Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Scratching the itch for a second EV!

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
#66
EarlyAdopter said:
So, to summarize: An air cooled, 24kWh battery coupled to a 85kW (114hp) motor. So, basically, if you're looking for the range, battery life, and acceleration of the Leaf but with more conventional styling, boy-oh-boy does VW have the car for you!
Click to expand...

I won't buy air cooled. Our 2nd EV is a Volt. Fairly happy with it. I wish it was a 5 seater and had a slightly higher capacity battery. We've managed to keep it to 99% electrical.
 
#67
Glad to see the new information in this thread. The lease on our 2011 Leaf SL expires in July and with 20% battery degradation there is no way we will buy it and are reluctant to lease another one for that reason and the limited range. My wife is the primary driver and wants to be able to drive from our home to visit friends in LA and not have to worry about charging along the way. The other problem with the Leaf is that range drops dramatically at highway speeds and/or while running A/C. We test drove the Rav4 EV but are having trouble getting over the fact that it is just a compliance car. Nowhere near as fun to drive as the Leaf, which is the best part about the Leaf (I would not even think of comparing it to my Model S - it may have a Tesla battery but it is no Tesla in my view). Last month we test drove the BMW i3 and were very impressed. I don't mind the styling and lime the fact that it was designed from the ground up as an EV. It drives great, love the regenerative braking and seems to be capable of one pedal driving just like my Model S. We would need to have the range extender to satisfy my wife's range anxiety and when you add the options it all priced out at close to $55,000. The federal tax credit of $7500 helps but it sounds like the state credit will be gone before July. Frankly we are not sure what to do now. Maybe we will take a look at the Ford or VW options.
 
#68
AlisoJames said:
The other problem with the Leaf is that range drops dramatically at highway speeds and/or while running A/C. We test drove the Rav4 EV but are having trouble getting over the fact that it is just a compliance car. Nowhere near as fun to drive as the Leaf, which is the best part about the Leaf (I would not even think of comparing it to my Model S - it may have a Tesla battery but it is no Tesla in my view).
Click to expand...
Interesting... I find the RAV4 EV to be much more fun to drive than the LEAF. And it certainly has faster acceleration even without using the Sport mode, presumably due to Tesla's stronger electric motor. I also like how much stronger the regen is than the LEAF and how the range is not nearly as affected at highway speeds. (120+ miles at 70-ish mph? Awesome!)

Then there's the 10kW charger, compared to the slow 3.3kW charger in the original LEAF. (The new ones have 6.6kW which is okay.) What's missing is DC fast charging, though Tony Williams and a group over at myrav4ev.com are working on that. Lease deal is decent with $16,000 off and essentially zero interest (free money!). But yeah, it is just a compliance vehicle... Toyota is definitely not interested in its success. But it's a fun drive while waiting for a smaller, sporty, hopefully AWD hatchback from Tesla.
 
Last edited:
#69
gg_got_a_tesla said:
Yes, it's been mentioned; it's an option for Californians but, my wife and I don't like the ride height and overall size. It's also not a cheap lease.

Anyway, it's all on ice for now.
Click to expand...

gg, I am looking in to leasing a Nissan Leaf right now on top of the Model S. So I think you and I are in the same boat, and we're in the same area. The best deal I've been able to find so far is with Boardwalk Nissan:

Leaf S with Quick Charge
36 month lease
Eligible for $2500 state credit
$4,000 drive off ($1,500 after the credit)
$149/mo + tax
Click to expand...

Have you seen anything better than this yet? Would love to work closely with you on this one, as two heads are better than one.
 
#70
@gnychis, I was able to do marginally better. I had posted this up thread:

Scratching the itch for a second EV! - Page 5

gg_got_a_tesla said:
If there's anyone out there in the Bay Area looking for a LEAF, this is the best I could negotiate with the Redwood City Boardwalk Nissan sales guy (one Leo Stefani):

Nissan LEAF S + Charge Package (6.6 kW charger, CHAdeMo DC QC port)
36-month lease, 12,000 miles per year
$2,500 drive-off (can be negated by the CVRP rebate if you act within the next week or so)
$183 + tax per month

The dealer is desperate enough to get rid of some 143 LEAFs that he has on his lot that you may be able to do better than I did.
Click to expand...

I think you can put some more pressure on this Leo chap (who can be a bit abrasive sounding, mind you) to zero out your drive-off amount (after the $2,500 rebate) and get the monthly payment somewhere between the $183 that I got and the $149 that you got.

Btw, the CVRP rebate is down to under $2 million now so, it's only about 800 BEVs from being exhausted!

Real-Time Funding Status for the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project | CCSE
 
#71
gg_got_a_tesla said:
@gnychis, I was able to do marginally better. I had posted this up thread:

Scratching the itch for a second EV! - Page 5



I think you can put some more pressure on this Leo chap (who can be a bit abrasive sounding, mind you) to zero out your drive-off amount (after the $2,500 rebate) and get the monthly payment somewhere between the $183 that I got and the $149 that you got.

Btw, the CVRP rebate is down to under $2 million now so, it's only about 800 BEVs from being exhausted!

Real-Time Funding Status for the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project | CCSE
Click to expand...

Thanks gg! I didn't see this post up thread. I will try tweaking those two nobs a little bit like you said. I'll talk with them again and see if we can move things around a little. Man, that CVRP rebate is getting low. Any talk of them putting more money in to it again?
 
#73
Test drove the LEAF for the first time today at work; Nissan Corporate and Boardwalk Nissan setup a test drive event here on our campus.

I drove an SL; it was rather nice! Good acceleration, okay regen in the B mode and good, roomy interior setup. The biggest bit of disappointment was that hump for the passenger seated in the middle in the second row. What's up with that in an EV with the battery pack in the floor?? That seat is rather unusable for most adults and many older kids. It looked like a compromised 5-seater. That "tunnel" is used as some sort of access point to the battery pack apparently.

Other than that, @gnychis, I was quoted the same deal that you reported. From chatting with the two dealer reps there (Chris and Peter, both LEAF specialists from Boardwalk), I felt that there's still some wiggle room left particularly as they get a bit desperate given the dwindling rebate.

Took another shot with the wife over IM, but, was rebuffed once again :)

Oh, Clipper Creek, Schneider Electric and Chargepoint were there too. The Clipper Creek rep had the LCS-25 on display - it's almost Telsa UMC-small. Very nicely designed and built.
 
#74
Thanks for the feedback again, gg! I was talking to the guys from Boardwalk today about the quote and they were like: "oh I'm not usually in to work today, but we are going to company X for a test drive event." Little did I know that you would be there testing them out yourself!

That's good news about the acceleration, and that SUCKS about the back seat bump. That's the one thing I absolutely looveee about the Model S: a flat spacious back seat. Then again, there is a significant price difference between the cars so we won't be too picky ;)

I'll see what I can pull... this car is for my significant other so that I can stop driving her to work every day. Woof. I'll keep you up-to-date as I continue to call around!
 
#75
That plug is the maintenance disconnect:

2013_Nissan_Leaf_cutaway_(2).jpg


leaf_battery_Jul10_2.jpg
 
#76
rtz said:
That plug is the maintenance disconnect:
Click to expand...
Yes, but it appears that there is a ridge running down the center of the chassis (the plug sits nearly flush with the pack), presumably to stiffen up the car.

I don't think the pack of the Nissan LEAF is load bearing like the Tesla pack is, so the extra rigidity in the chassis is needed.

nissan-ev-battery-pack-opposing-side.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
New EV owner: how do you prepare for unusual situations?
Replies
20
Views
1K
Model Y
David99
David99
B
Hello from Cape Cod, Looking at a MYLR
Replies
8
Views
474
Model Y
ngng
ngng
P
Whats good from LA?
Replies
0
Views
81
Introductions
primostyle
P
T
Model 3P resale prices
Replies
35
Views
2K
The UK and Ireland
Durzel
Durzel
A
Range Anxiety Planning for All Electric Household
Replies
13
Views
1K
Electric Vehicles
dafish
D
Top
Back
Blog
New
Forum list
Marketplace
Menu