Suggestion for cargo area + range

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Yanquetino

Well-known member
Joined
May 11, 2010
Messages
479
When I examined the Leaf on tour, I was struck with how cavernous the cargo area is in back. Here is a photo I took of it:

xtra_area.jpg


One of the reasons that "hole" is so deep is because Nissan has wisely decided to eliminate a spare tire to save weight. However, if you fold the rear seats forward, the enlarged cargo area is not flat --something that I much prefer when hauling paraphenalia. It seems to me that perhaps there might be better ways of using that space.

My suggestion is obviously way off in the future, when Nissan produces "Leaf 2.0," but here it is. I would fill the front area of that "hole" with another 24-module battery array, still safely between the wheels and rear axle (like in a Tesla Roadster), but slightly higher than the array under the rear seats. I would then put a storage box, with a lid, behind those batteries for items like the 110V charging cable, flashlights, window scrapers, etc. Yes, there would be less useable cargo room, but at least the surface would be flat when the seats are folded forward.

And if we're going to add batteries, why not put also put a few under the floor of the front seats, just like in the rear?

Anyway, here is what I am envisioning from the side:

xtra_batts1.jpg


And this is an illustration from above:

xtra_batts2.jpg


I concede that the suggestion could cause more problems than it is worth. For example, the additional batteries would add weight, and disproportionately to the rear, but perhaps Nissan's up-and-coming "lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide cathode" battery would ameliorate this problem...? And there is, of course, the problem of additional cost. After all, if (<--note italics) Nissan's battery pack really does cost $18,000, adding 32 more modules would raise that cost to $30,000 --and the price of the vehicle itself to about $45,000 before incentives. On a positive note, however, the range might theoretically increase to about 160 miles per charge. My guess is that the vast majority of consumers would not be willing to pay that much, even for the greater range --but I would!

Yeah, yeah, I know: pie-in-the-sky, right? ;)
 
Very nice picture, thanks for sharing! We'll have to see what V2 is, but a flat floor is a good idea and the batteries will be coming down in cost for V2. So, why not?
 
I may consider the idea of a built-it-myself cargo box to A) store charging cables, etc., and B) to 'flatten' the back. I'm thinking something simple with a hatch in the top to allow acess. A trunk in the trunk, kinda thing. :lol:
 
Jimmydreams said:
I may consider the idea of a built-it-myself cargo box to A) store charging cables, etc., and B) to 'flatten' the back. I'm thinking something simple with a hatch in the top to allow acess. A trunk in the trunk, kinda thing. :lol:

Yes, that seems like a simple enough idea. We may even be able to get an appropriately dimensioned box off the shelf. It would also be a good accessory for Nissan to sell.
 
I, too, am favorably impressed with the storage space. I initially thought the Leaf would be comparable to the Versa, Nissan's ICE hatchback of about the same size, which is one reason I decided to rent a Versa when I visited relatives a few months ago. I was disappointed in how small the cargo area was in the Versa. It was so narrow (from front to back) that we had to put our suitcases in the back seat, although of course we could have folded those seats down to enlarge the area. However, when I saw the Leaf on display in San Jose, it was obvious to me that the cargo area was larger than in the Versa. I'm not sure if that display model had the same area as the production model, though.
 
That hatch reminds me of something...

"Open the pod bay door please Hal."

Yeh, I'm definitely going with the Pearl White.

:p
 
I'm a big music nut, and am assuming without seeing it first that I may want to add a subwoofer to the audio system to get it up to snuff.

From the photos on this thread, I'm wondering if I might be able to build a box that would go in the cargo area that would contain a subwoofer and come up to the height of the folder down seats so that it would create a flat cargo area.

I'm not sure if that is enough height for a subwoofer...

Of course, that means I'm probably going to lean toward buying than leasing so I can make modifications like that....Hmm....
 
Randy said:
I'm a big music nut, and am assuming without seeing it first that I may want to add a subwoofer to the audio system to get it up to snuff.

First time I'm seeing music and sub in the same sentence :twisted:


From the photos on this thread, I'm wondering if I might be able to build a box that would go in the cargo area that would contain a subwoofer and come up to the height of the folder down seats so that it would create a flat cargo area.

I'm not sure if that is enough height for a subwoofer...

You can put a top firing 24" sub !
 
:)

I'm not thinking of a thump thump thump subwoofer, but I've been able to get much better audio performance from my existing car stereo in my Toyota by using a third-party subwoofer in a home-made cabinet in back.

In particular, I take advantage of the high pass / low pass crossover feature on my add-on subwoofer amplifier. By diverting the low freqs from the "regular" speakers in the car, and routing them to the sub, it prevents the regular speakers from distorting or bottoming out when trying to reproduce those low frequencies and also gives me more headroom on the higher frequency amplifier.

The end result is great sound with some tasteful bass...
 
Randy said:
In particular, I take advantage of the high pass / low pass crossover feature on my add-on subwoofer amplifier.
...
The end result is great sound with some tasteful bass...

There is definitely enough space in there to put a custom cabinet with some woofers.

One interesting thing about the car is - since it is a confined space, subs are relatively easy to handle and because of the shape you don't expect many standing waves.
 
Code:
Nissan has wisely decided to eliminate a spare tire to save weight

What do you do if you have a flat tire? Roll on the rim?
Is anyone planning not to have a spare?
 
IceRaven said:
Code:
Nissan has wisely decided to eliminate a spare tire to save weight

What do you do if you have a flat tire? Roll on the rim?
Is anyone planning not to have a spare?

http://priuschat.com/forums/nissan-hybrids-evs/80653-no-spare-tire.html

Spare tire is not needed, given that Leaf is mostly an urban car and tires are now much better.
 
LEAFer said:
(unfortunately): "Fix-A-Flat". And that, ofcourse, only fixes small leaks. Get your AAA membership up-to-date !

No need. Leaf comes with free roadside assistance ...
 
Roadside "assist" apparently "included" for the first 3 years. Unknown response time, and unknown cost for towing and/or tire repair or replacement. It is not likely to be a simple mount-a-spare and continue-the-trip.

Parking near work several years ago, I had two very-flat tires in about one week. I suspect somebody was having fun "slashing" tires.
 
garygid said:
Roadside "assist" apparently "included" for the first 3 years. Unknown response time, and unknown cost for towing and/or tire repair or replacement. It is not likely to be a simple mount-a-spare and continue-the-trip.

If the don't have mobile tire installers, then I think it would be a good idea to have exchange wheels/tires on the trucks they send out, so they can just swap them out roadside. But I have a feeling it will be a regular tow truck towing you to the nearest Nissan dealership, where they'll no doubt fix the flat or sell you a new tire if repair isn't possible.
 
Also with tire pressure monitoring mandated on new cars, you are much less likely to be eventually surprised by a slow leaker.
 
u can carry around a spare if you want. just have a bit less storage. i have been carrying them around in various cars for years. (My Zenn does not have one) and i often wonder how much gas i wasted by hauling around the extra weight.

now, dont get me wrong, i have had several tire issues including more than a half dozen tire repairs on 3 different Priuses in the last 6 years. all of which i was alerted to by TPMS. several were undoubtedly due to new construction on the corner from where i used to live. had 3 leaking tires in a span of 4 months. would have been more but after the 3rd time in less than 2 months, i basically let it go for several weeks. i elected to use my 12 volt air compressor to top off the tire pressure a few times a week. usually picked part of my lunch time to do it. at the time i was doing one hour lunches and usually spent about 40 minutes of the lunch wishing i could do a 30 minute lunch and leave work 30 minutes earlier so had plenty of time to do it. i would pump it up to around 50 PSI. in two days it would be back down to around 30...so i pumped it up again.
 
Does not having a spare also mean they are also not going to provide an emergency jack and lug? I suspect so. That means if you want to be able to change a flat on the road yourself you will have to also lug around the jack and the lug wrench, so be sure to add that calculation into the space it will take up.

I have always used the jack that comes with a car to rotate the tires. I guess this means I'll have to go out and buy a jack if I want to continue to rotate the tires myself.
 
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