Trading in a 2020 Prius Prime for a 2020 Leaf... Should I?

does the leaf have enough range with heat on and diminished winter mileage?

 

Is the Leaf really up to a reliable 150 mile range ?
Are you really in love with the pathfinder ??

For most people in the US, it would not be a good swap but for you, maybe it would be.

I still see an electric only vehicle as only being a good choice for a "city cave dweller" who never leaves New York or Chicago.

 

Let me re-phrase:
Where does that 150 mile range come from.....Nissan or practical owner reports ??

 

How is a Leaf even comparable to a Prime?

 

Have you considered the Leaf Plus or the Chevy Bolt? Both better miles per full charge.

 

All good reasons.

 

Interesting how we have different values. I have never used the heated steering wheel or heated seats in my car and never intend to. But if I could get 75 miles more range I would probably pay an additional $10K for that. Have you looked at the resale values of used Leafs?

 

Hmm... as an owner of a 2014 PiP (Technology/Advanced) and a 2016 Leaf SL (wife’s car, but I drive regularly), here are my thoughts:

Leaf advantages:
- no gas / lower maintenance (duh)
- more power, tighter handling
- stiffer ride
- more “fun to drive” in spirited manner
- L3 charge capability (though rarely used by us)
- heated rear seats is a nice touch (which they oddly removed in Gen 2 I believe)
- decent app for remote heat/etc (Canadian PiP doesn’t have one at all)
- 360 camera is cool, but resolution is not great (PiP is better), backup cam is also quite small (due to the 360)

Leaf disadvantages:
- clear difference in fit & finish vs Toyota (issues with leather upholstery coming undone in a few places, some window seals were out of place on delivery, have had a few door alignment issues, brakes need frequent cleaning (they tend to “clunk”), have already had heated seats fail (fixed under warranty), 12v accessory outlet had to be replaced (warranty) driver door handle is separating and will need to be replaced eventually. (Btw, the car only has 45k miles in 4 years....).
- the trunk is “deep” rather than wide & flat, which is less practical. Also has a rigid cover rather than roller, which is also not as convenient when you need the extra space (hard to store in vehicle)
- the seating position is quite a bit higher than the Prius (which is a disadvantage IMO)
- the Bluetooth audio is quite finicky, takes quite a bit longer to connect to my iPhone, despite being 2 years newer vehicle...
- I find the leather seats quite a bit less comfortable than the softex in the Prime. My opinion.
- I’m a big guy (6’2”), and the Leaf is quite a bit smaller for driver room. I put the seat all the way back and I still feel close to the wheel. In the PiP, I don’t even have to put the (electric) seat all the way back. Gen 1 Leaf also didn’t offer power seats, but I know Gen 2 does..
- paint on the Leaf is *very* delicate and scratches/dings incredibly easy. (A rock bounced up on the hood when driving one time and left a ~3” scratch near the popped up headlight as it rolled up the hood).

Range on the 30kwh Leaf is rated at 172km, and I think that is realistic, but rarely did we run it that low. I do find the heat takes a pretty big hit on the range, but it’s fine since we rarely need the full battery. We lost one capacity bar so far, I think it was about 2 years old. Expecting another to drop off soon.

For the Prius, much of the advantages are the opposite. I just find the PiP an overall solid car, more spacious, more comfortable, and practical cargo space. For sure it doesn’t have the pep of the Leaf or the “cool” factor, but I am not driving my car to impress people or boost my ego. I prefer something practical, reliable, efficient, and full of tech. My PiP is approaching 7 years and 180k km, and I don’t believe I have had any work done on the car outside of scheduled maintenance.

My wife absolutely loves her Leaf, and says she could never go back to a gasser. She loves the power of the line and beating people who don’t know the torque of EV. She loves the quiet ride and handling too, the quirks are just quirks and she gets annoyed when I compare to Toyota.

As much as the PiP has been a solid car, I do look forward to upgrading to a Prime one day when the budget allows.... however, not sure I would swap a Prime for a Leaf of the same year; particularly if you already have a Prime and the EV range is generally adequate? I don’t think I would do it, but to each their own...

Anyway, despite my input being on 1st Gen models, perhaps my comments may be of some value... good luck!

 

I find it interesting that you think using a PP for 40 mile trips is a bad thing. I almost never drive more than the charge of my Prime, and as a result I have a tank of stale gas. I've thought about saving up errands so that I could stretch out the driving on errand day to more like 40 or so miles. If I drove 40 a day it would travel around 30 on battery and then 10 on gas. That's enough to heat the engine as well as use a bit less than a quart of gas.

Dan

 

Before Covid I belonged to a gym and one of the group I worked out with - a husband and wife purchased a used Leaf. They really liked the car and were excited about not having to buy gas anymore.

If you are able to afford it,and it sounds like an even trade for you, then why not try it? If you don't care for the car you can get rid of it and go another direction.

The couple I was speaking of bought a used Leaf so their financial stake wasn't a large financial outlay. If you are tentative or a little unsure but still want to try the BEV experience maybe a used Leaf is an option. Either way used or new I believe a Leaf is a wonderful affordable way to test out the BEV waters without giving away a financial arm and leg.

They had talked about adding a Level 2 charger to their garage but because of the Leaf's range far exceeded their daily driving habits they abandoned that idea and found the 120 charging cord with the car was adequate for overnight charging the car up to full for their driving habits.

 

The LEAF would not likely be realistic for inter-city travel, other than for comparatively close cities (say the Dallas-Fort-Worth metroplex or around the San Francisco and Silicon Valley vicinity). However, for just day-to-day driving, which, for the majority of people, constitutes the majority of their driving needs, I’d expect a gen-2 LEAF to be just great!