Featured 2026 Nissan LEAF Priced Under US$30,000

Their EV mini van used the same drive train and battery. It had a fan for not being able to plumb the convection air flow.

Passive cooling, whether air or liquid, is acceptable, as long as paired with a battery chemistry more tolerant of higher temperatures. Which just leads to a more expensive battery. Part of the new Leaf's price reduction is going to be in the active liquid cooling allowing Nissan to use a cheaper chemistry.

 

The question here is; did Nissan engineers learn from their past mistakes or are they doomed to repeat them?

 

Is the Aria or new Leaf using a passive liquid system?

 

IDK; The gen1 Leaf was probably a victim of Ghosen's aggressive cost cutting across the entire company. The gen2 got a more expensive battery, more heat resistive - because of the lawsuit and the ability to charge above market rates - higher profit margins w/government incentives; for EV's at the time. Tesla wasn't the only one at the government trough. This was a pathway for businesses to "look" green; in the eyes of public perception.

It's amazing how prices come down when government incentives are removed.

 

Most think the Leaf was Nissan's 1st EV that was prone to grenade. Nope.
the 90s CARB mandate brought about their 'Altra' ev - but unlike like the rav4 ev's of the 90s - it was equipped w/ lithium cells

Nissan's Forgotten EV Had Lithium-Ion Batteries a Decade Before Tesla And Still Failed - The Autopian



So - yea they MAY be better - but they're deffinately slow learners.
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Those old EV's was proof of concept. Most OEMs had the foresight to only lease them - NOT for sale. You couldn't buy them at the end of the lease period. I think Ford and GM did something similar in that time frame.

 

The first Renault Zoe had a fan and maybe even chilled that air with the HVAC system. Was Ghosen imposing stricter cost cutting at Nissan at the time?

Batteries were very expensive at the time, and Nissan was trying to make an 'affordable' model their first attempt at a commercial EV. Designing a battery case and car body for the convective air flow probably cost more than slapping a fan on the case. The passive cooling was probably fine for moderate climates, like Japan. I think it would still lead to faster capacity loss than an active system, but that doesn't mean excessive. The issues came to light with cars in extreme climates; namely the Arizona desert.

And many car buyers wouldn't try an EV without them during the introduction of the technology. It isn't easy when to have an end to incentives when writing the legislation. Too late, and manufacturers take advantage; too soon, and the tech loses support before it can support itself.

The most recent incentives were more about moving battery production to in the country than supporting the tech during the early stage. We'll see how the prices work out with oscillating tariffs when the car finally arrives.

 

We worked there early 90s. If it hadn't been for winter snows, it would have reminded me of sweltering Florida summers. Don't know if that year was exceptional in Tokyo - an anomaly? but I checked how this summer is doing -
Japan sets record high temperatures prompting worries over rice crops | CNN

Yeoza
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Yep, it was canceled.

This is why I'm just not interested in cars anymore. Long live the modern blob car with too many touchscreens.

 

i read that all nissan ev's have liquid coolant battery conditioning now.

 

Cars with proven track records at almost half the cost; if anyone's interested.....
Let someone else take the first year depreciation hit. I like these guy for their warranty and 3-day rent to buy program. You can rent it for 3-day to see if it fits your lifestyle. If you buy it, they waive the rental fee; if it doesn't fit; just return it - no harm, no foul.

PS Don't forget to check for the charging cable, before you take-off.
Federal rules; OEM battery warranties is still in effect - so one thing you don't have to worry about.

Used Electric Vehicles for Sale | EV Cars & SUVs

 

I feel like leasing might be the way to go for one more generation of EVs and then things like heat pumps, pre-heated batteries, and decent charge speeds and ranges will all be pretty standard. Then we'll also get a good sense of the reliability of the different brands after 5-10 years of consistent EV production from all off them. Prices likely to come down, depreciation hopefully smooth out (so a 60k car isn't 30k after 3 years), and you can make a good choice on what you're buying.

At least that's how I see it. The BZ was trash, this next set of BZs and CHR EV from toyota may be fine but the first ones sucked. The Hyundai/Kias have a control board issue they seem to be struggling with across both brands. The american brands are hit or miss on their heat pump inclusion with the exception of Teslas now, Nissan had horrendous air cooling but are now trying liquid cooling it seems. As for pre-conditioning batteries, seems like some only let you do so if you use on board navigation to select a public charger it knows about to start that process rather than on demand, or integrated into google maps for example for more up to date charger locations without extra fees.

Maybe we're on the cusp of the core of what can be expected from EVs and with more availability and better pricing to make them largely accessible.

Leasing is usually a fool's game and financially poor decision, but maybe its the best way to try out the new generation of EVs with improvements but before long term committing. Mind you, I think about it this way because when I buy a car, I want it for at least 10 years. Not just 4 or 5. So if I am not fully committed to a long ownership period, maybe a lease is a good option. Can be a bit cheaper in the short run too.

I wonder what the lease option will look like for the new leaf. It looks like it might be a good option. Depends on how they got the price so low compared to others, really and the impact on longevity.

 

Your correct; Leases are a contractual agreement - your only way out is to conform to it's parameters. You just can't give it back to them in a week or month because you don't like it. Your stuck with it and the payments for the term of the lease.
A better option is to rent it for a week. most dealerships (usually not advertised) and rental agencies will do this. Rental agencies are a lot cheaper than dealerships and run promotions; which will lower the prices even further.

Hope this helps......

 

never say never
Bunch of businesses specialize in lease Xfers. We went w/ the folks below & it went quit smoothly;
https://www.swapalease.com/
We recommend. In fact - if we ever felt like it'd be worthwhile to do a trial to see if we really like a certain car - we could give it a try by picking up the tail end of someone else's lease. Typically the lease originator has already clunked down a large enough down payment that picking up a lease is pretty affordable. We got out of our 3yr Model X lease at the 1½ yr mark.

Just read the new Leaf's DC fast charging in NACS.
BUT - since much of the car's tooling was already set in stone prior to NACS standardization - rather than have just a single charge port - Nissan kinda did a hack job by keeping w/ a J plug on one side of the car - & put the DC QC charge port/hatch on the opposite side. Jeez - good thing it's not a PHEV - that would have make 3 fuel ports. (sigh)
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a lot of people are disappointed that they didn't put the nacs in front

 

Yeah a whole lot of the Tesla superchargers have cables that are pretty darn short. No way they're going to reach the far side of a vehicle and if you turn the car around? Now it's even further away. Not so with the newer setups

 

Thanks; I didn't think about that.
I did a quick look and I see why those people want out! Most of those leases was higher than my first house mortgage payment @ 8.375%. You need to make sure the current lessee hasn't already exceed the parameters of the original lease - otherwise your going to be stuck paying that too; on return. I've never done that; so I don't know who is responsible for what.

 

Yeah we got out of the model x lease because the service centers were too overcrowded to continually return the car for things like double vision out the windshield - self presenting doors not self presenting, ½ shafts shuddering when you floor it, mult function display going black while driving. We told this to the perspective buyer who didn't care - as he just wanted a big car, all electric, with carpool stickers so he didn't have to fight freeway traffic in Socal on a 75mi commute 1way. Not really any other choices back in 2017.

 

oh i didn't mean to try a new car for a few weeks. I meant commit to a car for a few years, but not have to take the depreciation hit on resale if you decide you don't want to stick with the car for a decade. If you're gonna change your car after 3-5 years anyway, may as well lease. And if you aren't sure if you want to stick to a LEAF or go with a different brand once you see their more mature EV offerings, waiting for another generation and greater selection/availability a lease could be the way to bridge the gap. After all now most EV manufacturers that aren't tesla (and Nissan with the leaf) have only been making EVs for a few years with a small number of models and model years under their belt.

This is what I'm mostly getting at.

 

Sorry; I wasn't trying to 'dis' you - just pointing out that it's a contractual agreement that isn't easy to break or get out of. Kinda like those hard sale time-shares, when your on vacation. @hill swapalease is actually a really good affordable idea.
Since they're getting rid of EV incentives, that means that someone is going to have to pluck down a chunk of money for that lease. The old way was the lease company would take the EV credit, so it becomes a 'no money down' lease. I know VW is taking it on the chin sometimes and offering this on limited holiday sales specials. Don't know if that's financially feasible for Nissan in it's current shape.

YMMV