My Nissan Leaf Experience

Congrats! The Leaf is a great car.

 

and getting really cheap too!

 

I too traded my Prius for a 2013 Leaf SL. I had a Prius Plug-In and was driving it in EV mode almost all the time which required me to charge the Prius two or three times a day.

I'm no longer bothered by range anxiety and glad I made the trade from the Prius to the Leaf. Now I don't have to worry about the gas engine coming on.

 

Congrats and thanks for sharing your experiences with us. It helps future buyers choose the vehicle that is right for them.

 

Interesting thoughts from two different Leaf owners.

 

Great that Leaf works with your driving pattern. It will not work with me. My trips are either very short or over 75 miles. We are a single car family too. Loving both EV and HV miles. 113 MPGe on electricity and 54 MPG on gas.

 

I'm in the same boat. Either lots of short trips or very long ones.

That's the great thing these days though. You can pay for however much range you need.

 

how does leaf compare to prius in interior volume and hatch convenience?

 

It does not compare! does it?

 

of course not! that's why i asked.

 

Convenience: With the Leaf while charging, I can easily turn on the A/C and listen to the radio. With the PIP, every 1:45 min in charge mode, the acc times out and the car shuts down and you have to hit the power switch 2 times so you can see the charge on the battery and turn the radio back on.

With the PIP in charge mode, you can only turn on the A/C with the key fob.

With the new Leaf's 6.6 kW charger, I can add 31 miles of range in an hour compared to only adding 10 miles of range in an hour with the PIP. For me, this is significant. (level-2 charge station)


HTCEVOV4G ? 2

 

Yea! I understand we are really taking two different animals.

 

Unfavorably.

 

that's the thing, i don't think i can go any smaller. i can haul a lot of stuff in the pip! it saves me from taking the pick up quite often.

 

My son and I just test-drove the 2013 Leaf (separate test drives on the same day with the same car). This is looking like a great 2d car for a PiP family. As we do travel long distances about 4 - 7 times /year, our PiP with its slightly improved suspension components is a must-keep. However, the Leaf looks very good as an urban daily commuter & shopping / buddies hauler.

Pros: The hatch cargo is impressively deep vertically compared to the PiP, although when the rear seats are folded, that translates to a cargo "step" instead of a flat cargo floor. The front seats have good head, body and leg room, and of course that @#$%^ flying bridge ain't there either. From 15 MPh to 50 MPH that thing can move out! yes, that's what impressed and finally sold the Son . And as a bonus, there's practically no maintenance other than tire wear, a reportedly very slow brake pad wear, and an eventual transmission fluid replacement.

Cons: the cargo "step" in the back when the rear seats are folded. The much reduced room for the rear seat passengers compared to the PiP. And once the Leaf hits the freeway at speed, it accelerates like a Yugo - remember the Yugo? Then again, for an urban car, how often does flyin' down the freeway matter for long?

So - we like it as a complementary car. Now let's see whether the dealer is motivated to make us a deal we can't refuse.