Why I Love My LEAF, is the Majority Too Silent?

[DaveinOlyWA]

And I thought *I* was anal and OCD... :lol:

posted to FB this morning and the REAL reason why I LOVE my LEAF!!

*I* am neither...nothing wrong with knowing *exactly* how much it costs...

 

[ksnogas2112]

So, 39 days into ownership

1700+ miles
approximately $40 cost of electricity, powered by American coal (+1 USA -1 fossil fuel net =0)

Car is fun to drive
Fun to educate about
Fun to get the looks

Last night had a young Boy Scout shout "Love your Nissan Leaf" as I left their meeting.

Battery concerns totally appropriate for the affected owners and a legitimate concern. Having said that, I too love my Leaf.

 

[TomT]

Noun, 1. anal personality - (psychoanalysis) a personality characterized by meticulous neatness, throughness and attention to detail.

And I thought *I* was anal and OCD... :lol:

posted to FB this morning and the REAL reason why I LOVE my LEAF!!

*I* am neither...nothing wrong with knowing *exactly* how much it costs...

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Hah! I am a slob! I failed the anal test!

 

[gbshaun]

I love my LEAF and so does my wife. {channeling life of Brian crucifixion scene}
You'd have to pry it from my cold dead hands.

Most pleasant car I've ever owned,.. and i think driven.
My 54 mile r/t drive, mostly freeway is no problem, and should not require any change in driving habit through at least a 20% drop in capacity (no loss so far after 7200 miles, 14 months)
Charges up overnight no problem at 3.3kW.

When I DO lose 20% capacity, it becomes the wife's car for her daily 30 mile r/t commute and I'll be looking for something new.
So, I'm VERY MUCH hoping by then technology will have advanced so I can commit us to having both cars be EV, ....or the prices drop on the Tesla S 240miler

Shaun

 

[TurboFroggy]

We love our Leaf. Fast, quiet, goes twice as far as my 2000 Ranger EV. Charge to 80% most every night, only 100% on occasion. Recent battery report all 5 stars. We have traveled 300+ miles in one day using the DCFC network that is part of the West Coast Electric Highway.
The only issue we have had is the rear window squerter was plugged up/defective and needed replacing.

 

[marccbr]

I love my LEAF and wouldn't wont any other car, except maybe a Ferrari but I can't afford that so I'll stick with the LEAF. The range is perfect for me and after a year I have not seen any drop in my range. As a matter of fact my m/KWH have increased probably do to the warmer weather. There car is quite, smooth and low maintenance. Never have to buy gas so I am saving about $250 per month. Its a no brainer buying this vehicle.

Cool, where do you live?

Good old San Diego.

 

[SeattleBlueLeaf]

still loving it - every moment. The QC's here in the NW have opened up a whole new world of adventures after a year and 1/2 of ownership.

16k miles on the car and woke up this morning to see 114 miles on the guess o meter. Only service items have been the battery check and tire rotation.

What's not to love.

 

[PatricioEV]

I am 8 months and 11,000 miles into our Leaf ownership and I am ABSOLUTELY thrilled to own it! I've built/owned my own EV in the past as well, and the Leaf is leaps and bounds better than what I built in my garage. Just last week we went out of town on vacation and took our Subaru wagon (which I really like) but I was so thankful to get back to driving our smooth, quiet Leaf and to stop burning gas!

I've spruced my Leaf up a bit with new wheels, tires and a sunroof. Now it is pretty much the way I would have ordered it (if I could) and I just love looking at it, and more importantly, driving it! I hope to never have to buy a gasoline powered car again as long as I live.

 

[Lopton]

1 year 4 months, Los Angeles, love my leaf as much as when got it. I also expect the battery to degrade over time and will continue to love my car as it goes through its life cycle.

-Matt

 

[thankyouOB]

saves time and a trip to the gas station.

i never see anybody smiling at the gas station. the place is a bummer.

whatever time i spend calculating my charge needs before a trip, I would have wasted more time standing around the pump.

 

[sparky]

saves time and a trip to the gas station.
i never see anybody smiling at the gas station. the place is a bummer.
whatever time i spend calculating my charge needs before a trip, I would have wasted more time standing around the pump.

Indeed, today I decided to gas up. Couldn't get a spot at the pump. Cars jockeying for position, people looking annoyed ($4.43/gal... when did that happen?). So, I just came home. Still have a 1/4 tank; should be good for 3 weeks.
I don't miss gas pumps nor the weekly CC+zipcode "sign of the cross" at the oil altar.

 

[TonyWilliams]

saves time and a trip to the gas station.

i never see anybody smiling at the gas station. the place is a bummer.

whatever time i spend calculating my charge needs before a trip, I would have wasted more time standing around the pump.

I went into the local oil dispensing station to get a car wash. I think people were burning a hole through me with their eyes as I strolled in to just buy the car wash. I guess having HUGE stickers all over my car advertising that is doesn't use oil might be a bit much?

:mrgreen:

 

[edatoakrun]

I put ~750 miles on a Loaner 2012 Sentra while my LEAF was in the shop a couple weeks ago.

Not having driven an ICEV for any significant distance for 15 months, out of habit, I kept glancing at he twelve-bar fuel capacity gauge.

At first, was a pleasant novelty to see how long each of those bars lasted.

Then I figured that each ~1.2 gallon "bar" of gas was costing me ~$5, and producing ~1500 gallons of direct CO2 emissions.

I was glad to get my LEAF back.

 

[chuck58]

I think the LEAF suffers from a combination of problems. First the infrastructure of charging stations at malls, workplace, parking garages has been very slow to come about, so you are stuck with the whole round trip problem to get back home to recharge. Second are the hybrids, specifically the Prius or its more expensive cousin the Lexus CT200h. These cars get in the 50 mpg range and the cost of gas for driving 12000 miles is 240 gallons of gas a year. Using $4.00 a gallon (a little higher than what today's cost is) an the annual cost is $960, or $500 more than all electric miles. Yes there are other costs of oil changes, etc. but for most people the hybrids are the best compromise without range anxiety and a price point that you get a decent vehicle with nice features, and thousands less than the LEAF, even with the tax incentive. So the LEAF will be a niche car unless gas goes to $12.00 a gallon which would cripple the economy

 

[TomT]

I have put away my Leaf trumpet until we have more definitive information from Nissan on the capacity loss problem (and resolution) that many are now experiencing... I had thought that southern California would not be an issue in that regard but as we are now seeing, such is not necessarily the case (I've had a 16% loss myself). At the very least, I am now telling most people to only consider leasing...

 

[thankyouOB]

thread title:
why I love my leaf, is the majority too silent?

 

[eclecticflower]

I've owned for about 3 months and have appx. 1500 miles on my LEAF; I no longer have range anxiety. As always, it's nice to have a new car and all the advancements available after owning an ICE for 12 years (pre-era of built-in Navi and electronics, etc.). Getting used to not having leather and an electric driver seat (miss that stuff), but for a light interior, it's very good-looking and my risk of dirtying it is very low. After going gas-free, I don't miss the stinky routine of ICE cars (oil changes, fill-ups, fumes, everything else that goes with maintenance) and it's fun to pop in @ Quick Trip to buy a drink without parking at the pump. I get lots of stares at its unique shape and the Zero Emission badge on the side of my cayenne red LEAF (but no questions - yet!). I really enjoy the instant torque and how fast the car is, if I need it to be. Making tailgaters disappear in a wink is really satisfying (yeah, even in the slow lane). :evil: It's a nice car all around and so cute (I no longer call her "ugly-cute" - she deserves much better ) and if you have to replace a dying ICE car like I did and take on a car payment again, you might as well get rid of the ongoing other costs of an ICE car and grab onto the leading edge of technology, once it's available for you. You only live once! LOVE MY LEAF!

 

[WetEV]

I think the LEAF suffers from a combination of problems. First the infrastructure of charging stations at malls, workplace, parking garages has been very slow to come about, so you are stuck with the whole round trip problem to get back home to recharge. Second are the hybrids, specifically the Prius or its more expensive cousin the Lexus CT200h. These cars get in the 50 mpg range and the cost of gas for driving 12000 miles is 240 gallons of gas a year. Using $4.00 a gallon (a little higher than what today's cost is) an the annual cost is $960, or $500 more than all electric miles. Yes there are other costs of oil changes, etc. but for most people the hybrids are the best compromise without range anxiety and a price point that you get a decent vehicle with nice features, and thousands less than the LEAF, even with the tax incentive. So the LEAF will be a niche car unless gas goes to $12.00 a gallon which would cripple the economy

Remember that battery prices are falling. Even if gasoline stays at $4, BEVs like the Leaf get far more competitive as the battery price falls.

Expect gasoline prices to rise with time, but not smoothly. Oil price will jump up and down, depending on politics, wars in the Mideast and a long list of other factors. The economy will eventually need to adjust to $12 gasoline somehow. How? BEVs are part of the answer, replacing trucking with rail are another, changing expectations and habits a third.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I think the LEAF suffers from a combination of problems. First the infrastructure of charging stations at malls, workplace, parking garages has been very slow to come about, so you are stuck with the whole round trip problem to get back home to recharge. Second are the hybrids, specifically the Prius or its more expensive cousin the Lexus CT200h. These cars get in the 50 mpg range and the cost of gas for driving 12000 miles is 240 gallons of gas a year. Using $4.00 a gallon (a little higher than what today's cost is) an the annual cost is $960, or $500 more than all electric miles. Yes there are other costs of oil changes, etc. but for most people the hybrids are the best compromise without range anxiety and a price point that you get a decent vehicle with nice features, and thousands less than the LEAF, even with the tax incentive. So the LEAF will be a niche car unless gas goes to $12.00 a gallon which would cripple the economy

Remember that battery prices are falling. Even if gasoline stays at $4, BEVs like the Leaf get far more competitive as the battery price falls.

Expect gasoline prices to rise with time, but not smoothly. Oil price will jump up and down, depending on politics, wars in the Mideast and a long list of other factors. The economy will eventually need to adjust to $12 gasoline somehow. How? BEVs are part of the answer, replacing trucking with rail are another, changing expectations and habits a third.

i also think battery prices will take a big drop in price here in next few months but after that, not so much. i think marketing forces will keep battery prices low enough to where they will be much cheaper than gas options but also believe that the price of gas will control battery prices. right now its anywhere from 3 to 1 to maybe 5 to 1 cheaper than gas to go EV but i dont think it will get better than that. so if gas goes up, expect battery prices to go up too.