Will the 2018 Leaf work for me?

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

ghudson911

New member
Joined
Apr 10, 2018
Messages
2
So my commute to the airport (I’m a pilot) is 50 miles one way, all highway, so a total of 100 miles driven. The car would most likely sit in the parking lot for anywhere to 2-5 days before I need to go home. Would the 2018 work do y’all think? I wouldn’t mind sometimes stopping at a charger on the way but I don’t want it to be a normal occurrence.
 
Where do you live and what's your commute like (elevation changes, posted speed limit, etc)?

Right now, the 2018 LEAF is looking like a bad choice for any hot climates, just like earlier model years. Also, the tapering of charging rate during successive DCQC sessions (if so equipped) is annoying many new owners who were expecting the LEAF to be able to travel >300 miles, using back to back charges, without having to wait >1 hr for en-route charging to complete.
 
I just took a leaf on back to back 250 miles drives from Monterey to Lake Tahoe and back with successive QCs, and experienced none of the charging issues that others are complaining about. Going up to Tahoe, I QC'd 3 times and going home QC's twice. The 2018 LEAF that I drove performed its QCs exactly like my 2014 does.

All QC sessions on ALL BEVs taper their charge rate over the time of the charge. Some do it more aggressively like the Chevy Bolt, and the LEAF tapers it charge rate too, but not unlike earlier versions have always done. Those that are critical of the charge time for the new LEAF are just regurgitating what they have read on the web. I can confirm, that those accusations of slow QC times are inaccurate, misunderstood, or just FUD.

If your commute is 100 miles RT, and you would leave your car at the airport and not charge it there, as long as you left with a full charge you won't have any problem.

The LEAF is a fine car, and the 18 with it's ProPilot features is outstanding. It has the best adaptive cruse control of any car I have driven, and the overall quality of the build is superior to any other BEV with possibly the exception of the e-Golf. I have enough confidence in the 2018 LEAF that I took delivery of a 2018 SL yesterday.
 
ghudson911 said:
I’m in NJ. Pretty flat. Speed limits are 65

One thing that I did on the trip that had temps between 65 and 88 degrees was I drove the speed limit on all the roads, so there were sections on Interstate 80 and 5 that I drove at 70. I think that you would be fine with the car. If you lived in the Texas Arizona or Florida, I'm not sure I would recommend any EV on the market today, but in NJ, the car will suit you well.
 
Another possibility is that the issue is only with UK Leafs (built in Sunderland). I've seen quite a few YouTube videos and the charging rate seems to drop to below 25 kW, irrespective of the SOC.

This woman claims to have been sent a letter by Nissan that confirms the charging rate tapering:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=660EV142-Io

I haven't personally seen anything official from Nissan, but apparently this is what they stated:

“The 2018 Nissan LEAF has charging safeguards to protect the battery during repeated fast charging sessions in a short period of time. While the safeguards may increase charging times after multiple fast charging sessions, they are important to maintaining battery life over an extended time period.”
 
I've seen quite a few YouTube videos and the charging rate seems to drop to below 25 kW, irrespective of the SOC.

At the end stage of a QC it is quite normal to see the rate drop below 25kW. I've seen that happen all the time with my '11 and '14.
 
RegGuheert said:
When it is 10F out and windy, you likely won't make it.

What he is trying to say is that all Battery Electric Vehicles, Hybrids and Plug-in Hybrids don't get as much range in the cold. It's the same issue that smartphones or anything that runs on batteries has.

If you start your trip with a full charge, and you have at least 100 miles or so left, you probably won't have to stop and put a little bit of electricity in to make it home, but it is a possibility, so you should be aware of this characteristic of electric cars. I belong to some Canadian LEAF groups, and they don't seem to have a problem with their range in the cold and they drive their LEAFs in weather that is much colder and for a longer time then your area has.

This is an edge case, but if you are not comfortable with that possibility, then you may want to consider a conventional or hybrid vehicle instead.
 
@OrientExpress As I said "irrespective of the SOC" - apparently, the rapidgate crowd are saying that even at SOC <70% the charging rate is dropping below 25 kW - I've never had that happen on my 2013, except when it's really cold out
 
RegGuheert said:
ghudson911 said:
I’m in NJ. Pretty flat. Speed limits are 65
When it is 10F out and windy, you likely won't make it.

I think those 10F days would fall under ghudson's acceptable case of "occasional need to charge along the way". Considering that s/he lives in NJ, s/he should be fine with the 2018 leaf. The biggest issue with the leaf has always been battery life, and the NJ area shouldn't have that issue. Plus driving 100 miles every 2-3 days sounds like pretty light-duty driving.

I say, "go for it"! You'll definitely enjoy EV driving, and it might convince you to use it for all of your miles, despite any potential charging limitations.
 
GCR review of 2018 LEAF range and ProPilot assist:
Nissan Leaf Pro-Pilot Assist and range-anxiety review
https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1116380_nissan-leaf-pro-pilot-assist-and-range-anxiety-review

Depending on where you live one of the biggest challenges with electric cars can be airport runs.

They tend to be an hour away, or sometimes more; involve lots of range-sucking highway driving (often in the wee, dark hours of the morning or pitch-dark night), many don't offer chargers, and the car may sit for a day or several while you're away. Then when you get back, range anxiety is the last thing you want when you're trying to get home.

So when we had a chance to drive a new, 2018 Nissan Leaf on a week that involved flying out for the weekend, it seemed a perfect opportunity to put the Leaf to the test. . . .

We needed to make a trip out of town for two days, flying out of tiny Westchester Airport outside New York City. It's only 37 miles from home by major highways, which seemed like it should pose no challenge for the Leaf's rated 151-mile range driving back and forth, with plenty of extra to account for the few miles it might lose sitting over the weekend.

It was also clear, though, that to catch a 6 am flight, driving on the highway in the dark after a night that had dipped below freezing, I would use more than the 37 miles of range that we'd actually be driving.

So headed off, a little after four in the morning, about 20 minutes after we'd planned. To make up for lost time, of course, we set the cruise control on the dark highway to just shy of 80 mph, bearing in mind that with a trip home two days later, we'd have to watch the mileage to make sure we didn't burn through more than half, to leave some margin for the trip home—especially considering that the trip to the airport is mostly downhill—hills we'd need to go back up to get home. This shouldn't have been a problem. . . .
 
So headed off, a little after four in the morning, about 20 minutes after we'd planned. To make up for lost time, of course, we set the cruise control on the dark highway to just shy of 80 mph, bearing in mind that with a trip home two days later, we'd have to watch the mileage to make sure we didn't burn through more than half, to leave some margin for the trip home—especially considering that the trip to the airport is mostly downhill—hills we'd need to go back up to get home. This shouldn't have been a problem. . . .

I have no interest in whether this idiot made it home or not.
 
The Chevy Bolt (all electric) and any of the Tesla's (all electric) can easily handle what you are looking for. We are hoping that the 2019 Leaf will be a better product and longer range. So far, Nissan Leaf has had a large depreciation rate.
 
The Leaf is ideal for parking at the airport as long as the range meets your needs. I make the 50 or 52-mile (depends upon which lot I park in) round trip between my house and the airport frequently. There is almost no loss of charge while parked. I frequently park up to 3 weeks at a time with no issue. I suspect that the 2018 with its larger battery would be OK for the 100-mile round trip most of the time, but there will be times when you will need to stop for a charge (especially after the battery loses some capacity).
 
LeftieBiker said:
So headed off, a little after four in the morning, about 20 minutes after we'd planned. To make up for lost time, of course, we set the cruise control on the dark highway to just shy of 80 mph, bearing in mind that with a trip home two days later, we'd have to watch the mileage to make sure we didn't burn through more than half, to leave some margin for the trip home—especially considering that the trip to the airport is mostly downhill—hills we'd need to go back up to get home. This shouldn't have been a problem. . . .

I have no interest in whether this idiot made it home or not.
The OP, whose requirements are very similar to this trip, probably is interested, and I posted it for their benefit. For anyone else it's just gravy.
 
Yes, if your round trip is 50 miles, there is no problem... But if the original poster has a 100 mile round trip, things are different.

I want to ask those posters that say, "yeah! go for it! buy a leaf.." To keep your opinions to themselves, because you are not the one that spends $20k+ on a car, and then you find that it is not what you thought.... You cannot determine from a short bunch of sentences that the Leaf will work for them..

The new leaf advertises 150 miles range, but it is not all usable. You must leave about 20% at the end so you do not ruin the battery, So, 150-30 = 120 miles "useable" range. Then you have to deduct range for:

1) the original poster should not expect to be driving 100 miles at 70 miles per hour (bad for range)
2) During winter heat would take 10-20% of the battery on a 100 mile trip
3) We do not know how hard he uses the gas pedal.

End of story, the new leaf can EASILY do a 100 mile round trip.... BUT you should expect to charge up your battery on the way home for a while.. Maybe add 20-30% charge to be on the safe side..

Let's be honest with this new member...
 
Back
Top