No more Rapidgate!! I traded my 2018 Leaf in on a 2019 Niro EV

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TexasLeaf

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 21, 2018
Messages
115
Location
Texas
Well, I couldn't take it any more :evil:. After having my 2018 Leaf SL with ProPilot for a little over a year, I traded it in on a 2019 Niro EV EX Premium with the Launch Edition package :D. My trip in the Leaf last December from Texas to Colorado back is what really drove me over the edge :eek:.

I had always planned to drive the Leaf on trips between Texas and Colorado but the trip last December showed that the 2018 Leaf just wasn't up to the task. I drove in December to mitigate issues with the battery overheating but the cold temperatures just killed the range of the Leaf requiring me to hypermill between many DCFC charging stops. I had to face the fact that I either had to quit using the Leaf for making the trips I bought it for or I had to get something else.

I drove my new Niro EV to Colorado and back a few weeks ago at the end of July. The Niro EV doesn't have a battery temperature gauge but it does have a chiller that uses the refrigeration system to cool the battery. Most of the time I was able to charge the Niro EV at 70+ kW and there was never any indication that the battery is getting hot.

The Niro EV has a system very similar to ProPilot, one of the features I liked best about the Leaf. The range of the Niro EV is incredible, much better than what is indicated by the EPA numbers. Because of the much greater range, I see many more trips as practical than I saw with the Leaf.

I can't say I really miss the Leaf. Everything about the 2019 Niro EV EX Premium seems better than the 2018 Leaf SL. I did get a really good deal on the Leaf and I wasn't happy about having to pay so much to get out of it.

I'm glad I had the Leaf if only for a year. If I had not ever had a Leaf I always would have wondered what they are like an now I at least feel a kinship with Leaf owners. For those that still have their Leafs and plan on holding on to them, I hope your Leafs meets your needs and give you many years of faithful service.

But don't expect to hear much from me from now on unless you visit the Niro EV forums. I have only had the Niro EV for a few months but so far I have been very happy with it. The Niro EV is the first EV I have had that really compares with a gas car on long trips and I expect to hang on to it for many years, just like I did with my best gas cars.
 
Cool. You're one of the few folks to have one. I don't think I've ever seen one in the wild.

I recall seeing impressive charge rates on an Ioniq EV (https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=563079#p563079) at a DC FC I used. At the % SoC he was at, Bolt would've throttled down to much slower and never exceeds 55 kW on that particular DC FC anyway. (And nobody AFAIK has been able to make Bolt exceed 55 kW.)

Bolt also has no battery temp display UI anywhere.

Hopefully Nissan wisens up adds some sort of battery thermal management in the future.
 
Here is a link to the Niro EV charging curve, https://support.fastned.nl/hc/nl/articles/360007699174-Laden-met-een-Kia-Niro-EV

and here is a link to the Bolt EV charging curve, https://www.chevybolt.org/threads/dc-fast-charging-performance.14002/.

Not only does the Niro EV have a faster peak charging speed but the charging speed on the Niro EV tappers later. The down side is that I have to pay the $/minute for 125 kW rate at the Electrify America stations where the Bolt EV owners only have to pay the 75 kW rate which is about a third of the 125 kW rate.
 
While the 2019 Plus does much better than the 40 Leaf, I do wish Niros were available here.

My sister, who lives in Maryland has been having a difficult time finding one to even try.

Were you able to get much below MSRP from the dealer (not including fed/state/power credits)?
 
I wanted to look at the Niro EV but I couldn't ever find one. Right after i got my leaf, the greater La area and Palmdale dealers got like maybe 1 each. And I heard they were asking MSRP, so it would have been more than twice as much as I paid for the leaf.

Rumor is that the Niro is slated for a refresh on the body soon, maybe 2020 (?), so its one of the vehicles i plan to look at in a year or two to trade in my leaf. That and the Volvo XC40 EV. (Waiting for that to come out...) And truck EVs.

I had looked and the Kona and Niro (non EVs at the time, just to see the body) and I liked the Niro because it has more backseat room, even if that costs a bit of range for the EV, I thought it was worth it.

Exciting times we are moving in to!
 
Were you able to get much below MSRP from the dealer (not including fed/state/power credits)?

I got $1200 off of MSRP from the dealer, I got a $9100 credit on a 36 month lease from Kia and I got a 0.00199 money factor on the lease.
 
Haven’t checked back in with dealers recently here in NorCal since they were first available a few months back, but dealers were asking above MSRP and probably getting it with very low inventory and rapid turnover then.
 
iPlug said:
Haven’t checked back in with dealers recently here in NorCal since they were first available a few months back, but dealers were asking above MSRP and probably getting it with very low inventory and rapid turnover then.

Yeah, my closest dealer has one or two, and actually has the price above MSRP.

But a quick check of greater LA dealers I found three that had between 8 to even 18 each, and one had a $1500 markdown to start. Not a lot, but something.
 
Good to hear. Folks seem to be pretty happy with them and haven’t consistently heard any major gripes of the level of rapidgate.

Would be good to see further growth in supply and hopefully Kia can make some money on these and make and maintain it a widely available 50-state vehicle.
 
danrjones said:
If you don't mind saying, what did the monthly lease cost come out to?

I bought a 2019 Niro EV EX Premium with the EX Premium Launch Edition option. Additional options included carpeted floor mats, cargo net and mud guards. Total MSRP including freight and handling was $46,295.

I paid $4,000 down that covered tax and license, the first lease payment and the negative on my Leaf trade-in. I had 35 lease payments at $476.48. The residual at the end of the lease will be $22221.60.

There will be a $400 transfer fee if I decide to purchase the car at the end of the lease. Right now I'm thinking of purchasing the car but I will have to wait and see if the car is worth the residual at the end of the lease. I rent out the car on Turo.com to help me out a little bit with the lease payments.
 
SageBrush said:
How much did the LEAF experience cost you ?

I had the2018 Leaf with ProPilot for 18 months. I paid $4,000 down and paid 17 lease payments at $350 each month. I had to cover a $705.55 difference between the trade-in and the residual payoff but I also received a $2,500 rebate from the State of Texas.

So my total out of pocket for 18 months of ownership on the Leaf was $8,155.55 not including insurance, charging, etc. The car had about 18,000 miles on it when I traded it in. The Leaf was not the least expensive car I ever had but then again I was glad to see it go.
 
TexasLeaf said:
SageBrush said:
How much did the LEAF experience cost you ?

I had the2018 Leaf with ProPilot for 18 months. I paid $4,000 down and paid 17 lease payments at $350 each month. I had to cover a $705.55 difference between the trade-in and the residual payoff but I also received a $2,500 rebate from the State of Texas.

So my total out of pocket for 18 months of ownership on the Leaf was $8,155.55 not including insurance, charging, etc. The car had about 18,000 miles on it when I traded it in. The Leaf was not the least expensive car I ever had but then again I was glad to see it go.
Thanks for the detail.

If I added things up correctly, you end up $51,529.88 out of pocket between the LEAF and the Kia if you end up buying the Kia.
 
TexasLeaf said:
SageBrush said:
How much did the LEAF experience cost you ?

I had the2018 Leaf with ProPilot for 18 months. I paid $4,000 down and paid 17 lease payments at $350 each month. I had to cover a $705.55 difference between the trade-in and the residual payoff but I also received a $2,500 rebate from the State of Texas.

So my total out of pocket for 18 months of ownership on the Leaf was $8,155.55 not including insurance, charging, etc. The car had about 18,000 miles on it when I traded it in. The Leaf was not the least expensive car I ever had but then again I was glad to see it go.

Not certain but that seems like a lot for 1.5 years. Glad it worked out for you. The Leaf experience seems to heavily depend on (A) your usage environment, (B) expectations, and (C) the price you get.
 
A Leaf can be a great value, new or used, most generally as a secondary vehicle, with few if any compromises. Some people can make it work as a primary vehicle.

However, those with very long commutes or use as a primary vehicle with any road trip use requiring fast charging, will be likely disappointed at the least.

Our 2 vehicle household with Tesla M3 SR+ combo with 40kWh Leaf works great for us and was the lowest cost we could get for new BEVs with minimal compromises for our commuting and travel patterns.

YMMV.
 
SageBrush said:
Thanks for the detail.

If I added things up correctly, you end up $51,529.88 out of pocket between the LEAF and the Kia if you end up buying the Kia.

I don’t know that you can justify adding up costs of the two cars, after all the Leaf was 1-1/2 years old and the Niro is brand new. If you look at the cost per mile, the money I spent on the Leaf was pretty reasonable. And I think the Niro is a keeper, so by the the time I’m ready to part with it I will have more than got my money’s worth out of it.
 
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