Used 2018 Nissan LEAF Consumer Reviews
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Fantastic car
Phil Easler , 03/26/2018
2018 Nissan LEAF S 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
32 of 32 people found this review helpful
Electric car driver since December 2012. This is my 3rd leased/purchase ev. Great value, I got the quick charged option and heated seats/ steering wheel out the door for $22K. I don’t need to charge it up every day, but when I do the guess o meter ranges from 160 -187 so far. I have owned or lease the vehicle for about 1.5 months and have around 1300 miles on the clock. You will need a 220/240 charger to get the most out of the vehicle. Charges at 6.6 kwt/ hour ~ 22 miles of charge per hour from a 240 dedicated charger. I have only fast charged it at two Nissan dealerships twice. It put in around 15 kwatts in about 30 mins about 50 miles of driving. Hoping to see 200 miles on the range meter this summer!!
Great Family Car for Generations
David Radzieta, 01/23/2019
2018 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
26 of 26 people found this review helpful
We purchased the 2018 Model slightly used so the tax credits were passed on to us. It was a factory rep car. We have owned 8 of the Consumer Reports top 20 most reliable cars of the last decade. We have found our LEAFs to be more reliable and better built than any of the Camrys, Corollas, SR5, CRV, or Prius we have owned. The LEAF is on that list. All three of us now drive LEAFs since the used EVs are excellent bargains. We also get an over night discount on our power bill so it cost nothing to charge the car. It only takes 2 seconds to plug in the car and the next morning it is ready to go again. You do not need an EV with a 400 mile range like a gas car to go paycheck to paycheck without visiting the filling station. Just make sure the EV model you select has twice the range of your daily commute. You need extra range for heat, AC, and extra errands. I'll let you in on a secret, the LION battery sweet spot is 20-80% charge. If you use your EV daily in the 20-80% charge range and save 100-0% cycles for trips out of town to Granny's house it might just last a lifetime. Certainly last 2x to 4x the battery warranty period. Enjoy! The LEAF is a great family car, one of the best.
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2018 Nissan LEAF for sale near you
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Best 2nd car I've ever owned.
Brian, 09/14/2018
2018 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
54 of 56 people found this review helpful
Let me start out by saying I'm not what you would think of as a typical EV owner. I'm not some tree hugger out to save the planet. My motivations for buying this car were purely economical. I'm also 6'3" tall and about 240 lbs. This car is very comfortable for me. I can't recommend the leaf car enough, but there is of course one small catch. For most of us the leaf cannot be the primary family vehicle. I'm a father of 2 living in a suburban area. I fly a lot for work but my office is less than 10 miles from my house. For around town and to the airport this is absolutely the perfect car. The one problem is of course the range and charging speed. If this were the family's only car we couldn't take this on vacation. If my destination is over 50 miles away I don't feel comfortable taking it with the family. While 150 miles is a real number in city driving range it is more like 110 in highway driving (if you drive 75 like most of us). Those are the downsides. The upside is that it is great to drive. Great ride, great acceleration, corners nicely. But most importantly I have NO gas or Gas equivalent bill. Nissan includes 2 years of free charging at every major charging network. I have a charging station in my parking garage at work. I have never once charged this thing at home. I have actually used many fast charging stations. When I go into the city (which is about 75 miles away) I stop at one of the fast chargers on the highway and grab dinner / lunch on the trip in or out. In 1/2 hour I can charge about 80 miles worth of charge. I've never had to wait for a station to be available. Also, the scheduled maintenance on this is really a joke. It consists of rotating tires, checking the brakes and replacing your cabin air filter ($12 on amazon). I got my SV for 30000 out the door including sales tax. 7500 federal and 2500 state credits brought that number down to $20000. I can fit my 2 small children in their booster seats easily in the back. The trunk has plenty of room for a Costco run. I get compliments on the looks of this car almost every day. Its not a Tesla but its a sharp car. Previous generation leafs were kind of weird looking to me. This is a much better looking car than the Bolt. Anyway, if you're in a position where your daily commute is less than 100 miles round trip, and you have another Car in the family for longer trips, I can't recommend the leaf enough.
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Great Electric Car!!!
Marvin Blaine, 10/18/2018
2018 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
22 of 22 people found this review helpful
This is my favorite car in the 50 years I've been driving and I've owned a different car every three years. This 2018 Nissan Leaf SL has got it all, comfort, leather interior, bose audio system and a tech package. Even comes with a 220 and a 110 charger.
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No Nonsense simplicity
LovemyLeaf, 05/08/2019
updated 11/10/2022
2018 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
15 of 15 people found this review helpful
I owned a 2013, kept it a year and a half, tons of range anxiety with it, one time, in the winter, 32F, raining, on the back roads, only 60 miles range... ouch. Bought a 2018, 40kw battery, better HP, range, comfort, features (got the tech package), driver assist rocks. E brake.. not my cup of tea, freeway, dry roads, about 135 miles @ 65mph. The heater on the 2018 is a power guzzler, funny thing is the AC is not, AC hardly impacts range, with the 2018, another nasty winter night, 32F, wet, just 115 miles range. Heater appears to use about 12% of the battery. (if used all the time, I live in WA..) Summer time, I got 165 miles @62 mph a couple of times, no AC though, didn't need it. If you drive 70+, know where the charging stations are, you will only get about 110 miles (no reserve). 2018 is much better than my previous 2013, not just because of the 40kw btry either, just all around, I do miss the nose camera, but not that much. No CD player, but I loaded a USB flash drive with MP3's, no issues, so an adjustment, but better. Edmunds is right, a telescoping steering wheel would be nice. **UPDATE** Still love the car. I use my own charger, 3.3Kw, which charges overnight without issue. I have used the EVGO and other Dc chargers (CHAdeMO) a few times, usually takes about 35 min, for the 80% charge. EVGO will actually go to 100%, but the charge rate really slows down. Still getting 160 miles on my home charge, cold and wet (winter is coming) still uses 12-15% extra. I figured out I can use recirculating heat if you use mix vents, this reduces the heater power, but windows will fog up a little if it is wet outside. Summer I averaged 4.2mpk (miles per kilowatt) winter 3.7mpk, after more than a year with the car, still wouldn't trade it. Looked at the 2019 and 2020, but $7k more for the 60Kw battery just wouldn't be a good match for me. The number of DC stations is ever increasing (all be it slowly). Sure would be nice if Nissan would let you use the car app for free (monthly subscription after the first 6 months). ***UPDATE*** My 2018 is still rock'n and rollin. It now has 50K miles, still the original tires, yes they are getting close, but wow. I use a home charger mostly, 3.6Kw setting, we are still getting 145miles range on a charge, no battery degradation, zero issues. Quite amazed. My 2019, not so much, 60Kw, already lost 25miles on the range, 2 years, 32K miles. Now the charger control module has failed, fortunately under warranty. Love my 2018, just wish it had the 60Kw battery, sometimes.
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Flawless in first 10 months
Ryan Gildersleeve, 02/28/2019
2018 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
28 of 30 people found this review helpful
Excellent pep and super fun to drive. Haven’t had a single glitch or quality issue after 10 months and 7k miles. Super reliable. Added snow tires and it tackles bad weather with the ease of my former compact SUV. The eco-pedal is life altering; I never have to use the brake pedal. The interior heater is amazing, fires up super quick in winter. The adaptive cruise control is great and works all the way down to 0mph. Lastly, the car is SO quiet. There is very little wind, tire, or road noise and zero interior squeaks or rattles. A couple of negatives though. The lack of telescope steering wheel really sucks. The A-pillars can block the view so be sure to check for that. The Bose subwoofer in trunk sounds good but a terrible design of the placement by Nissan. Sometimes Apple Car Play doesn’t load. I just have to plug it back in a second time and it works. Passenger seat is slightly less comfortable than driver. The 151 mile EPA range is easily met if mainly city driving. If driving on interstates at 70mph or more, the range is more like 130 miles.
5 years in--the worst car I have ever owned
Dan, 05/25/2018
updated 12/05/2022
2018 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
33 of 36 people found this review helpful
This is an update after 5 years--I truly hate this car--and given the resale value so does everyone else. The battery continues to be the main problem--it just cannot make for a reliable drive. Once the battery warms up--about 75 miles, the range nosedives. MANY times on my drive home I get an excessive heat warning--and a little turtle icon lights up on the dashboard and power is cut to the point that passing another car is difficult. (The fact that there even IS a turtle icon shows that Nissan anticipated this problem). I live on a hill, and getting the car home is a challenge due to extremely low power. NISSAN knows this--they don't care. Here is my original post:: There are some things prospective buyers need to know. The range is overly optimistic--I am a smooth--non-hot-shot driver--I get about 120 miles on a charge--not 150. Be wary of planning a trip that involves hills--the incline eats energy. The car is very comfortable and the interior--while not a wow factor is well above average. The problem? NISSAN dealerships and support. After only 2 weeks the pro-pilot assist went out, and the pedestrian braking never worked. One dealer had it 3 days saying they were waiting for Nissan corporate to look at it--but couldn't say when that would be. I returned it to the dealer where I purchased it and have been told it will be 7 business days to get a new sensor that "might" fix it. I called Nissan EV support--the first complaint never got logged--the second one did, and at least they agreed to reimburse gas. I was without my new car for 3 weeks because of weekends and a holiday not included in the business day estimate. At this point I wish I had put those dollars elsewhere. I paid cash. So that was my review almost 3 years ago. UPDATE--NOW?? I hate this car! Everything I said previously still stands but with more insight: The battery thermal management makes driving anywhere over 50 miles a crap shoot because once the car goes that distance adding more energy for the return trip becomes problematic. The battery simply will not accept a full charge, possibly only allowing 10% charge with each "fill-up". Without going into the details; a return trip from a location 90 miles away took 7 hours! Once the battery decided it was too hot I limped from charging station to charging station and towards the end max speed was only 40 miles an hour. That doesn't happen anymore because I don't drive that sort of distance. Yes---this is a runabout town car--no more than that. The autopilot assist is also very sketchy. It barely keeps the car "centered" in a lane--often wandering over the line. (In its defense--the car is not considered self-driving) but the function is mostly useless. Through all of this? Nissan continues to be unsupportive. DO NOT buy this car! Update after 3 1/2 years: The car continues to underwhelm. My range has dropped from 120 miles on a full charge (when newly purchased) to about 100. This glorified golf cart is nothing a modern electric car should be. At least when it was new I had free charging for two years--now that I am paying I am careful about nonessential trips. I never drive more than 75 miles from home since recharging is so difficult due to issues prviously discussed.
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Not turning over a new LEAF. Update 23,000
Jim, 08/18/2018
updated 09/13/2023
2018 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
8 of 8 people found this review helpful
Great economy and performance. First thousand miles required $25 of electricity vs $75 in gasoline for an ICE AT 30 mpg. E pedal is great for hilly driving. Poor cross traffic alert system. No hooks for bags in cargo area. Ongoing problems with popping and cracking noise from front of the car. Four attempts have been made to correct the problem under warranty. Repairs included new front hub, servicing front breaking mechanism, repair/replace transmission and replacement of left front axle. Last repair three weeks ago. So far, successful. No other problems. Car continues to be extremely economical to operate. Finally in the fall of 2020 the popping and cracking noise was fixed. The solution was replacing the left front axle. Overall the car continues to perform very well. Over 5000 miles on odometer. Excellent suburban runabout. Extremely quiet and very efficient. The 150 mile range works very well for us. Usually charge the car at home two or three times per week. Recent six months service amounted to tire rotation and car wash only. Over a year old. Tire rotations have been the only service. Full charge range is about 160 miles. Very inexpensive to operate. Perfect second car. Now over 13000 on the Leaf. Extremely economical to operate. We took the car in to the dealership for warranty work two times to fix a popping noise in the front end of the car when applying the brakes or accelerating from a stop. During the first repair attempt something was replaced in the hub assemblies free of charge. During the second repair attempt the brake mechanisms were cleaned and lubricated. Neither attempt worked satisfactorily. The popping noise continues. 23,000 miles on odometer. Continues to be perfect second car. No issues after front axle noise was fixed. The LEAF will travel 150 miles on $5 worth of electricity. At current gas prices of $4/gal, my Honda needs $20 of gas to travel 150 miles. Odometer now at 27,000 miles. Almost no service required other than tire rotation. This car was my best performing investment over the last twelve months with its value increasing over 25%. Battery range on a full charge continues to be just over 150 miles. Very satisfied. Now over 34,000 miles. Going strong with no issues other than minor maintenance. still running the original tires. The battery continues to charge to over 150 mile range. The Miles per kilowatt hour continue to be over 4/kWh. The leaf continues to be an excellent second car.
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Great to drive, but poor cockpit design.
Chris Harnish, 11/12/2018
updated 05/18/2022
2018 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
12 of 13 people found this review helpful
I love driving this car. Responsive, quiet, I love the e-peddle and Adaptive Cruise Control, But it's missing the small storage spaces in the driving compartment that changes from liking the car to Loving the the car. My former Prius, had a much bigger storage compartment under the right arm rest, a 2 door glove box that allows me to store little conveniences like my hairbrush, lip balm and aspirin in an organized way. The Leaf has none of these. In addition, the center console arm rest is too small and too far back and between it and the shift, where your arm should normally rest, are the two water bottle holders, so if your arm is resting on the arm rest, it has to be on top of the water bottle! What were they thinking??? 2 years later and I agree with everything said above: I love driving the car and the cockpit is a big disappointment. The new news is how economical the Leaf is to drive. Maintenance is rotating the tires! The 150 mile range of of my model is plenty for me for around-the-county driving. I installed a level 2 charging system at home for around $100 and use that almost exclusively. I love never having to go to a gas station. A good car, which I would buy again.
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Unacceptable at the price range
J, 09/21/2020
updated 09/23/2021
2018 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
7 of 7 people found this review helpful
At 28k miles, a little over 2 years lease I've had problems since day 1 with a noise coming from the front right wheel when turning, dealerships have looked at it and could never find the issue with it, still happening today. AC does not cool nearly fast enough, steering wheel heating is unreliable. Range, in real life driving scenarios it's not 150, more like 100-110. Charging on the road is definitely not up to what Nissan promises (rapidgate). Steering wheel bubbled and needs to be replaced. Front seat upholstery is already damaged, I wear cotton clothes and park inside a garage so there's really no excuse for this. The infotainment system... clunky, the mobile app, awful, slow and unreliable. My 2003 BMW does not have any of the problems exposed above, 2003 with 150k+ miles Good things: Really nice drive, very responsive and quiet. Doesn't look like a frog . Charging at home is very nice. All in all, your money is better spent elsewhere.
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1st EVER LEAF 100% EV RIDESHARE IN MISSOURI
Dandan Thedrivingman, 02/18/2019
2018 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
11 of 12 people found this review helpful
Purchased March 15, 2017 now 23 months later, miles driven= 107,000+ MILES ALMOST 3,000 RECHARGES LATER, 2,300 FAST Level 3, 440 volts, other two 220 volts, at home at 120 volts. I have LOST NO Range: from the original factory delivered average estimate of 107 mile range. Highest mikes per 1 full charge at start has been 159 miles 3 times combination of city/highway driving. There is significant range loss under 20° Fahrenheit up 40%. Total cost of actual maintenance to date $208.00 total us dollars spent at this 107,000 benchmark. After DRIVING over 2.5 million miles in over 45 years, this is the BEST CAR I'VE ever driven and OWNED. * AMAZING TECHNOLOGY and AWESOME dependability as well as Quality.
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I liked leaves before but now I love my Leaf
Valerie, 09/11/2018
updated 03/11/2019
2018 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
9 of 10 people found this review helpful
I was very unsure about the ride and comfort of an electric vehicle until I actually test drove one. Wow is this care roomy and comfortable. I hated driving before but now I leap to drive my Leaf. I am so relaxed driving this car. I have owned a Silverado Truck, FJ Cruiser, Audi, 750il and out of all of them my Leaf hits the top of the trees in all over performance and comfort. So glad I made my leap to the leaf. Greatest car - enjoy everyday owning it.....
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Leaf is a great car
Tim, 08/15/2018
2018 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
8 of 9 people found this review helpful
This car is a lot of fun to drive. The charging station is a bit pricey. The included free charging does not work with all public charging stations
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Single Motor Means Low Maintenance
Tom Schneck, 10/20/2018
2018 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
8 of 9 people found this review helpful
I am on my second Nissan LEAF lease, 2013 and 2016. Besides never going to gas stations, I love the low maintenance aspects of the LEAF. Since there is only a single electric motor, unlike other electric cars that use two, the electronics in the drive train is simpler with no switches between motors. There are very few maintenance items on a LEAF beyond proper tire pressure. The only problematic maintenance item is flat tires. Nissan will provide a tow to a dealer, or you can use a can of goop and a small compressor, both provided, to fix a flat. Both solutions are inferior to having a spare, which the LEAF does not have. The LEAF appears small on the outside, but the interior space is surprisingly roomy. The LEAF is terrific for local driving, but for long range driving I rely on an old Buick Lucerne. The old Buick is a lot more comfortable, with a more sophisticated suspension, with the LEAF driving and feeling somewhat like a sports car, but the Buick requires expensive maintenance from time to time. I rely on the LEAF for most of my driving. The fit and finish of the LEAF is excellent and I will either buy out my lease or get a new LEAF or both.
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Purchased at the end of the 3 years lease
Vincent L., 03/01/2021
updated 04/19/2024
2018 Nissan LEAF S 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
8 of 9 people found this review helpful
This is my 2nd Leaf. This time, I have purchased it the end of the lease for what I consider a very good price. I first leased, for 3.5 years, a 2015 Leaf S, that worked perfectly fine during the lease period (extended 6 months by Nissan to allow the 2018 model to be available). I had Zero issues with that 2015 Nissan Leaf. I returned it with 42,000 miles and a battery at 85% capacity. So I started driving my 2018 Leaf S in April 2018. It was definitely a significant improvement compared to the 2015 model in these areas: - Range: 86 miles -> 151 miles (I regularly can get 175 miles out of 1 charge). That considerably extends the usability of the car. - Look: it does not look like a frog anymore - this is subjective of course - Better equipment: the radio is more modern and it integrates well with my iPhone - Comes with a 115V-240V charger! I have one in the garage, but now I can travel with a 115V-240V capable charger that does not take much space in the trunk. Power: the car is quicker, which is nice even if I never missed on power on the previous one. - The headlights are doing a slightly better job. - The display in the dashboard is more informative when needed. - The e-pedal is awesome in the traffic!!! - The suspension is a little bit softer (or is the car heavier?), which makes the car more comfortable on less than perfect roads. - The battery seems to be of better quality - it still has 100% capacity after 3 years. What I do not consider an improvement: - The 2015 model suspension is firmer, allowing the car to be driven more aggressively in curves, but that might be a benefit because I definitely had to change the tires on the 2015 model at 28K miles! The tires seem to wear better on the 2018 model, likely because I am less aggressive in the turns. - The driver door armrest is too low, as it was in the 2015 model. - The radio has few annoying bugs - sometimes - cannot initialize the Bluetooth feature or permanently displays that I have unread messages (not true) unless I turn OFF and ON again the car. - The speedometer is now analogic - I have preferred the previous setup, but Nissan might have had to comply with some laws here. So the 2018 model is not flawless like the 2015 model. But its benefits totally overweight its little issues. At the end of the lease, in March 31st 2021, I would have had 23000 miles on the car's odometer at best (we drive way less since we work from home) instead of 36,000. The battery capacity shows 100% after 3 years. So, since the car is very useable, fun to drive, very good in the traffic or the highways, everything works on it (except the radio bugs) with no sign of weakness, I have decided to purchase it (for 65% of its value! CarMax would have given me $3000 more for it), and I expect it will serve me well, and it will be very cheap to operate for several years. 09/22 update: the car now has 35k miles, the battery still shows 100%. I still get the same excellent range. The car shows that 1kwh gives 4.3 miles with AC running, 4.7 miles without the AC. The AC still blows very cold. I have replaced the tires at 32k miles. The 12V battery died suddenly 6 months ago (03/22), and was replaced for $99. Everything is working the same. Very little maintenance is required, very cheap to operate. Sold my 2010 BMW that was sleeping in our garage for a very good price. Happy camper here. 04/24 Update: I still have it as my daily driver. It works every day like day 1. It is 6 years old and has 50k miles, and I have lost a little bit of range at this point, about 10%. It does not affect the way we use that car. It is my commute car and more. Everyone at home likes to drive this car and it is the most used. In terms of maintenance, it requires almost nothing: tires and windshield wipers, windshield fluid. I had the brake fluid replaced last month for the principle of it, the fluid color and smell were fine. At 40K miles, I asked Nissan to replace the reduction gears oil (there is oil in this car after all), and I did not receive an answer (they consider it to be a lifetime fluid apparently), so I did it myself in 10 minutes. I bought the best quality automatic transmission fluid recommended for that application for about $30. YouTube is your friend if you want to do it. Very easy and I immediately gained a 5% range, which brought me back to an average (with and without AC or Heat) of 4.5 miles/kilowatt, which is great. I will do it again at 80K miles. I intend to keep the car for 10 years, and so far I had no issue with it, except for the minor radio gremlin I talked about in my original review which was never addressed.
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100% torque 100% of the time
Steve, 06/06/2018
2018 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
6 of 9 people found this review helpful
Unbelievable acceleration in normal mode and very easy to go from econ to zoom.
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Impressive car for the money
JamesH, 12/29/2021
2018 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
The move to an electric car is not difficult with the Nissan Leaf. Changing over to frequently plugging in versus occasional stops at the gas station are a little different, but not hard to get used to. The range of 140 +/- miles on a full charge was found to be not quite enough for me and the upgrade to a car that gets 225 plus mile per charge would have be more appropriate. Heated steering wheel and seats are a plus, but don't understand why Nissan does not offer a sunroof option - even with the front windshield sloped higher than most. The newer Plus models that offer the higher mileage ware great, but still much higher priced than value. Space is more than adequate, power and drive is good and smooth. Finishes and detailing are only average for a car in this price range and the options for finishes are severely limited. Just a few issues with not fully charging, but not sure whether those were something I did of some other issue within the Nissan electronics. Overall, highly recommend.
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Sweet ride
Les, 07/12/2022
updated 01/17/2023
2018 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
I love me Leaf. Responsive silent acceleration. Awesome Boise sound. Leather seats. No gas. No oil. No money to autocratic. No pollution. Just the driving experience is enough reason alone to love EVs. Very happy. 2023 update. Still love it. Zero problems.
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Leaf slow fast charging
Medward, 09/14/2018
2018 Nissan LEAF SV 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
6 of 12 people found this review helpful
3 times on a fast charger half going in the car. 50kw charger sounds great until you see 26kw going in. That means waiting 2 hours. After 30 minutes the charger shuts off, need to wait an hour to start it up again. Not happy with the car.
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What an amazing vehicle
JR, 03/09/2022
2018 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
I never realized how noisy the average car is until I began driving a Leaf. The acceleration in an all electric car is also a game changer. I will not go back to a gas powered vehicle for my urban transportation needs again.
Best City Car
TO Driver, 12/07/2024
2018 Nissan LEAF SL 4dr Hatchback (electric DD)
0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Living in Toronto, short trips throughout the week is what we do. This is an incredibly practical car as it offers roominess, quiet (no acceleration noise) ride, very responsive, good on corners (low centre of gravity as EV battery weight is on the bottom of car), sits higher than a sedan (easier to climb into and out of) so feels more like an SUV, and is a hatchback (great for grocery loading and unloading) and seats fold down for hauling larger thing. Having the SL (highest trim) comes equipped with a very respectable Bose stereo system. I charge at home in the evening, similar to that is charging my phone and I don't have to touch never-cleaned gas pumps. A $1500 charger installation (optional) is the route we took as charging fully overnight is what we preferred over trickle charging (wall plug) which can take much longe. Cost of full charge is CAD $3.16 (40 kWh X $0.079). Because my commute doesn't require too much highway, I can charge the car once every few days, sometimes longer or shorter(depends on range used). As a side note, when I first bought the Leaf, I often accelerated enjoying the instant EV response and thus depleting battery range. After the novelty wore off, I drove it more sensibly so the economical value started to really show. Here's some quick math on its efficiency. If I drove 650km on a 45L tank of gas (say the car is pretty efficient at 6.9L / 100km), the cost would be about CAD $70 today. For the same range, I'd be paying under CAD $10. Also, when I paid for gas inside the station, I'd be tempted to buy salty/sweet/caffeinated things. A different way to think about the fuel economy is for 100 kms of distance in an efficient gas car, it would cost $10.73 ($1.55/L x 6.9) vs. the Leaf at $1.46 ($0.01456/km)! The braking system is also fantastic. You barely use brakes as most of the time you're slowing or coming to a compete stop (even on hills) with the electric regenerative braking system (doesn't use brakes to slow). Brake pads last much longer as a result and this method of braking is intuitively easy. And despite posts for other EVs, like Teslas, requiring more frequent tire changes (probably due to greater acceleration-thrill factor) I didn't experience noticeable faster-wear on my Leaf compared with my gas cars. Like most people, I have a busy life and having to make time for oil changes and all the regular maintenance things for gas cars is something I could live without. It's not just the actual time it takes to change the oil and filter (or other fluids, belts, etc.), it's also the scheduling and/or waiting around, the transaction, and all the micro activities needed here. Since EVs don't require maintenance like gas cars, you go from something that seems fairly high-maintenance to something that's low. I value the time saving. Canadian winters are cold and EVs have reduced range when temperatures drop below zero. Still, 170 kms - 190 kms is just fine for me for local driving. As well, you control your cabin temperature with your phone and the car heats up almost immediately (unlike gas cars). Nice to hop into a warm car in the winter. The standard driver warning system (frontal collission, blind spot detection, etc.) work well. The lane assist and adaptive cruise control are helpful. Battery life of our Leaf, now going on 6 years (2018) is surprising impressive. The range decrease of the battery is minimal and the battery health has all the bars despite bing 6 years old and having over 100k on the odometer! I hear of cases where EV batteries need to be replaced and these tend to scare many interested EV buyers in general. In my view, as with all cars, in most cases of faulty batteries are likely a result of poor car given to the car. If DC (high current rapid charge method) is frequently used, this heats up the battery each time and accelerates battery age (same as using rapid charges regularly with a phone). Charging at home preserves the life of the battery-- batteries have really surpassed consumer expectations on how long they last and how minimal and slow degradation occurs with normal use. Now that these cars in the used market are under CAD $20k, they are very affordable for most and their maintenance is extremely low. Consider the Leaf if you're looking for a used no-vibration, quiet, comfortable, safe, dependable and good-handling city car! We intend to drive our Leaf for many more years to come! Btw, for what it's worth, i am a car guy I used to drive Porsche Cayennes and other performance cars. Hope this helps!
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