2nd Generation LEAF Official Thread

Thanks for the info. Since I am looking for a second car for mostly intown use, DC fast charging is probably not important. I just checked on PlugShare site and see where is the closest DC fast charge station is. It is almost 150 miles away from my home, so I may not even make it to the station on fully charged 2018 Leaf, LOL. Greater range in 2019 Leaf is attractive, but comes with it will be higher price tag. As this is going to be strictly secondary car, I think I would like to keep the price tag as low as possible. If used 1Gen Leaf has more range in Winter, it would have been perfect, but 2Gen Leaf looks is more attractive.

One thing I am not sure is with 2018 model S trim, the optional Charge Package for $1590 is not included in the base price. However, all of in stock S trim Leaf in dealers I checked seems to have this option already installed and included in sticker price. My question is without this option, do I have only L1 trickle charge with 120V as charging option? I think it comes with L1 cable, but it sound like it is not to be used for L2 (240V) charge at home. If I am not going to use L3 DC fast charging ever, and I get 240V service into my garage and purchase aftermarket L2 EVSE, would I need this $1590 option? My plan would be to install one L2 EVSE in my garage that can be used for both PRIME and LEAF.

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

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No, you won't need the option. AC charging is handled by the car's onboard charger, and the Leaf has the same 6.6kW one across all the trims.
All the EVSE does is scan what the outlet can supply, and tells that to the car. The portable one that comes with nearly all plug ins can only handle AC Level 1 charging. The main difference between it and that AC Level 2 one is in the cable thickness. If you don't need CHAdeMO, you can get even plug in Level 2s for much less.
Also keep in mind that the EVSE isn't attached to the car. So if you find a deal on a used Leaf with the package, the higher rate EVSE could have been 'lost'.

 

Thanks for the info. Yeah, with the closest DC fast station being 150 miles away, I don't see I will ever needing that option. The problem is finding a car without this option in any dealers around me. This is not a hot selling car. There is only one Leaf (SL trim with $37K price tag) in stock at the nearest Nissan dealer. Of course, if I go out of state to big city like Boston, I maybe able to find one without this option, but if I purchase it out of state, how am I going to drive it home without DC fast charge... LOL

 

For us, since we drive highways/interstates a lot, the intelligent (radar) cruise control was very important. So stepping up to the SV was worth it to us since you get that + quick charging + communication to the car with an app + Android/Apple CarPlay. In retrospect we maybe even should have paid a little bit for the Pro Pilot Assist on the SL. It gets pretty good reviews.

Check out PlugShare and Electrify America to see if they are going to build any L3's on routes you might want to take. If so, it may be worth it for the quick charge package. You can still use it once in a day essentially making it a 300+ mile EV.

 

I searched Leaf S trim without Quick Charge option package on Nissan website. Doing search nationwide, I found 15 of them in inventory. The closest one was 1200 miles away from my home. LOL. I guess, I will likely have to suttle with S trim with Charge option. But that would make the price so close to SV trim, I may have to go for that instead. Either case, I have to make an appointment to do some test driving.

 

I would agree that if you are forced to do the S with the quick charge option, you may as well as step up to the SV. You would get a lot of value for that extra little bit.

 

What Trollbait said.

All Leaf models come with a L1 120v trickle charging EVSE cable and all Leaf models can charge with L2 if you have access to one of those charging stations.

Based on what you have mentioned, you will not need the L3 DC fast charging option.

You will still be able to charge at L2 240v charging stations and if you install a L2 EVSE in your garage that will work too. You would not need to upgrade your Leaf to do that. You will probably get about 25 miles of range for the first 0-80% of charging capacity with L2.

 

You said you have PIP as well didn't you? How is the cargo space for 2018 Leaf compared to PIP? I really do not need 5th seat, but if it has bigger cargo space than PRIME, that would be a big plus.

 

Thanks again. As I mentioned above, searching nationwide for Trim S Leaf without Quick Charge Option, I fund only 15 existing in inventory, with the closest dealer being 1200 miles away from my home. I think it is going to be S with Quick Charge option or SV trim. Either way, I have look into putting 240V service into my garage first.

 

If you go with plug-in vehicles from here on out starting with your Prime, you won't regret putting a L2 EVSE/240V service in your garage. 240V service to the garage will, at a minimum, make your house more sellable and/or increase the resale value. If you get a L2 charging unit with a plug (instead of hard wired) and you move, you can always take that with you too.

 

Well, I was looking for a replacement for AWD Sienna which was being used more like as a cargo van before it was decommissioned earlier this year. I was thinking of getting a used pick-up truck, but I could not find reasonably priced REAL pick-up truck with a regular cab and long bed. I then started thinking of getting mid size SUV with AWD. I may still go that route, but even with RAV4 hybrid, lowish mpg is really turning me off. If there is hybrid or plug-in cargo van or small pick-up truck with 40mpg or better, I will go for that instantly. In a meantime, I turned my attention to an affordable EV as possible in town only secondary car. I will not get huge cargo space nor AWD, but at least I can satisfy my need to wean myself off from the oil dependency. BTW, we live in very rural setting where everyone drives full size pick-up or SUV, so, I am not sure 240V plug in garage makes my house more sellable. But, people with RV and boat may want to have that hook up, or do those recreational vehicles and vessels use regular 120V plugs, I don't know?

 

Yep, our other vehicle is a PiP. To be fair I haven't tried packing it with things to compare apples to apples. But I would guess it has just as much if not more cargo space due to the vehicle being slightly taller and more room in the hatch due to a deeper well instead of a flat floor like the PiP. I would assume there are some YouTube vids out there now about how much cargo fits.