Used 2012 Nissan LEAF Consumer Reviews
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A Connecticut Leaf Owner Speaks
ctleafowner, 02/12/2012
2012 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
65 of 66 people found this review helpful
I am not your prototypical Leaf owner. For one, I live in Connecticut...one of two Leaf owners in the state...I have a long commute (45 miles one way) and, at the moment, I don't have a Level 2 charger where I work (I'm working on that, but the Chevy Volt has made convincing my company to get one very difficult). After a few rookie mistakes (driving 70 mph to work in the cold w/o a full charge), one of which found me driving into my garage with 4 miles of charge left, I have learned to drive back and forth to work with no range issues. The Leaf definitely makes you think about the way you drive and makes you think about your trips before you go anywhere. That being said, I love my Leaf.
7,000 miles in, I would buy another
skoorbmax, 04/03/2013
2012 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
26 of 26 people found this review helpful
Prior to this vehicle I had a 3rd gen Prius. I much prefer the drive of this. The power train is more responsive, and at low speeds the car is much quicker (though no quicker at higher speeds). I am in NY state and have taken this through a winter now. Including winter my average miles/kWh are in the low 3's. 3.9 miles/kWh that EPA claims are quite optimistic. The heat destroys range, as does highway driving. Nonetheless, at 3.2 miles/kWh and at 75% charge efficiency (120V charging) and $.11 kWh I am still about 87 miles per $4.00 in electricity.
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Commuter
Gail, 05/05/2016
updated 11/07/2016
2012 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
16 of 16 people found this review helpful
I was putting less than 5000 miles a year my previous car. The Leaf is just great for my needs i.e. grocery store, church, occasionally to Costco 3 miles from my house. I seldom go further than that. It's not the best for freeway driving if you are going great distances, but does accelerate to freeway speeds. Keep in mind freeway driving will probably drain your battery faster. Lots of blind spots, check them carefully. Overall I'm pleased with the car.
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Money Saving Tips
kool69, 10/06/2012
2012 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
44 of 47 people found this review helpful
When buying the LEAF start off with the lease. This way get the $7500 deducted from the price right away. After that is done, you refinance and buy it. I did this and got my discount right away without waitng. Next, Home Depot has a 240v battery charger online that is a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than what is offered anywhere else. If you have a gas dryer use the electrical connection for that circuit and save more money. Driving tip, I have found that following behind large trucks on the highway increases the range considerably. I auctually got the 100mpg when I drove under 60mph when following these trucks
The car is waste of money
innaberm1@yahoo.com, 04/10/2018
2012 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
34 of 36 people found this review helpful
The vehicle has never performed as advertised. The cruising with 100% charged battery was 70 miles on a good day and 60 miles on a windy day. The battery started losing its capacity very quickly. In 5 years, the car can only be charged to 40%, which is 30 miles cruising range. Purchasing the extended warranty was waste of money, it does not cover the replacement of the battery for the capacity loss.
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Passing Gas Stations!
carlover59, 08/05/2012
2012 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
16 of 17 people found this review helpful
Had for over a month and with nearly a 1000 miles, I haven't had to purchase any gas yet for our other car (gas of course, we always drive the Leaf whenever possible). The Leaf feels like a luxury car, not a economy car. Quieter than a Lexus, a smooth ride and based upon the electricity used so far, averaging around 140 mpg equivalent. The city driving range has been around 80 miles which for my daily commute has been good.
love it
deborah, 09/02/2015
2012 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
9 of 9 people found this review helpful
I have had my Leaf a little over 2 months and i adore it. If i could change a few things this would of course be the range, i am just starting to adjust to the range anxiety. I work from home so that solves a chunk of range. I have learned a great deal about improving my driving skills in order to save miles! The second thing about the car is the shifter....cant understand why reverse is a forward shift and drive is to the back..lol, am now adjusted to it but was confused in the first week. Third thing is the rear window limited view, i took the rear headrest off and that helped alot. Other than that, the car fits me to a T. I bought mine used at 17,000 miles for 11,500. I feel that was a very nice deal, all though since buying it i have lost 1 battery bar which concerns me.
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Excellent first electric vehicle
flymia, 04/13/2013
2012 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
14 of 15 people found this review helpful
Have been driving the 2012 Nissan LEAF SV for three months now. So far very impressed and glad to be driving electric. Car is smooth, responsive and has many of the features I would like. My only shortcomings are lack of telescoping steering wheel, poorly designed Carwings telematics with limited functionality, and inability to view % state of charge (2013 model offers this). The car design takes a bit getting used to and offers poor visibility when backing up if not equipped with back up camera. Otherwise a solid choice, great reliability and performance so far. Range varies considerably especially with highway driving drains battery fast (about 65 miles)
High Price, all-electric
east_coast, 12/27/2011
2012 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
14 of 15 people found this review helpful
I bought a Nissan Leaf SL and this review tells the pros and cons. The dealer, Koons Nissan in Virginia, would not disclose the costs. Here they are: Standard MSRP = $38,100. Processing fee = $499. Tax = $1,157.97. Filing Fee $10. Business License tax = $72.40. Plates = $105.50. Total Price = $39,944.88, not including floor mats. Honestly, you have to pay an extra $175 for floor mats. The Federal E.Car subsidy of up to $7,500 will come in April (tax return) if you buy or is taken off immediately if you lease. I regret waiting 16 months to pay way too much for all-electric. It seems worth about $20-22k. Other than the price, Nissan proprietary GPS, and no floor mats, it is fun to drive.
The problem is NISSAN, not the car!
patsiefe, 03/30/2013
2012 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
24 of 27 people found this review helpful
Things to know: You will NOT get the EPA rated distances, especially at freeway speeds, or with the heater on! I am sure this is also true for the Volt. Besides this, the car did well until I got a flat. Remember that the leaf has no spare, and Nissan has not figured out what to do about that. They include a little electric pump and sealant. DO NOT USE THEM!!! It will cost you a fortune! Worst, the car now fails to start, and the dealership has not been able to get an answer in OVER A WEEK AS TO WHY! No car for me! More disturbing is the fact that it is related to the BRAKING SYSTEM , and the computer does not understand that the brakes have been touched!
Apotheosis of perfection!
woodyas, 12/06/2012
2012 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
25 of 30 people found this review helpful
Put off going electric for a plethora of reasons. And hemmed and vacillated on getting the Leaf for about a year. But wow: THIS CAR IS TRULY AWESOME. Hands down...this is the best car I have ever had. And to be able to never put gas in a car again. NEVER! A feeling like no other.
Nissan leaf built on a Friday
richardriver, 06/25/2013
2012 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
Bought the lowest price for 28K. After 3 weeks the car left me stranded, the dealer did not know what to do, it took them 8 days to figure it out. Now, after 3 months, the AC failed completely. But other than that is an excellent car for commuting. I do recommend the quick charging package Chademo with 6.6kw 240 charger. If you dont get it you would regret it, Like I did. This gives you more functionality.
Great Car!
afriedma, 10/29/2012
2012 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
9 of 10 people found this review helpful
I've only had my Leaf for a couple of weeks, but it is a great car; fun to drive and a novel experience. I just love that I haven't visited a gas station since I got my Leaf. It's got peppy acceleration, a forgiving suspension, good handling, and a comfortable interior. Real-world range is only 75-80 miles, depending on speed, acceleration and climate control/headlight use. As long as that will work for you, the Leaf is a fine choice. We were drawn in by big discounts on 2012 models right now.
So far, so good!
early_adopter, 03/08/2013
2012 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
I just purchased a used, 2011 SL Leaf. Such a bargain; they've taken a huge hit in depreciation so I was able to get one with only 4,900 miles for around $18,500. [non-permissible content removed]
Does what it does very well
David Kessell, 01/21/2020
2012 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
Bought a used one for my son who used if for 4 years and 40,000 miles. Now has 90,000. Very very low operating and maintenance costs. Ride and steering and suspension and braking all good. Sound system and navigation both good. Only downside is the known limited mileage range. If your driving needs fit within these limits this is a great and econoical car
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Thought I'd try it for a few but fell in love
segwaysuzy, 07/15/2019
2012 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
8 of 9 people found this review helpful
Don't buy an old EV thinking you'll try it for a few months. You'll love it and so will all your passengers. I'm tall and its very comfortable for me. It drives like a dream and quiet! all other cars seem like they are about to fall apart. Wish I had bought a new one. I had range anxiety for the first 6 weeks, but really. 85% if not more of the places I go to on a regular basis are well within range. Just have to remember to plug in at night. A new Leaf would get me to 100% of the places, but a 9 year old battery has only a 54 mile range. I just got it washed at the carwash. I did not know how to put it into neutral. I am finding out that at 80% charge the range is a little over 50 miles. I am driving 20-35 mph. Highway driving the range drops, and if I fully charged it maybe 60 miles. Number of passengers does not change mileage, but AC and Heat does.
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Initial Purchase
black2green, 05/24/2012
2012 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
9 of 11 people found this review helpful
The vehicle is every thing that I expected from the research that I did. I would rate it higher but I have only had the vehicle for a week so I still want to evaluate the car more before I determine whether there should be an excellent rating or not. Thus far I am continuing to see the advantages of having a EV. I notice many other people driving smaller gas vehicles and it is there second or third vehicle and I wonder why they have not gone EV.
50,000 Miles Best Racing Commuter ever
dradzieta@bcbsal.org, 04/06/2016
2012 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
6 of 7 people found this review helpful
Very tough car, very very quick. Corners like a go cart. Best Sports car I ever owned. We save about $150 a month on our electric bill because of electric company incentives. Couldn't be happier. We take the wife's Prius when we go out of town. We are healthier too, gas pump handles are covered with diseases. The car will go anywhere we want to in our city. Had two issues taken care of under warranty. Nissan was very helpful and took care of us. Best car we ever owned. Do not regret it at all. It does look funny but it grows on you. I think most complaints are from people that did not research the car's capabilities. My daily commute is about 50 miles, one third expressway and two thirds secondary roads. I only charge at home overnight. Did I mention how tough the car is? Comapred to my other sports cars -- Miata, 323 AWD GTX, 300ZXs. This thing is quicker and loves white knuckle abuse. Best Nissan ever built. If anyone says the car is slow they never drove it. I'm glad I didn't waste my money on a G37 to replace my previous Infiniti.
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Amazing vehicle front to back
xando05, 04/16/2013
2012 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
5 of 6 people found this review helpful
What an amazing piece of machinery. I really don't have one bad thing to say about the Nissan LEAF. Nissan really hit the nail on the head with this car. The technology is second to none. It drives a like a dream car. It handles very well and brakes extremely well too. I highly recommend this car all the way around. I look forward to driving the LEAF everyday!!
Great little car
carguy161, 11/02/2012
2012 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
5 of 6 people found this review helpful
We purchased this car so that we could park our van and only use it for long trips. We use the Leaf in all our 'around town' running. I was pleasantly surprised upon driving the car. It is very quite and rides very good. It seats 5 has all the latest technology and many luxury features such as rear heated seats, heated steering wheel, and heated exterior mirrors. We get around 85 miles per charge. We do not use the 220v charge, but, instead using the 120v charger that came with the car. This isn't an issue for us as we plug it in around 7pm and leave it until 8am which is plenty of charge time.
2012 leaf
EV Driver, 03/14/2017
2012 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
Nissan performed a computer update which all but shut down regenerate braking. Was done by lowering the health status of the battery that allowed only a very small amount of regeneration braking. An attempt by Nissan to make the battery last longer.
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Nissan Leaf
ronokuda, 08/10/2011
2012 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
66 of 108 people found this review helpful
If you can afford it, this car is fun to drive. Plenty of pick-up (we drive home over 80 mph). It is a commuter car for going to work and coming home. Approximate round trip distance is 100 miles on one charge. If you use economy mode, it can get more miles, but no pick up and go, I mean none. When you go down hill or even flat (not up hill) it can make more miles instead of using up miles on economy. Approximate cost to charge from empty is $2.50. Don't get ripped off when getting your home charger, (see suggested improvements). Go see Gina or Ken at Performance Nissan. I can honestly say you will get an up and up deal, and not get ripped.
Still great after 11 months
early74b, 11/06/2012
2012 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
7 of 11 people found this review helpful
We were on the original resv list from 04/2010, picked up the car at the end of Dec '11. We have about 8K miles now and have been quite happy with it. We're in IL so in addition to the $7.5K fed tax credit they offer 10% IL EPA MSRP rebate and 50% rebate on charger + install. We've averaged about 4.3 miles per kWh (which we pay 6.6 cents per kWh) so very cheap to run. Only maintenance so far is to rotate tires. Car is very, very quiet and smooth ride; so far holding up quite well, no problems at all. We use it on 30 mile daily commutes and 50 to 80 on each weekend day. Heated seats front & back and steering wheel are welcome on cold days!
The best car we've owned!
ok778, 11/17/2012
2012 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
24 of 42 people found this review helpful
We have a 68 mile daily commute to and from work in cold climate Michigan so we looked at the volt, prius, tdi, among others trying to offset costs of gas. We narrowed our choice to a volt or leaf after test driving cars. The volt was a close second but the Leaf beat it out for the following reasons: the volt managed a meager 30 miles in all electric when driven in temps hovering in the mid 40s - this wouldn't even get us half way. The leaf pulled out 82 during same weather. The leaf is larger with seating for 5 and larger cargo area. We liked the Leaf's dash and gauge layout better than the Volt. The leaf is quiet,yet has tremendous torque and really flies off the line. And price
A great town car but not good for long trips
JAMES M GOIN, 03/08/2017
updated 03/09/2018
2012 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Limited range not as limiting as you might think but no as good as any gas car. The advantages are great: low maintenance, great milage, super quiet ride and great feature for the money. In winter the range is greatly reduced so that when I sold it I could go less than 40 miles.
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Quality control is excellent
mark, 10/24/2019
2012 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
No point in complained about how far it will go. Its an in town car. This was the last year that was made in Japan. 7 year later it does not have a rattle or squeek. If battery prices will come down I will keep it and drive it another 10 years.
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Needs new main battery pack
Dennis, 01/01/2023
2012 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
This was a great car and drove really awesome, there was a lot of nice things about it. However one major drawback was that this particular car, even though it only had 30,000 miles, had a dead battery pack. The most you can go on it is 30 MI. It cannot be charged more than that. That's not enough to even get me home. This car would be worth every penny they are asking for it if it had a new battery pack, but they cost about $6,000 assuming the Nissan dealer doesn't try to gouge you. When has that ever happened?
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Environmentally Responsible
chemiedee, 04/14/2012
2012 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
16 of 35 people found this review helpful
A great vehicle with excellent acceleration from a stop, quiet, nice ride and handling, and very much an eye catcher. I've calculated my total cost of ownership over 15 years, 180,000 miles as about $45000. $33000 initial cost after the $7500 tax credit, $5000 in electricity, and $7000 for repairs, tires, and insurance. That is about 25 cents per mile, lower than any conventional vehicle. The mileage is 4 miles per kWh in the city, which at 11 cents per kWh is about 150 MPG. In an area with cheaper electric, and when I get metered service for night charging @7.5 cents per kWh, it goes to over 200 MPG city! The vehicle is fun to drive and has great pickup from a stop.
5,000 miles and loving it
jberolo, 10/08/2013
2012 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
10 of 24 people found this review helpful
I was lucky to find a dealer car with only 3000 miles and still new even though I bought it as used vehicle. There is little I cannot do with my LEAF. I have a pickup truck when I need to drive farther than my LEAF can take me, but honestly I hardly ever need to drive it. The range of the LEAF works for 90% of my daily and weekly driving needs.
Electric Wonder
mikelaw1, 02/16/2013
2012 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
The Leaf has great acceleration up to about 40 mph, because of the high torque of the electric drive, it is only two wheel drive but feels like four wheels drive, maybe because of large wide tires (55 series) and a low center of gravity, Batteries under floorboard have a lot of weight, so it really hugs the road. Keeps the car about forty mph in ECO mode, (slower mode, slower acceleration ) should get you 150+ mile range. It really begins to use up the juice over 50 mph and by 60 to 70 mph range is only about 75. Frost on inside if left outside is a problem requiring defrosting before starting out. It is a really about town car. Most charging stations appear to charge $3 for a charge.
Ditch the Gas guzzler
Angela, 01/22/2024
2012 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Excellent vehicle for getting around in urban areas. Reliable. As it is winter I especially love the extras like heated seats (front/rear), heated steering wheel, and instantly warm vehicle. It was a breeze to charge and so incredibly quiet to ride it.
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Hospice
Mal, 01/28/2025
2012 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Only about 45 mile max range left. Heater and parking brake are inoperative at 80,000 miles but still a very nice 3rd car for town and back duties.
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Don't buy a Nissan Leaf, battery awful
robert amaio, 08/03/2016
updated 02/16/2021
2012 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
3 of 9 people found this review helpful
I'm scrapping this car for parts. I've got less than 60,000 miles on this car, and it's down 4 bars on a second battery. The first was replaced by Nissan. I lost a bar about 4 months ago, on a battery that is about 2 years old. The bars on a Leaf are not equal in distribution. I've lost about 25% of the total charging capacity of this car. So now i realistically get maybe 40 to 60 or so miles to a charge. I take this car back and forth to the beach and to run errands, but that's about it. The car has lost most of its value as well. I'd be very lucky to see 5000 dollars on a car with 54,000 miles on it. I'll drive this car into the ground and then donate it. Nissan only warranties the battery one time. Are you telling me i have to get the battery replaced twice on a car that will end up with less than 60,000 miles on it? I have since had the battery replaced with the New Lizard Battery. This car realistically gets about 60 to 70 miles to a charge. I can never be sure, since I never go from full to empty on it. But I have NO issues with the new battery. What they don't tell you is you only get the ORIGINAL capacity warranty on the battery, even when you replace it with the new one. So the warranty is only good till August 2017. From what I've been told, the new battery consists of replaceable cells. I actually would have leased the car at 200/month and gotten rid of it by now. I would have walked away from the car for 7200 instead of the 17000 I've spent. Nissan's software is completely inaccurate regarding its measure of battery capacity. I get 9 bars yet when I look at the graphs it's barely measuring 10.5 KW of total power utilized out of 24KW/h. The Techs and Engineers insist that NISSAN is right and do not care about what I had to say. They hook it up to their diagnostic equipment and say the battery is fine and just wait till we get 8 bars and we'll replace it. I bought the car wholesale with 2000 miles on it thinking I got a deal for 17K. It took nearly 4 months to get it to 8 bars.
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Very much as expected
Yel0sub, 12/22/2017
2012 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
1 of 2 people found this review helpful
Range is an issue as it was on this model new. 49,000 in it has gotten worse. Rocket from start, handled well, great fuel economy. Dealers don’t really deal well with electrics. Cars need very little work. 2017 with large battery should be a great used car.
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This car needs a lot of work before ready for driving
reginaa, 03/07/2013
2012 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
7 of 38 people found this review helpful
bought a nissan leaf sl 2012 in Sept 2012. Since the purchase I have not been able to rely on the car for transportation to work, home, child's activities or anywhere. My child is afraid that I will be killed in a car accident cause I can't drive the speed limit and return to where I need to go. The car takes more than 16-24 hours to charge 100% and Nissan told me I bought the special edition quick charge that will charge in 20 min, but actually it takes 1 hr 15 min for 83% charge. I contacted Nissan International (NI) and although they are buying back many nissan leafs, they would not deem my as defective and would not repurchase the car.
This is a great car
John Preston Langmore, 12/14/2017
2012 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Extremely economical to operate. Very reliable.
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Very attractive ..and ..pleasing and complete ..
George Suakjian, 02/19/2025
2012 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Impressed ..