Reddit: Nissan Leaf e+ revealed with longer range at 2019 CES

wheel wells that are too large for the 16" wheels

According to TireRack, the difference in radius is less than 1/3 inch:
Diameter (twice radius) of the Ecopia 205-55/16 is 24.9 inches
Diameter of the Michelin Eco 215-50/17 is 25.5 inches.

I'm not sure this is enough difference to affect aesthetics. (This from a guy happy to wear red plaid & yellow polka dots).

LeftieBiker said:

Anyone with SL SV who chooses to downgrade to S wheels and tires will get the benefit.

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I really, really don't intend to disagree with you about everything, Arnis, but the Gen I Leaf has wheel wells that are too large for the 16" wheels - they suck power through aerodynamic drag as air gets pulled into those caverns. It's pretty clear that either the car was originally designed for the 17" wheels that in the end came only with the SL until 2015 (?), or Nissan just didn't care about the extra drag, which would be stupid but not inconsistent with their overall philosophy of "Just let the salespeople promise anything and everything." I'm not sure about the 2018+ Leaf, but since the 17" wheels and tires fit, I'd guess that they too provide less drag. Now 16" wheels with LRR tires vs 17" wheels with much higher resistance tires, THAT might well give you an improvement overall - especially at lower speeds.

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It is not possible to notice 7mm radius difference even looking vehicles side by side. It is exactly the same amount of diameter change that winter tires go through their lifetime
(new tire is around 8mm higher, aka 16mm diameter difference).
Therefore 17" Leaf with worn winter set has tires smaller than 16" Leaf with new tires.

Drag area is what changes if vehicle has narrower tires. BMW i3 has exceptionally narrow tires for exactly that reason - better drag parameters. Though it has massive wheel wells (turning radius is awesome).

Here reddit post with e-plus experiences https://www.reddit.com/r/leaf/comments/ar94h3/i_test_drove_the_eplus/

Quote:
"Overall I drove 100km. The battery was fully charged when I left, and was 68% on return. I was getting 5.2km/kWh which I think adds up about right. I think getting ~300km to a charge even on highways seems realistic (in Japan's climate). The dealers claimed to have gotten over 400km with city driving only, and when I got in the car the remaining range was 439km."

So we are talking 3.25m/kWh on the highway that would suggest highway range ~ 195 miles on ePlus with driver only. We are not even talking about loaded car. With driver and passenger the range probably will be ~ 180 miles. The poster figure is pretty accurate average as it was a roundtrip with same weather condition. Honestly, highway was the primary reason I bought something else and it proves every day it was right decision on and off highway. There is no way to defeat drag with battery alone.