2018 Nissan Leaf reviews

Domenick

Domenick

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2018 Nissan LEAF: First Review And Test Drive From Japan – Video

This 2018 Nissan Leaf isn't yet for sale in the U.S., but it is in Japan. Electrified Journeys Japan took advantage of this fact and have released their first video review of the all-electric.

Seems like they found a very sympathetic dealership to aid them in their review adventures, and so a Japanese staffer accompanies the driver and so there is some back and forth conversation in Japanese.

I haven't watched all the way through -- it's 40 minutes long -- but clearly our host, James, clearly enjoys the improvements made over the previous Leaf, especially the acceleration.

There's quite a bit of prologue you can feel free to skip over, starting at 3:30 mark. Not sure if there's anything here to convince you to buy the Leaf if it wasn't on your radar, but it may reassure those always moving in this Nissan's direction.

 
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Can someone please explain to me why Nissan doesn't have thermal management of their battery pack like TESLA, GM, Hyundai? Even after all the issues 1st Gen Leaf owners are having with failing batteries, they don't make a change? It will be even more an issue with a larger 60kwh battery pack
 
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tongsli said:
Can someone please explain to me why Nissan doesn't have thermal management of their battery pack like TESLA, GM, Hyundai? Even after all the issues 1st Gen Leaf owners are having with failing batteries, they don't make a change? It will be even more an issue with a larger 60kwh battery pack
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The temp of battery is monitored (by computer and displayed to driver) and controlled. True it is not liquid cooled but is air cooled. Why? Cost, weight, reliability.... The "Lizard" Battery starting late 2014, and 2015 models and on, have greater resistance to high ambient Temps. You are right the older battery packs did poorly in hot weather. Most of the country except: SE California, S Arizona, S New Mexico and W & S Texas, and S Florida. Liquid cool is not needed as temps are not extremely hot.
 
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tongsli said:
Can someone please explain to me why Nissan doesn't have thermal management of their battery pack like TESLA, GM, Hyundai? Even
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I don't know if we'll ever get a clear answer on that question. My guess is that Nissan decided they spent too much money on developing and manufacturing the Leaf -- note Nissan recently sold off its EV battery manufacturing factories -- and is now trying to get all the income it can out of the tech it's already developed, without spending any more, such as with upgrading the battery packs.

That strategy does seem to be working to a limited extent; Nissan has capturing the bottom end of the BEV market, at least outside Chia. Of course ultimately that is self-defeating strategy, as the Leaf will come to be seen more and more as an outmoded and even obsolete car. But in the meantime, Nissan certainly is selling (or at least leasing) a lot of them!

gmcjetpilot said:
Liquid cool is not needed as temps are not extremely hot.
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Not so. Nissan's "lizard" battery pack chemistry certainly has reduced the number of reports of premature battery aging in Leaf packs, but there are still plenty of reports coming in that it's still happening -- even in regions where it never gets really hot.

The lack of active thermal management also limits the ability of a Leaf to recharge at DCFC stations.

For example, here's a post from June 1, 2016:

30 kWh Leaf battery overheating

On a recent quick two day trip from Scotland to Cheltenham and back I managed to get south without any battery overheating problems, possibly because traffic was heavy. Coming back the next evening, with the outside temp at 18C [64° F], I was running into ten bars, just short of red, after a mere two rapid charges, and starting to get seriously concerned if I could get home.

The outside temp dropped slowly as I drove North. I reduced speed down to 60 mph, and by midnight it was about 8C outside. The car never got into the red, but I was getting very nervous.

No charger failures at all, but I would be concerned about repeating this journey in July or August.
​
Source: https://speakev.com/threads/30-kwh-leaf-battery-overheating.17691/
 
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Just finished test drive of the SL 2018. It was quite nice and we came away quite happy. There's little to remind us that it's an EV inside -- unlike our Spark and Fiat EVs. Performance is on par with any regular sedan - Camry/Altima/Accord as are the refinements

ProAssist performed better than AP 2.0. A little drift to the right when merge lanes come along. no ping-pong effect. The feedback is sufficient yet not annoying. Cross traffic and blindspot as expected. Didn't try out the emergency anticollision or pedestrian though!

We even did DC charge for 30minutes and did fine with it. Had 1400 mi already on it from test driving over the weeks.

Good wheels, no slippage, and great cargo space that we're targeting for the dog and teens. At 150miles range, hits the sweet spot for local daily needs and enough legs for destination charging to anywhere in LA/SB area. Priced right too if we go the purchase route since don't want to overpay for unneeded battery.

We'd prefer leasing, but need to wait for them to come out and see lease offers and what happens with Congress.
 
Mont Reid said:
Just finished test drive of the SL 2018. It was quite nice and we came away quite happy. There's little to remind us that it's an EV inside -- unlike our Spark and Fiat EVs. Performance is on par with any regular sedan - Camry/Altima/Accord as are the refinements

ProAssist performed better than AP 2.0. A little drift to the right when merge lanes come along. no ping-pong effect. The feedback is sufficient yet not annoying. Cross traffic and blindspot as expected. Didn't try out the emergency anticollision or pedestrian though!

We even did DC charge for 30minutes and did fine with it. Had 1400 mi already on it from test driving over the weeks.

Good wheels, no slippage, and great cargo space that we're targeting for the dog and teens. At 150miles range, hits the sweet spot for local daily needs and enough legs for destination charging to anywhere in LA/SB area. Priced right too if we go the purchase route since don't want to overpay for unneeded battery.

We'd prefer leasing, but need to wait for them to come out and see lease offers and what happens with Congress.
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Was reading a three-way comparison with the Leaf, Bolt, and Model 3 on MotorTrend and was happy to see the Leaf's Pro-Pilot get high praise. Stuck nicely in the center of the lane and could easily sense a hand lightly touching it.
 
“There's little to remind us that it's an EV inside”

Sounds like a negative to me. I don’t understand the quote.
 
electrek has a good balanced review of the LEAF. After reading it, I’m convinced I would buy a Bolt before buying the Leaf.
 
tongsli said:
Can someone please explain to me why Nissan doesn't have thermal management of their battery pack like TESLA, GM, Hyundai? Even after all the issues 1st Gen Leaf owners are having with failing batteries, they don't make a change? It will be even more an issue with a larger 60kwh battery pack
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Cost. And range. If they added liquid cooled thermal management it would add to the cost, and would add weight, reducing range, needing a bigger battery to compensate which means more cost.

As is, they can keep it priced in their target zone below the Bolt and base model 3.
 
Mont Reid said:
Just finished test drive of the SL 2018. It was quite nice and we came away quite happy. There's little to remind us that it's an EV inside -- unlike our Spark and Fiat EVs. Performance is on par with any regular sedan - Camry/Altima/Accord as are the refinements
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Yeah the new leaf is a nice step up from a Spark EV! Although I personally consider the Spark the best of the 1st gen (non Tesla) BEVs.

If you get the leaf, be sure to post a review/overview! It sounds like the battery and performance improvements of the car move the leaf up in the ‘fun to drive’ category.
 
Cypress said:
“There's little to remind us that it's an EV inside”

Sounds like a negative to me. I don’t understand the quote.
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I think the reviewer meant that the driving experience is very like driving a gasmobile; not much of a "learner's curve" to deal with in transitioning from driving a gasmobile to driving that particular plug-in EV.

Personally, I don't think that PEVs should have to wear the straightjacket of looking like and operating like a gasmobile. The Model T didn't look like or operate like a horse-drawn buggy, and PEVs shouldn't need to look like or operate like gasmobiles.

But I think the reviewer intended that as a positive comment.
 
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And now, a 2018 Nissan LEAF Test Drive Review from InsideEVs!.

Interesting to note: For a limited time, "...Nissan is including the tech package with all SLs until some time in the spring of 2018."
It also has over 10,000 reservations for the new Leaf.

Also, not in the review, but on Leaf's website, Nissan is giving away an Apple watch, GoPro Hero 5, or Google home bundle for reserving now.

2018 Nissan LEAF.webp
 
gmcjetpilot said:
The temp of battery is monitored (by computer and displayed to driver) and controlled. True it is not liquid cooled but is air cooled. Why? Cost, weight, reliability.... The "Lizard" Battery starting late 2014, and 2015 models and on, have greater resistance to high ambient Temps. You are right the older battery packs did poorly in hot weather. Most of the country except: SE California, S Arizona, S New Mexico and W & S Texas, and S Florida. Liquid cool is not needed as temps are not extremely hot.
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The Lizard batteries are just as bad. Many of our PHX Elec Auto members have them and they are very disappointed. They have a cold weather option but no HOT weather option. It's a real shame.
 
For leasing, the new Leaf SV looks like a winner.
DC Fast charger
ProPilot
One peddle driving
150 mile range

I think the Leaf will become the number one seller in 2018, worldwide.

I'm going to add this to the list. Hopefully, I (wife) get to test drive soon.
Niro EV
Outlander PHEV
Leaf SV
 
Autocar now has an official review. Unfortunately, no video, but InsideEVs has a quick breakdown of the main points.

They pick a few nits, but overall seem to think it's a decent value. They don't mention anything about the lack of Temperature Monitoring System (TMS), though. (I didn't expect they would, I mention it only because it always comes up.)
 
It's kind of late for 2018 LEAF reviews, but the Canadians from the Tesla Model 3 Owners Club have just published a really great one on YouTube. While it does spend some time with the stats everyone already knows, they do bring up battery gate (the new LEAF's seeming inability to fast charge at its expected speed, especially after fast charging previously on a trip)

They also spend some time with a Nissan rep, asking some pertinent questions near the end.

 
My 30kwh Leaf is approaching 2 years of ownership. 30,000K and all SOH bars still showing. With warmer temps and the winter tires off I seem to have all my original range. Recent on a hot day I deliberately drove it hard on the freeway to see if I could raise the temp bars. Upon reaching the client I still had only the 5 bars showing that I started with. But here's where it gets interesting. Finished up at client's in a little over 2 hours and found 6 bars showing!
I suspect that the wind underneath the car provided some cooling but once the car was parked the still hot cells had no way to vent their heat. Similar to ICE engines when you come off the freeway and shut them off the coolant temp goes way up.

This is probably contributing to the overheating problems where drivers leave the freeway for a DCFC top up. The residual heat not escaping while the car is stationary at the charger plus the heat of charging would certainly bump the temp up in a hurry. I have not paid much attention to the battery temp in the past but will be watching and reporting as the dog days of summer settle in.
 
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