Nissan Leaf vs Prius

I've seen it, but haven't been offered a drive... yet. I will soon be driving the Volt, however... but that's for another thread. For the past two years I've contended that the Leaf will be the perfect Rav4EV replacement - and that still appears to be true.

 

and what quality issues (mass media quality not considered. too much topic there) would that be?

i guess that might be true for the very rare one car household

amen. we have 4 cars, one not used (not even parked at home) 2 Pri's and a Zenn. we will sell/trade one Pri and the Zenn and get the Volt. our biggest commute is 34 miles one way. mine is less than ¼ that. the Leaf will work for either of us

i am glad you have the option to decide transportation on money. we cannot afford to have only one option. i live in the state capital of WA and public transportation is simply not an option

another reason why MANDATORY requirement for employers to provide charging stations for employees needs to be put in ASAP. does not have to be a big expense for the employer. 110 stations are cheap. 8 hours of charge is enough to put back more than 40 miles of range.

see above. why do you think the Leaf is being rolled out to the 11 cities that are part of the EV highway?? that is because we are entrenched in this "i need instant 500 mile range transportation for those twice a year events (only applies to 40% of the US btw)" we need to be FORCED our of our gas guzzling cars simply because we are too stupid to understand that this is the direction WE MUST GO

at $2.80 a gallon (for as long as it lasts) its over 3 cents per mile. granted, some areas, gas is cheaper and electricity is more expensive. see my sig for differences. on my electricity cost calculation, by real terms, it should be lower, but i am trying worst case scenarios for cost. besides work, there is also a half dozen other FREE charging spots around town. granted, only 110 volt, so its really just PR on the part of the business providing the boost, but its a start!~!

how many here are a one car household?? that is the poll we need here.

actually, of driving households, i think its about 14% with only one car and of that #, 70% of those households are people over aged 60 who drive over 100 miles in a day on average less than once per year.

 

this is a VERY interesting note. and what topic would that be?

 

Oh man. How easy it is to come up with all the ways that a "new and scary" product won't work? How bad it'll be. How much we'll have to give up? Anybody up for the challenge of determining how it will be BETTER for us? How the benefits can outweigh the negatives? Come on... you know you want to. I'm now going to say something that I've thought about for a long while, but have never expressed. For some of you, this will cement your classification of me as a complete freak. Ready?

I contend that for our own good, today's modern automobiles are capable of going too fast, too far and doing it all too conveniently. Taking trips used to be a big deal, and were appreciated more for the effort involved. Road trips meant something. They were planned differently and with much more thought. They were enjoyable as an adventure. Now we have the ability to drive all day without a thought... so we do. How has that benefitted us and our world? What are the negatives? We're fat and happy. What's not to love?

Excellent. So it doesn't matter that they're BETTER solutions than our traditional forms of energy... just that they're not perfect... so that makes them "poor." Got it.

Why do we even talk about looks of an automobile? Cose your eyes... run to it and hop in. You only see the outside of your car for a few seconds a day anyway... Oh, and surprise... how many people think the Prius is fugly? :wave:

For many drivers, this is not an inconvenience. For others it would be a relief. But all we (in general as this thread demonstrates) tend to think about is the horrible suffering of the small subset of drivers who "need" to drive far from home. This is a small percentage of the population! I agree it exists, and I agree that the LEAF is not a good solution for them. But so what? Same could be said of a motorcycle, or a small sports car... or a Prius (trust me on this - many people think that the Prius is a terrible long-distance car... and there are many others who would never enter a freeway in anything less than a full size truck or SUV for "safety." The private automobile is a poor way to travel long distances - so why all the effort into making ones that do?

I'm sure the answer is strictly top secret.

Thanks for saying it, Mitch. The time to have started on this path was many years ago. We're already a day late and a dollar short. We tend to only be reactive to these issues... and being proactive would have been WAY cheaper and better for everybody. But no...

I wonder if you think that of the people who hav been driving EVs as their primary vehicle for 10+ years. May I assume that you've never owned an EV? Is your take on this scary idea more or less valid than anybody else's who has not driven an EV? Are you curious to hear from people who use EVs as their primiary vehicle? Have you wondered what the reality of the situation is for them? Or are we to be dismissed since we're "fringe" as we've been told so often?

You have listed some of the more typical fears. All of which I have written about in the past. For an example of how absurd some of these worries are, please imagine that EVs and ICE cars were flipped. We've had EVs for 100 years, and now ICE cars are being introduced. They'd never work, right? Read about that scenario here:

http://evnut.com/docs/what%20if%20gas%20cars%20were%20new.doc

Please note that I'm NOT saying that you're wrong. Mostly I'm saying that you're pointing out what is wrong with the general population in regard to a "new" technology that has many benefits they don't realize. Why humans choose to focus on the negatives of anything new is beyond me. I do call you on simply providing a list of all of your perceived negatives. Where is the list of benefits? You know - like cleaner air and water, healthier people, plants and animals, lower health insurance costs, increased national security. You know... little, insignificant things that are probably far less important than the "need" to drive beyond an EV's range.

 

Oop. Which note is interesting? About the LEAF or Volt?

If about the Volt... I've not driven it yet, so haven't started a thread yet. A few of us past EV1 drivers are going to be given a chance to really drive the thing, so I'm pretty excited.

 

very cool. so u are not buying one but allowed to demo the vehicle? that is awesome.

 

Radio,
Rattling,
Brakes

Never have I had a car that has caused me so much stress.

I realized only after yesterday by chance that when I open the door the DAB radio losses signal. I tried to turn my map light to test it out. Guess what the DAB radio Losses signal and the normal radio just pure static noise.

Lets not even go to the rattling part. I have already put in too much time to foam everywhere I can think of and still it rattles.

Brake squeaking from beginning till now and Toyota don't really care.

You know what I am tired of typing the same crap over and over again. Research it for yourself.

 

Didn't you say your brother works at the dealer? I guess he is not a mechanic.

 

Heck... Toyota flew me to Detroit to not buy a 2010 Prius.

 

I have said it before and I say it again, I disapprove of the title of this thread and I feel it fosters an unneeded us vs them attitude.

The high tide raises all boats, it simply does not have to be Prius vs Leaf (or Volt). Toyota has sold all the Prius it can make, I believe Nissan will sell all the Leaves it can make. (assuming the Leaf works well as a car) Very few prospective owners of one would choose the other. (Leaf and Volt may compete, Prius and Volt may compete, but Leaf and Prius are almost separate markets. Fortunately, all 3 cars will be production constrained, so each will find a ready pool of prospective owners)

When I look at the Leaf and say 'that will never work for me' and you hear 'that will never work', we are talking past one another. Nissan will not build more than 1% of all cars sold in North America as Leaves, so only 1% have to look at a Leaf and say, 'that is what I need' for them to sell all they make. Once that 1% gets out on the road, folks will say 'that is working for Dan, why don't we get one?' Look at Prius sales, it ramps up nicely over time, as the early owners show it works.

I look forward to Prius AND Leaf, but I am not in favor of Prius vs Leaf.

 

I agree JimboPalmer, but I will eventually be selling my 2010 Prius, if the Leaf works well for me, it simply will be redundant.

 

the new version of the leaf gets three times the range

 

Nice photoshop SlowTurd, but we all know the drag from that will far exceed the energy produced.
You probably believe in perpetual motion machines as well

 

One thing I do think could help the leaf range is this. I think even a modest gain of 3% energy recovery per mile would be fanatastic.

 

found a nice brochure from eTec (electric transport engineerging company), on their EV charging technology, both the Leaf and the Volt are mentioned, along with PHEV Priu as well as other options, check out this 6 page brochure:

http://www.etecevs.com/PHEV-activities/EcotalityEVbro093009s.pdf

They have in the past provided the charging infrastructure and chargers for the EV1, the RAV4 EV, etc, as well. They have years of experience with EV charging, good to see they are onboard with the Leaf, the Volt, etc.

 

That would be great if you work at Altamont Pass.

 

Wired thinks the Leaf will be competing with the Prius:

Nissan Leaf Electric Vehicle Is Surprisingly Affordable | Autopia | Wired.com

 

Wired has a dead short to ground on this one.

 

I think there will be a certain segment in which the Leaf and the Prius overlap, but the overlap won't make or break either car.

As long as you stay within the 100 mile range and have a place to charge it, the Leaf will be a viable alternative to the prius and other hybrids.

I've sat and thought about all the people I know. out of 25 people I know well enough to know their driving habits, the Leaf satisfies 22 out of the 25 peoples needs.

 

I'll take the Insight at $18K. Honda is better than Nissan.