Nissan LEAF - General

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#2282853 24-Jul-2019 15:10

nzkiwiman:

Is the Leaf slow?

I know I could answer this question with a test drive, but if I purchase a Leaf it has to be a facelift model ... and I am not quite there yet in terms of spending money without a loan, and I refuse to get a loan.

I'm assuming by 'facelift model' you're meaning what used to be called gen 2 but is really the revised version of gen 1, released about 2013?

That's what we've got, and I can sure kick a Mazda Demio's arse in it ... is that what you meant?!

Gen 1 cars are fast off the line up to around 50, thanks to that immediate torque - as such it'll beat most things at the lights, but will start to run out of that speedy acceleration well below 100 (over 10 seconds I believe). This means that speed key for passing (say 80-110) isn't amazing, but it's totally acceptable.

The gen 2 is far more powerful and, I assume, much quicker at that top end as a result.

(The other thing is don't go off the gen 1 Leaf's spedo - they're notorious for being out by a ridiculous margin - ours is out by approximately 10% across the range, ie have to be doing 110 on the speedo to register 100 on the GPS.)

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#2282856 24-Jul-2019 15:11

nzkiwiman:

Is the Leaf slow?

I know I could answer this question with a test drive, but if I purchase a Leaf it has to be a facelift model ... and I am not quite there yet in terms of spending money without a loan, and I refuse to get a loan.

140km/hr top speed.

With the instant torque it is surely faster to 50km/hr (57 on our dash) than the Subaru Legacy 2.5i which was our previous car.

Since we mostly drive in and around Wellington, this just adds up to pretty awesome driving.

jonathan18

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#2282860 24-Jul-2019 15:14

gzt:
nzkiwiman: Is the Leaf slow?

It ain't slow! Having said that make sure you're in power mode otherwise acceleration is slightly restricted to save power.

Assume that applies to the gen two Leaf?

With the gen one car there's only normal or eco mode, and the former is the default. Planting the foot in eco mode bypasses any acceleration restrictions (I understand) - it's more in everyday driving the eco mode has a highly annoying and detrimental to driver enjoyment impact.

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#2282862 24-Jul-2019 15:16

And for extra thrills there's always the traction control override switch which I sometimes use when pulling out of our driveway (i.e. directly onto State Highway 1) if I don't want to risk it getting all nanny on me in front of oncoming traffic just because there was some mud on the front tire.

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Guilliman

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#2283561 25-Jul-2019 16:02

jonathan18:
nzkiwiman:

Is the Leaf slow?

I know I could answer this question with a test drive, but if I purchase a Leaf it has to be a facelift model ... and I am not quite there yet in terms of spending money without a loan, and I refuse to get a loan.

I'm assuming by 'facelift model' you're meaning what used to be called gen 2 but is really the revised version of gen 1, released about 2013?

That's what we've got, and I can sure kick a Mazda Demio's arse in it ... is that what you meant?!

Gen 1 cars are fast off the line up to around 50, thanks to that immediate torque - as such it'll beat most things at the lights, but will start to run out of that speedy acceleration well below 100 (over 10 seconds I believe). This means that speed key for passing (say 80-110) isn't amazing, but it's totally acceptable.

The gen 2 is far more powerful and, I assume, much quicker at that top end as a result.

(The other thing is don't go off the gen 1 Leaf's spedo - they're notorious for being out by a ridiculous margin - ours is out by approximately 10% across the range, ie have to be doing 110 on the speedo to register 100 on the GPS.)

Hmm, I have noticed my speedo seems to be 5km above those roadside speed displays.

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wellygary

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#2283603 25-Jul-2019 16:33

Guilliman: Hmm, I have noticed my speedo seems to be 5km above those roadside speed displays.

Blame the UN :) There is an international agreement that all speedos read high....

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#2285834 30-Jul-2019 16:32

Cheers all; it was a rather stupid open ended question ..

140km top speed sounds slow, though I know getting to that speed is probably going to be quicker than I can manage in my current Mazda3

I really do need to test drive one

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#2286231 31-Jul-2019 09:21

nzkiwiman:

Cheers all; it was a rather stupid open ended question ..

140km top speed sounds slow, though I know getting to that speed is probably going to be quicker than I can manage in my current Mazda3

I really do need to test drive one

Ah, so you're planning on racing a Leaf on a track?

Because, otherwise, I can't quite understand why the top speed of the car has any particular relevance to driving on NZ roads. (And I'm not trying to pretend that I never go past 100 to pass someone, more that I certainly don't need to go anywhere near 140.)

You've also missed the points made by me and others earlier about at what speeds the Leaf's acceleration is quick - it's the high torque at take-off leads to a really fast 0-50 and a bit more, but by the time it's at 70sh that advantage is pulled back. My Mazda (2.2 diesel) is certainly slower to 50 but would beat my wife's Leaf to 100.

That said, there's a slightly weird sensation to accelerating in an electric car, and it takes a bit of getting used to - it's so silent and smooth you're not really aware of the speed you're going until you see how quickly things are passing by.

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#2286245 31-Jul-2019 09:57

jonathan18:

That said, there's a slightly weird sensation to accelerating in an electric car, and it takes a bit of getting used to - it's so silent and smooth you're not really aware of the speed you're going until you see how quickly things are passing by.

I think its also related to the "instant-ness" of it,

You drop the hammer and the wheels start to turn, in an ICE fuel has to flow and things have to go boom and then the wheels roll,

compound that with the lack of gear changes (manual or otherwise) and you don't get any direct feedback from the car on its speed unless you look outside or at the speedo

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#2286470 31-Jul-2019 13:43

Jaxson:

How do they charge (lol pun) you for charging up an EV at those charging points in towns?

Do you establish an account or pay by eftpos etc?

Do they offer a quick top up charge mode to get you going, or do you have to keep your car there for many many hours?

You use an app on your phone with an account connected to it. You can stop charging anytime you like as you can either control it via the app or on the charging machine itself.

The charger defaults to 80% battery charge but you can override it to 100% if necessary.

And it doesn't take hours either :)

Guilliman

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#2286488 31-Jul-2019 14:25

wellygary:
jonathan18:

That said, there's a slightly weird sensation to accelerating in an electric car, and it takes a bit of getting used to - it's so silent and smooth you're not really aware of the speed you're going until you see how quickly things are passing by.

I think its also related to the "instant-ness" of it,

You drop the hammer and the wheels start to turn, in an ICE fuel has to flow and things have to go boom and then the wheels roll,

compound that with the lack of gear changes (manual or otherwise) and you don't get any direct feedback from the car on its speed unless you look outside or at the speedo

Yeah, I'm enjoying the acceleration that's on offer, for me it really is guilt-free grunt.

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nzkiwiman

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#2286736 31-Jul-2019 17:29

jonathan18:

nzkiwiman:

Cheers all; it was a rather stupid open ended question ..

140km top speed sounds slow, though I know getting to that speed is probably going to be quicker than I can manage in my current Mazda3

I really do need to test drive one

Ah, so you're planning on racing a Leaf on a track?

Because, otherwise, I can't quite understand why the top speed of the car has any particular relevance to driving on NZ roads. (And I'm not trying to pretend that I never go past 100 to pass someone, more that I certainly don't need to go anywhere near 140.)

You've also missed the points made by me and others earlier about at what speeds the Leaf's acceleration is quick - it's the high torque at take-off leads to a really fast 0-50 and a bit more, but by the time it's at 70sh that advantage is pulled back. My Mazda (2.2 diesel) is certainly slower to 50 but would beat my wife's Leaf to 100.

That said, there's a slightly weird sensation to accelerating in an electric car, and it takes a bit of getting used to - it's so silent and smooth you're not really aware of the speed you're going until you see how quickly things are passing by.

Sorry, I did miss part of the conversation

Facelift model - maybe called the Gen3? 2017-onwards model, aka, what will be sold in New Zealand eventually.
I can't stand the look for the "bubble" Nissan Leaf and while the current one isn't the best either .. its way better

Regarding the top speed/acceleration - cheers for the further information. I really do need a test drive to see what one is like ... it sounds like it is going to be sluggish than I want ..

empacher48

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#2286780 31-Jul-2019 18:59

Just curious as I am due to replace my current car I use for the commute. So wondering about how a new Leaf or Ioniq would cope. My commute is 75km each way and is exclusively highway/motorway driving. As the hours I work are varied, I only sit in the Auckland motorway peak traffic about once a month.

I have no way of charging the car while at work, as there are no chargers for staff, only customers and I don’t really want to be sitting charging the car on the way home from work after a 3am start, or after an 11pm finish.

How do the batteries cope with doing nothing but sitting at 100km/h every time they’re used, in time will the high temps affect the battery performance? Mainly because the car I currently use is a diesel and it just purrs along nicely at that constant speed.

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#2286802 31-Jul-2019 19:39

Sorry, but I still don't think you've read all the replies to your query thoroughly, as all the information you seem to be after has been provided! This means you're missing the point of the substantially improved performance of the Gen 2 Leaf (the one you appear to be interested in) compared to the Gen 1.

To quote directly from one of my earlier replies:

Gen 1 cars are fast off the line up to around 50, thanks to that immediate torque - as such it'll beat most things at the lights, but will start to run out of that speedy acceleration well below 100 (over 10 seconds I believe). This means that speed key for passing (say 80-110) isn't amazing, but it's totally acceptable.

The gen 2 is far more powerful and, I assume, much quicker at that top end as a result.

And my assumption is proven correct in such videos as this one, which suggests 0-100 in a 2018 Leaf in 8 seconds, which is about 3.5 seconds faster than the Gen 1. So pretty good but not spectacular. And, as mentioned more recently, it's also a very different type of acceleration to that of a conventional ICE-powered car, plus any electric car has that fantastic acceleration from standing.

Be mindful they're not the most engaging cars to drive, so that's not a feature that people buy Leafs for! You drive a Mazda 3, which provides a nice driver's experience. Give me the control and handling of my 6 over my wife's Leaf (or the new Leaf) any day... If only I had the money for the Jaguar i-Pace!

But, yep, the best thing you can do is take one for a test drive. Do that and report back here, perhaps...

Shoes2468

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#2286838 31-Jul-2019 20:40

empacher48: Just curious as I am due to replace my current car I use for the commute. So wondering about how a new Leaf or Ioniq would cope. My commute is 75km each way and is exclusively highway/motorway driving. As the hours I work are varied, I only sit in the Auckland motorway peak traffic about once a month.

I have no way of charging the car while at work, as there are no chargers for staff, only customers and I don’t really want to be sitting charging the car on the way home from work after a 3am start, or after an 11pm finish.

How do the batteries cope with doing nothing but sitting at 100km/h every time they’re used, in time will the high temps affect the battery performance? Mainly because the car I currently use is a diesel and it just purrs along nicely at that constant speed.

I would suggest that a new or near new 40kw leaf would do this just fine. There and back on a single charge with enough spare to drive around and not give you range anxiety. Going 100km all the time won’t heat the battery. It only really becomes a problem in NZ if your going long distance and flatten the battery and fast charge and flatten again all in one go then it starts to heat up. With those kind of Ks if your doing that 5 days a week the savings over the RUCs alone would be amazing, at least until they introduced them on Evs.

Obviously if you were serious you would want to test drive a round trip and when you do make sure to drive it like you were in a hurry, turn all the lights on and run the heater up hot to simulate worse case.

https://i.stuff.co.nz/motoring/114066864/nissan-turns-over-a-new-leaf-in-nz

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