2018 LEAF Drive Review

Trust with Nissan is still an issue for me. Our 2012 leaf at time of purchase was advertised to achieve 100 mile range. Finding out that the 24 kWh battery capacity wasn't fully useable. So the 100 mile range wasn't attainable for that reason and possably others. If anyone achieved 100 mile range I doubt it wasn't normal driving to get it.

Second issue was at one of the Nissan Dealer computer updates the regen braking all but disappeared. After repeated visits to the dealer and many phone calls to I finally had one Nissan person admit tinkering with the regen to prolong battery life.

Conclusion: Distrust because of their deceptive business practices. I hope they get better. If they claim 140 mile range in the gen 2 leaf, it shouldn't be difficult to get that or even greater.

Sorry for venting

Here is some information about a possible tie-up between the LEAF+ and LG http://pushevs.com/2017/09/08/lg-chem-will-introduce-ncm-811-battery-cells-evs-next-year/

Thoughts?

OrientExpress said:

Here is some information about a possible tie-up between the LEAF+ and LG http://pushevs.com/2017/09/08/lg-chem-will-introduce-ncm-811-battery-cells-evs-next-year/

Thoughts?

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Pedro has always been partial to ATM (and has also been in error in some of his previous LEAF battery predictions) but his article seems to imply the obvious, that adding a liquid coolant loop (or other ATM) to the LEAF will lower the pack density to the point that it seems unlikely ~60 kWh will fit into the LEAF's existing battery bay.

Is there any reason why this LG battery needs LC, as opposed to those previous LG-powered BEV designs, which did not use it?

...If the future battery pack doesn’t increase in size, then it means that the battery cells have to be at least 729 Wh/L, which I find unlikely. The longer range version 2019 Nissan Leaf’s battery pack will probably be slightly bigger, not only to have its capacity increased to 60 kWh, but also to have space for a TMS (Thermal Management System)...

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Enjoyed your review Dave. Lots of interesting details that I hadn't picked up elsewhere.

Thanks Dave and Orient, for a generally good thread.

Just got back from the Drive Electric gathering in Stillacoom Wa. I picked up a 2018 flyer at Dave's table (thanks Dave). A sentence about charging caught my eye:

" A Level 2 charge is as easy as plugging the available charger into a 240-V outlet, no wall-mounted box required."

Does this mean that we no longer will need to have an EVSE on our garage walls?

The DOT Blink installed in my garage is plugged into a 240 volt outlet that the electrician who installed the unit under the initial "free" program put in. It's a 240 volt 40 amp dedicated circuit. I'd love to throw the Blink EVSE away and just plug in a chord from Nissan.

rdhauser said:

Thanks Dave and Orient, for a generally good thread.

Just got back from the Drive Electric gathering in Stillacoom Wa. I picked up a 2018 flyer at Dave's table (thanks Dave). A sentence about charging caught my eye:

" A Level 2 charge is as easy as plugging the available charger into a 240-V outlet, no wall-mounted box required."

Does this mean that we no longer will need to have an EVSE on our garage walls?

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The Nissan-supplied portable EVSE will be capable of 120V as well as 240V Level 2 charging. It's in Dave's review linked in the first post.

http://daveinolywa.blogspot.com/2017/09/2018-leaf.html

I.e., no wall-mounted box required because the car can be had with its own portable L2 EVSE.

Of course, in the US you have to have a compatible 240 volt outlet, or a non-compatible one and a second adapter. This is mainly a benefit in Europe.

DaveinOlyWA said:

GetOffYourGas said:

DaveinOlyWA said:

So pretty obvious to me that the LEAF was not the showcase here, its Pro Pilot and I predict Pro Pilot will be a HUGE hit. Its not autonomous driving by any means but it WILL prevent a lot of accidents caused by driver fatigue or inattention. And its a fraction of the cost of Tesla AP.

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This is what excites me. I don't need ProPilot for stop-and-go traffic. I almost never see it. (In contrast to your rapidly growing populations, ours is stagnant/shrinking. In many places, the roads are larger than they need to be for the volume of traffic, because they were built for a larger population). What I do need is a system that will help me during long late-night drives down the interstate. It's easy to zone out and start wandering out of your lane. Coffee only helps so much.

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Gonna have to wait for Pro Pilot II then cause Pro Pilot will begin to bring your car to a stop in roughly 15-20 if you don't respond to prompts to put hands on steering wheel. In Sal's video drive, the Nissan rep does a pretty good job of explaining the process. The car will roll to a dead stop in the middle of your lane with hazard lights flashing.

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You misunderstand me. I never said anything about hands off the wheel. I'm talking about driving late at night and getting tired. I'm not proud of it, but there have been times when I have hit the rumble strips before pulling back into my lane. ProPilot would prevent that from happening in the first place, would it not? And 15-20 seconds is an eternity. When I have done this, the whole process takes 2-3 seconds.

In your blog entry, you wrote

DaveinOlyWA said:

6.6 KW charging for all! (If you have the proper level 2 EVSE) This is the first year Nissan will be providing a dual power EVSE charging at 120 volts (likely at 12 amps) or 240 volts (will provide the full 6.6 KW or 27.5 amps meaning a 40 amp service will be needed) but its only standard on the SL trim. You must have the charge package on the S trim to get it or the tech package on the SV to get it.

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At https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/2018-nissan-leaf-29-990-40kwh-battery.95874/page-10#post-2296901, it's been pointed out to me that 6.6 kW OBC on all trims may not be true.

Not sure if Zaxxon over there is right or if there's some issue with https://www.nissanusa.com/electric-cars/2018-leaf/. What he points out is still there today.

If we don't know by this Thursday, 9/14, I'll be asking that question to the Nissan corporate rep at a Sunnyvale EVent that evening.

LeftieBiker said:

Of course, in the US you have to have a compatible 240 volt outlet, or a non-compatible one and a second adapter. This is mainly a benefit in Europe.

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For someone new to EVs, it means they don't have to purchase an EVSE to get Level 2 charging. Seems like a pretty nice improvement over Gen 1.

Nubo said:

LeftieBiker said:

Of course, in the US you have to have a compatible 240 volt outlet, or a non-compatible one and a second adapter. This is mainly a benefit in Europe.

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For someone new to EVs, it means they don't have to purchase an EVSE to get Level 2 charging. Seems like a pretty nice improvement over Gen 1.

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IF you have a 240 volt outlet. Leafs always came with 120 volt EVSEs.

LeftieBiker said:

IF you have a 240 volt outlet. Leafs always came with 120 volt EVSEs.

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It's also unclear to me if versions w/o the 120/240 volt L1/L2 EVSE will come with an L1 120 volt EVSE at all.

If not, that'd be a big departure from all previous Leafs and likely all/virtually all EVs/PHEVs sold in the US.

It appears to be part of the Tech Package. They show it with an included 120 volt adapter, so I'm guessing they learned from EVSE Upgrade.

LeftieBiker said:

They show it with an included 120 volt adapter, so I'm guessing they learned from EVSE Upgrade.

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Nissan's known about the desire that a 120 to 240 volt EVSE be included for a LONG time. In fact, Phil himself at the Dec 2011 meeting (some pics at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=155656#p155656 and http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=155782#p155782) at the podium asked Nissan to do so, in front of all the Nissan corporate folks. I recall he even acknowledged this would basically put an end to his cottage EVSE upgrade business.

I mentioned this at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=246433#p246433 and I was at the meeting, well before I had a Leaf. Others indicated this in their recap notes (e.g. http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=155554#p155554).

Kadota-san himself mentioned at that meeting, it was the Leaf's 1st birthday.

cwerdna said:

In your blog entry, you wrote

DaveinOlyWA said:

6.6 KW charging for all! (If you have the proper level 2 EVSE) This is the first year Nissan will be providing a dual power EVSE charging at 120 volts (likely at 12 amps) or 240 volts (will provide the full 6.6 KW or 27.5 amps meaning a 40 amp service will be needed) but its only standard on the SL trim. You must have the charge package on the S trim to get it or the tech package on the SV to get it.

Click to expand...

At https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/2018-nissan-leaf-29-990-40kwh-battery.95874/page-10#post-2296901, it's been pointed out to me that 6.6 kW OBC on all trims may not be true.

Not sure if Zaxxon over there is right or if there's some issue with https://www.nissanusa.com/electric-cars/2018-leaf/. What he points out is still there today.

If we don't know by this Thursday, 9/14, I'll be asking that question to the Nissan corporate rep at a Sunnyvale EVent that evening.

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The link you have here is talking about chademo. I can see how it would be interpreted either way especially when you look at the charging specs that stll list 3 KW charge times.

On the flip side; the charge package for the S says nothing about 6.6 KW charging so what would lead anyone to think that 6.6 charging was included with chademo on the S?

https://www.nissanusa.com/electric-cars/2018-leaf/ also has similarly confusing verbiage in at least 2 other places.

Example:


Re: charge package, it doesn't mention it adds 6.6 kW OBC but oddly does mention it in the if you click on the star.

cwerdna said:

LeftieBiker said:

IF you have a 240 volt outlet. Leafs always came with 120 volt EVSEs.

Click to expand...

It's also unclear to me if versions w/o the 120/240 volt L1/L2 EVSE will come with an L1 120 volt EVSE at all.

If not, that'd be a big departure from all previous Leafs and likely all/virtually all EVs/PHEVs sold in the US.

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This is one of MANY things that were unclear to participants of the drive event. I can't imagine what's its like to be in your shoes. I wasn't in Seattle long enough this morning to talk with anyone there but it was pretty obvious that most there were not LEAF knowledgeable. In fact, just questions about the Ride and Drive event for the local area was a difficult thing to get info on. The person who "helped" sign me up had to keep asking this other person questions so he could answer my questions.

I would think the basic 120 volt EVSE would be included as always since I run into people every day who use nothing but...

For the S. version if you order the quick charge package, you get the L1/L2 charger. For the SV the L1/L2 EVSE comes with the Technology package. For the SL the L1/L2 evse is included.

In all the info I have, the S & SV don't have an L1 charger included, but the L1/L2 is available as a dealer parts counter option for those that desire it.

This follows GM in not requiring you to pay for an EVSE unless you need one and is welcome news. We only used the L1 EVSE on our '11 LEAF once or twice, and we have never used the one that came with our '14 car.

The 6.6 kW OBC is standard on all trim levels.

@OrientExpress

The 6.6 kW OBC is standard on all trim levels

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How are you certain that the 6.6 kW charger is standard on all trim levels? @cwerdna pointed out several places on nissanusa.com that seems to contradict that...

Hope you are right though

This follows GM in not requiring you to pay for an EVSE unless you need one and is welcome news.

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GM includes an L-1/L-2-capable EVSE for free with the Bolt. Their listing for an EVSE is for those wanting a second unit. It appears that Nissan will no longer be giving us a free EVSE unless we buy an SL. We will have to pay for the Charge or Tech Package to get one.