2018 Leaf Thread

Well Kenneth I made it! Back in April, figuring that the Conservatives would win the provincial election I placed an order for a 2018 Leaf S. Didn't think they were going to get the car built in time but got the call from the dealer that it had arrived just 8 days before the cutoff. Had very mixed feelings as I really didn't want to trade up until 2020 and I really liked my 2016 30kwh Leaf. That being said, the new Leaf is a little smoother, quieter and has a lot more zip. The real thing I was after was the increased range. Not only the gain from 30kwh to 40 but the new Leaf seems to be more efficient. I'm getting more km/kw than my old Leaf so combining the two I'm good for just over 300km urban/suburban range on the GOM with a full charge. The one wrinkle was that I wasn't aware that unlike the SV, and SL the S doesn't use the heat pump for a hybrid heating system. It seems to be just resistance heating which was a bummer today on a long distance run at 12degC with constant rain. A shocking 15% drop in the GOM when I had to defog the windows.

All in all, the new Leaf is quite an improvement. And although I don't buy cars for looks and the "oddball" appearance of the previous model actually appealed to me, I must say my new one in dark blue metallic looks quite classy Rather than start a new thread about the 2018 Leaf, I'm just going to piggy back onto yours with updates along the way as I find new things. ciao for now and FU Leaf trolls.

 

Well I've had my SL now for 2 Weeks and I am in love. Maybe it's the "first ev glow" but I can now see why folks have said they will never go ICE again.

My commute is not long, and only has a few stretches of road at 80kmh, but propilot makes it a dream. I've just learned to tap the brake to disengage at all the stop lights where cars are already stationary. But if I am following someone who stops, it's slick.

My only comment is that my car seat for my baby sits a bit high and as she gets bigger it will be a struggle. I'm already having to put her in almost vertically through the door so she doesn't bump her head.

I suppose a different car seat might be lower, but I'm not carrying her that often anyway. (That's what our Murano is for lol)

But so far I love this car. I'm the perfect use case.

I will rarely quick charge so rapidgate means nothing.

I think when we replace the SUV my first choice will be a plug in SUV. We'll see what's around in years or so

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Well it's now a month with the 2018 40kwh Leaf S. I traded in my much loved 30kwh 2016 SL to get that extra range. I went for the base model as I really want to drive the car myself and you forego the Pro-Pilot and multiple cameras by cheaping out. The basic sound system is pretty wussy after the Bose but I don't miss that sub woofer in the loading area. Got to say I'm really happy with the car. No buyers remorse here.

RANGE: First of all, going from 30kwh to 40 I would have expected a 33% range increase. Turns out it's closer to 50%! My GOM reads a shade over 300k on a full charge when I've been working locally. My old Leaf would read a shade over 200 in the same circumstances when it was new. I seem to be good for about 275km on the two lane highways. My old Leaf about 170. I'm wondering if they increased the efficiency somehow.

POWER: I'm not a hot rodder but going 107hp to 140 makes darting into traffic openings and running orange lights even easier than before.

SMOOTH: The ride seems a little quieter and smoother although this may be partly due to new rubber. I've always found that tires get noisier as they age.

SEATS: I really didn't like the leather seats in my SL. Sticky and hot enough to feel like a burn when parked in the sun. The fabric seats are actually much more comfortable. I notice they are entirely different than the materials used in the earlier Leafs. I think this new material will be easier to clean and more durable.

LOOKS: I buy for function not appearance but I do like the look. And the dark blue metallic is absolutely stunning. Japanese colors tend to be on the drab side so this is a welcome change.

E PEDAL: I thought this was going to be a cheesy gimmick but I've grown to like it. With very little practice I can bring the car to a smooth stop right where I want, only using the brake pedal when somebody cuts in front. I was concerned that it might use the brakes more than I would but it seems to make the regen even stronger.

QUIBBLE 1: Too many fussy little buttons close together on the steering wheel. I have to look down to use them. Would have preferred to have many of these functions on a touch screen or somewhere on the dash. You don't get a touch screen on the S.

QUIBBLE 2: Having only a resistance heater, leaving the 2 way heat pump to the more expensive trims. The heated steering wheel and seats are helpful for not needed the heater but on a cold rainy day when the windows started to fog I had to use the defroster and the drop on the GOM was close to 20%.

QUIBBLE 3: Miss having an in car navi system and touch screen.

So quibbles aside you can color me happy with this car. thanks Ken

 

Hi there, my 2015 Chevy Volt is up in December. I test drove the SV model last week and overall it felt great. The “low” range of 151 miles is not an issue for me, as my commute is 15 miles roundtrip + few errands, gym, etc., I drive less than 30 miles daily; my Volt has 16,000 miles after 3 years, and I get free charging at work, so .... I was originally planning to get either the Kia Niro EV, allegedly with 300 miles range or the Hyundai Kona electric, allegedly with up to 260 miles range, then again neither will be available this year and I don’t want to extend my lease.

Nissan is also planning to release the LEAF E-Plus, with allegedly 220+ miles, from what I could gather from the salesperson last week, then again bad timing for me; that’s ok, I’ll drive my other ICE car for long trips.

The 2015 Volt had a 38 mile range officially, then again I can get up to 46 during summer temperatures and as as low as 30 during winter. How about the LEAF? What is its range loss during winter? how about during summer? Thanks.


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You're getting the same range numbers as me. The 300k is when tooling around town. The 275k is driving modestly on the highway. The heater knocks 15% of the range calculator but extreme cold also reduces range even further. My previous Leaf lost about 40% of it's range at -30degC and I'm expecting the same. We'll be finding out all too soon. At those temperatures the heat pump (which the S doesn't have anyway) is useless so the gob sucking resistance heater kicks in. Interestingly enough there is no menu on the new Leaf that can show how much power is being drawn to heat the vehicle. Too scary?

One of the advantages of the black interior is how nicely the car heats up from the sun even on cold winter days. Using the heated steering wheel and seat means that unless it's really cold you don't really need to heat the car most of the time. Just get some warm socks and boots.

 

2018 Leaf has been on the market for a while now... Anyone checked their battery degradation yet?

 

Reporting in again here. Had new adventure with the 2018 Leaf. The FLO charger network has expanded into some areas of my territory. Got the app for my phone and it actually installed and worked! That's a first. Have tried two others. One wouldn't let me enter information at all. An email to the company produced no response. The second (Chargepoint) installed and I was able to use it to activate a free L3 charger but no help in how I set up an account and fund it when I have to pay.

Anyhow I had a run which took me almost half way to my daughter's house in the Ottawa region and decided to continue on. It's 145km from start. I got there with 30% SOC remaining and 83K on the GOM. The temperature close to freezing. This run was done wearing warm boots and clothing only using the heater if the windows started to fog. The steering wheel and seat heater were activated making things quite comfy. Plugging into 110V overnight by morning I was up to 81% SOC which would have gotten me back home ok but I wanted to do a slight detour to see if I could make an Electric Circuit L3 work off the FLO app as they claimed it would. It did. I was hoping to see if the DCFC was going to heat up the battery but it didn't. Started off at a fairly high charge rate but it started throttling back significantly after 65%SOC. I brought it from 60% to 90% in 23 minutes with no noticeable increase in battery temp.

This is really exciting. I can now safely use the car for more extended runs as FLO has made partnership arrangements with both Electric Circuit and Chargepoint that you can access their chargers. From prelimary analysis I expect my highway range close to freezing with the heater on 19degC to be about 230K. If the range loss at minus 30degC is comparable to my previous Leaf I should be able to score a range of 180KM in the worst of conditions. Not too shabby. I really don't need the gasser any more but I'll hang on to it out of sentiment and the fact that it allows me to claim the Leaf 100% through my business. I think I'm going to have this Leaf for quite some time. It's doing a great job for me. Take that Leaf trolls!

 

Speaking of range and cold, are you guys starting to plug in every day so that the battery is nice and warm before leaving? With the range reduction due to temps, and uncertainty of how much buffer I will actually need, it feels like the right thing to do. I am guessing sitting at 100% SOC for an hour at subzero temps every morning is not a big degradation factor

 

I haven't started that yet as my daily range needs aren't great, but I definitely have noticed quicker reduction in battery levels when cranking the heat etc on a 1 degree morning!

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I use my charging timer so that my charge finishes up at 6am in the summer and 7am in the winter. 7am is when the rates go up. By finishing up charging in the morning you will create some heat by the charging but also by being plugged in all night and until I leave, the battery warmer (about 300 watts I think) is powered by the house power instead of the battery. I used to charge my 2016 Leaf to full in the winter and use the timer to bring it to roughly 80% by morning in the summer. So in answer to your question I'm keeping the car plugged in all night to keep the battery warm but only have the timer set to charge for what I need next day.

Out on the road I found that no matter how cold it was the battery never dropped below the bottom 2 bars when parked unplugged. Parked for 2 hours would only use .6kwh if the battery heater runs the whole time. Where you could get into trouble is leaving it in super cold conditions unplugged for a few days. If you live in an area that gets extremely cold you can expect a range drop of around 40% due to the battery not working as well in the cold and the inevitable use of the heater to keep the windows from fogging. There you have it. Good luck

 

got my outdoor charging station installed today ... now I just need to get the LEAF in December ;-)

https://store.clippercreek.com/hcs-50-hcs-50P-40-amp-ev-charging-station

https://store.clippercreek.com/new/chargeguard-access-control-evse


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Thanks to all for providing their range numbers. I'm in the market for a Leaf. Can you help relieve my range anxiety?
Summary: Driving 40mph (65kph) for 3 hours on flat ground at 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 C), will I consistently get at least 120 miles (200km) range?

Detail: I live in Key West, Florida. The Leaf meets all my needs for driving in the Florida Keys. Every month or two, I drive to Miami and back, a 300-mile round trip. There are many level 2 chargers in the Keys, but the closest DC fast charger is in Homestead, Florida, 120 miles from my home.

The road out of the Keys varies from a 30mph speed limit to 50mph speed limit, with an 18 mile stretch where everybody drives 80 to get through it. Overall, it takes 2.5-3 hours to cover the 120 miles. There are traffic lights and occasional traffic jams. The road is very flat, and the temperature ranges from 75-95 degrees.

A typical trip might be: Drive 120 miles from home to the DC charger. Charge up to 80% in 40 minutes. Drive around town as needed. Stop at the same DC charger on the way home. Drive 120 miles back home.

I've never owned an EV, and I understand range varies radically based on driving style, speed, temperature, etc. Given the description above, do you think I'd consistently make the 120 miles from charger to home?