The Leaf is a great car, not just for commuting but in general. I regularly used to exceed the max range of my 24kWh Leaf and rely on public destination charging. No problems at all.
Consider it is 9 years old now (released 2010) and was the first mainstream, mass produced, affordable EV it's held up decently well. Sure, newer cars are better, but you would be kinda disappointed if nothing improved over the span of a decade.
The Leaf demonstrated that there is a market for affordable EVs, that dealers can sell them and handle service, that they are reliable and that the batteries will last more than 3 years. Yeah, remember that old myth? The obstacles that Nissan had to overcome were huge.
Nissan also build massive rapid charging networks. I don't know much about the US situation, but for years almost all rapid charging in the UK was from the Nissan/Ecotricity partnership. It really was the first generation supercharger network, and unlike the Tesla one it was open to all vehicles, not just Nissans. Nissan made the Leaf viable and proved that even a low range EV was a great car for many people, and capable of longer journeys when required.
I was very disappointed with the Leaf 40. It needed a proper refresh with active thermal management and a more efficient shape. The regression to an analogue speedo was just bizarre. It's such a shame that after pioneering the technology Nissan couldn't maintain that early lead and build on it, but now Kia and Hyundai are passing them by.
Consider it is 9 years old now (released 2010) and was the first mainstream, mass produced, affordable EV it's held up decently well. Sure, newer cars are better, but you would be kinda disappointed if nothing improved over the span of a decade.
The Leaf demonstrated that there is a market for affordable EVs, that dealers can sell them and handle service, that they are reliable and that the batteries will last more than 3 years. Yeah, remember that old myth? The obstacles that Nissan had to overcome were huge.
Nissan also build massive rapid charging networks. I don't know much about the US situation, but for years almost all rapid charging in the UK was from the Nissan/Ecotricity partnership. It really was the first generation supercharger network, and unlike the Tesla one it was open to all vehicles, not just Nissans. Nissan made the Leaf viable and proved that even a low range EV was a great car for many people, and capable of longer journeys when required.
I was very disappointed with the Leaf 40. It needed a proper refresh with active thermal management and a more efficient shape. The regression to an analogue speedo was just bizarre. It's such a shame that after pioneering the technology Nissan couldn't maintain that early lead and build on it, but now Kia and Hyundai are passing them by.
