Which should I get: Nissan leaf SL or Chevrolet Volt?
- Thread starter joeriv
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RonDawg said:oko said:Have you considered Honda Clarity? IMO it is a much better car then Leaf, Bolt, Volt. You got a pretty luxury car for almost the price you pay for those. I have a Leaf and Clarity and always want to drive the latter.
With the battery losses (I am in TX) and Nissan's attitude, this Leaf will be my last Leaf and last Nissan ever.
The pure EV version of the Clarity is only available in CA and I think OR. The FCEV version is only for certain Californians (those who live/work near a hydrogen fuel station). Only the PHEV version is available nationwide.
Since the OP is concerned about reliability, there have been issues with the Clarity: https://tiremeetsroad.com/2018/10/27/honda-drops-6-spots-in-consumer-reports-reliability-honda-clarity-largely-to-blame/
If you search for "Clarity owner forums", you'll see almost everyone is very happy with the Clarity (I cannot link here since it is a competitor site). There is a huge discussion about CR ratings also. The only electronic problem I know is "multiple system warnings", that I also had, which is more like an annoyance than a problem, since it goes away quickly and does not affect driving and it already has a software fix. The only other issue I know is "unexpected ICE start", which, as far as I know, only one or two have.
On the other hand, my Nissan Leaf had to go to the dealer multiple times:
1-Charging system failure. Lots of people had it.
2-A/C failure. When I called about it, my dealer said "this is very common in Leafs. We know what the problem is and we'll order parts before you come in".
3-Stupid stupid battery performance check every year we had to do for warranty.
4-The very frequent break fluid change that is most likely for the purpose of dealer profit.
rmay635703
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SageBrush said:
Yes and folks think he is a real poster with a real question
jlv
Well-known member
People are happy with the car, but that doesn't mean it has no problems.oko said:
There are 6 Clarity PHEVs here at work and all of them suffer from charging system issues. E.g., the car won't start to charge sometimes. Owners have said letting the car sit for a few hours before plugging it in seems to work. Honda has reported to have a fix "soon" (but their timescale seems Musk-like, since they've been saying that all year).
We have a 2013 Leaf S (52,000 miles with one capacity bar lost at about 49,000) with the QC and a 2017 Volt. I would go with a 2016 or newer Volt over any Leaf. I have a 40 mile round trip commute and the Leaf works great most of the time but in the winter now that the battery capacity has dropped I have trouble doing side trips on the way home any more due to range constraints. At this point the newer Volt actually has about the same electric range as the degraded older Leaf. The Volt tends to have more range than expected while the Leaf less than expected when I drive. In our area (Portland, OR) used Volts hold their value much better than used Leafs. We will be replacing the Leaf with a 200+ mile electric or another Volt in the next couple of years. The Leaf has been reliable but Nissan has priced replacement batteries so high that the car is essentially going to be disposable at less than 100,000 miles.
Wennfred
Well-known member
Fred from San Diego, i currently own a 2011 LEAF SL and a 2016 2nd Gen VOLT. The LEAF had the traction battery replaced with a new updated pack in March 2016 under warranty. My Volt peak charge is 49 - 53 miles which is plenty for me to get to work and back and then some. My work commute is 40 miles round trip. My LEAF gets me around 70 - 80 miles. Average fuel fill up on the Volt is 2 or 3 times a year. I can get 62 miles on the Volt when driven correctly and by drafting behind Semi taking my time to Escondido from Imperial Beach CA. Now that the Leaf new replacement battery price went up to 8000.00, I would buy a Volt any day of the week or a Tesla Modle 3 with the standard battery size which I’m currently waiting on. The Volt gives me the battery range I need to get around town and work without having to stop and charge anywhere when driven pass the range limit as in the Leaf. Besides the Volt is a bad ass car.
hmmwv
Well-known member
joeriv said:
They are talking about the 1st gen Volt, the current gen holds its value incredibly well. I wish the 2nd gen Volt depreciates faster so I can get a good deal on a used one, but here in WA you will only save a few thousand dollars if you buy used. It's getting harder and harder to own an EV in WA now, with no state incentive, sales tax exemption expired, no HOV lane privilege, and extra EV car tab fee.
booper
Well-known member
Thoughts on how dealers will handle the discontinued Volt? Discounted pricing, or maintain pricing as "you won't be able to get them anymore"?
booper said:
Yes. (Both.) GM will likely offer deals starting around christmas.
booper
Well-known member
LeftieBiker said:
They should do it sooner than that, their Fed Tax Credit will be cut in half after year end!
cwerdna
Well-known member
Doesn't sound right. I don't think you realize how the phase out works.booper said:
See phase out chart at the bottom of https://web.archive.org/web/20140208025133/https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/taxevb.shtml.
This is Tesla's timeline: https://www.tesla.com/support/incentives. From stories like https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-tax-credit/tesla-hits-200000-cars-meaning-lower-tax-credit-for-buyers-idUSKBN1K222F, looks like Tesla hit the 200K in July 2018.
Look at https://insideevs.com/top-6-automakers-200000-federal-tax-credit-limit/ and https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1119534_gm-confirms-it-will-reach-ev-tax-credit-ceiling-this-yearthen-phaseout-begins. GM will be hitting it at end of Q4 2018, so reduction will start later due to how the phase out works.
booper
Well-known member
Thx, I must have though GM was on a similar pace as Tesla. This makes a big difference, so appreciate the correction.
golfcart
Well-known member
joeriv said:
I just did a KBB comparison of a 2013 Volt and a 2013 Leaf SL and assumed both had 60,000 miles and were in very good condition. The private party value for the Volt is $11,000, the private party value for the Leaf is $7800. I think the Volt will hold it's value a lot better and is a more versatile car. Plus, with that "employee pricing" promotion they are offering right now I've seen 2018 Volts listed under $30k and you know you could negotiate it down from there.
Unless you really like the Leaf, need room in the back seat for adults (because the Volt back seats are cramped), or are committed to a BEV and not a PHEV then the Volt honestly seems like the better long term value from my perspective.
golfcart said:
I don't think the Volt's rear seats are all that cramped once you're in the car. But getting into that backseat requires the skills of a contortionist if you're more than about 5 feet tall, thanks to the roofline.
And don't even try using the middle seat if you have legs.
golfcart
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RonDawg said:
Maybe I'm biased because I'm 6' 1" with a 30" inseam but i I'd have serious neck problems sitting back there on a regular basis. Lol
Bouldergramp
Well-known member
The latest Consumer Reports magazine in my library has an article on car reliability.
"CR provides reliability ratings for models that are brand-new, redesigned for 2019, or with limited data. To make these predictions, our auto experts look at the overall history of how a brand has performed and the reliability of the previous generation of the model, if there was one. We also make our judgments by looking at similar models or ones that share components. We don’t score new or redesigned vehicles on a 0-to-100 scale, but we give them a general reliability rating based on our analysis.
HYBRIDS/ELECTRIC CARS
Toyota Prius C 93
Toyota Prius Prime 91
BMW i3 89
Toyota Prius 87
Kia Niro 77
Nissan Leaf 69
Chevrolet Bolt 50
Hyundai Ioniq 37
Chevrolet Volt 32
Honda Clarity 14"
"CR provides reliability ratings for models that are brand-new, redesigned for 2019, or with limited data. To make these predictions, our auto experts look at the overall history of how a brand has performed and the reliability of the previous generation of the model, if there was one. We also make our judgments by looking at similar models or ones that share components. We don’t score new or redesigned vehicles on a 0-to-100 scale, but we give them a general reliability rating based on our analysis.
HYBRIDS/ELECTRIC CARS
Toyota Prius C 93
Toyota Prius Prime 91
BMW i3 89
Toyota Prius 87
Kia Niro 77
Nissan Leaf 69
Chevrolet Bolt 50
Hyundai Ioniq 37
Chevrolet Volt 32
Honda Clarity 14"
cwerdna
Well-known member
https://insideevs.com/top-6-automakers-200000-federal-tax-credit-limit/ confirms that GM is past the 200K mark now.booper said:
