Tesla Model S 85 versus Nissan Leaf SL

[ION eDRV]

My two cents:
I owned a LEAF for 3.5 years and drove it 45,000 miles. Mine was an early 2011. I guess you could say I was an early adopter. I really enjoyed the car. It never had any issues of any kind....except the range... After more than 3 years of ownership I got tired of the dwindling range (20% loss) and was always whoring around town looking for some electricity. The reduced range (70 miles) was really cutting into the car's utility with my work commute and daily activities, not to mention any weekend road trips..... Well, enough.... I traded it in for an S85 and I haven't looked back. No more electricity whore, no more funny looks.......

 

[GuyHall]

I agree with you. I really do like tesla's range arcs, especially with the estimate distances. And, as much as I like the volt, it's proximatity warning beeps to me are not very helpful. Oh, and let's not forget that the tesla mirrors have automatic and separate settings for drive and reverse.

But, I love what Nissan has done. Between the higher resolution cameras, distance markers, turning lines and the amazing 360 degree video implementation, it's over the top (pun intended). I'm appreciative of the math transformations needed to take 4 videos at door handle height appear as a relatively seamless single view appearing to be from 5 above the car looking down. I'll try to get a photo attached.

In more appreciative to this and the Tesla technology as my vision is limited to one eye for decades, and the exact clearance between the sides and the nearby walls is a challenge.

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Also identical. I owned a LEAF for 3.5 years and drove it 49,000 miles. It became more challenging as it aged. I saw similar results, though I never felt as if I were whoring... But we really do enjoy driving the leaf, and that's why we replaced it with the much improved 2015 model.

Don't misunderstand. It's not a Tesla. We're a three car family (leaf, volt, tesla).
They all have their place. Most of our local driving is with the leaf. Touring clearly the domain of the Tesla. The volt fits in as needed. Sometimes all 3 are out on the road.

One learning that we can all share with prospective buyers. The EV should have range twice your typical requirements, or be a phev.

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I have to say they did a good job with this. I found the range numbers on the arcs quite reliable. They work equally we going forward or in reverse.

 

[GuyHall]

OK here are some photos of the LEAF's camera views. Not the best job of it. The car is surrounded by planter bed in front, grocery car area on the right and a car (or empty spot as it just drove off) on the left. You can see the planter curbs in front, grocery cart cage rails on the right, pavement striping on both sides.

 

[GuyHall]

And here's photos of two of our EVs.

 

[EnergyMax]

My two cents:
I owned a LEAF for 3.5 years and drove it 45,000 miles. Mine was an early 2011. I guess you could say I was an early adopter. I really enjoyed the car. It never had any issues of any kind....except the range... After more than 3 years of ownership I got tired of the dwindling range (20% loss) and was always whoring around town looking for some electricity. The reduced range (70 miles) was really cutting into the car's utility with my work commute and daily activities, not to mention any weekend road trips..... Well, enough.... I traded it in for an S85 and I haven't looked back. No more electricity whore, no more funny looks.......

Lol. Me and my (may, 14 ) Leaf were EV whores for the first time last night at a free charge point near ORD. I leased the Leaf in NC, then got a job in Chicago... This was my first experience with cold weather range. Wow! Still a great car, considering, but I think I would like a 170 kWh car in the Midwest.