Nissan LEAF - General

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26 posts

Geek
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#1870487 21-Sep-2017 20:30

Also in my S there is no USB port, only 1 12v.

No lane departure alert, or forward emergency braking. Is that a year thing? I really don't know.

No steering wheel controls for phone / audio.

No fog lights (it's an S option, standard on G maybe).

No parcel tray - but we since we knew that we asked the dealer to pull one out of another car. Cheeky us.

No 17" alloy wheels, just 16" non-alloy (whatever that is, spot the non-petrolhead)

That's it I think. :)

Cybnate

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#1870494 21-Sep-2017 20:50

lowlyworm:

I miss the B mode.

I'm a self-confessed addict to B-mode It makes driving so much easier on hilly roads and in slow city traffic. Not having to break only for getting to a stand still for a traffic light or pedestrians crossing.

B-mode is basically a less aggressive version of the e-pedal in the new Nissan Leaf. I don't think I would ever buy a car without a B-mode or ePedal kind of system such a breeze it is.

I'm sometimes reminded how it is to drive without B-mode as it doesn't work when the Leaf's battery is fully charged and still above 98% or something. Something to do with protecting the batteries from overcharging.

Caught by surprise a few times lately, it is funny how quickly you get used to something.

BTW The difference between ePedal and B-mode is that ePedal gets you to a stand still even on a downhill road.

paulchinnz

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#1870501 21-Sep-2017 20:58

+1 B-mode

If I get a 2018 Leaf the first thing I'll do is superglue the e-pedal setting to 'engage'

Linuxluver

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#1870572 22-Sep-2017 00:22

leaflearner:

I don't remember exactly when but I do know the issue of charging points, especially at practicable intervals along all major highways (e.g. State Highway 1 !!), is a perennial here. In particular, the "gap" between Cambridge and Taupo has been mentioned by Linuxlover, others, and myself. This presents a challenge for Leaf owners travelling south on the state highway. I think Linuxlover mentioned that the importance of a charging point for Tokoroa had been acknowledged by Steve West of ChargeNet. I've also seen the phrase "before the end of the year" in that connection -- first applied to 2016 but more lately to this year. Today I received an email kindly sent by Damon Jakeman of the management at the New World supermarket in Tokoroa. Sadly, it looks like the plan has been deferred for yet another year. To quote: "Thanks for your enquiry regarding Electric Vehicle Charge Points at New World Tokoroa. Unfortunately I am unsure as to a date for its availability, however, we are hoping some time in 2018."

It would be helpful to know the circumstances of the delay. Without knowing them it's impossible for any of us here to provide encouragement in the right quarters for its removal!

Thanks. This is useful. I suspect we may be pleasantly surprised. These things can be muffled by confidentiality agreements. We'll have to wait and see.

If anything, Charge.Net will likely be struggling to get everything on their plate going. They recently received part-funding from EECA for about a dozen fast chargers right where they are needed most: top of the south, inland canterbury and Otago and top of Northland.

In the meantime, Cambridge to Rotorua and then Rotorua to Taupo is viable for most Gen 2 Leafs.

I've also done Te Awamutu to Taupo on the back road in my 30kWh LEAF with 14% to spare, having started on 95% from Te Awamutu...there was virtually no traffic on a weekday morning and I did 75-80kph the whole way.

It's do-able with great care. Even better if there was just a simple 16amp AC charger on the way for an hour of charging. That extra 12% would seal the deal for many. A 32amp / 7kw charging spot would give a leaf with a 6.6kw charger about 25% in an hour and you'd romp into Taupo at 100kph.

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Linuxluver

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#1870574 22-Sep-2017 00:51

k14:

So, I'm just wanting to clarify my inputs to the spreadsheet I am making. Here are a few questions:

1.) Yearly maintenance costs? Anything apart from tyres?
2.) Depreciation rate? Reckon 20% per year is fair enough? This would be on the cheapest one I can find (max $10k).
3.) Economy. I saw a number of 6km for kWh in terms of efficiency. Is this accurate? As in, 1Kwh of electricity taken from the grid gets you 6km of driving.
4.) Has anyone had their EV plug wired off their hot water heating meter? Getting the cheaper night rate electricity.

Anything else I should know?

My efficiency in city driving is about 8km / kWh. Out on the highway it's about 6 or 6.5. Basically my car can do 150km at 100kph steady........or 200+ km around town. Worse if uphill. Better if downhill. Worse if into the wind....and better with a tail wind. Worse if you have no truck to cruice two-second-rule behind......and about 10%-15% better if you do.

Driving style has a lot to do with efficiency, too. Accelerate gently (one, two or - max - 3 dots) and you'll go further. Push the pedal down hard....and you'll go less far.

The least depreciation loss will be for older LEAFs. If you bought one tomorrow for $11k, you'd probably get most of that back in a year or two. Whereas someone like me who bought a 2016 30kWh LEAF "Tekna" from the UK (possibly the most expensive LEAF is was possible to buy in August 2016) will face a BIG slap in the face at resale time. But until then I have enjoyed the use of an electric car that relatively easily drove from Auckland to Bluff to Cape Reinga and back to Auckland for super cheap, no RUCs and I didn't even have to fill the windscreen wiper reservoir. That was just one trip. I've done over 35,000km in it in the past 10 months.

That's with about $4,375 with of petrol I haven't had to buy. I may have spent about $1000 on electricity to charge it, though a good chunk of my charging has actually been for 'free' (no additional charge to me) at hotels overnight or a the many free, public AC and DC chargers around.

I've bought two new Ecopia EP300 tyres for about $500. I've spent another $250-ish on two Nssan services to show them there is a market.......and to find out what they would actually do. Curiosity money.

If you need more range, then you want a more expensive LEAF (or Hyundai or BMW or Tesla).......but we're at that point where next year will see more cars with more range for the same prices.....pushing down the prices of existing EVs.

For EVs, this is 2008.....and we're just beginning to move beyond the iPhone / HTC Magic / Nexus 1 early-adopter for big bucks phase.

You buy an EV now to stop emitting CO2 so your kids and their kids will be able to live on a habitable planet.....

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numberonekiwi

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#1870888 22-Sep-2017 11:42

I have been looking at the greenrace website to determine my future purchase of a 30Kwh leaf to see if Tauranga to Taupo was possible on a single charge as Linuxlover just managed from Cambridge to Taupo. I have taken a couple of screen shots as I was not 100% happy with the way it was routing me.

There is a bit of difference in both routes both in distance and power used. I know this is not quite all the way to Taupo but If I dont have the courage to do it without a top up charge Rotorua is a very good option but should not be needed. it is caculated at 90Km/h on a 100% 30Kwh battery.

I am not sure why there are two different options could it be due to the time it takes either way and greenrace is giving the quickest time.

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RUKI

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#1872493 25-Sep-2017 15:09

Do not forget to change time in your Leaf. Daylight saving time. Converted 2015 Leaf from Japanese to English this morning, adjusted time and made "how-to change the clock' video for you. Enjoy:

How to change Clock in 2015 Nissan Leaf

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Linuxluver

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#1872792 26-Sep-2017 00:02

numberonekiwi:

I have been looking at the greenrace website to determine my future purchase of a 30Kwh leaf to see if Tauranga to Taupo was possible on a single charge as Linuxlover just managed from Cambridge to Taupo. I have taken a couple of screen shots as I was not 100% happy with the way it was routing me.

......

There is a bit of difference in both routes both in distance and power used. I know this is not quite all the way to Taupo but If I dont have the courage to do it without a top up charge Rotorua is a very good option but should not be needed. it is caculated at 90Km/h on a 100% 30Kwh battery.

I am not sure why there are two different options could it be due to the time it takes either way and greenrace is giving the quickest time.

You're climbing from sea level up to several hundred metres.

Definitely charge in Rotorua. 85% should be enough. That's a fast charge....and enough range for the job. There is a steep, winding gorge between Tauranga and Rotorua on one of those routes. Then after Rotorua you steadily climb some more up onto an open plateau that can see some very strong winds. It's only 81km from Rotorua to Taupo, but you'll be wondering where your battery went. The return leg is the opposite.......downhill with a tailwind. You'll have electrons for Africa.

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k14

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#1873004 26-Sep-2017 12:09

Thanks to everyone for the advice, much appreciated. Pretty set on buying a Gen2 either a X or S, not worried either way. I will predominately be doing open road driving so B mode doesn't sound like it would help me that much, the main improvement on the X is cruise control and heat pump, but I will be happy with the S with heated seats and being able to put any stereo I choose in. It seems the S goes for $1-2k cheaper so probably end up with one of them.

My range concerns have been well put to rest now. Looking at the charge.net planned sites there are half a dozen new chargers planned for Central Otago in the next year or so, so with that I will be able to do 90% of what I currently do in my diesel vehicle, with the exception when I am towing a trailer. Just have to make sure the Leaf has a CHAdeMO connection, it seems there is the odd one with just the AC charger plug around.

I found this article https://electrolease.nz/blog/japanese-nissan-leaf-charger-get-50-off-EV-home-charger.html and am just wondering what people are doing for their charging cables. Is this scare mongering for them to get more sales or is this true and the Japanese cables can't be used here? I was planning on installing a 15A socket in my garage (with either caravan plug or 15A 3 pin plug) and thought I'd be able to use the standard charger in there with a NZ plug on the end. Is this not the case?

Ge0rge

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#1873009 26-Sep-2017 12:16

k14:
I found this article https://electrolease.nz/blog/japanese-nissan-leaf-charger-get-50-off-EV-home-charger.html and am just wondering what people are doing for their charging cables. Is this scare mongering for them to get more sales or is this true and the Japanese cables can't be used here? I was planning on installing a 15A socket in my garage (with either caravan plug or 15A 3 pin plug) and thought I'd be able to use the standard charger in there with a NZ plug on the end. Is this not the case?

While not able to comment with 100% accuracy on the actual device they are selling, I find the grammar to be appalling and that in itself puts me off buying anything that they are pushing - info, product or otherwise.

MarkH67

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#1873021 26-Sep-2017 12:33

k14:

ust wondering what people are doing for their charging cables.

I bought from GVI and they would have supplied a good safe charger that would plug into a standard socket, but I opted to pay extra for this: https://bluecars.nz/shop/ray-type1/?v=8e3eb2c69a18 and for this: https://bluecars.nz/shop/mini-blu-caravan-adapter/?v=8e3eb2c69a18 It did cost $450 more than the standard charger they offered but I think it was worth that for the 16A capability alone.

I'm really happy with my decision as I feel that the Ray1 charger is better than any of the other ones I have seen. It can be set to charge at 6A - 16A (adjustable in 1A increments) and by removing the mini-blu adapter I can plug in at a campground or have a caravan socket installed at home and plug into that. I've been charging at home at 10A (some chargers only charge at 8A) and it has been working flawlessly! Over 2,500kms driven and no problems with my 2015 Leaf X yet.

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PhantomNVD

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#1873023 26-Sep-2017 12:39

k14:
Thanks to everyone for the advice, much appreciated. Pretty set on buying a Gen2 either a X or S, not worried either way. I will predominately be doing open road driving so B mode doesn't sound like it would help me that much, the main improvement on the X is cruise control and heat pump, but I will be happy with the S with heated seats and being able to put any stereo I choose in. It seems the S goes for $1-2k cheaper so probably end up with one of them.

My range concerns have been well put to rest now. Looking at the charge.net planned sites there are half a dozen new chargers planned for Central Otago in the next year or so, so with that I will be able to do 90% of what I currently do in my diesel vehicle, with the exception when I am towing a trailer. Just have to make sure the Leaf has a CHAdeMO connection, it seems there is the odd one with just the AC charger plug around.

I found this article https://electrolease.nz/blog/japanese-nissan-leaf-charger-get-50-off-EV-home-charger.html and am just wondering what people are doing for their charging cables. Is this scare mongering for them to get more sales or is this true and the Japanese cables can't be used here? I was planning on installing a 15A socket in my garage (with either caravan plug or 15A 3 pin plug) and thought I'd be able to use the standard charger in there with a NZ plug on the end. Is this not the case?

Apparently they are ‘technically’ correct as you must get the Jap EVSA ‘NZ Certified’ for 240V but several stands at the recent EV show (selling EVSA’s) told me it’s a ‘technicality’ as many people seem to be using them without issue at present, and the ‘smarts’ inside are set to watch for current and heat issues before and during the charge cycle.

afe66

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#1873044 26-Sep-2017 13:01

I would ask my household/car insurer about using non compliant cables.

RUKI

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#1873579 27-Sep-2017 11:51

FYI: Newer late 2015 - 2016 Leafs - Clock setting: Menu for changing clock exists only in "S" model, in X/G (identifiable by lots of buttons on the steering wheel) - there is no menu to change the clock in the dash. :-(

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hamish225

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#1873584 27-Sep-2017 11:57

RUKI:
FYI: Newer late 2015 - 2016 Leafs - Clock setting: Menu for changing clock exists only in "S" model, in X/G (identifiable by lots of buttons on the steering wheel) - there is no menu to change the clock in the dash. :-(

Yeah whenever I ask people how to change the time in my 2016 leaf they always said oh you have to press this sequence of buttons while doing a handstand and drinking a glass of water backwards and it never worked😂

But I’ve just gotten used to adding 3 or 4 hours to the time on the dash ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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