I have had my car for a month now. So far the car has worked fine for my limited use since I don't drive very many miles, the Leaf really is great. I knew what I was buying before I bought, I knew the range limitations, and the variations by climate as it gets cold or hot, and I had a very good idea what my use would be, the distances, and how it might work for me. So for my purposes so far the car has been exactly what I needed and wanted.
Local prices have climbed for the used Leaf since this time last year. My son bought an SV last year at this time and he managed to get an amazing deal on the car. Fast forward one year and the prices of those same cars are 2k higher than last year and the selection was much worse. I literally had to go shopping out of state to find a car that I wanted. It worked out the car arrived and things went OK. The car is very nice, very well built.
Since I bought the car there was a recall notice for reprogramming the air bags. There is also a voluntary advisory about upgrading the Carwings system to 3g cellular network. However after reading the negative reports here on this forum I declined the upgrade to the Carwings TCU until I start to see people here saying that Nissan has fixed it. If you are not sure what I am referring to then search for TCU upgrade here on the forum. The service department at my local dealer was very easy to work with to get the car scheduled and to get the recall done. I am happy with the way that worked and how easy they are to work with. The only limitation was that they only have 1 Leaf certified technician to work on the cars so I had to wait for his availability. I hope that changes in the future.
I have seen many examples here on this forum where Nissan has stepped up and offered to fix things, or offset the cost of repairs even with cars out of warranty. I see them offering batteries that we can buy that seems reasonable compared to what I have seen for other EV's out there. So it seems to me that Nissan is stepping up. But I see a lot of negativity toward Nissan which I question if all of it is warranted. I do see some failures that honestly probably shouldn't be happening so it is good that Nissan does address these. Overall the Leaf does appear to be a very solid car.
The car I bought still has all the battery bars, but I know with the miles it has on it that I am probably pretty close to losing a bar. I just hope that my battery continues to hold up and function in the capacity I need it to for the next 3 or 4 years with my limited miles that I drive. If the battery holds up then I would be happy to consider buying a new battery if it is still available.
My needs and wants are very modest. So I am not a person looking for a self driving car, and lots of bells and whistles even thought my car comes with a lot of toys. I didn't buy it for the toys and won't use a lot of the things that are on the car. So I would be thrilled to see something like a solid state battery offered for our car or even a higher capacity battery retrofit to our car as time goes on.
I am odd, for some reason the look of the current Leaf has grown on me and the new spy shots of the new 2018 Leaf don't do anything for me. So I would be very happy to be able to extend the use of this car for many years into the future if Nissan will offer support and upgrades for this car. I like the modern and unusual look to our Leaf over the more conventional look of the car they are flashing to us right now.
So far I am pretty happy with the Leaf. If you do your homework and know the limits of the car and if they will work for your circumstances I think you might find this car will work very well for you too. It is a pretty nice car. Don't let the negativity of others influence you about this car until you have evaluated it for yourself and if it will meet your needs. For many people the Leaf is a great daily driver.
Also I think if people know that they are going to be driving a lot and may be bumping into the range limits of the car consider a L2 power option for your home. The ability to put enough juice quickly into your car throughout the day is a game changer for those who are constantly on the run to and from home running errands. The flexibility of the car opens up greatly if L2 charging at home is an option for you. Of course everyone's circumstances are different so evaluate your situation to see what would be the best fit for you.