2018 Leaf Thread

Congratulations on your new vehicle.

What are some of the other reasons you decided not to go with a Model 3? Cost would be the biggest factor for me, as well as availability. I'd certainly entertain the $35k variant of the Model 3 if it were even available. I also like tech, and having the Android auto and 360 camera are two big considerations for choosing Nissan over Tesla for me.

Did you lease or purchase, and why? I am currently considering a purchase to take advantage of the potential tax savings ($7500) here in the US. My state also has another rebate that was recently approved last month ($2500). My region in the US also has decent savings ($1000 + 0% financing) through Nissan financing.

What kind of temperatures do you have to deal with in Ontario and are you concerned about high temperatures when it comes to the Leaf's thermal management? I am slightly concerned about the heat, since the summers here are roughly 100 degrees F with near 100% humidity. I don't plan on quick charging, just using the vehicle to and from work (15 mi one way).

From a cost perspective, what made you go with the SL instead of the SV with tech package? I personally like tech and I do enjoy the 360 camera on my Pathfinder, so I am leaning towards the SL as well since I would like the 360 camera. It's slightly harder to find a good deal on an SL with tech package because there are so few. I've seen a deal here and there for $1k - $2k off, but I am able to see tech package SVs for $3k off and I can probably push to $4k since they are more plentiful in stock.

 

Well, good luck with your new car!

I hope you don't regret your decision to purchase instead of lease. Most Leaf owners just lease the vehicle, due to its well-publicized if erratic problem with premature battery pack aging. This is reported to be even worse with the newer 30 kWh Leaf -- which I guess is what you got -- than the older 24 kWh Leaf.

Living in Ontario, heat shouldn't be much of a problem, so your odds are better there that you won't have premature battery fade. But unfortunately, it's still a gamble. We've seen plenty of reports of premature battery fading even from people who live in northerly, colder regions.

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Ah, my mistake. Mea culpa. Thanks guys for correcting my misinformation!

Good to know that the 2018 Leaf uses a different battery chemistry. As has been pointed out, the VW e-Golf, like the Leaf, has no active thermal management system, yet we don't see reports of premature battery fade in the e-Golf. I certainly hope that Nissan has finally picked a battery chemistry more suitable for use in the Leaf!

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I keep hearing about "all these battery failures". Where is this coming from? Who besides Nissan would have access to this information? I wouldn't expect Nissan to be forthcoming with it. So on what hard statistical evidence are the claims of battery failures being made? My2016 30kwh pack is in great shape. I watch my temperature bars. So should everyone with a Leaf.

 

Hey Kenneth, welcome to the forum. Been watching your and Trevor's videos for a long time now.
Add me to the club- I decided my Model3 reservation has a very low chance of converting to an affordable car any time soon,
and bought a Jade Frost SV with tech and weather package. As things stand today, I can buy two of them for the price of Model3.
By the time base M3 comes out 6-9 months from now, it would be anywhere between $10k and $17k more.
I bought instead of leasing as the total cost ended up very close- something like $6k more to buy vs lease after all deals/discounts/tax credits
Could've probably bought SL for about as much, but I dislike leather
Passive TMS is also something I went into knowingly- the weather here in Upstate NY is fairly reasonable most of the time, and if things do degrade, the warranty threshold is good enough for my commute with a good margin of safety.
So basically once you look at all the tradeoffs, price, range, availability etc , the Leaf comes out as a very good value.

 

Hi Ken,
I'm considering the Leaf as well so I'm wondering how long it took for you to receive your car?

 

I ordered mine here in Ottawa May 14th and still waiting.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

Thanks for letting me know. I had ordered a Honda Clarity and I’m waiting for it but many people were saying that 2018 models may not be in production anymore so I was looking for a backup plan to get the Ontario rebate before, if and when, Doug Ford cancels it. But the good news is that my car is apparently built and on its way to the dealership.

 

Good video and thank you for posting Domenick.

I ended up going with a used BMW I3 since I could not convince my wife to let me get a new Leaf. Even though the payments would be covered with taxes for the next 2 years, it was the following 4 years (at 0% financing) that concerned her. The dealers here in Texas are eagerly trying to push Leaf's since they've been on the lot for months.

Instead of having a $500/mo payment on a brand new leaf, I settled on a $260/mo payment on a 2015 BEV I3.