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Nissan Leaf

116 messages,  Last post on Apr 19, 2013 at 9:15 AM

You are in the Nissan Leaf Forum.

What is this discussion about? Nissan Leaf, Electric Cars, Hatchback

Messages Page 10 of 12

#87 of 116 Re: Dropped from wait list? [larsb] by gagrice

Jul 01, 2011 (8:20 am)

Replying to: larsb (Jul 01, 2011 7:28 am)
I'm gonna call B.S. on this one, until I see a report from a Leaf reserver who was REALLY dropped for this reason.
 
What did you expect from a pinko commie like Bloomberg?
 
They said Nissan unexpectedly dropped some from the waiting list temporarily, asking that they reapply if they couldn’t prove they had arranged installation of home-charging units that can cost more than $2,000.
 
“My delivery date kept jumping around, from April to ‘pending’ to May to June to July,’’ said Marc Fishman, 42, a movie sound editor from Burbank, Calif.
 
Another liberal Hollywood type lying.
 
http://articles.boston.com/2011-06-14/business/29657554_1_nissan-leaf-electric-c- ar-delivery-date

#88 of 116 Leaf by scottphillip

Aug 01, 2011 (1:24 pm)

I have a "reservation." I can now order my Leaf, but I must have my home assessment first, or have it waived. Once that is done, I can order.
 
I just cannot decide if I want one at this point.

#89 of 116 Re: Leaf [scottphillip] by bmartinpe

Aug 08, 2011 (5:33 am)

Replying to: scottphillip (Aug 01, 2011 1:24 pm)
I ordered in May. My home assessment came in July. I expect delivery at Nashville in October. (It's gonna be blue.)

#90 of 116 experience after 2 months by ph_

Aug 23, 2011 (8:49 am)

Ok, I've had a leaf for about 2 months now. Admittedly, I also have a gas car, which I use when I need to go out of town. That said, the Leaf is the primary vehicle being driven about twice the miles as the gas car.
 
Overall, Nissan did an excellent job. I could complain about a number of things but I'll focus on the essentials instead.
 
1. Plugging in at night is no problem. It takes about 15 seconds - and another 15 in the morning.
 
2. Acceleration is great. The specs are above. But, from observing the Leaf's kilowatt meter, it appears Nissan restricted the acceleartion (probably for safety). Instead of immediately pegging at 80kw (the top of the meter), it gradually increases power over about 3 or 4 seconds. If you are already going about 10-20 mph, then it does give you the full 80kw, which you can really feel and observe as you shoot past other vehicles!
 
3. Range is reasonable. I'd like to see better, but for greater-city area driving, it's really hard to use up the range in one day. Realistically, I'm getting between 70 and 80 miles per charge. Another meter shows about 3.7 or so miles per kw, or about 250w per mile. It's better on roads without stop-and-go, even with regen. I haven't had to use the heat or A/C much yet, so I expect the range to drop maybe 10% in winter when I need both (defrost).
 
4. Comfort is reasonable. My own personal taste is that I find the front seats to have poor lumbar support. Also, the head rest protrudes too far forward, putting me into a hunched position. I solved the latter by turning the head rest around. Front leg room is great and the seat can be positioned comfortably high.
 
5. Visibility is poor. This might be typical with other Nissan vehicles. The front pillars are really wide and, when turning, you really need to move your head to look around them. The back window is small, so the rear view mirror is practically useless. The mirror is also annoying low, blocking vision to the upper-right. The side mirrors are small to, so I change lanes carefully.
 
6. The GPS map software works ok, but is lame compared to Google maps. Nissan should have licensed Google's software and chucked theirs. I usually use my android phone instead of the car's navigation - sorry tradeoff considering the car has a very nice screen.
 
That's enough for now. I'd like to do some serious measurements and report back on kw for hill climbing at various inclines and speeds.
 
PH

#91 of 116 Re: experience after 2 months [ph_] by gagrice

Aug 23, 2011 (9:01 am)

Replying to: ph_ (Aug 23, 2011 8:49 am)
Thank you that was a great report. Be sure and keep us updated. What part of the country are you in? and what is your charge rate from the electric utility?

#92 of 116 Re: experience after 2 months [ph_] by pf_flyer HOST

Sep 12, 2011 (5:22 am)

Replying to: ph_ (Aug 23, 2011 8:49 am)
Yes, it's ALWAYS more interesting and informative to hear from someone who actually purchased an is using a vehicle. That's not to say that professional reviews aren't useful, but it's nice to hear about things that may come up in my day-to-day experience.

#93 of 116 LEAF comes to Chicago by early74b

Sep 12, 2011 (9:39 am)

For those still on the fence about a LEAF in Chicagoland, the dealer I ordered mine from, McGrath Nissan in Elgin has one available for test drives NOW -- just took my first 'real world' test drive this past Saturday and it was great! My car is expected in November, after being one of the first to reserve one back in April of 2010 ! IL was moved up in the queue for the LEAF rollout due to a plan to put many more charging station around the state to make the EV a more viable option even for those with a bit longer commutes. In my own case, a charging station in my own garage will suffice as well as the LEAF will not be our only car. The word on EV's is still slow so mostly 'early adopter's' will be buying these for now -- if you haven't tried an EV you owe it to yourself to check them out -- car is so quiet and no more trips to the gas station (my rate for electricity is 6.6 cents/KwH so a little more than half the national rate -- still quite cheap compared to our current $4/gal gas average here in Chicago). They may not be for everyone but for many it could be a good choice.

#94 of 116 Re: Leaf buries Think City [gagrice] by ba_musket

Oct 09, 2011 (11:35 am)

Replying to: gagrice (Jun 30, 2011 6:07 pm)
I test drove the Leaf and really like it. Problem is all dealers (at least in Bay Area CA) want MSRP + mark ups (2K-5K), which is pushing the price upward to $40K + TTL. That's ridiculous, given that this car only good for commuting or driving around town. With that much money I can pay for a lots of gas, getting something like a Prius, which offers good MPG, and I can drive it any where and not watching the remaining wattage left to drive.

#95 of 116 Re: Leaf buries Think City [ba_musket] by gagrice

Oct 09, 2011 (1:15 pm)

Replying to: ba_musket (Oct 09, 2011 11:35 am)
As long as the dealers are gouging I would buy something else. When they first came out here in San Diego the dealers were including the charging station in the MSRP price. I see a quite a few of them. Way more than the Volt, which I have only seen one. You can get a Prius under MSRP and there is a great supply of them in CA. If your electricity is as expensive as ours down here, the Leaf is no bargain. Unless you have solar and charge during the day.

#96 of 116 Re: Leaf buries Think City [ba_musket] by early74b

Oct 10, 2011 (5:21 am)

Replying to: ba_musket (Oct 09, 2011 11:35 am)
You're fortunate as the LEAF has been available in CA for some time so at least some dealers are actually discounting it or at least just getting MSRP w/o a markup -- check this thread out on mynissanleaf.com on dealers that sell at MSRP or less:
 
link title

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