Older leaf

Ron Scott

Thinking of taking the plunge and moving away from my '07 E class petrol guzzler. A question if I could please: my commute is just 20km each way, once a week I do it twice. I am on my own in the car most of these journeys. At weekends, I can do 50-80km each day. At these levels, am I safe enough going with a 2011/12 leaf ? I can charge it at home overnight so I shouldn't have to worry about the newer features like the larger capacities & faster changing ? If I'm to do this to save money, I don't want to have to spend more than necessary on the car in the first place. We have a second car at home for any longer distance travelling.

BoatMad

yes , It would be a great fit

What you need should be doable although heating might be a problem without the heat pump in winter if you're stuck in traffic for long time. On our 152 we can commute two days of 44 km return trips easily with 18-25 percent battery left upon returning home the second day. That's after up to 6 hours of driving time in Dublin traffic.

peposhi

Go for it.

It's perfect for your needs, but once you find it so cheap to run you'll drive a lot more, believe me.

Yes the heat pump makes a difference in cold at temperatures down to 3 or 4 deg C, below this consumption goes up the colder it gets as there is less heat to extract from the air. But for your 20 Km commute the older Leaf is good and the worst case is that you might have to fast charge once or twice on a longer trip and anything more than maybe 2 fast charges you can take the ICE car.

The battery would probably last you many years with a commute like this and who knows, a new battery might cost half what it does today, currently about 5,500 Euro's. The battery needs replacing when it no longer meets your needs.

peposhi

There is a brilliant white 141 SVE Leaf for sale for €12900 with 6.6kw charger. If you can stretch that far, you will have a hassle free car for years to come

Ron Scott

Thanks for all the replies, I appreciate it.

Yes a 141 Leaf is better due to the heat pump and better battery and also the 6.6 Kw charger but for the needs of the OP of about 20 kms a day the original leaf will do the job just fine.

If the budget allows then absolutely go for a 141 with 6.6 Kw charger and SVE Trim if you can find it, it includes heated seats and steering and if you set the timer to preheat the car from the mains and have the heated seats on then the timer will activate the heated seats also.

It's really brilliant on a cold morning getting into a warm car even this time of year the mornings can be quiet cool and the windows fogged up badly.

Anyway if the budget doesn't allow then the Original Leaf will do fine until you can change it again.

Ron Scott

Deleted User wrote: »

If the budget allows then absolutely go for a 141 with 6.6 Kw charger and SVE Trim if you can find it, it includes heated seats and steering and if you set the timer to preheat the car from the mains and have the heated seats on then the timer will activate the heated seats also.
.

Thanks. Can this be done from the app as well, or only on timer in earlier models ?

Ron Scott

Ron Scott wrote: »

Thanks. Can this be done from the app as well, or only on timer in earlier models ?

On all models , early and late you can use the app. But the app may not always turn on charging or heating/AC due to Network issues.

IF you set the depart time then the heating will turn off at this time but should know based on the temp at what time to turn the heating on and off. If using the app the heating will come on for only about 10-15 mins max to save battery where plugged into the mains it can come on for up to 40 mins possibly more if it's a good few deg below 0. This will save a lot of energy plugged in while preheating.

Only when the car charges to 80% will the heat come on and this catches a lot of people out, they may not realise that they need to give the car time to charge up or change the timer settings to give preference to heating or charging.

September1

From my experience with 2011 car last winter I would say 80km during cold and rainy weather might require slowing down and turning off heating.

One problem with the original Leaf was that when you press the heating or Auto the range would automatically drop 20-25 Kms simply by pressing a button, this is called the GOM or Guess'O'Meter.

This doesn't happen on the 141+ Leafs because it's programmed differently and has a battery % meter which the 2011-2013 don't have so it's impossible to know what you actually have left in the battery.

So my advise is if getting a 2011-2013 Leaf to get Leaf Spy, this will allow you to know exactly what's left in the battery measured in Kwh. about 21 on a new battery but will reduce as it ages but it will still tell you how many Kwh you get at a 100% charge.

Either way, for someone doing short trips heater consumption is irrelevant. And even if long trips are required , perhaps a 10 min fast charge is all you need if running low. You'd be surprised how much you can get in 10 mins starting from a low charge %.

NIMAN

peposhi wrote: »

There is a brilliant white 141 SVE Leaf for sale for 12900 with 6.6kw charger. If you can stretch that far, you will have a hassle free car for years to come

Where?

Ron Scott

NIMAN wrote: »

Where?

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/6-6kw-2014-nissan-leaf-sve-top-spec/13117024

NIMAN

Ron Scott wrote: »

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/6-6kw-2014-nissan-leaf-sve-top-spec/13117024

Interesting.

Anyone know anything about this seller?

And why won't people put the mileage in the adverts? One of my pet hates.

mordeith

NIMAN wrote: »

Interesting.

Anyone know anything about this seller?

And why won't people put the mileage in the adverts? One of my pet hates.

Interior pic shows 47,000km

NIMAN

That car is now sold. Looked like a good deal. Would be tempted for something like this when I come to change.

peposhi

I would have gotten it myself if I was on the market for a second car...

NIMAN

I think we will continue to see well priced second hand Leafs for a long time, as the take-up on them just ain't happening.