, automatic wipers are something I DO NOT WANT as standard equipment.
Well I want all of those things as standard equipment, but what kind of car do you have? I’ve owned many Mercedes and BMWs with automatic wipers and they’ve all worked quite well. I even test drove a 1996 (I think) W140 with automatic wipers in the rain and those worked great too.
Technology Connections has a video on how rain sensors work. It’s not some crazy complicated technology. Car manufacturers have had it figured out for a while.
I’ve had rain-sensing wipers in products from Opel, VW, and Honda. All have behaved as Data described for me.
Auto-dimming rearviews aren’t universal either, though that’s one I do like and was glad to have again after my last car didn’t have it. I think some say it doesn’t get dim enough for them, IMO does a better job balancing the changes in light behind me and I never really think about it.
I’ve never really had any of the issues Data described in any BMW or Mercedes with automatic wipers, so maybe they just do wipers better than other companies.
I do know that auto dimming rear view mirrors are not universal. A coworker brought a brand new Kia sedan in 2020 and I just could not get over how the mirror had a toggle. It had all these screens everywhere, but a freaking toggle for the mirror. I can’t remember the last car I owned that had a toggle.
For a Mercedes or BMW vehicles, sure. But I drive a Ford C-Max. For mass market brands like Ford, Honda, Toyota, Mazda, Nissan, Kia, Hyundai, etc, that unnecessary stuff should remain optional.
And if car manufacturers truly have rain sensors worked out, why are the rain sensing wipers working inconsistently? Sometimes wiping after just a few drops and other times, waiting until I can barely see until wiping?
And this doesn’t just happen on Fords, but for other vehicles under other brands as well as others have mentioned.
I agree with you. When the automatic wipers work, they are great. Other times,not so much. Sometimes the windows gets so covered with water I can’t even see out and I’m mumbling to myself “any time now”. It seems to activate when my hand starts to reach for the control to manually wipe.
The other issue is when they are out for “blood” and wipe with the most minimal amount of water on the windshield at all…DIE WATER!
Unimpressed.
I do like heated seats, though.
I’d argue that heated seats should be almost mandatory on EVs since heating air sucks up so much energy and thus range in countries with cold climates. In the US, the only places with warm enough weather is Florida and Hawai’i; even LA has cold enough winter mornings.
I’d happily trade away rain-sensing wipers and auto dimming mirrors to keep heated seats. Top trim Fords nowadays don’t have rain sensing wipers, and I personally find auto-dimming mirrors to be slightly annoying at night since you can’t see anything other than bright headlights out of them; I wish I could toggle it off sometimes.
I’d be outraged if it was a luxury car, not at $30k.
The lack of a heat pump and battery heater on the lowest trim makes it undesirable in at least half the country. So then you’re looking at $35K+ if you want those basics. IMO at that point just buy or lease an Equinox EV instead, it seems like a way better car for the same money. I wouldn’t call this a screaming deal just because it’s the cheapest BEV in the U.S. Lots of better options where you can get more car for marginally more money. This probably would sell decently well if the $7,500 tax credit was still in place, but that’s gone. Unless they’re really set on a BEV, most people would rather buy a Rogue or Kicks instead.
Plenty of Californians would like a 303 mile base trim Leaf. If it takes a few Model 3s off the road so be it. Looks much better than a Tesla anyway.
The Leaf will probably get better high speed range than the boxier Equinox and it has Carplay&AA, plus I don’t think base model Equinoxes are freely available nationwide. They could’ve also jist made the heat pump optional for the base model to hit the $29,995 base price, so I wouldn’t write it off yet.
I know you get more range, but between becoming yet another SUV and the touch-sensitive controls inside, this feels like a downgrade. I just had a current Leaf hatch as a rental (in the longer-range, higher-spec trim, too!) and thought it was pretty nice, TBH. I would not kick it out of my driveway. I would probably embrace having a decent little electro-hatch. I could channel my latent Big Altima Energy and park it in little spaces where only good little cars can fit. Even the current styling looks pretty nice. It made me say nice things about a Nissan when I am still scarred from having a self-destructing Altima.
Anyway, I spent the whole time sneering at Teslas going, “You fool. You absolute mark. You sucker. You could have had an EV with BUTTONS!” I mean, the new Leaf is still leaps and bounds ahead of those by sheer merit of not enriching That Frickin’ Guy, but with fewer real buttons inside? That’s a downgrade. I say buy the hatch while it’s still on sale so you can push, twist and click to your heart’s content.
I was almost convinced…then I saw the long range one hopes for 212 miles. Sigh.
Yeah, that’s the biggest hindrance. I wouldn’t call it ideal for longer road trips, although you could probably manage everywhere outside west Texas. For a commuter, though, it’s enough — even enough to handle the hourish commute test run into the new office without really having to worry about it.
It’s not really an SUV or even CUV at all; it only looks a bit like one. It’s FWD-only, has more cargo room in the back than the Leaf hatch, and loses some ground clearance to it, too.
Eh, it’s definitely going taller. I like this shape a lot less, either way. It went from being an aggressive-looking little hatch to another egg.
Looks-wise sure, I’m just pointing out the specs. It’s kinda more Prius-shaped than a ‘real’ crossover.
Interesting that they aren’t offering more battery for the higher trims. In a warm climate, the base model seems like the way to go, bc I’m not sure I’d trade the range for the goodies and more money. Which also makes me think they should offer the heat pump as a standalone option for the base model. I know that’s not how OEMs roll these days, but I think they’re shooting themselves in the foot here: buyers will walk in bc the base range/price prop is best in class, then realize they need the heat pump, then decide that the SV+ is a worse range/price prop than the Equinox, and walk back out.
Other than brand like/dislike, I’m not even sure what the case is for the SV+: worse range, higher price, similar goodies.
Dealerships in the cold climate states were never going to order any of the base models anyway. Bait and switch works better with good bait.
I just did a search for base Equinox and of the 30 closest dealerships only one has a single base trim model, so if the customer leaves they are only going to be able to find a higher level trim of the competition.
To be fair, the range part is fixable with the right set of aero wheel covers if you really want the range with the goodies.
I daily drive a BMW e36 on coilovers. Whenever I see a sub $30k new car, I think “Man, that would make my commute so much better”. But then I think about the car payment and what $400 or more per month could do for my e36.
It depends on how much you commute. If you’re doing 60+ miles a day, fuel savings and lack of oil changes can save a decent part of that payment.
this was my logic when swapping a replacement engine into my x5. i complained and grumbled while i worked on it for three weeks but had to keep reminding myself that its better than 400-500/mo plus fuel and insurance for a new used car
No heat pump and battery warmer is a nonstarter
In a lot of California, Florida, Arizona this is not much of an issue though I imagine we won’t see a ton of this trim though. You are right that its an absolute nonstarter for most of the country.
Yea, those sunbelt, warm weather states would be fine
Battery warmer maybe, but lack of a heat pump isn’t as big of a penalty as you might think, and really depends on your climate. My Mach-E has resistive heat, but typically loses about 15% of range in the winter months (where it sees temps hovering around freezing most of the winter).
Compared to my wife’s 2018 Leaf SL which does have a heat pump, the Mach-E heats up MUCH faster and will stay pretty toasty even with the heat off. The Leaf’s heat pump could take 15+ minutes to get the cabin warm. It also sees about a 15+ range reduction in winter (though likely more due to the lack of a battery warmer).
The seat heaters on both cars work well, but again, the Mach-E’s seat heaters are much more powerful and will get uncomfortably hot in a couple minutes, vs. the Leaf’s, which take a lot longer, but do eventually get there.
That’s only on the base trim, where it could still be optional.
the point is that the headline, and entire b-story of this article, is about the “screaming deal”. It’s a relatively limited deal without those items
What is the battery cooling system?
Is it ambient air like on the previous model(s), which was totally inadequate and led to horrific range degradation (as David Tracy can verify)
Or does it have a proper (liquid?) cooling system?
They are liquid cooled
Thank you.
I mentioned this elsewhere here, but the 2011-2012 early cars are the main culprits for thermal management woes. Nissan switched chemistries in 2013+, and battery degradation was much lower after that.
FWIW, our 2018 Leaf with 65k miles had 85% capacity and all cells were balanced and happy when we sold it, despite not doing anything special with the charging. It was mostly, but not exclusively stored and charged in our garage with a Level 2 charger, which probably helped some. It only had 25 fast charges in 7 years.
The passive air cooling system being “totally inadequate” is an exaggeration, though liquid cooling is definitely the path forward with much faster DC chargers widely available now (remember most CHAdeMO chargers are only 50kW, though the standard technically supports up to 400kW), so the passive cooling was mostly fine for the DC charging infrastructure at that time.
It’s finally liquid cooled (like most PHEVs at this point)!
Not to promote GM here, but the Equinox EV starts at $33k right now, and I think it has more range and it probably a better vehicle than the leaf. That all said, from where the old Leaf was to where this new Leaf is, amazing jump up.
Agree, I think the Equinox is the best EV buy right now. It’s a really well done vehicle for a reasonable price that is probably available without nonsense at a dealer near you. I’m so happy Chevrolet has a winner.
I find a lot of EV-related headlines on this website to be hyperbole at best, but I agree with this one. Based on battery size and my experience owning a Leaf, I think 250+ miles of range is realistic. This sounds like a solid deal at $32k. Although, I would probably opt for the SV+. I suspect the heat pump will make real-world range longer than the S+ in most situations. In cold weather I could see the SV having far more range than the S – using the heater in my OG Leaf reduced range by around 30%.
My only complaint about this car is the styling. The OG and 2G Leafs had somewhat awkward styling, but this thing is just plain ugly. The bizarre looking oversized wheels also aren’t doing this thing any favors. I like that it comes in actual colors, though (I particularly like the light blue one shown above).
Co-worker had to threaten litigation and after months of stress (and no working car) got Nissan to buy back their bricked Nissan leaf – I’ll pass for now.
Hopefully your co-worker was able to turn over a new Leaf and move on. (I hate myself but had to write that).
He branched out to a different manufacturer.
Make like a tree and get out of here. 😛
Considering this has happened to Mach-E owners, Blazer EV owners, and Ioniq 5 owners alike, who does build a reliable EV? The miserable beez-forks, perhaps?
Nissan has been pouring a lot of money into EV tech in motorsports with Formula E. It will be interesting to see how many of the lessons learned on the track will trickle down to cars like this.
I have zero sense of scale for the new Leaf, the design cues just make it look simultaneously huge and small, but also mid sized. It’s a Schrodinger’s blob of vehicle, I can only guess until I see one in person, but then maybe I’m actually looking at an Ariya
Could technically be considered a win for Nissan from a marketing perspective? In that it convinces people that it’s big enough while not actually being very large, something the old Leafs (Leaves?) probably struggled with.
I mean, I guess it’s not that bad as long as I’m inside and don’t have to see the outside.
Seems a perfectly suitable commuter! I may look at one to replace our older Corolla.
The current generation of Leaf allegedly has V2H capability, but I as far as I know the F150 Lightning is the only vehicle that truly offers the capability in a useable fashion.
Any idea if this new Leaf will have V2H? I simply can’t accept the idea of paying scores of thousands of dollars for batteries and *not* being able to use them to run my toaster when the grid goes down.
The current Leaf has theoretical V2H capability because it was baked into the CHAdeMO standards, I’m not sure if there was any equipment made to ever take advantage of that capability. If such things did exist, I would expect them to be limited to the Japanese market.
Every EV should have it. I didn’t know it was part of the CHAdeMO spec but that’s cool. It really should be mandatory.
I got a battery backup for my solar panels and the idea of having an extra 50+ kWh capacity/buffer that I can also use to go get pizza with… It’s a no-brainer. It would help so many people during power outages due to extreme weather events, which are only getting more and more frequent these days.
It’s technically baked into NACS and CCS as well, in as much that the connector is rated for current flowing both directions, though actual implementation is entirely up to the manufacturer. I’m going out on a limb and saying the Leaf won’t support V2L, considering they never made use of it in the older cars outside of a few fleet operations in Japan.
There was a Chinese-made V2L CHAdeMO adaptor sold for a few years that apparently worked well, but you can forget about any kind of UL or other safety certification. It’s off the market now. I was tempted, but last thing I wanted was for something to go wrong, it light my car and my house on fire, and then insurance deny everything for a dodgy converter.
The situation in the US is interesting because in China basically every decently sized EV is equipped with V2L; you have to get down to the ultra cheap sub-4 meter class (tiny city cars that are subject to reduced safety standards, usually 62mph top speed) to see vehicles that aren’t capable of it. That being said, many cars in that class still have it available, and I heard it’s feasibly DIY-able to install it in those because they use such commodity components.
I wonder if they made V2L mandatory by law or encouraged it via incentives.
I want vehicle to home. Vehicle to load is fine if you are blowing up an air mattress at the campsite and all you need is an outlet, but a 75 kWh capacity battery should be able to run my entire house for a couple days.
Dear Automakers: Let us option the smallest wheels on the highest trim EVs. The range penalty on these high trims is almost always just because they want to Donk the fancy ones. More sidewall on smaller diameter wheels gets you more range AND better ride quality with cheaper tires, which EVs can chew up more quickly than ICE cars.
Yep. The Leaf looks like a good potential budget EV, but I want the base model wheels on the SV+ trim.
And also, would it kill you to do some silver wheels again instead of defaulting to black? That blue the S+ is shown in would look so much better with some not-black to play against and black wheels just make the tires look grayish-brown.
Yes! The big wheels are so stupid.
And if Donkification is made mandatory by marketing: give us removable wheel covers!
Yes! Adrian’s opinions notwithstanding (https://www.theautopian.com/our-designer-isnt-done-letting-you-know-that-youre-wrong-about-big-wheels-on-car-drawings/), large wheels look STOOOPID on nearly any vehicle. Give us the option, you cowards, and you’ll see that the majority of car buyers don’t want that shit.
Not just EVs, either… let us get the smallest wheels on ALL cars. Some of us want that sidewall and better ride quality!
Had a new looking Tahoe park next to me with oem looking wheels that looked flipping huge.
I look at the tire sidewall and yep it had mother Forking 24 inch wheels on it!
To be fair, even the top-end $35k Civic Hybrid lacks rear vents and power outlets. So Nissan has them beat here, and that’s on a proper BEV. Not bad at all.
Only remaining question is can you take delivery by 9/30 on a lease deal before the Free Printer Money goes away? I think the Treasury ran out of toner cartridges while Trump was busy yelling at Powell about a building renovation.
I don’t see that they are shipping these yet, so probably not. Snagging and entry level one would be a good deal.
FWIW, my buddy just got an EVquinox with some great offers. They are offering $2k off (or 60mo 0%) + $1250 competitor cash + $1250 costco auto discount + the $7500 + in NY a $2k state credit. Potentially more off if you get a GM employee of friends and family discount. On a car you can go out and buy today.
Isn’t the lack of heat pump the main thing that has caused all the early leafs (leaves?) to have significant battery degradation? Seems like the mid tier would be the way to go just to help minimize longevity concerns and I would imagine it would resell a heck of a lot better too. That, along with the lack of the AC for rear seat passengers really make the base model seem like a penalty box to me. Sorry kids, sweat it out, you’ll be fine!
The first two generations of Leafs have air-cooled batteries, and air cooling simply wasn’t good enough to prevent severe degradation in the earliest models. Heat pumps consume less power than resistance heating in the winter, but that affects range rather than lifespan.
Oh ok. Does the battery on these have adequate thermal management? I don’t see that mentioned.
They are all liquid cooled batteries this time. The Leaf article at ArsTechnica goes into slightly more detail.
Thanks for the clarification. Never mind then, the winter range reduction wouldn’t bother me.
To be fair, the battery degradation issues were almost entirely limited to the 2011-2012 very early battery packs. Most of these were replaced under warranty with the “lizard pack”, which was standard for 2013+.
Unless you’re in an extreme climate like Phoenix or Anchorage, the passive air cooling worked well. In our relatively mild PNW climate, we just sold our 2018 Leaf with 65k miles and 85% battery capacity. All cells are in balance, and we never did anything special regarding charging, other than not fast charging much since we never needed to. Range of course suffered in winter, but only about the same 10-15% amount we see in our Mach-E, which does have a liquid-cooled pack.
Liquid cooling helps with power output and faster DC charging rates, so it’s the right way forward, but Nissan had their batteries pretty well sorted out by 2013, and especially by the 2nd generation.
I have access to a wide array of auto repair information, going back a number of years. Based on the database I have access to, Leafs have the worst batteries of all EVs by a very substantial margin. I’m happy to know some people have had good luck with their Leafs but the info I see shows that Leafs, and likely their air cooling, never achieved the reliability found in many other EVs.
What defines “worst” though? The Leaf never had the battery fires the Bolts did. I’d trade battery degradation for my house burning down any day.
I’m not trying to defend the Leaf too much, but I think the batteries get unfairly dumped on. Are they as good a much more expensive Tesla? Not even close.
Do they fall to pieces in 5k miles? Also no. Today, the 2nd generation Leaf is hopelessly outclassed by rivals, but pre-2020 or so, they were competitive inexpensive EVs.
Did you live in some cool, but not too climate like the Pacific Northwest wet side of the mountains? I had a 2013 Nissan Leaf and the even in a mild climate the battery degrated MUCH faster than the actively cooled EVs I’ve had ever since. The lack of active thermal management also meant that the the “fast” charging was not very fast since the battery would heat up during the not so “fast” charging and severely limit the charging speed. I’m glad Nissan finally final added active cooling like everyone else!
Nailed it, haha. I realize I live in a fairly mild climate, but we do see all four seasons with summer temperatures that will regularly get into the 90s and 100s, and winters that will typically hover in the low 40s with drops into the teens overnight (though the last couple of winters have been exceptionally mild).
I agree on the fast-charging limitation, though at the time the Leaf was designed (even the second generation), public chargers rarely supported more than 50kW anyway. Even the V1 and V2 Tesla Superchargers maxed out at 150kW shared between two stations, so not all that much faster.
Now, there’s no excuse for not having liquid-cooling, and I’m glad this 3rd generation has it, but the 2015 Leaf we had briefly before trading it for the brand new at the time 2018 2nd generation Leaf both had solid batteries for the price point.
To answer the parenthetical question, it’s Leafii.
Leafusii. Got it thanks
I thought it was “Nissans Leaf.” Like “attorneys general.”
This is one of my “old man yells at clouds” moments, but why the hate on lack of A/C for the rear of the car? Yes, I get that it’s nice to have, and is a fairly straightforward add these days. However, the many cars older than 10-ish years are going to lack that, and it wasn’t even considered outside of high trim luxury 25+ years ago. The back seats will get cool, just give it a second!
OK, back to feeding the pigeons.
I guess it depends on what they mean. All the 90s cars I grew up in had vents for the backseat underneath the front seats, so you didn’t get air in your face, but you still got air. If that’s what this means then yeah it’s fine, but if there’s nothing at all then I wouldn’t be willing to do that.
Even 1990s Toyota Previa (gorgeous egg shapped spaceship minivan) had 2nd and I think 3rd row air vents
I have 38K on my ’15 first gen leaf, current range is ~78-80 miles. total cost of ownership has been; one set of wiper blades, one 12v battery, and one set of tires.