BESIDES MORE RANGE, what would you like to see in LEAF gen 2

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JeremyW

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 13, 2011
Messages
1,575
Location
San Gabriel, CA
This is a thread discussing things OTHER THAN MORE RANGE, A BIGGER CAPACITY BATTERY, OR IMPROVED BATTERY LONGEVITY that you'd like to see in the next generation leaf.

Things like:
-Faster charging (10kW)
-More aerodynamic
-Higher performance motor
-Better Navigation
-More options for telematics (more climate control options, honk horn, GPS location, etc)
-????
 
- Ability to get both the QC port and the equivalent of the premium package (better stereo + around view monitor) w/o having to go to the highest trim level (SL). That ability unfortunately vanished w/the '15 Leaf. You could no longer get SV with both the QC + LED & premium packages. Some people don't like leather and/or don't want to pay for it. Some don't like the black interiors. I belong to all 3 of these. Folks at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=382501#p382501" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; first noticed this and some are unhappy with it.
- Offer a somewhat darker grey interior (easier to keep clean) but not black. I don't like the black interiors offered. They look too depressing and somewhat cheap.
- Get rid of the 3.3 kW OBC. Make it 6+ kW on all of them.
- Include hybrid heat pump heater and cruise control on all trims (remedied recently).
- Give indication for how much braking is via regen vs. friction brakes.
- Removable head restraint for rear middle passenger
- Show % SoC values in Leaf app instead of just GOM values and 12 fuel bars
- Add ability to stop charging via Leaf app
- Allow setting ending SoC % via Leaf app
- Get rid of the useless trees in the dash and driving range circle button on the steering wheel
- Include EVSE that supports 120 to 240 volts (well, if it supported down to 100 volts, it'd work properly in Japan as well)
- Include standard spare tire or make it an option, preferably dealer installable
 
Lighter interior options; only black is not good for keeping a BEV cool!
Show both SOC and battery capacity in tenths of a %.
Cameras instead of side mirrors.
Self parking option.
Collision-avoidance option.
Lane-keeping option.
Regeneration paddles on steering wheel option similar to Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive.
Show battery modules' condition in app.
Fold-down back-seat head rests.
Solar panel on roof for fan to cool interior option.
120-volts outlet in trunk.
Adapter for using CHAdeMO charrer with SAE Combo charging station.
Option to use Tesla Supercharger stations.
 
Replace trees with GIDs.
Tire pressure read out screen.
In fact, screens showing everything you can get from LeafSpy.

But I wouldn't get a new LEAF if I could get an eNV200 with more range, dual, even quad motor 4WD. I want more cargo/passenger space.
 
cwerdna said:
- Get rid of the 3.3 kW OBC. Make it 6+ kW on all of them.
- Include hybrid heat pump heater and cruise control on all trims (remedied recently).
Spoken like someone who wants 6kW charging and the heat pump, and doesn't give a hoot about people that don't! If these things add cost to the car then your suggestion is being ignorant towards people who don't want these things. The suggestion only makes sense if their inclusion makes no difference to the cost of the car.

Braking - the regen should be independent of the brake pedal. This is a left-over from trying to make the car feel like a 'normal ICE'. At least, there should be a control setting to give up to full regen on throttle lift off alone, with no effect due to brake pedal position.

Creep - on or off, make that an optional setting.

The two features, above, together would provide 'one pedal' driving, and also fix the rubbish low speed braking effect.

Electrical hand-crank. Have a crank somewhere with a little dynamo, like you get in those clockwork radios. If the battery is flat, you can crank that for a minute or two enough to charge a capacitor to activate the HV relay.

A proper key! At least, an option not to have this key-less entry guff. Is it possible to deactivate the car if it 'goes mad'? With a key, you'd just take it out.
 
Better Interior.

Auto Cruise that will work from 0 mph in city like the I3

20 Kw Ac charger like the Renault Zoe.

More power, 170-200 Hp option

More range obviously.

Definitely CCS to ChaDeMo adapter as someone mentioned above.

Variable regen as also suggested with the option for 0 regen when you lift off the throttle , why waste energy through regen when you can free-wheel on energy already consumed ? Then hit the brake for regen when you actually need to slow down.
 
donald said:
cwerdna said:
- Get rid of the 3.3 kW OBC. Make it 6+ kW on all of them.
- Include hybrid heat pump heater and cruise control on all trims (remedied recently).
Spoken like someone who wants 6kW charging and the heat pump, and doesn't give a hoot about people that don't! If these things add cost to the car then your suggestion is being ignorant towards people who don't want these things. The suggestion only makes sense if their inclusion makes no difference to the cost of the car.

Except that the upgraded charger and hybrid heater are extremely useful upgrades and really don't add much to the price of the car. I don't know about elsewhere, but in the US, Nissan was able to drop the price on the SV and SL models for 2013 even though those features became standard. So apparently these features are not as costly as you imply.

Like with electric windows, in the US almost all new cars in the market come with cruise control standard. Nissan USA's decision to leave it off for the base model S was literally penny-pinching. If Nissan can include cruise control on a $14k Versa sedan, there is no reason why they could not include it on a car whose base price is within a grand of the base price of Audi A3 or Mercedes CLA250.
 
donald said:
Electrical hand-crank. Have a crank somewhere with a little dynamo, like you get in those clockwork radios. If the battery is flat, you can crank that for a minute or two enough to charge a capacitor to activate the HV relay.
LOL! ..and have it stick out from underneath the front bumper. :lol:
 
Real EV regen with some adjustability even it presets.
A real NAV system not one from the 90s
Fans and solar panels on the roof for extended range, a tiny generator and unicorn to go with it.
 
donald said:
cwerdna said:
- Get rid of the 3.3 kW OBC. Make it 6+ kW on all of them.
- Include hybrid heat pump heater and cruise control on all trims (remedied recently).
Spoken like someone who wants 6kW charging and the heat pump, and doesn't give a hoot about people that don't! If these things add cost to the car then your suggestion is being ignorant towards people who don't want these things. The suggestion only makes sense if their inclusion makes no difference to the cost of the car.

Commonly on the market now we see

3.x KW (Nissan) paired with a 24 KWh battery
6.6 KW (Nissan) paired with a 24 KWh battery
10 KW (Tesla) paired with a 60 or 85 KWh battery
20 KW (Tesla) paired with a 60 or 85 KWh battery

If Nissan can find a 4.8 KW or 5 KW option cheap enough they could move the entry level up to that, if not they need to move it up to 6.6 to reuse the old 6.6 part because...

They need to offer more than 6.6KW for the top end. I could see a 7.2KW option as the new upgrade as it draws 30 amps on 240 volts which plays nice with a 40 amp breaker or they could jump to 9.6KW for a 50 amp breaker friendly charger.

I'm assuming the single 7.2 KW or 9.6KW charger will weigh less and take up less space than a dual 4.8 KW, dual 5KW, or even dual 6.6 KW setup. I'd consider that a valid top end option as well if they want to go with any sort of dual charger configuration.

So the options I see for future leaf designs are

4.8 or 5 KW (don't know if these chargers exist or will be cost effective vs just using a 6.6 KW)
6.6 KW
7.2 KW
9.6 KW
13.2 KW by way of dual 6.6 KW chargers (a way to reuse the existing single charger, just add a second one)
14.4 KW by way of dual 7.2 KW chargers (assuming they offer a 7.2 KW single charger)

any of the options above 6.6 KW would be a marketable change and functionally improve charging rates. any of the dual charger options offers the single vs dual charger choice in the model line up and they can charge a premium price for the second charger.

So imagine a lineup like

Leaf S with 6.6 KW charger
Leaf SV with 7.2 KW charger
Leaf SL with 13.2 KW chargers (two 6.6 KW units)
 
General
  • Collision avoidance system (license Subaru's please)
    Blind-spot detection system
    More colour choices: dark blue, dark green, copper, etc
    Tighter steering
    Less rounded hatchback for more cargo space (i.e. more like a Versa Note's trunk design)
    At least 7.2kW AC charging
    Ability to choose temperature settings for Carwings remote climate
    Lock/unlock via Carwings
    Navigation incorporating elevation changes, speed, and weather to generate a "predicted route range" and/or optimize route
    Allow AC to run during QC sessions
    A real horn
    Fold down center armrest in back seat with cupholders
    Lower profile rear headrests (see Prius gen 2 head rests)

Advanced User Mode with following settings
  • User-selectable regen
    Ability to stop charging via Carwings
    Charge to percent: 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 options
    Selectable charge current similar to Tesla Model S
    "Maintenance" mode that forces battery balancing or at least lets you view logs for it
 
  • Mazda 6 style leaf. SUV leaf. Pickup leaf.
  • Center panel integrated with android auto.
  • Ability to add trailer to extend range.
  • Be able to use my phone as a key.
  • Leaf send me a message if I forgot to turn it off.
  • Wifi connection.
 
I'd just like to point out that:

A) I am happy with a 22kWh battery capacity. It's fine for me and my 50 mile commute. I do not want to be obliged to pay extra money for a bigger battery. Sure, it's good if the pay-for option exists, but I don't want to be obliged to pay for a more expensive car and lug around half a ton of battery just because SOMEONE ELSE wants a bigger battery. I agree the choice should be there, but not the obligation to pay for it.

B) Same with the charger. I have never wanted a faster charger. Well, OK, I could have done with it once in the last 18 months due to an unexpected trip out once I got home. Took an ICE instead - no sweat so why would I want the faster charger. I can see very little argument for needing the 6.6kW charger. Happy to hear any arguments for why you need it.

In fact, the option of value I see is to be able to alter the rate of charging. So if I want to charge at 4A/1kW only for 12 hours over night why can't I do that instead of 16A of 30A.

If I had solar (which I would want but my current property is not positioned for it :( ) I'd want to be able to set the charge rate to draw only as much as the panels can give.

So I would say: Give me options to charge SLOWER than 3.3kW.
 
I'd like to be able to QC successively without roasting the battery. I expect that the new (and unproven) heat-tolerant battery will still degrade itself during a multi-QC journey, if the thermal design of the pack isn't changed. And I have to believe that figuring out how to let a few kilowatts of heat drain out when there's 40 or 50 degrees F. of pressure behind them has got to be cheaper than doubling the storage of the present pack. It should also require less mass. I kind of like the LEAF's peppiness now, and would rather stop to refuel a few extra times on the rare out-of-town trips, than to lug a double-sized battery around all the time.

Next, I'd like to see the functions of motor drive and battery charging combined. During regenerative braking, the car's motor controller has no trouble taking AC power from the motors and converting it to DC that recharges the battery; why couldn't the regeneration function draw from the AC powerline instead? This would obviate the separate onboard battery charger, AND run at up to 40KW into the bargain, though it would probably require a 440V three-phase connection to achieve that level. I imagine the normal L1 and L2 chargers would stay single-phase, and so top out at maybe 12KW. Still, better than 6.6KW, eh?

Even more far-fetchedly, the fancier switching to connect the motor controller to the AC mains instead of to the LEAF's motor would obviously also allow the motor controller to "drive" the grid, thus providing the V2G (Vehicle to Grid) and the "home emergency power" capabilities that get discussed from time to time, with little or no extra equipment needed. I know I'm glossing over some serious safety issues pertaining to squirting power back into the grid, but there are lots of grid-tied solar power installations that deal with them somehow; can't be all that hard.

Rework the navigation software.. please. When I key in an address of 459 Dirello Street, and the nav system needs me to narrow down which city's Dirello Street I'm interested in, I want the entries in that list to be sorted in order of increasing distance from my present location. I don't want to have to scroll through lists of cities on the opposite coast just because I happen to be in a city that starts with "W". Having the nav make me waste my time rejecting destinations that are thousands of miles away is completely absurd.

Come to that, it would be encouraging if there were some hint that Nissan would ever consider making software upgrades available for reasons other than safety-recall kinds of issues. If Nissan and other manufacturers are a little anxious about the loss of dealer-repair revenue that EVs' better reliability will mean, I would think that offering to sell & install next year's newer features on last year's car would help out a little. I know I'd pay to get the new battery SOC percentage display screen on my 2012 LEAF, and don't believe there's any hardware limitation that prevents it.
 
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