newly purchased e-plus impressions

I know I am not the first to post impressions for the 2019 so I will just highlight some things that may have not been noted coming from a 2014 leaf SL owner.
I am now the happy owner of a White/black interior SL plus trim.

-As expected performance is outstanding. When flooring the car you better have both hands on the wheel because the torque affects steering stability from 0-40mph. Not complaining since I won't be flooring the car very often. I suspect this car is no more than .2 to .5 seconds slower than the bolt because the leaf is a bigger heavier car.

The interior is definitely of better quality overall from last gen. Based on some professional reviews I have seen, all signs indicate the interior being better than the bolt.

The cabin is much quieter and the car's suspension much softer than last gen.

-The console displays are a very nice jump coming from a last gen SL and I am sure they are similar to 2018.
The driving console reverts back to an analog speedometer (don't know why the digital readout was not more popular) but the design engineers made up for that by providing a very slick secondary interface on the left side. It's basically a smaller secondary console display. It has a lot going for it.

-Four unique pages for the battery that you page through vertically (main page categories are horizontally flipped)
-Another page that has a functional compass with weather and road/speedlimit info. I like how the speedlimit icon mimics real life signs.
-Next main page has a graphical display for the propilot feedback. Showing a car graphic for your car as well as the car in front of you to indicate that the computer is tracking the car in front for collision avoidance.
-An audio page, note: when changing stations regardless of what the display is showing you will see the station info overlay it for a few seconds to show the new station info.
-A sub page that gives you basically an electric tachometer to compliment the speedometer to the right.
-A menu page for various settings categories.
-A charger programming page. (This is huge for me because I can fiddle with charging and air condition schedules without needing the car on or main console display on). Basically this page stays on after your turn off the car for a few minutes. Great design!

All this on this mini-display on the driver console. So basically if you are not using the navigation map features you can turn off the main console display and rely solely on the driver's display, very impressive feature set overall.

-The main 8"console is graphically impressive with customization button selections at the bottom meaning that you can swap in or out shortcut buttons much like a touchpad interface. My only disappointment would be the sluggish response of the top menu. The good news is that the touch entry for the navigation inputs was respectable in responsiveness and much better than previous gen. The map system overall feels more modern, more responsive and up to date and the apple car play feature is very nice since you can actually use a different map navigation display similar to apple. I am sure the andriod feature set is just as good.

The propilot feature set is not bad. I appreciate the collision warning features the most. It's also nice to know that the car has the potential to stop the car before you rear-end someone or prevent you from running over a ped while backing up.

Finally we come to range, it's the only reason to buy a new leaf if you have an older one. Having a 60kw battery is a godsend. I now have that warm and fuzzy that I missed from my gas driving days when I transitioned to the leaf. Even though I never ran out of juice in my 2014 leaf, I always had to stay on my guard when it came to planning out daily trips. I hated the fact that I always had to remember to charge the night before long trips. Those days are finally gone.

One issue I will need to keep an eye on is the range guesstimates being awfully generous. I am getting estimates of 220+mi range at times when driving in eco mode with 80% charge. This is way off and I have no desire or time to test this out.
But overall very happy with the car.

Now I have the best of both worlds, gas-driving range and electric convenience, cost savings and efficiency.

For those fans of the last generation LEAF, the new LEAF @60kw is well worth it. The 2018 owners should wait for the next major release in the next few years. I suspect given Nissan's record no sooner than 4 years before a major revision.

We're getting use to owning an EV (SV plus 2019)... so far everything works as expected. No range anxiety and we are enjoying the quiet ride. Being 6'2", however, I find the leg room on the front passenger side (driver side is ok) is a tad cramped. Unfortunately, there isn't a clean way to modify the seat mechanism to extend the seat backwards more than it does. Perhaps I can remove the glove box door. Does anyone know how to remove the glove box door in 2018 model?

Anyone know where to buy a doughnut spare wheel/tire for a 2019 leaf SV plus that has 17" wheels?

In summary, we like the car ... nothing to report that is different than what is mentioned in online reviews.

In the past, for gen 1 Leafs, people were getting Nissan Altima and/or Quest spares from junkyards.

Google for site:mynissanleaf.com spare tire altima. I wonder if that'll still work with 17" wheels and the bolt pattern is correct. And, if there will be issues with high weight (max load per tire) of the Plus w/an Altima spare. Quest spares I'd guess shouldn't have a max load issue.

cwerdna said:

In the past, for gen 1 Leafs, people were getting Nissan Altima and/or Quest spares from junkyards.

Google for site:mynissanleaf.com spare tire altima. I wonder if that'll still work with 17" wheels and the bolt pattern is correct. And, if there will be issues with high weight (max load per tire) of the Plus w/an Altima spare. Quest spares I'd guess shouldn't have a max load issue.

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Because my Juke wheels fit my 2018, we know that Leaf "Too" uses the same wheel dimensions. The only question is whether or not they would have bothered to change anything for 2019 or for ePlus. I doubt it but don't know for sure.

I am also 6’2” and find the passenger seat a bit better then the 13 we had. They changed the floor a bit which made the resting of your left foot a little nicer. Driving position in our SV plus is a bit nicer too, though the center console “wings” were not necessary. 2 more cup holders would have been better.

My 3 kids (17,15, almost 11) say the back is more comfortable (yes we make all 3 sit in the back), they feel it is a bit wider then the 13 and the overall room better.

We are testing out the range in 2 weeks with a coming 230 mile and 250 mile run between stops. All highway. Should be fun to see if we can do it.

We are testing out the range in 2 weeks with a coming 230 mile and 250 mile run between stops. All highway. Should be fun to see if we can do it.

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42psi and set the cruise to 60MPH. Use partial recirculate for the A/C.

Can you talk about the financials? Why e+ over other cars?

The EPA has low balled the LEAF as usual but its partially Nissan's fault as the hidden reserve has grown along with the pack. This makes transitioning from previous LEAF to newer LEAF a bit of a challenge especially since LBW and VLBW have changed. For range purposes, I would take a comfortable "usable" kwh rating of say 58 kwh and use your miles/kwh to gauge true range or you can elect to do the easy way and get LEAF Spy.

The newer LEAF is heavier but more efficient and the additional drive modes will help with that. I found my greatest efficiency happens with B mode most of the time with E Pedal for sudden decelerations or full stops. B mode regen is more aggressive than previous models which is to be expected since a bigger pack can handle more power.

DaveinOlyWA said:

This makes transitioning from previous LEAF to newer LEAF a bit of a challenge especially since LBW and VLBW have changed.

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Can you give us more insight on the LBW and VLBW on your 2018 Leaf? At what SOC will get you into turtle mode?

DanCar said:

Can you talk about the financials? Why e+ over other cars?

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I traded a 2018 SV w/40 kWh battery for a 2019 SL E+. My sole reason was I travel between 2 homes 125 miles apart. The 2018 w/40 kWh battery might do it but barely and as the battery degraded it would not make it.

With the extra range of the 62 kWh battery we not only use it to commute between the homes but also use it for 98% of our other driving needs.

I’ve put more miles on the 2019 e+ in one month than I did on the 2018 w/40 kWh battery in 6 months. Plus I’m no longer driving my Ford F-350 diesel between the homes. The diesel cost me 24 cents/mile for fuel and oil changes (13 qts of oil every 5,000 miles and 17 mpg in diesel fuel) The Leaf cost me about 2.5 cents/mile for electric with our 10 cents/kWh rate (4 mi/kWh average)

Round trip between the homes in the truck cost $57 for fuel and oil. The Leaf cost me only about $6 for the same round trip. I saved $430 in fuel and oil the last 30 days driving the Leaf the 2,000 miles currently on the odometer.

Running into town at the cabin is a 60 mile round trip. We don’t feel guilty making that trip in the Leaf.

Triggerhappy007 said:

DaveinOlyWA said:

This makes transitioning from previous LEAF to newer LEAF a bit of a challenge especially since LBW and VLBW have changed.

Click to expand...

Can you give us more insight on the LBW and VLBW on your 2018 Leaf? At what SOC will get you into turtle mode?

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Turtle mode is voltage triggered so SOC will vary depending on pack balance. Obviously the best method is start your trip planning at the beginning of the drive so instead of driving 70 for 100 miles and 55 for 50 miles, you can just drive 65 for the entire 150 miles. This is where LEAF Spy excels. As far as the "last mile?" kwh remaining will help with that as long as you remember the last .3 - .6 kwh is not usable.

First warning or VLB comes on around 87 GIDs /6.7 kwh remaining or 9% SOC (dash) 17% SOC (LS) *blinking GOM*

VLBW at 61 GIDs/ 4.7 kwh 12.2% SOC (LS) * "_ _ _"* GOM

Then we have a new warning at 45-48 GIDs where the SOC meter goes to "_ _ _" Notice this new warning happens with same remaining range the 24/30 kwh LEAFs went to VLB?

Some pix

https://daveinolywa.blogspot.com/2018/03/2018-very-casual-range-test-why-leaf.html

I did my first Chademo yesterday (my 13 didn't have the feature). The Nissan Dealer's system would provide a pretty consistant 41kWh, which brought me from 30% to 80% is about 42 minutes. Battery temp only went up from about 40% to midpoint on the charge. I don't know if that is consistent or not consistent with charge-gate concerns. I had been driving the car for about 40 minutes at primarily highway speeds prior to the charge. The great part of charging at the dealer is that you can stop in and have a snack while you wait. Still surprised dealers haven't started snack bars/coffee stations for a fee to monetize the increasing traffic on drivers on transit. It could also be a way to offset some declining service revenue.

Are there any 100kW ChadeMo chargers on either the east or west coast yet. I would think that EA would want to run 100 kW chargers to sell the higher power rates.

Still loving the car. In my 13 mile commute this morning in slow hwy traffic, was above 6 miles/kWh which always feels like your range is amazing. (13+ miles in 3% charge though that is anything but scientific)

Does anyone have the Gids/remaining KW/Actual SOC for low and very low battery warning for the Leaf Plus. Expecting to be rolling in on fumes today, and don’t have spy with me.

Ran 223 miles, all but about 15 on the freeway/tollway. Pulled in with 10% left (29 miles on GOM 4.4 overall efficiency). No low battery warnings yet at that stage. Maybe trying 250 today. Want to know how much below 0 there is to Turtle.

Thanks

Just finished a 2 day run to / from Iowa (from Chicago north side). I took my son on a tour of Iowa and Iowa state.

We did the run to Iowa City from Chicago in one shot. Dash said 4.3 miles /kWh though ev connect said 4.4 for the 223 miles. We did well on the the first stretch between 55 and 60 around Chicago at 4.5 m/kWh. Then as we headed west leaving the burbs efficiency dropped. Not sure if we had head winds, but even at 55-57mph average efficiency slowly dropped to 4.1 over the next 60 or so miles. I started to get a bit nervous as 4 miles/kEh was the mark. I wanted to be sure to stay above for make it to Iowa City. As we got to the west of the state somehow things got better and with a bit more traffic enjoyed some efficiency driving in a pack of cars. Between the west side of IL and Iowa city, my speed picked up to 63-65 and efficiency went up to 4.2 then 4.3, adding back that buffer. Pulled into a level 2 at 10% and 29 miles on the GOM.

We charged during the tour and left at 82% for Ames. This section was 128 miles. With the large rolling hills in central Iowa, efficiency suffered (it was hot, so was running AC as well).
4.2 m/kWh average. Speeds of 55-65 mph. Pulled in with 26%

In Ames, we tricked charged overnight at the hotel, then left the car in the morning at one of the very few Level 2 Chargepoint stations in town during the tour of Iowa state.

We left Iowa State with nearly a full charge (blazing hot in the 90s) and drove wistfully to the Williamsburg EA Chademo. Even through it was only 97 miles, between ac and faster speeds, I thought that that this was the one section I would not have to sweat efficiency, we arrived at in the mid 50s. I had seen on PlugShare that another leaf had had problems a few days before, but was crossing fingers it was resolved. Sure enough, it couldn’t initiate a charge. EA gave me a free session for my troubles.

The original plan was to make a careful 250 mile trek back from there in one shot. As plan A was toast, we stopped for 30 minutes at the chargers outside Iowa city at the ACT headquarters, 27 miles from Williamsburg. We had 4.9 efficiency for that part, all highway. They have 3 strong clipper creek chargers. We added the range (from 46 to 53%) as it was 80 miles the plan B Chademo at Geneseo IL. In spite of heavy rain, we made the 80 mile drive at an efficiency of 4.5 and 17% left on the dash. It was enough to go back to Davenport if plan B failed.

Plan B worked, we gave a sigh of relief, and left it charge for an hour while we had dinner. The Chademo charged at 53KW which was great. Somewhere between 80 and 90 the rate dropped to 20KW/h. Thanks EA for the $18 free charge. We unplugged at 90 and made the 160 mile run back home. At 90% we had ample range, so enjoyed AC and 70+mph speeds. It said 4 miles/kWh efficiency, but that was buoyed by the 55 mph speed limit around 294 and a few local miles at the end.

All in all a successful trip over the 2 days of 718 miles. Using the EV cost is about 15 minutes of extra travel time on the way out and an extra hour on the way back due to the broken Chademo (plan A was going to be 30 min slower due to reduced travel speeds to mAke the 250 mile journey), so over the 2 days I would say about an hour and 1/2 of extra time over an ICE. The hour Chademo, we would have stopped for dinner in any case, so didn’t see that as extra time. Total power costs for the trip were $5.40 from Ames. Iowa city charging ended up being free. The leaf did well, though 1 month in to this leaf Iam looking forward to my 2024 100 KW Leaf ++. That said, it’s a great feeling to be able to do 3-
+ hours of highway driving at one time. My 13 Leaf could barely do more then 1.

EA on my support call they took down (again) the concern regarding a single Chademo for remote locations. If the stations had 2 I would feel a lot better about a bigger trip like going to Denver. I don’t think I would try in a 40KW though.

DougWantsALeaf said:

Just finished a 2 day run to / from Iowa (from Chicago north side). I took my son on a tour of Iowa and Iowa state.

We did the run to Iowa City from Chicago in one shot. Dash said 4.3 miles /kWh though ev connect said 4.4 for the 223 miles. We did well on the the first stretch between 55 and 60 around Chicago at 4.5 m/kWh. Then as we headed west leaving the burbs efficiency dropped. Not sure if we had head winds, but even at 55-57mph average efficiency slowly dropped to 4.1 over the next 60 or so miles. I started to get a bit nervous as 4 miles/kEh was the mark. I wanted to be sure to stay above for make it to Iowa City. As we got to the west of the state somehow things got better and with a bit more traffic enjoyed some efficiency driving in a pack of cars. Between the west side of IL and Iowa city, my speed picked up to 63-65 and efficiency went up to 4.2 then 4.3, adding back that buffer. Pulled into a level 2 at 10% and 29 miles on the GOM.

We charged during the tour and left at 82% for Ames. This section was 128 miles. With the large rolling hills in central Iowa, efficiency suffered (it was hot, so was running AC as well).
4.2 m/kWh average. Speeds of 55-65 mph. Pulled in with 26%

In Ames, we tricked charged overnight at the hotel, then left the car in the morning at one of the very few Level 2 Chargepoint stations in town during the tour of Iowa state.

We left Iowa State with nearly a full charge (blazing hot in the 90s) and drove wistfully to the Williamsburg EA Chademo. Even through it was only 97 miles, between ac and faster speeds, I thought that that this was the one section I would not have to sweat efficiency, we arrived at in the mid 50s. I had seen on PlugShare that another leaf had had problems a few days before, but was crossing fingers it was resolved. Sure enough, it couldn’t initiate a charge. EA gave me a free session for my troubles.

The original plan was to make a careful 250 mile trek back from there in one shot. As plan A was toast, we stopped for 30 minutes at the chargers outside Iowa city at the ACT headquarters, 27 miles from Williamsburg. We had 4.9 efficiency for that part, all highway. They have 3 strong clipper creek chargers. We added the range (from 46 to 53%) as it was 80 miles the plan B Chademo at Geneseo IL. In spite of heavy rain, we made the 80 mile drive at an efficiency of 4.5 and 17% left on the dash. It was enough to go back to Davenport if plan B failed.

Plan B worked, we gave a sigh of relief, and left it charge for an hour while we had dinner. The Chademo charged at 53KW which was great. Somewhere between 80 and 90 the rate dropped to 20KW/h. Thanks EA for the $18 free charge. We unplugged at 90 and made the 160 mile run back home. At 90% we had ample range, so enjoyed AC and 70+mph speeds. It said 4 miles/kWh efficiency, but that was buoyed by the 55 mph speed limit around 294 and a few local miles at the end.

All in all a successful trip over the 2 days of 718 miles. Using the EV cost is about 15 minutes of extra travel time on the way out and an extra hour on the way back due to the broken Chademo (plan A was going to be 30 min slower due to reduced travel speeds to mAke the 250 mile journey), so over the 2 days I would say about an hour and 1/2 of extra time over an ICE. The hour Chademo, we would have stopped for dinner in any case, so didn’t see that as extra time. Total power costs for the trip were $5.40 from Ames. Iowa city charging ended up being free. The leaf did well, though 1 month in to this leaf Iam looking forward to my 2024 100 KW Leaf ++. That said, it’s a great feeling to be able to do 3-
+ hours of highway driving at one time. My 13 Leaf could barely do more then 1.

EA on my support call they took down (again) the concern regarding a single Chademo for remote locations. If the stations had 2 I would feel a lot better about a bigger trip like going to Denver. I don’t think I would try in a 40KW though.

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Battery temps at various points would've been insightful, even via the Leaf temp gauge.

Loren

Thank you for the point. We left with Battery at midpoint from Chicago. It was one notch above midpoint as we left from Iowa City and 70% in way to first high temp bar as we left Ames.

The Chademo session warmed the battery to the the first high temp mark on the gauge. It didn’t seem to impact charging time at Chademo as we it seemed to stay at the 53KW speed for most of the charge. I assumed the drop to 20 KW was because we were approaching 90% Charge.

The ride home was in upper 80s. We used air most of the way home. Battery stayed at the high temp marker for the entire ride home.

Sorry, didn’t have spy with me, so don’t have the actual temps, just the gauge.

Guessing the higher temp slightly reduced efficiency on last leg, but at 70-72 mph I can’t complain about still getting near 4 miles per kWh.

DougWantsALeaf said:

Loren

Thank you for the point. We left with Battery at midpoint from Chicago.

It was one notch above midpoint as we left from Iowa City and 70% in way to first high temp bar as we left Ames.

The Chademo session warmed the battery to the the first high temp mark on the gauge. It didn’t seem to impact charging time at Chademo as we it seemed to stay at the 53KW speed for most of the charge. I assumed the drop to 20 KW was because we were approaching 90% Charge.

The ride home was in upper 80s. We used air most of the way home. Battery stayed at the high temp marker for the entire ride home.

Sorry, didn’t have spy with me, so don’t have the actual temps, just the gauge.

Guessing the higher temp slightly reduced efficiency on last leg, but at 70-72 mph I can’t complain about still getting near 4 miles per kWh.

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1. about 80F
2. about 90F
3. about 120F
4. about 120F, not good
5. The drive home at 70-72 mph didn't help the battery's cool down process, i.e. prolonged the temp soak.

All per DaveinOlyWA's data via Leaf battery gauge images.

Thanks for your reporting.

Any way to remotely see the battery temp? I don’t see anything in the app.

DougWantsALeaf said:

Any way to remotely see the battery temp? I don’t see anything in the app.

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Leaf Spy

cwerdna said:

DougWantsALeaf said:

Any way to remotely see the battery temp? I don’t see anything in the app.

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Leaf Spy

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And most likely via wifi for any practical distance, plus the vehicle must be powered-on.