Brakes- seem to require heavy foot? Different from ICE?

[Kwirky]

Forgive me if this question has been answered elsewhere...I searched but did not see my precise question.

I test drove a Leaf today with my spouse. I currently drive a Kia Soul and I felt like I needed to apply more force to the brakes on the Leaf than I do with my Kia. My husband thought that he needed LESS force than when using the brakes on his Toyota FJ Cruiser. It got me thinking that maybe this is a weight issue.

I looked it up and the Leaf weighs 800+ish pounds more than the Soul. And obviously the FJ is way heavier than the Leaf.

My question to Leaf owners is- Is there something else different about the brakes on the Leaf that may also be contributing to a different feel than in an ICE car? I'm not looking for an exact physics-loaded explanation with big words and numbers, just a simple, general answer.

When we get our Leaf, I don't want to have to constantly overthink braking. (I hated physics in college...couldn't get past the idea than when I take a step, the ground pushes back at me!)
Thanks!

 

[davewill]

Not much to think about. Every car has it's own brake feel...a combination of weight and mechanical design. The LEAF adds regen to the mix, but don't worry...you'll quickly get used to this car just like you did all your other cars.

 

[shay]

What was the car's state of charge? If it is near or at 100%, you get very little to no regen. The brake feels completely different.

 

[aqn]

What was the car's state of charge? If it is near or at 100%, you get very little to no regen. The brake feels completely different.

I second that: if the state of charge is 100%, there is no regenerative braking. (This is readily verifiable via the energy consumption display of the center console.) As such, the hydraulic brakes handles all the deceleration. However, the effort shouldn't be appreciably higher than when there is regenerative braking, because the Brake Control Module (BCM) dictates to the electric brake booster pump to "generate boost force according to the amount that the brake pedal is depressed and the amount of cooperative regenerative brake control".

Additionally, at higher level of charges (75% or more), I have observed that the regeneration meter does not go to max, but stays a tick shy of max. At high level of charge (more than approx. 90%, not sure), I have observed that the regenerative meter does not show more than 20 kW (max is 30 kW).

Finally, the LEAF's brake pedal is much firmer than either of our other cars (BMW 528 and VW GTI), and actually have better feel. Effort-wise, the LEAF's brake requires a tad more effort at any given level of deceleration.

 

[Kwirky]

This demo Leaf only had 23 miles remaining when we drove it around town, so maybe that was contributing to the different feel.

 

[highcountryrider]

My LEAF's brakes are more aggressive than the Starlet but less so than the F250.
Every vehicle is different.

Not much to think about. Every car has it's own brake feel...a combination of weight and mechanical design. The LEAF adds regen to the mix, but don't worry...you'll quickly get used to this car just like you did all your other cars.

 

[LEAFfan]

My question to Leaf owners is- Is there something else different about the brakes on the Leaf that may also be contributing to a different feel than in an ICE car?

When I drive, I rarely use the brakes because I use ECO and the regen. But when I do need to use the brakes, they don't take much effort. In fact, I've never had brakes that stop the car so effortlessly well and I've had many cars over the years.

 

[dday]

After driving the Leaf for 3 months now when I get back into an ICE vehicle it feels like I have to push harder on the brakes to bring the ICE vehicle to a stop. Always feel like I am going to over shoot my stopping point. But like was said earlier every vehicle has its own feel.

 

[Jim66]

To me it seems that the brakes require less pressure than most cars I've driven. And if I press quickly, they really "grab", as if the ABS is speed-sensitive. A light touch lets me maximize regen without using the mechanical brakes. Overall, I like the brake feel a lot.