2nd Generation LEAF Official Thread

Upgraded to a Gen2 Leaf this last weekend (had a 2015 Gen1). Would have lost money to not do so considering our incentives around here to do so.

Let me know what questions you guys have.

 

congrats!
what is the range, what is the net before ttl, and how does the size compare to prius? pic of the hatch open?

i like the looks.

 

Yep, it looks much better (more normal) than our last Leaf. I don't get too concerned about vanity things like that, but even I was bothered a bit by the looks on the Gen1 Leaf.

I will try to get a pic of the hatch uploaded eventually. My guess is that it wouldn't haul quite as much as our PiP, but I could be wrong on that. It's a little wider than the last Leaf.

Range is 151 officially, but it seems like it could easily do over that at 60 mph. At 75 though it would probably be a different story.

We should net $4-6k once all rebates and incentives are in our pocket. Plus we got 0% for 72 months for the part that did get financed. So there is definitely some value there as well.

Bottom line, it's such a step up that it would have been worth upgrading even if it cost us a net of $2-4k IMO.

 

wow, would you mind laying out the purchase details? does nebraska have huge tax incentives?

 

$31k purchase price
-$1k graduate/postgrad program
-$1k loyalty program
-$3k local utility Leaf incentive
-$9k trade in for our 2015 Leaf (bought used for $10k over a year ago)
=$17k out the door price (financed at 0% for 72 months)
-$4500 local utility incentive for any EV
-$7500 federal tax incentive
=$5000 total price before TTL (probably about $2k)

about $10k in immediate equity means our "net worth" goes up by about $3k, all for buying a brand new more than twice as good Leaf

 

nice! thank you. why does the local utility favor leaf?

 

It seems that Nissan has partnered with lots of local utility companies in the past. My guess it was more of Nissan approaching them then anything. I would assume Nissan fronts most, if not all, of that $3k Leaf incentive, especially since our utility isn't putting a cap on the specific Leaf rebate. It's capped the general EV incentive at only 50 vehicles. That's the main reason I decided to jump on it. I figured I wouldn't be able to use it by the time we bought our Model 3. Then I started to do the math once I saw the $3k Leaf rebate...

 

what model leaf is 31k, and how many levels are there?

 

Base is S, then SV (which is the one we got), then the SL.

 

Have taken several 200 mile day trips in our 2nd gen Leaf now. Battery temps stay very minimal when driving and Level 2 charging, even in 90+ degree temps. It's the Level 3 charging that makes the battery heat up so much. Thankfully we will rarely need the DC fast charging due to the range being more significant. For very long road trips we still have our PiP and eventually our Model 3.

 

Seriously considering Leaf as our second car. Used Gen1 Leaf is now very affordable, but winter range seems to be too short for our use. Just started looking at Nissan website, New Leaf seems to have optional $1590 Charge Package for

• Portable charge cable (120 V/240 V): Plug into 240-V wall outlet – no charging box required
• Quick Charge Port

Does the car come with L1 Charge cable? It says in Charging Option page following:

• With 6.6 kW charging, you have the choice of a dedicated charger or dedicated wall unit (MODE3 Charger)
• A safe, quick charge is just one of the benefits of 6.6 kW charging
• In a pinch, you can use the standard trickle charge cord to plug into a standard 120 V wall outlet​

How long does it take to charge full with 120V outlet?

 

please let us know your impressions after a test drive. i am also looking, although gen 1 might work for me, i am hoping gen 2 is larger in the hatch.
have you seen any prime like deals yet?

i see some great deals on mass energy drive green.

 

I have not researched a lot yet. I just started looking at Nissan website. 2018 Nissan LEAF Electric Car | Room for 5 | Nissan USA There base model S has lease deal for $219/mo with $3760 down. The total cost for 3 years/30K lease is Monthly payments total $7,884 plus down payment or $11644 plus applicable TTL. What seems to be interesting is Nissan is offering $2500 cash back on lease as well. If I am reading this correctly, that would reduce the down payment to $1260. And according to the term, at the lease end, purchase for $9,883, plus purchase option fee up to $300 (except KS & WI), plus tax. This means the total cost of the vehicle purchase after 3 years of lease is going to be $11644-$2500+$9883=$19027 (plus fees and TTL) for a car with MSRP $30885 (including destination charge). Sure, with a lease, I can't take $7500 tax credit, but still it looks good enough without it. The best part is this is lease, so if I don't want to buy it after 3 years, I can just drop it off and go to different car.

On the same page, they also list purchase option with 72 month 0% APR PLUS $4500 incentive. With this option the same MSRP $30885 (including destination charge) model would cost $26385 plus TTL, and it will qualify for federal tax $7500 credit. Total would be $18885 plus TTL, but I know I can't use full $7500 tax credit, so for me the final price would be higher than lease to purchase option above.

 

if that lease deal is correct, it's great for those who don't pay any federal tax.

 

I believe the S doesn't come with quick charging, but SV and up does. My SV came with the standard 120V. It gets about 5 or 6 miles of range per hour of charging on 120V and very roughly 3% or so each hour. The trickle charger is fine for someone that has a commute less than about 50 miles a day and has a second vehicle.

If you decide to go the quick charger route, please be aware that you can't actually use it to it's full abilities. You get tremendous heat buildup in a Leaf since it has no active battery temperature management system. In other words, it's really hard to do more than about 300 miles in a day without killing your battery.

Let me know what other info you'd like. We have almost 5k miles on it already!

 

Thanks. Yeah, that's what I found out. The quick charger cord is standard for SV and up, but it is $1590 Charge Package option on S. However, most of S model in stock at dealers already have this option included in the price. Seems like, if I want a second EV, the first thing I have to do is to overhaul wires and circuit to be able to handle two EVs. That could be quite a expense.

 

I installed new 40A service for less than $300, materials included. And my panel isn't very close to my garage either, so could have been cheaper.

 

If you will need to do DC fast charging more than a handful of times, it would be best to wait for the 2019 Leaf e-Plus (~60 kWh battery), tentatively to be released in a few months. It should get 225+ EPA estimated miles and with active battery thermal management should be able to finally deal with DC fast charging heat issues.

However, if that is not going to be an issue for you, a 2018 Leaf as a second car will have plenty of excellent deals over the next few months. You probably won't be able to beat the phenomenal net deal markabele pulled off, but there will be many large discount combos to be had.

As for the new 2019 Leaf e-Plus, when it comes out there will likely be few if any incentives during the first few months.

 

$300 is a great price. I will check with an electrician to see what would cost to add 40A 240v service in my garage. For me, the biggest cost is wiring between main panel to the garage, since there is some digging under driveway is involved.