Australian release of Nissan LEAF

[DownUnderLeaf]

The day finally arrived.

Our new LEAF is happily charging in the garage as I post!

Nissan offered some heavy discounts and competitive 0% - 5% interest rates.

I'm happy to report I paid a lot less that the initial price. Very close in fact to the US MSRP!!

*happy dancing around the house*

Congrats! Sounds like you got a great deal.

Perhaps I am mis-reading your comment about "close to US MSRP".
Can you share some details of your deal? I assume the Australian MSRP was closer to $60k plus rego and GST?

Hey there,

You read it correctly.

I drove it away a scrape over $41000aud. So that's awfully close to the US MSRP. And way under the AU RRP.

Very please with it.

 

[DownUnderLeaf]

Maybe you could snap us some photos of your spare tyre (tire) holder?

I'm in the UK, and curious about the Australian spare tyre holder as here in the UK, like, the US, we don't have one.

We have a spare tyre holder??

Ill have to check for it.

 

[DownUnderLeaf]

Maybe you could snap us some photos of your spare tyre (tire) holder?

I'm in the UK, and curious about the Australian spare tyre holder as here in the UK, like, the US, we don't have one.

Hey I added the pics to the Picture area... heres the link...


http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=11074" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[leighf]

The day finally arrived.

Our new LEAF is happily charging in the garage as I post!

Nissan offered some heavy discounts and competitive 0% - 5% interest rates.

I'm happy to report I paid a lot less that the initial price. Very close in fact to the US MSRP!!

*happy dancing around the house*

Congratulations from another LEAF (Cayenne Red ZEK-...) owner in Melbourne. I hope you will be as happy with yours as I am with mine.

I bought mine with a 48 month Novated Lease before Nissan offered any discounts over their original MSRP (about $52000). With the income tax advantages and the Fringe Benefit Tax disadvantage there isn't a lot of gain from the lease for me. but then I intend to keep the car at the end of the lease.

leigh

 

[DownUnderLeaf]

The day finally arrived.

Our new LEAF is happily charging in the garage as I post!

Nissan offered some heavy discounts and competitive 0% - 5% interest rates.

I'm happy to report I paid a lot less that the initial price. Very close in fact to the US MSRP!!

*happy dancing around the house*

Congratulations from another LEAF (Cayenne Red ZEK-...) owner in Melbourne. I hope you will be as happy with yours as I am with mine.

I bought mine with a 48 month Novated Lease before Nissan offered any discounts over their original MSRP (about $52000). With the income tax advantages and the Fringe Benefit Tax disadvantage there isn't a lot of gain from the lease for me. but then I intend to keep the car at the end of the lease.

leigh

Hey Leigh!

Hope to see you cruising round one day then. There just isn't enough of us!

I'm a western boi myself.

Chris.

 

[leighf]

Hey Leigh!

Hope to see you cruising round one day then. There just isn't enough of us!

I'm a western boi myself.

Chris.

Hi Chris,

I'm in the east so the furthest West I get is probably Tullamarine.
Still I keep looking out for others. I've seen a couple from the EV Trial and at least two others in the past 12 months or so. We are a small but enthusiastic group I hope.

leigh

 

[mxp]

The day finally arrived.

Our new LEAF is happily charging in the garage as I post!

Nissan offered some heavy discounts and competitive 0% - 5% interest rates.

I'm happy to report I paid a lot less that the initial price. Very close in fact to the US MSRP!!

*happy dancing around the house*

Congrats! Sounds like you got a great deal.

Perhaps I am mis-reading your comment about "close to US MSRP".
Can you share some details of your deal? I assume the Australian MSRP was closer to $60k plus rego and GST?

Hey there,

You read it correctly.

I drove it away a scrape over $41000aud. So that's awfully close to the US MSRP. And way under the AU RRP.

Very please with it.

Wow!!! Now that is truly an AWESOME deal. Well done mate! ;-P
The Nissan sales guy must have been really crushed by your wheelin and dealin!

 

[remf]

Maybe you could snap us some photos of your spare tyre (tire) holder?

I'm in the UK, and curious about the Australian spare tyre holder as here in the UK, like, the US, we don't have one.

Here's mine before I removed it to install Electric4Me's hitch receiver.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=9768" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Duncan]

Hi guys,

As a big Nissan fan I put in an EOI for an leaf early last year, and went through the painful Origin and dealer process to be "approved". Then they confirmed the $58k drive away price....forget it.

With the release of the new pricing last week ($47k drive away, or 0% finance on $58k price), I am buying one this week. I'll confirm the final price as it will help others understand how flexible Nissan is willing to be on the official discounted price.

I'm also going to be getting the e-station charger for $1800 rather than the "we'll do you a special price only $2,700" from Origin.

 

[DownUnderLeaf]

Hi guys,

As a big Nissan fan I put in an EOI for an leaf early last year, and went through the painful Origin and dealer process to be "approved". Then they confirmed the $58k drive away price....forget it.

With the release of the new pricing last week ($47k drive away, or 0% finance on $58k price), I am buying one this week. I'll confirm the final price as it will help others understand how flexible Nissan is willing to be on the official discounted price.

I'm also going to be getting the e-station charger for $1800 rather than the "we'll do you a special price only $2,700" from Origin.

Congrats Duncan,

The price drop I'm sure will open the cars availability up to so many more interested people now.

I sent you a PM.

 

[htial]

Hi DownUnderLeaf and Leighf,

I'd heard that there had only been two sales of LEAFs in Melbourne.
I think the LEAF will be the ideal car for my current job. I work in Aged & Disability Care in a south eastern suburb. I drive about 80km to 120km a day visiting clients in their homes and transporting them to appointments, as well as my own OH&S council meetings. I also live within my working block area, so I'm not "commuting" so to speak.
I already feel that the LEAF is the ideal car for me and my work, but I'm yet to come across one in the wild. I'd really like to get the chance to pick your brains as I think you'd have a more honest opinion of the LEAF as opposed to the sales guy. Feel free to PM me.

- - Laith...

 

[ERG4ALL]

The 120 km / day may be a little bit of a stretch depending on how much Climate Control you use and your driving habits. We have a 2011 LEAF and with proper driving goes about 73 miles on a charge just as the EPA has published. The 100 mile figure that Nissan came out with was with the "LA4" test which was a little unusual for most peoples driving. I think they have ceased advertising that figure. However, the 2013 LEAF has a little more mileage per charge which at 100% charge will go over 80 miles, somewhere around 84 I think. Unfortunately the EPA has changed their standard. The earlier 73 mile figure was at 100% charge. The new figure which I think is around 75 miles is a combination of 80% charge and 100% charge. We've found that the A/C is very efficient and only draws between 1,000 watts when starting up with a hot interior but goes down to about 300 watts once the interior is cool and the outside temperatures are around 90 degrees F. Also, for 2013 the cabin is heated by a heat pump which saves a good deal of energy over the resistance heating the older models have. Thus, I'd say the LEAF would be fine for you with the aforementioned in mind. It would be even better if you had a "Plan B" that included a charge along the way. Anyway, good luck.

 

[TimLee]

Also, for 2013 the cabin is heated by a heat pump which saves a good deal of energy over the resistance heating the older models have.

Only the 2013 SV and 2013 SL. The 2013S has the same power hungry heating that the 2011 and 2012 LEAF have.
I think planning to go 120 km in a LEAF is pushing the limits.
Although there are some people that do that, it takes a lot of very careful driving habits. And the people that have done it usually had to go without heat. But the heat pump heater in the 2013 SV and 2013 SL may make that less of an issue.
People need to recognize that the LEAF is more nominally a 40 to 60 mile vehicle (64 kkm to 96 km). To exceed this requires a huge driver commitment, and range anxiety nerves of steel that MOST people do not have.
The 2013 range is really not much more than the 2011 and 2012. The 2013 has slightly reduced peak torque which may get a small bit of range increase. But it is probably more like 2%, instead of the 7% ERG4ALL stated. I haven't seen much definitive data on it though. A test would require a 2012 with very low miles and very new battery to compare to a 2013. And the variation between battery packs might be greater than the 2013 range increase.

 

[htial]

Hey guys,

Thanks for your input.
The days where I'm doing up to 120km are very rare. It's just I've been keeping a logbook for my taxes for the last 7 years and so have a very good idea of the number of kms I do each day. The last three days where I got up around 120km were split shift days. From 5am to 10am I was working a Personal Care shift and then home again until 5pm to 9pm for an Out of Home Respite Care. They happen about once a month and when I go home between them I'd have about 6 hours to do a top up charge. I guess I should have said I do between 80km and 100km as a better average. But even then looking at the last two weeks there are five days where I just got to 105km in the day.
I've been reading a lot of blogs and watching a lot of YouTube as research for peoples experiences with the LEAF. I'm really surprised I hadn't found this forum earlier. But what I've been reading on here I'm really happy I have and it has made me even more determined to get one.

- - Laith...

 

[UBUYGAS]

I've only had my 2013 Leaf 1 Month and in that 1 month I've come home with 30% left on the battery and at least 70 to 75 miles driven in ECO on local roads.

Highway driving is really scary, the miles just tick off so fast. Driving locally and in the city seems like the miles last forever.

Eventually Charging stations will pop up and You'll be good!

I hope you can get the Leaf! It's so much Fun!! I LOVE mine!!!

Lasareath

 

[ydnas7]

Htial

The Melbourne toll roads, what speed limit are they?

For general Melbourne traffic, the LEAF will get very good mileage, and your log file are excellent for knowing what distances you travel. If the toll roads are 80km/h, the LEAF should do well there, but not if they are 110km/h.

 

[RonDawg]

Also, for 2013 the cabin is heated by a heat pump which saves a good deal of energy over the resistance heating the older models have.

Only the 2013 SV and 2013 SL. The 2013S has the same power hungry heating that the 2011 and 2012 LEAF have.

Keep in mind that specs and equipment may be different for other markets, especially when that other market sources their cars from a different factory as is the case for MY 2013.

A quick check over at Nissan.com.au doesn't even show different trim levels for the Leaf like we get here in North America. When you try to "Build Your Own" you only get a choice of colors.

 

[htial]

Htial

The Melbourne toll roads, what speed limit are they?

For general Melbourne traffic, the LEAF will get very good mileage, and your log file are excellent for knowing what distances you travel. If the toll roads are 80km/h, the LEAF should do well there, but not if they are 110km/h.

Hi ydnas7,
The toll roads and freeways are 100km/h, (most of the time). But I don't ever have to go on them while I'm working. There's a stretch of Westall Road that I might use every now and then that hits 100km/h, but most of the roads I use to get from client to client are 60km/h and 80km/h. Most clients are between 5km to 20km apart. Five or six clients a day plus travel kms from home to the first and last back to home and I'm getting up to that magic 80km to 100km a day.

- - Laith...

 

[ydnas7]

60km/h and 80km/h roads, should be OK. No need to let the constabulary get more revenue.

 

[DownUnderLeaf]

Hi DownUnderLeaf and Leighf,

I'd heard that there had only been two sales of LEAFs in Melbourne.
I think the LEAF will be the ideal car for my current job. I work in Aged & Disability Care in a south eastern suburb. I drive about 80km to 120km a day visiting clients in their homes and transporting them to appointments, as well as my own OH&S council meetings. I also live within my working block area, so I'm not "commuting" so to speak.
I already feel that the LEAF is the ideal car for me and my work, but I'm yet to come across one in the wild. I'd really like to get the chance to pick your brains as I think you'd have a more honest opinion of the LEAF as opposed to the sales guy. Feel free to PM me.

- - Laith...

LAITH!!!!

How dare I not see this post earlier! Sorry.

120km should be no problem in city traffic, even with AC on.

I'm not sure how many private sales there are currently in Melbourne but adding another would be great. Especially since the car is now advertised for $39999! Crazy! Plus I'm sure you could get them lower, or buy a demo.

I'll PM you too.

Chris.