Does 2018 LEAF come with 24 kWh battery?

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CarlFlat

Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2020
Messages
14
Location
Long Island, NY
I’ve switched over from looking for a Gen 1 LEAF to looking at Gen 2 LEAFs for several reasons. I have had no luck finding a 2017 LEAF in my local area to see in person or test drive, let alone attach a LEAFSPY and check the computer log, so I’m working on beefing up my budget to get a Gen 2. That brings me to a number of questions on which I’m hoping Forum members can weigh in. The primary one is, Does the base 2018 LEAF come with a 24kWh battery? One thing I would expect from spending more money is to get a 40 kWh battery, at minimum.

A Nissan brochure which I got from a link in a thread in this forum (https://www.nissanusa.com/content/dam/Nissan/us/vehicle-brochures/2018/2018-nissan-nissan-leaf-brochure-en.pdf) seems to indicate that the 2018 LEAF S comes with a 40 kWh battery, as do the SV and SL packages. I have been pulling up used LEAF listings on CarGurus.com. After I open a listing I copy the VIN and paste it into https://www.vehiclehistory.com/ to get more details. So far this week I have cataloged 12 vehicles, including 8/ 2018 model year vehicles. ALL 8 reports show those vehicles contain 24 kWh batteries.
 
CarlFlat said:
seems to indicate that the 2018 LEAF S comes with a 40 kWh battery, as do the SV and SL packages.
40 kWh is the only battery size on model year '18 US market Leafs.

There is also https://usa.nissannews.com/en-US/releases/release-77b5f147884a4439bd10c4d9207f2237-us-2018-nissan-leaf-press-kit. Also click on Specs.
 
They save money on the S by not making the heat pump or telematics available even as options. The drivetrain is the same as the SV and SL - except possibly the onboard charger in the S with no Charge Package - that may still be 3.3kw. EDIT: no, the S appears to have the 6.6kw charger in both sub-trims, according to the link Cwerdna posted.
 
It's a bizarro concept to even think about a model year '18 with below 40 kWh battery. All US market model '17 Leafs had 30 kWh batteries.
 
OK, so, I’m focusing on 2018 S with Charge Package and All-Weather Package, for now. Can anyone tell me or point me to info about/ the difference between the “Hybrid Heater System” that comes in the SL and as an option on SV, and the heater in S trim?

Are there other things on the S trim that I might be really sorry not to have?
 
CarlFlat said:
I’ve switched over from looking for a Gen 1 LEAF to looking at Gen 2 LEAFs for several reasons. I have had no luck finding a 2017 LEAF in my local area to see in person or test drive, let alone attach a LEAFSPY and check the computer log, so I’m working on beefing up my budget to get a Gen 2. That brings me to a number of questions on which I’m hoping Forum members can weigh in. The primary one is, Does the base 2018 LEAF come with a 24kWh battery? One thing I would expect from spending more money is to get a 40 kWh battery, at minimum.

A Nissan brochure which I got from a link in a thread in this forum (https://www.nissanusa.com/content/dam/Nissan/us/vehicle-brochures/2018/2018-nissan-nissan-leaf-brochure-en.pdf) seems to indicate that the 2018 LEAF S comes with a 40 kWh battery, as do the SV and SL packages. I have been pulling up used LEAF listings on CarGurus.com. After I open a listing I copy the VIN and paste it into https://www.vehiclehistory.com/ to get more details. So far this week I have cataloged 12 vehicles, including 8/ 2018 model year vehicles. ALL 8 reports show those vehicles contain 24 kWh batteries.

Ahh, well maybe in 7-8 years, they will "get down" to 24 kwh? :cool:
 
CarlFlat said:
Can anyone tell me or point me to info about/ the difference between the “Hybrid Heater System” that comes in the SL and as an option on SV, and the heater in S trim?

Are there other things on the S trim that I might be really sorry not to have?

The hybrid heater system is a heat pump. The heater on an S trim is a simple resistive heater. The heat pump system works like an air-conditioner in reverse and is supplemented by a resistive heater. Until the outside temp drops into the 20's F range the hybrid heater uses less energy but below that temp the heat pump doesn't do much and resistive heater takes over and the energy usage is the same as an S. The cold weather package also includes 12V electrically heated seats. I have an S in Colorado and there are few days when I miss the hybrid system since it's a very sunny climate and my trips are usually short. The times it would make a difference would be a long trip when it's 40F and raining. They the hybrid system would save energy and extend the range of the car. At 10F, there is no difference. At 65F probably no difference either since I never use the heat at those temps. So a lot depends on your local climate and usage.

As far as other differences between the SV/SL and S, the S doesn't have as much electronics in the display. I don't miss this at all since LeafSpy will give me all the information I need. Also, the navigation feature in the car (that I don't have) is considered to be pretty poor by most of the reviews I've read here.

The wheels on an S are 16" steel wheels while I think the SV/SL have 17" aluminum alloy wheels.

I've read that the S has a slightly higher efficiency than the SV/SL probably due to the smaller wheels and less power used for the electronics.

Two things on my S that I found 'cheap' are the mirror (I installed an after-market self-dimming mirror that I really like) and the stereo. I think the stereo is about the same on the SV/SL unless you get the Premium package with the Bose system. Some folks have upgraded their radio but it's not important enough for me yet.

Finally, there are differences in the headlights on some packages and while the S headlights aren't great, they haven't been a problem for me.

Edit to add: my comments are for a 2017 but I think most or all it applies to a 2018 as well.
 
I think the stereo is about the same on the SV/SL unless you get the Premium package with the Bose system. Some folks have upgraded their radio but it's not important enough for me yet.

From 2018 on, the Bose stereo is limited to the SL. The upside to that is you don't have a subwoofer in the cargo area of the SV, obstructing it.
 
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