Used 2016 Nissan LEAF Hatchback Consumer Reviews
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Don't be shocked! It's a great electric car!
Hardball, 09/29/2016
updated 02/06/2018
2016 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
94 of 94 people found this review helpful
I leased my 2016 LEAF about 900 miles ago and I have to say I'm "shocked" at how great it is. It's the SL version which means it's fully loaded with all options. The car is well built and very solid. With all the incentives, I got a great deal and will be able to buy it in a few years at an awesome price. Fully charged, it is capable of 125 miles. This is plenty for my daily 40 mile round trip commute. I installed a 240 V level 2 charger myself with not too much difficulty. I'm fairly handy and have a newer home with 200 amp service and spare breakers. I bought the NISSAN charger or EVSE online. I charge the car on early Wedsnesday mornings and again on Sunday mornings during off peak hours. It charges from empty in less than 5 hours but I usually only need about 3 and a half hours to go from 20 miles to about 110. It costs me about 2 bucks per charge. This is easy to do beacuse it's fully programmable. It's incredibly loaded with technology that makes it fun to drive. While searching for an alternative vehicle, I drove the VOLT and Prius. I was not impressed with either one. The VOLT has hardly any rear headroom and is a joke for tall people to sit in the back plus it's a true four seater at best. The Prius was interesting but seemd to lack any pep. The LEAF is decievingly large inside due to its height. It also has great acceleration due to its torque from the electric motors. Driving an electric car is a unique experience. It's silent and smooth. There is no drag when using the A/C and no strain from a gas motor. It accelerates effortlessly, quietly, and smoothly. I don't have trouble with range because there are many chargers available in my area plus at any NISSAN dealer. I still have gas cars for long trips though. But, I don't travel much anyway. I love pulling into my garage silently, having no motor to heat up the garage, no smells from oil and exhaust etc. It requires no maintenance except tire rotations. No belts, exhaust, oil etc. I'm no hypermiler either- don't have to be- I use the climate control liberally, drive at normal speeds on the highway every day, plus I'm a car guy and own a classic musclecar which I drive pretty hard on the weekends. I guess I'm not the typical electric car owner but it's just a blast to drive the LEAF. It has a nice sized hatch area for groceries unlike the Honda Fit. The electronics are intuitive and easy to use. The nav is great and the Bose sound is very good. I would say to anyone on the fence, examine your driving practices and see if it's for you. I should add that the build quality is exceptional and the materials are excellent. I am VERY picky with cars and don't have any major cons for this car. I will say that the center armrest could be improved by making it adjustable to slide forward. There is a little more wind noise than I like but it's a smaller car. There is no lock on the glove box. There should be courtesy lights for rear passengers. I hope this review helps you. *UPDATE* Feb 2017 Okay, so I first reviewed this car in September of 2016 so I think it's time to update my review. I see some people saying some poor things about it but it's not been my experience. I have almost 16,000 miles on the car from a new lease and have ZERO battery life degradation. All battery life bars are full as new. It does not charge to what it did when new (135) but does charge up to 109 which is in line with Nissan's projections. I live in a Northern cold weather climate and will say that using this car in winter weather DOES affect the mileage rather significantly when driving at highway speeds. Cons: The use of all the electric accessories in winter weather (especially the climate control) can drain the battery quickly. At lower city speeds however, I find the effects to be not as drastic. The A/C in the summer is a high drain on the battery also. Driving on snow or ice can be especially tricky due to the torque of the motors when accelerating from a stop. The windshield washer sprayers are terrible. They are not set up to spray high enough and don't immediately activate the wipers. No daytime running lamps, headlights don't automatically turn off in the constant ON position- they could potentially be left on though there is an alarm. Pros: no gas or maintenance other than tire rotations. Powerful headlights (SL). Great Bose stereo (on the SL), EFFORTLESS electric power steering, nice leather, navigation is excellent, easy Bluetooth, lots of media options, heated steering wheel is AWESOME, I have no complaints with the heater, surprisingly roomy because of its tall cabin, jackrabbit acceleration. This car is not for everyone. It's NOT a highway car for sustained drives. It is ideal for close to home driving, running errands, grocery shopping etc. Forget about unscheduled impulse drives however because you have to take your range into consideration. If most of your driving is close to home this car could be perfect for you.
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Nissan Leaf Issue - Winter
Steve Clubb, 01/04/2017
2016 Nissan LEAF S 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
26 of 28 people found this review helpful
In the winter > 20 degrees I am lucky to get 50 miles on a charge. Additionally, the heating is not effective. Heated seats work fine but the feet and leg area is cold and does not warm up. My feet stay frozen. Seats are not comfortable when commuting @ 24 miles.
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2016 Nissan LEAF for sale near you
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- SL 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $5,9957 mi away
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Best car to own for commuting
Kurt, 06/17/2017
2016 Nissan LEAF S 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
15 of 16 people found this review helpful
This car is great. I like having the filling station at home in my garage. I save money on fuel and maintenance. I like the quiet ride especially when driving through the neighborhood with the windows down on a nice day. My first reaction to the styling was not good but it grows on you and now I love it. The only thing I don't like is that my wife keeps driving off in it leaving me stuck filling her Prius with gas. There are some great deals on these out there right now.
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Battery Life is TERRIBLE - Don't buy this vehicle
Georgiana Maly, 02/10/2018
updated 02/21/2020
2016 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
25 of 28 people found this review helpful
You should know that my Nissan Leaf was supposed to get on a 100% charge, a mileage range of 112. It's 2 years old and starting after owning the car for a year and a half (18 months), the battery started degrading rapidly. On a full charge, mileage range was approximately 85 miles and now February 1, 2018, driving it for 2 years, on a full charge, mileage range is approximately 70 on a good day. I NEVER can use my radio, heater or a/c because the mileage range will drop to 55 on a full charge. I have the 220 outlet for the charger at home. It gets a full charge within about 3 hours. If you use the 110, it will take up to 12 hours or more for a full charge. I am so disappointed in the mileage. Other than that, I like the car; however, battery life sucks! It's now February 2020 and the car still sucks along with battery life. I'm getting rid of it. Come to find out, it's worth a lot less than what I still owe on it.
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Don't buy this car - battery degradation pitiful
Richard Perata, 12/22/2017
2016 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
28 of 32 people found this review helpful
I bought a 2016 Leaf with extended range of 108 miles after owning a 2013 leaf for 2.5 years with no noticeable battery degradation. My 2016 leaf now has lost 31% of it's original battery capacity after 19 months and 7000 miles. A full charge now indicates 74 miles, however the last time I drove this car I traveled 44 miles round trip and was left with 12 miles capacity when I returned home. Ask yourself if this suits your needs before buying this car. Nissan says that battery degradation is normal. According to Nissan my car charges 9 out of 12 bars on their charging scale and they won't replace the battery until it is at 8 out of 12. I'm stuck with a car with 69% of it's stated range after 19 months and low mileage. Will this car work for you? I can only drive 22 miles from my home if I want to make it back home - pathetic rip off - car is essentially a huge brick with a monthly payment
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Everything I want and more for 90% of my driving
Pete, 07/15/2019
updated 07/17/2023
2016 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
12 of 14 people found this review helpful
This is my second Leaf. My first was totaled when rear ended. Both were bought used from an EV specialist outside Atlanta. First was ‘13 S. Present is SV with larger capacity battery, much better Heating and A/C. Both use less power and the heat is more effective. Present car has Navigation and alloy wheels but offers essentially the same quiet, peppy (at city speeds) driving experience. Before I bought the first Leaf I kept a record of how far I drove each trip and miles per day. I found that I seldom went more than 30 miles a day with multiple short trips most days. The 240v charging station that l provided for when we had the house built restores 100% charge from a usual discharge of around 50% in a few hours so car is usually fully charged. I note that charging is slower than in first Leaf but there is no 80% recommended setting to maintain battery life. My current Leaf has just over 38,000 miles and has loss of 2 battery bars. Fully charged w/o use of heat or AC results in predicted 85-90 miles. Virtually zero maintenance and versatile enough for me to haul home a standard upholstered arm chair in the trunk well with hatch closed. It wouldn’t fit in my BMW X1.
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charging at 120v
MauraT, 06/19/2021
2016 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
I purchased the Nissan Leaf new with the 30kWh battery on 12/31/16. I have driven it 50k miles and now have owned it for 4 1/2 years with no maintenance issues. My battery level is at an 11 and I usually get appx 95 miles in range. This is because I have charged my car at home using an 120v outlet appx 95% of the time. I know the charging is slow but by doing this the battery life has been extended. Great commuter car for short trips.
Nimble drive. UPDATE poor driver seat positioning
P and J in Canada, 11/24/2020
updated 04/24/2023
2016 Nissan LEAF S 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
Over several decades, our norm has been to buy petro-powered cars that very reliable and mature (10-15 years old). Before buying I do lots of research; these past several years, reading on-line reviews. We've appreciated the views of people who have owned a car for several or many years. I haven't appreciated the comments of people who've owned a car for a few weeks or months. We've owned this 2016 Nissan Leaf for about 18 months. Nimble, fun to drive, city use only: all good. However, the instrument buttons are a continuous nuisance: hard to see, some marked with tiny strange symbols, not intuitive. UPDATE: A daily issue. My wife is small (less that 5 foot 2 inches). So she sets the driver seat forward-ish, makes sense. I'm 5 foot 11 inches. From my wife's seat position, of course, I need to move the seat back. The dang seat will only move back about 1 inch. Weird. Very poor leg space for me. Why are the seat tracks mounted sooo far forward? Wonder what it would cost to have seat tracks remounted. Can that be done? 2nd shortcoming. I got a full size spare tire and rim. Takes up some storage space, but makes much better sense if we get a flat. The existing goofy tire repair kit just gets us into a bad position of having fork out money to buy a new replacement tire. The Leaf is our city car, so range is not an issue for us. A petrol-powered Lexus AWD is our backup (for road trips and snow). It's solid, comfy, and mature (some would call it old).
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WOW! Kermit was wrong. It's EASY being green
Larry E, 11/15/2021
2016 Nissan LEAF S 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
I absolutely love this car. the mileage range for me isn't an issue at all for my normal weekly commutes and when the weekend comes, there are plenty of charging stations near all of the places I go. I will never buy gas again unless it's for my generator if power goes out. Anyone that complains about this care obviously didn't research for their needs and it's unfair to say anything negative because of your own lack of research. It does exactly what it advertises it does. Brilliant car!!
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Everything I want and more for 90% of my driving
Pete, 07/15/2019
updated 01/26/2023
2016 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
4 of 6 people found this review helpful
Leaf now has 43K miles and has had no maintenance or repairs done since last report at 38K miles (12V battery had just been replaced at just before that report). Battery condition at full charge (using 240v home charger) is down two bars and estimate mileage is in the 80-85 mile range down from 95-100. Still perfectly suited to my around town primary use. Recharge at night when estimated mileage below 40 miles and Leaf is full charged in the morning. Recent record cold here on AL Gulf coast demonstrated impact of low temp on battery out put even before using heater. Heated steering wheel and seats aren’t enough in 18F weather. With battery under rear seat there is a large well in luggage area. Leaf is versatile enough for me to haul home a standard upholstered arm chair in the trunk well with hatch closed. It wouldn’t fit in my BMW X1 or Hyundai Kona N.
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Everything I want and more for 90% of my driving
Pete, 07/15/2019
2016 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
3 of 5 people found this review helpful
This is my second Leaf. My first was totaled when rear ended. Both were bought used from an EV specialist outside Atlanta. First was ‘13 S. Present is SV with larger capacity battery, much better Heating and A/C. Both use less power and the heat is more effective. Present car has Navigation and alloy wheels but offers essentially the same quiet, peppy (at city speeds) driving experience. Before I bought the first Leaf I kept a record of how far I drove each trip and miles per day. I found that I seldom went more than 30 miles a day with multiple short trips most days. The 240v charging station that l provided for when we had the house built restores 100% charge from a usual discharge of around 50% in a few hours so car is usually fully charged. I note that charging is slower than in first Leaf but there is no 80% recommended setting to maintain battery life. My current Leaf has just over 30,000 miles and has no loss of battery bars. Virtually zero maintenance and versatile enough for me to haul home a standard upholstered arm chair in the trunk well with hatch closed. It wouldn’t fit in my BMW X1.
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have a 2016 nissan leaf sv
rc, 12/20/2022
2016 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
my battery was down to 70 percent and the battery is warranty for 100,000 miles. Nissian is replacing it free of charge. but i drop the car off back in august and still waiting for the battery. But they have given me a loaner car for all the time.
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2013 SL Leaf
JC, 02/11/2017
2016 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
4 of 16 people found this review helpful
Excellent car
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Go Electric !!!
Sergei Zhuravlev, 11/21/2016
2016 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
4 of 26 people found this review helpful
Excellent Car !!!
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Fun travel
Amanuel Belai, 10/24/2016
2016 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
2 of 24 people found this review helpful
and quiet
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Great Car To Own
Nithin, 11/10/2018
2016 Nissan LEAF S 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
0 of 1 people found this review helpful
Nissan Leaf Electric 2016 - if you get subsidized rate for charging then it fuel cost roughly comes down by half !! Regenerative Breaks are a wonderfull things too..
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