I owned a 2011 Nissan Leaf until 2014, when I got my Toyota Prius Plugin. I recently got a 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 SEL AWD, finally breaking my 10 year streak without a full BEV. I'll always be proud of being an early Leaf owner, and of Nissan's pioneering role in the modern EV. Now, I'm happy to be driving an Ioniq 5, while waiting for an Aptera.
The Ioniq 5 AWD is quite the performance improvement over the 2011 Leaf, doing the 0-60 acceleration in less than half the time that the 2011 Leaf takes. The 260 mile range eclipses the 72 miles of the 2011 Leaf. A fancy liquid cooling system (still lacking in the Leaf AFAIK) gives me 85% or more of my normal range in freezing temperatures. The 2024 model has the CCS connector, derived from the Leaf's J1772 connector. DC fast charging is through the CCS, not the Leaf's ChaDeMo that never caught on. The recently standardized NACS port will appear on 2025 models, so I've settled on installing a J1772 L2 charger at home, with plans to use a J1772 to NACS adapter in the future.
The driver assist features on the Ioniq 5 SEL (2024) are... conveniences. Lane keeping assist and adaptive cruise control are useful in highway driving. Used with the speed limit change warning, the adaptive cruise control should practically guarantee I don't get a speeding ticket on the highway. It's a long ways off from worry-free, hands-off driving (which it's not designed for). I'm thinking of getting a Comma 3x self-driving system, someday, if I keep the Ioniq 5 beyond the 13 month lease.
One quibble with the Ioniq 5: The battery conditioning (heating in cold temperatures) is activated in a very restricted way. You have to select an EV Charging Station in the Ioniq 5's navigation system. Using Google or Apple Map through CarPlay will NOT activate battery conditioning. About 30 minutes or 35 miles before arrival time, the battery conditioning heater will activate, if the battery is cold enough to warrant. Hyundai clearly intended for this to be a convenient way for battery conditioning to be activated when appropriate without the driver having to worry about it. Many owners would prefer more control, to be able to definitively turn on battery conditioning when desired. I haven't made my own judgement on that yet. If the existing method consistently works, I'm inclined to be satisfied with it. I'm still perplexed that Nissan very deliberately gave up leadership in EVs to the likes of Tesla and now, Hyundai. Talk about snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory!
One concern: there has been repeated recalls of the Integrated Charging Control Unit (ICCU). Yes, that critical piece of equipment. It's the classic case where the vast majority of owners seem to be unaffected, but there's enough people that are affected that it is an ongoing issue. If you want a reason to stick with the Leaf a little longer, instead of upgrading to a Hyundai EV, this would be the most compelling reason I can think of. Other than the inconvenience of coming in for the recall service (just a software update) less than two weeks after start of my lease, I seem to have escape any serious issues (knocking on wood).
Beyond the Hyundai Ioniq 5, my dream car (which I have reserved) is the Aptera. If I keep the Ioniq 5 beyond the 13 month lease, and my Aptera gets delivered, the Aptera will likely replace my 2014 Toyota Prius Plugin, which has served (and continues to serve) me well.
I'll always have fond memories of being an early U.S. Leaf owner, alongside the range anxiety trauma of 72 miles nominal range, with first "range bar" disappearing at about 24,000 miles on the odometer. A quick Google search is showing me certified Leafs under $15k, and used 2012 models under $5,000. What a deal, if you're not intent on getting AWD and liquid battery cooling, as I was.
Anyway, I just thought I would share which EV ultimately replaced the 2011 Nissan Leaf I gave up ten years ago.
The Ioniq 5 AWD is quite the performance improvement over the 2011 Leaf, doing the 0-60 acceleration in less than half the time that the 2011 Leaf takes. The 260 mile range eclipses the 72 miles of the 2011 Leaf. A fancy liquid cooling system (still lacking in the Leaf AFAIK) gives me 85% or more of my normal range in freezing temperatures. The 2024 model has the CCS connector, derived from the Leaf's J1772 connector. DC fast charging is through the CCS, not the Leaf's ChaDeMo that never caught on. The recently standardized NACS port will appear on 2025 models, so I've settled on installing a J1772 L2 charger at home, with plans to use a J1772 to NACS adapter in the future.
The driver assist features on the Ioniq 5 SEL (2024) are... conveniences. Lane keeping assist and adaptive cruise control are useful in highway driving. Used with the speed limit change warning, the adaptive cruise control should practically guarantee I don't get a speeding ticket on the highway. It's a long ways off from worry-free, hands-off driving (which it's not designed for). I'm thinking of getting a Comma 3x self-driving system, someday, if I keep the Ioniq 5 beyond the 13 month lease.
One quibble with the Ioniq 5: The battery conditioning (heating in cold temperatures) is activated in a very restricted way. You have to select an EV Charging Station in the Ioniq 5's navigation system. Using Google or Apple Map through CarPlay will NOT activate battery conditioning. About 30 minutes or 35 miles before arrival time, the battery conditioning heater will activate, if the battery is cold enough to warrant. Hyundai clearly intended for this to be a convenient way for battery conditioning to be activated when appropriate without the driver having to worry about it. Many owners would prefer more control, to be able to definitively turn on battery conditioning when desired. I haven't made my own judgement on that yet. If the existing method consistently works, I'm inclined to be satisfied with it. I'm still perplexed that Nissan very deliberately gave up leadership in EVs to the likes of Tesla and now, Hyundai. Talk about snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory!
One concern: there has been repeated recalls of the Integrated Charging Control Unit (ICCU). Yes, that critical piece of equipment. It's the classic case where the vast majority of owners seem to be unaffected, but there's enough people that are affected that it is an ongoing issue. If you want a reason to stick with the Leaf a little longer, instead of upgrading to a Hyundai EV, this would be the most compelling reason I can think of. Other than the inconvenience of coming in for the recall service (just a software update) less than two weeks after start of my lease, I seem to have escape any serious issues (knocking on wood).
Beyond the Hyundai Ioniq 5, my dream car (which I have reserved) is the Aptera. If I keep the Ioniq 5 beyond the 13 month lease, and my Aptera gets delivered, the Aptera will likely replace my 2014 Toyota Prius Plugin, which has served (and continues to serve) me well.
I'll always have fond memories of being an early U.S. Leaf owner, alongside the range anxiety trauma of 72 miles nominal range, with first "range bar" disappearing at about 24,000 miles on the odometer. A quick Google search is showing me certified Leafs under $15k, and used 2012 models under $5,000. What a deal, if you're not intent on getting AWD and liquid battery cooling, as I was.
Anyway, I just thought I would share which EV ultimately replaced the 2011 Nissan Leaf I gave up ten years ago.
