Newbie - Considering new 40kwh Leaf?

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Electricdreams

New member
Joined
Oct 26, 2018
Messages
3
Hi,
I've just joined the forum, and have never owned an electric car, although I have been considering a Leaf for some time, having had a three day trial around three years ago. That was a 24kwh and although I liked the car, I decided I couldn't quite live with the range.
Obviously things have moved on regarding range.
I have the choice of a new, nearly new 40kwh, or the proven used 30kwh model.
*
In the UK the government provides a grant of £5000 towards the cost of a new pure electric car, which as well as helping with the purchase, mitigates some of the first years depreciation.
*
I have two questions -

1. I have read that there may be some issues with the newly designed 40kwh batteries, as the plates are thinner and other build differences from the 30kwh. What are your experiences of the new batteries, or is it too soon to judge reliability? I have also been told that the ground clearance is lower!

2. If the 40kwh batteries are ok, would I be better going for the new Leaf, of is a year old 30kwh a better choice (taking into account the govt grant)?

Thanks in advance.
 
I think the 30kwh Leaf is the poorer risk, because it has suffered from mysterious capacity indicator drops. A software fix has been issued, and it may work, at least for many of them, but I wouldn't call it entirely resolved. I now drive a 40kwh Leaf, and while it's experiencing capacity loss at a rate that doesn't make me happy, it isn't alarming, either. Also, the 40kwh version has improved efficiency, so it gets more than 25% more range than the 30kwh car.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=26009

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=26662
 
Not sure I understand your incentives but realize that a VERY degraded 40 kwh pack will have more range than a new 30 kwh pack, right?

Not to mention some pretty compelling features. E-Pedal has the steepest learning curve AND (by far) the greatest potential benefit.

Add Emergency Braking along with others (all standard on cheapest trim here) and I have to say I can't see any benefit to getting a used LEAF unless its selling for MUCH less than half its original selling price.
 
There are several YouTube videos created by UK owners of Hyundai Kona Electric and Kia Niro EV cars. So, presumably they are both available in at least some areas of the UK.

This guy has posted extensively on YouTube about his Kona Electric:

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC5X6RyBSb7FiRJ6SOummZYw

If you can get either of those EVs, they would be a better option than the 40kWh LEAF. Otherwise, you might want to wait a few months for the E-Plus edition (rumored to have a 60kWh pack)
 
There are quite a few people on YouTube that I follow and almost all of them are in the UK. Fancy a BEV mate? has a new 40kWh and is a for hire driver and has reported on his. Many of the people that I follow have opted to keep their 24 kWh or 30 kWh versions because they have held up better in the UK due to milder climate than many of the ones here in the U.S. due to our warmer temps.
 
Electricdreams said:
Hi,
I've just joined the forum, and have never owned an electric car, although I have been considering a Leaf for some time, having had a three day trial around three years ago. That was a 24kwh and although I liked the car, I decided I couldn't quite live with the range.
Obviously things have moved on regarding range.
I have the choice of a new, nearly new 40kwh, or the proven used 30kwh model.
*
In the UK the government provides a grant of £5000 towards the cost of a new pure electric car, which as well as helping with the purchase, mitigates some of the first years depreciation.
*
I have two questions -

1. I have read that there may be some issues with the newly designed 40kwh batteries, as the plates are thinner and other build differences from the 30kwh. What are your experiences of the new batteries, or is it too soon to judge reliability? I have also been told that the ground clearance is lower!

2. If the 40kwh batteries are ok, would I be better going for the new Leaf, of is a year old 30kwh a better choice (taking into account the govt grant)?

Thanks in advance.
I bought a 2019 Leaf a couple of weeks ago, and much as I enjoyed my 2013 Leaf, Leaf 2.0 has a lot of technology that I didn't have before, which I'm sure you've explored. I think it's a very nice car. I don't take long road trips, and 40 kWh is plenty, whereas my 2013 Leaf had degraded about 15% and range was getting a bit tight. Now I have double what I had before.

Range declines a tiny amount every day as measured with Leaf Spy. I don't know what summer will bring, but if I extrapolate from 2 weeks experience out to a year, degradation will be only about 2%, very satisfactory. And if it's like my 2013 Leaf, degradation will be much less in the 2nd and subsequent years than in the first year. Last summer was exceptional in the UK, but as you know hot summers are not common there.
 
I am not sure about the UK but in the US Nissan has added a very good and specific battery warranty for 8 years loss will be less than 25%.
Don't forget depending on the used car mileage you may need to buy tires soon too.
 
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