How is Leaf on snowy hills

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jct974

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Sep 24, 2019
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1
Hello,
I am considering purchasing a new Leaf . I live in Rhode Island and live at the top of a steep hill. I am used to buying AWDs due to this issue, and really would like to consider a new Leaf but not sure if it can do the job of getting up and down the hill in snow and ice. Does anyone have any thoughts if a Leaf can handle a steep snowy hill? Any information that people can provide would be greatly appreciated. :D
 
The car's weight and low center of gravity make it very good in the snow - WITH dedicated ice and snow tires. Still, I suggest you request a test drive that lets you actually drive a Leaf on your hill, preferably in the snow.
 
The snow tires are important. The stock tires are terrible in the snow, especially if it is cold. At least they were on my 2016 anyways.
 
+1 on OEM tires being crappy but in general, while the Leaf does well on snow it is only a FWD car. Only you know if that will work for you and if you need 4WD a Leaf won't cut it.
 
That question is loaded....

The question is not if the Leaf can make it up a hill... What you should consider is - You now have a 4WD.. So would you buy any front wheel drive car and expect it to go up your hill with only stock tires?

If any front wheel drive can do it, then the Leaf can.. BUT you cannot expect a Leaf to use snow tires... It is counter to the idea of an EV.

I would stay with 4WD if that is what you have been relying on..
 
powersurge said:
...If any front wheel drive can do it, then the Leaf can.. BUT you cannot expect a Leaf to use snow tires... It is counter to the idea of an EV.

I couldn't disagree more strongly. There are some excellent LRR winter tires available these days. I can vouch for the Michelin X-Ice xi3 tires. They have resulted in no lower fuel mileage (this would equate to battery range) than the current all season tires out there.
 
css28 said:
powersurge said:
...If any front wheel drive can do it, then the Leaf can.. BUT you cannot expect a Leaf to use snow tires... It is counter to the idea of an EV.

I couldn't disagree more strongly. There are some excellent LRR winter tires available these days. I can vouch for the Michelin X-Ice xi3 tires. They have resulted in no lower fuel mileage (this would equate to battery range) than the current all season tires out there.


The post by powersurge is presenting incorrect information. There is NO inherent incompatibility between EVs and snow tires.
 
jct974 said:
I live in Rhode Island and live at the top of a steep hill. I am used to buying AWDs due to this issue, and really would like to consider a new Leaf but not sure if it can do the job of getting up and down the hill in snow and ice. Does anyone have any thoughts if a Leaf can handle a steep snowy hill?
I life in Massachusetts and my driveway goes up a steep hill; I've bought AWDs or snow tires for this same reason. My LEAF (2013 SL) came with Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires, and they were rather awful in the snow (and rain). I had to shovel my driveway most the way clean and then put sand/salt down before I could get the car to the garage. Basically, with the stock tires (or the Ecopia + I replaced them with) the LEAF did poorly in snow.

I never bought snow tires for the LEAF because I didn't expect to keep it longer than the 3 year lease, and by the time I did buy it at the end of the lease I already had an AWD Tesla that handled the hill just fine. I just drove the Tesla on snowy days and the LEAF the rest of the time.

However, many people here have said the LEAF performs much better with snow tires, so consider those.
 
I'm happy with the Xi3s. I had them installed a week after getting my Leaf, just after it turned really cold at the end of January. Night and day difference between the drive to the tire shop and the drive home. With the OEM tires, even gentle attempts at acceleration engaged the traction control, gentle braking engaged the ABS, and even driving 10 km/h slower than most traffic was a scary experience. With the Xi3s, the Leaf almost as sure-footed as my Subaru (which also has a set of Xi3s), and I was no longer worried about rear ending someone in slow motion.

Efficiency improved by about 0.5 km/kWh when I switched back to the OEM tires in the spring, though it is hard to tell how much of that was due to the tires and how much was due to warmer weather.
 
The concept of awd is overrated in urban settings. Living in Chicago and Canada, I can personally vouch that winter tires are the best option to have. Accidents do not happen mainly because you couldn't accelerate fast enough, it's usually you couldn't stop or skid off the road. Best option is an awd with winter tires. However I would take a fwd with winter tires over any awd with all season tires
 
LeftieBiker said:
css28 said:
powersurge said:
...If any front wheel drive can do it, then the Leaf can.. BUT you cannot expect a Leaf to use snow tires... It is counter to the idea of an EV.

I couldn't disagree more strongly. There are some excellent LRR winter tires available these days. I can vouch for the Michelin X-Ice xi3 tires. They have resulted in no lower fuel mileage (this would equate to battery range) than the current all season tires out there.


The post by powersurge is presenting incorrect information. There is NO inherent incompatibility between EVs and snow tires.


Like I said before, this question is not really about if the Leaf will be good up hill, but would any 2WD car do the job for the original question? Of course - you can put on any tires you like...

My comment was that in general EVs and snow tires are not put together due to the higher drag of the tires. If you know of a particular product that I am not familiar with, then I am open to education....

I hate being told that I am always giving incorrect information...
 
powersurge said:
BUT you cannot expect a Leaf to use snow tires...
Nonsense

OP:
A good winter tyre has about twice the grip of an all-season tyre so in terms of traction going up a hill a FWD with snow tyres is about equivalent to an AWD with all-season tyres. If you require AWD and winter tyres to go up your hill then the LEAF would probably fail at the task.
 
mitrals said:
The concept of awd is overrated in urban settings. Living in Chicago and Canada, I can personally vouch that winter tires are the best option to have. Accidents do not happen mainly because you couldn't accelerate fast enough, it's usually you couldn't stop or skid off the road. Best option is an awd with winter tires. However I would take a fwd with winter tires over any awd with all season tires

Exactly. I try to remind people that all cars are 4WB: four-wheel brakes. The difference is the tyres
 
SageBrush said:
Exactly. I try to remind people that all cars are 4WB: four-wheel brakes. The difference is the tyres

Almost all cars are TWS. Two wheel steering.

AWD helps you to start and keep moving. Doesn't help you to stop, doesn't help you keep in control, doesn't help you turn.
 
jct974 said:
Hello,
I am considering purchasing a new Leaf . I live in Rhode Island and live at the top of a steep hill. I am used to buying AWDs due to this issue, and really would like to consider a new Leaf but not sure if it can do the job of getting up and down the hill in snow and ice. Does anyone have any thoughts if a Leaf can handle a steep snowy hill? Any information that people can provide would be greatly appreciated. :D

W/O assistance; VERY bad. But any EV has ultra fine motor control which helps so good snow tires or even Tire socks (which I use since snow is not very common here said after worst Winter in 30+ years of WA rain...)

So it doesn't really take a lot. Would be better if batteries were in the front though.
 
So does anyone have a suggestion for a good all weather tire? one I could leave on in the summer, preferably one with not too much of a RR hit but I know some would be inevitable over the Ecopias.
Like almost everyone else seems to be saying, the Leaf actually isn't a bad winter weather car(due to it's weight I'd suspect) but the stock Ecopia tires leave something to be desired. Of course it could be worse, my '12 came from CA and came with nice looking almost new tires. Unfortunatly I didn't realize they were summer tires, not all season but true summer tires! OMG they handled like crap in the snow, couldn't even make it up a slight incline and steering and stopping in the snow was almost non-existent. Needless to say this winter I HAVE to replace them. I've toyed with the X-ice 3 Michelin which I've read have quite good LRR and swapping with the summer tires but then I'd have to spend roughly $80/year for tire swap-outs and I don't really want to purchase separate rims, etc. The other option would be better than Ecopia all weather(better than all seasons I've been told??) and just ditch the summer tires(50% worn??). Truthfully our '13 had Ecopia's originally and I replaced them with Ecopia+'s(after only 20k and they were basically bald :x ) and it's "ok" in the snow but there was a couple times last year we couldn't make out our culdesac's slight incline so I'd really like something better. I did purchase some snow chains(more like springs) off Amazon($30) but truthfully the last thing I want to do when it's snowy and yucky out is to crawl on the ground and put on chains, then probably have to remove them a mile later when getting on the bare freeway, naa better tires are probably the ticket.
I was talking with someone in ON CA(Ontario Canada not Ontario Cal) who said all-season tires were illegal to use in the winter :shock: to be in compliance you either had to use winter tires or studs(which they did, fiberglass I believe). I thought that was kind of extreme but I suppose many of the roads were in little populated areas and the OPP didn't want people running off the road or causing accidents.....
 
I live in Kingston ON Canada now but have lived across Canada including both coasts and central/northern areas. I grew up in Manitoba just north of you.
The only province that has mandatory snow tire regulations is Quebec. However, most everyone who drives 2-wheel drive cars in winter conditions installs winter tires if doing a fair bit of city driving. The tires with a winter rating are identified by a snowflake in a mountain-like triangle. The rubber compound is soft so will adhere better in cold, icy conditions. Because the rubber is quite soft, they wear quickly in warm conditions. Most people don't install them until temps don't go above 10C (50F) and take them off early in the spring. Usually, you have a cheap set of alloys or steel rims with the winter tires mounted and not worry about the TPS for the several months you have them on. Popular brands are Michelin Ice-X or Bridgestone Blizzak, but almost every manufacturer makes a winter type.
Mud and Snow (M+S marking) are a good option if you don't get temperatures too much below freezing but want good traction. I have used them on trucks and SUVs before and you can use them year round. They don't have the soft compound, but have a more aggressive pattern for snow. The downside is they have more road noise.
Check local laws for the use of studs in tires. Central and southern Ontario does not allow studs (they are hard on the roads) but northern areas that have less population and are colder and get more snow are allowed to use studs. It differs by area/province. I have used studded snow tires before and they do provide better traction but are NOISY.
There are cheaper brands than the Michelins. I'm trying Sailun Ice Blazer WST1s because of lots of good reviews. Yes, I am swapping out my rims and tires twice a year, but I can do that myself.

Hope this helps!
 
We have the Toyo Celsius on the PIP as I've mentioned before. It is a 4 season Winter tire, meaning it is essentially a Winter-biased all-season tire. It is good in snow and the only issue I've had with it is the car's steering doesn't want to self-center any more with them on all 4 wheels. It doesn't resist being centered manually, it just doesn't do it by itself.
 
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