Getting a Leaf. Advice needed. 2015 Tekna 24kwh or 2016 30kwh acenta

Hi, I'm new to the forum although I've lurked here for a while. I'm about to purchase a used Leaf. After 4 weeks of reading up & research and looking at ads for the car online, still, I'm not sure which option would be best.

I'm considering the 2016 Leaf Acenta with a 6.6kw charger and 12 bars of battery(says all the service is up to date and done by nissan). 108k km odometer, priced at 11k euros.

The other option would be the 2015 Leaf Tekna 6.6kw charger, 12bars of battery left. 79k km odometer, priced at 10k euros.

At first, I was set to only look for 2014-15 leafs, as I've read that the battery from these years is better than others.

I was also ruling out the 30kwh Leafs because of the issue with misreporting of lost bars and also because the cells are packed tighter in the 30kwh batteries, which in turn is even worse for overheating (especially rapid charging).

What I'm worried about the 24kwh battery is that let's say in 5 years of me using the car, degradation and i.e winter conditions driving will bring the usable range in the car to a very low threshold. I don't want to have ev with only an 80km range ie for winter in a couple of years time.
I'm planning to use the car for about 5 years.

My commute is 55km per day. I would love to be able to do about 140-150 km range day trip to Dublin & back once in a while, just on one charge.

So, I've started considering the 30kwh Leaf as an option, that would give me more peace of mind with a bigger range, as the degradation would kick in I'm still staring at a bigger battery capacity overall, so will take a longer time to get to that dreadful 80km usable winter range as in my previous example.

Another pro for the 2016 30kwh Leaf would be that it still would be covered under the battery warranty if something would go really wrong with it.

I've bought the obd2 adapter and would check the cars with leafspy, but they are about 2 hours drive away, so haven't checked them myself yet, but will do it before making the final decision. I thought I would ask here first...

Any thoughts on my dilemma? which Leaf would be a better option in the long run? I would like the Tekna extras, but the main thing I'm worried about is the range really. Are the 30kwh Leafs really something to avoid, or did I read too much into horror stories on reddit forums, youtube etc?

I would appreciate any comments on that guys

Thanks

Given your concerns, I'd say go for a 30kwh leaf. I used to give the opposite advice, but since Nissan started replacing bad 30kwh packs with 40kwh batteries, it now make sense to roll the dice. Also keep in mind that many of the 30kwh batteries are fine, especially in cooler climates. If you can find a 30kwh Leaf now that has both had the BMS update (verify that with a dealership - don't just assume it was done) at least 6 months ago, AND has 12 capacity bars, that's your best bet.

Your next best bet is to find a 30kwh Leaf with a bad pack - one that has also had the BMS update and is still down three or four capacity bars - and get that 40kwh replacement before Nissan goes under...

In the US where most of this forum is based we don't know about Tekna or Acenta. Here it is S, SV and SL. I have a 2017 30kWh Leaf and the pack is fine and I think most are. Even though the 30kWh packs seem to be a higher defect rate than the earlier packs I still consider it fairly low . Also, if you do get a bad pack the warranty is for 8 years (at least here in the US). Finally, a 30kWh pack that has degraded to 80% SOH is like a brand new 24kWh pack.

In your climate, I'd strongly consider getting a Leaf with the heat pump heating system. I live in a dry climate so even if it's cold the basic resistance heater and heated seats on my basic model Leaf are fine. In a climate with a lot of cool, wet weather the heat pump would probalby make more of a difference since it is more efficient although even running the heater I still get > 100km range on my 30kWh pack easily.

I also bought a used 2017 Leaf (30kWh), and the battery pack appears to be fine. The car was pretty much exclusively rapid charged by the previous owner, and the SOH of the batter was still 89% when I bought it.
Leftiebiker's advice above is sound, I would follow it.

Another happy 30 kWh driver here. It has no noticeable degradation after about 48k km and 4+ years. I really appreciate the extra capacity, especially in the wintertime, since I live rurally and most trips are at least 40 km each way.

I have the base trim (which sounds like the equivalent of an Accenta) and am really happy with it, even though it doesn't have the heat pump. It still offers an estimated 190 km range in summer and 150 km in winter, in ECO mode and without climate control.

The warmest I've ever seen the battery was when climbing a mountain pass in late summer, but it wasn't critically warm. Rapid charging only seems to bump the temperature one bar or less.

Best wishes! I can't get enough of this thing!

It's good to hear some positive opinions about the 30kwh leafs.

I'm leaning toward the 30kwh option too, purely because it will start with a bigger range and the effects of battery degradation will be less noticeable. I would have to check with the NISSAN dealer if the BMS update was done and when it was done.

I suppose that rapid charging might be an issue if you start doing it with an already dangerously warm battery.

The tekna model would be top of the range. I think the acent is the middle option, although I'm not 100% sure on that and not sure if it comes with the heat pump. I would have to verify that.

Thanks for your input guys, it really helps to hear some of your stories

klonheaddd said:

It's good to hear some positive opinions about the 30kwh leafs.

I'm leaning toward the 30kwh option too, purely because it will start with a bigger range and the effects of battery degradation will be less noticeable. I would have to check with the NISSAN dealer if the BMS update was done and when it was done.

I suppose that rapid charging might be an issue if you start doing it with an already dangerously warm battery.

The tekna model would be top of the range. I think the acent is the middle option, although I'm not 100% sure on that and not sure if it comes with the heat pump. I would have to verify that.

Thanks for your input guys, it really helps to hear some of your stories

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Keep in mind that the 30 KWH cars have an 8 year/ 160000 KM warranty on the battery while the 24 KWH only have a 5 yr/100000 KM warranty. Spend a little extra for the better warranty.

Acenta is equal to US-spec SV and Tekna is equal to SL just so you know. Both versions have heat pump. Tekna should have seat and steering wheel heating as standard, that might be an option on Acenta (it is standard on Acenta in the Nordic countries, but not in some other European markets).

In any case, I have a 2014 24kWH here in Norway and also commute 55 km in a day. Usually have 30-50% left on the battery when parking at home. However, 140-150 km on one charge might be too much to ask for... Some folks manage to do it somehow, I don't.

Leaf batteries do normally fine in colder climates and I haven't heard of any warranty battery replacements due to degradation here in Norway. That said, the extended warranty for the 30kWh battery could be nice to have.

Great question. I'm also curious.

Thanks for the info guys

A little update on my situation. I have found a new ad for the 2016 Leaf 30kWh Tekna/SVE/SL (top trim level) with a 6.6kW charger and solar spoiler, odometer 117000km.

Seems to have all the nice extras that you can get. Owner stating that battery State of Health SOH is at 88% and had the BMS update done by Nissan dealer over 1-2 years ago. The owner stating that the winter driving range around would be around 120km, summer about 150km. I haven't seen the car in person but looking at the pics it's in good condition. It's the package that I'm interested in, but I still haven't decided 100%.

The asking price is 12900 euro. It has 88% battery SOH on its 30kwh battery, Is that roughly typical for its age and corresponding to its milege? Any thoughts on the price/value of such a car and battery SoH? What would be an average Battery SoH for 2016 30kw leafs?

Cheers

That's a reasonable SOH for that mileage and age Leaf. As for price, it's up to you whether all the options are worth the extra money. In the UK, I'd think the heat pump heating system would be very nice to have since it will increase range quite a bit when the temp is in the 30-60 *F range vs the low trim level pure resistance heating system.

As for price, it varies by location. The only way to know what is a good price for your area is to compare this vs other sales. Where I live, this would be the asking price of most Leaf's of that style and vintage. I don't know if they actually sell for that much or not but that's where most of them are listed. The best deals sell very quickly (here at least) so if you're going to try to get a good deal, you need to know exactly what you want and must be willing to commit immediately.

The SOH looks reasonable for that age car. My 2017 30Kwh is about 88 SOH, but I'm actually getting 10-20% more range than this owner is telling you. My car is "only" the S (basic) trim, but I wouldn't imagine being an SL would make that much of a difference in range.

I have no idea on the pricing to know if that's a good deal where you live.

Thanks, guys for all the advice given. I have found a good deal on 2018 Leaf 40kWh. Very happy with the car :mrgreen: