2022 Nissan LEAF SL Plus 160kW AC Electric Motor with 62 kWH battery (214 hp, 250 lb-ft torque @ 800rpm) Single-speed transmission, front-wheel drive 114 city / 94 highway / 104 combined (EPA Rating, MPGe) 7.7 city / 6.6 highway / 7.2 combined. (NRCan Rating, L/100km) Base Price: $38,375 US / $46,098 CAN As Tested: $39,255 US / $46,678 CAN Prices include $975 destination charge in the United States. Canadian prices do not include destination or delivery charges, and, because of cross-border equipment differences, can’t be directly compared.
160kW AC Electric Motor with 62 kWH battery (214 hp, 250 lb-ft torque @ 800rpm)
114 city / 94 highway / 104 combined (EPA Rating, MPGe)
7.7 city / 6.6 highway / 7.2 combined. (NRCan Rating, L/100km)
Prices include $975 destination charge in the United States. Canadian prices do not include destination or delivery charges, and, because of cross-border equipment differences, can’t be directly compared.
While I’m nobody’s idea of an environmentalist, I do my best to make an effort here and there to reduce my impact on the world at large. I recycle what I can. I try to choose products that are reusable where possible. I try to leave my thermostat reasonably cool during the winter and encourage my kids to follow President Carter’s advice to put on a damned sweater.
I live, however, almost exactly two hundred miles from Detroit – the font from which all of my media loan vehicles spew forth. Until quite recently, I was thus unable to sample electric cars such as this 2022 Nissan Leaf, since the advertised range wasn’t quite enough to get such a car to me. As such, the following shall be both an assessment of Nissan’s EV and of the state of charging infrastructure in non-coastal areas.
Let’s start with the car, as Nissan has managed to make an EV look not weird. You know how once you’ve bought something, you start seeing it everywhere? After having driven a Leaf for a week, I began to see them around a fair bit – and I wonder if I’d imagined they were simply an old Versa and thus immediately dismissed them as uninteresting. Nope, the Leaf blends into everyday traffic marvelously – which may be both a blessing and a curse.
After all, what’s the fun in doing something good without the ability to be smugly self-righteous about it? Recall the craze among celebrities who would flaunt their Prius back when they were new? The distinctive styling broadcasted a willingness to unironically humble themselves in the name of a cause. Other electric vehicle makers have flaunted this same instinct – but not the Nissan Leaf. It’s attractive enough but doesn’t stand out.
For such a small hatchback, the interior comfort is quite good. Nissan makes some of the best front seats this side of Volvo, and the chairs in the Leaf do not disappoint. It’s too bad it’s an EV with a relatively-limited range – my family of four could otherwise be happy in the Leaf for a long, multi-state cruise.
Cargo space isn’t huge, but it’s enough for most needs. You’ll see a bag here for the included 120v charging cable – you’ll likely pull that out and leave it in the garage unless you’re taking an overnight trip to grandma’s house for the holidays where you’ll want to plug in.
Ride quality is quite good – likely helped by the low center of gravity and 3,934 lb curb weight keeping secondary suspension motions in check. The car isn’t completely silent – wind and tire noise are much more noticeable here since the electric drivetrain is so quiet – but the relative lack of noise makes for a serene driving experience. Handling is fine for a commuter car meant to see city streets and the freeway – it’s not at all fun to drive, nor is it meant to be.
The 250 lb-ft of torque will get the Leaf moving off the line with authority, though acceleration is blunted a bit as the car reaches freeway speeds and beyond. The quiet drivetrain means you don’t necessarily notice your ground speed until you look down and see the needle approaching ninety – a recalibration of one’s butt dyno is in order when switching to an EV from a traditional internal-combustion engine.
In all, I could see myself easily living with the Leaf as a second/third car for my family – with some strong caveats, only one of which is caused by the car.
First, this Leaf Plus model is equipped with a 62 kWh battery – giving an advertised range of “up to” 215 miles. The thing is – that 215 miles of range is under ideal conditions with a 100 percent charge. Most charging stations will shut off charging at 80 percent of charge, which nets a listing of 180 miles. The reasons for the 80 percent charging cutoff are numerous and probably too in the weeds for a discussion here, but understand that is not a Leaf problem – it’s a problem that affects every electric vehicle today.
Note that 180 miles of realistic range and remember that I live 200 miles from Detroit. Indeed, the delivery of my Leaf was quite delayed as the driver needed to stop and top up – delivering the car with around 50 miles of range right before I needed to rush out of my office to get to my kid’s sporting event. That evening, I spent an hour of my time reading a book in the parking lot of a supermarket while the Leaf charged. I’d have walked to a restaurant or a bar to kill time, but it was after 10 pm and everything is closed on a late Wednesday night in the suburbs.
I had a flight early the next morning, and the Columbus airport lists a few fast-charging stations on a certain level of the long-term parking garage. I couldn’t find them – though the area where they might have been seemed to be under construction. Thank goodness I’d charged the night before.
The weekend came, which meant the weekly grocery shop. I convinced my bride to change up our routine for this week only – shopping at Meijers’ instead of Krogers’ – as the Meijer had the aforementioned fast-charging station. Seven bucks and 45 minutes later, we had our 180 miles of range once more.
Sure, I could have charged at home – and, indeed, I tried. But my home, built during the Carter administration, has wiring in the garage that isn’t the best. As I’ve run into before, plugging in a high-load device such as a car into a circuit in my garage means that circuit is pretty much tapped out. My microwave is on the same circuit – which plunged half of my house into darkness when my daughter wanted some popcorn one evening.
Charging stations are few around here, and they aren’t conveniently placed. My colleague Kevin Williams documented his struggles with charging here in Columbus in a series over at The Drive/Car Bibles – his issues were exacerbated by renting, so he can’t even put in a 240v outlet for charging.
I could, should I decide to pull the trigger on an EV someday, spend a fair bit of cash in running a fifty amp circuit from my basement panel to the garage – if copper prices ever plunge, I’ll be stocking up on six gauge wire – but those who must street park or otherwise don’t have reliable access to at least two hundred forty volts of alternating current must weigh their mobility with their ability to trust that some random charging station sorta near their destination hopefully will actually work this time.
We aren’t there yet. California has probably done the best in managing charging infrastructure – and, admittedly, Tesla has done pretty well with their proprietary network – but for the rest of us in the hinterlands, we can’t quite rely on charging stations should we need to go beyond our usual commute.
I’m genuinely intrigued by the possibilities presented by this Nissan Leaf, however. For now, it would have to remain a second car for my family, as our frequent long-distance needs are best met by internal combustion. If we collectively can manage a better infrastructure – especially if we can serve that infrastructure with cleaner, renewable energy sources – then we can potentially make a dent in our petroleum dependence.
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“ While I’m nobody’s idea of an environmentalist, I do my best to make an effort here and there to reduce my impact on the world at large. I recycle what I can. I try to choose products that are reusable where possible. I try to leave my thermostat reasonably cool during the winter and encourage my kids to follow President Carter’s advice to put on a damned sweater.”
Most people are exactly like that. Which is why we have articles like we read here recently about people not being keen on EVs. They are the antithesis to reducing and caring for the environment.
Please! Keep in mind that there are multiple factors which most people have to consider. I’ve been driving 4,000 miles during Covid. So should I ditch my 28 MPG sedan for a Leaf? EVs are not cost-free to the environment either. Plug in hybrids might be the best answer for many people, but access to charging is still a problem. And how much lithium is there on the planet?
“And how much lithium is there on the planet?”
Turns out there’s a crap ton of it right here in the U.S., in a place no one expected – the Salton Sea.
https://www.kcet.org/news-community/as-lithium-drilling-advances-at-the-salton-sea-researchers-work-out-the-details
Might be a way to salvage something good out of that environmental dumpster fire.
“ So should I ditch my 28 MPG sedan for a Leaf?”
Oh god no. Your 28mpg sedan is a far better vehicle and it’s far better for the environment for you to use it.
Lithium is going to be in short supply and it’s incredibly damaging to the planet to retrieve it. EVs are awful. Stick with your ICE vehicle. It’s far cheaper in the long run
@Master Baiter this is a warning. Using racist terms in your comments is not permitted.
In other news… DSM! DSM! DSM!
https://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/cto/d/pittsburgh-1993-eagle-talon-tsi-awd/7488583123.html
Knock $2500 off the price and that’s a buy.
It’s not a “need” for anyone, and certainly not that desirable! Only a sucker would pony up $10k.
I’d say even less with those miles but we left Earth some time ago. I’m not sure if collectors hone in on something like this, I feel its a good condition example outside of collector grade.
I respect the seller though:
“When the Pandemic hit, the car went into storage at my home garage for the last two and a half years. At 75, progressive arthritis forces me to sell my “throw-back” car.”
75 rockin’ DSM, this guy was well out of the target demo when it was new but had the itch later in life .
On the same note, I can feel the power of Our Lord from here:
https://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/cto/d/lyndora-1990-buick-park-avenuestwo/7488376659.html
Gold one seems okay as long as the continental kit isn’t screwed into the trunk and the grille mounting holes aren’t smashed apart. The wheels are different depending on the photo as well. No early 90s ABS to deal with.
Maybe flip the blue one if the sheet metal isn’t bad.
The spirit is in you if you can feel the godly power even while looking at that upholstery.
1. The Leaf uses CHAdeMO for fast charging, which is the BetaMax of charging and will likely become unfindable during your ownership period.
2. This is a good depiction of the Leaf’s thermal management: youtu.be/PUAjdOFV1Lw
3. The charging infrastructure issues, as well as the issues with older homes possibly needing electrical upgrades for at-home charging really shouldn’t be handwaved away.
Hey, I have a Betamax VCR and a couple of hundred Beta tapes of crap I recorded in the 80’s, including the first season of The Simpsons- complete with commercials.
CHAdeMO is a deal-breaker at this point. Even Nissan’s own newer EVs have moved to J1772.
Outside of CHAdeMO, though, we test-drove this generation of Leaf when we bought our Bolt, and the Bolt absolutely trounced the Leaf in every respect except for front-seat comfort. It had similar interior space in a significantly smaller exterior footprint. It’s faster, handles better, and is way more fun and engaging to drive. Neither car is exactly a star in interior ambience but the 2022 Bolt’s new interior is decisively better than the Leaf’s. And (recall notwithstanding) the Bolt has modern thermal management that should protect the battery over a much longer lifespan.
The difference was stark enough that my wife came back from the Leaf test drive and, sitting there in the Nissan showroom, told me to call the Chevy dealer and sign the papers.
One other thing I forgot to mention: I had similar electrical capacity issues in my 1953 house. We “solved” it by having a 240V 10A outlet wired and using the Bolt’s feature to limit Level 2 charging to 8A. 8A at 240V is still plenty to charge overnight in typical usage. We’re now remodeling and will have a modern 400A service installed as part of the process.
Those 1G Bolt seats though. I also think the Leaf rides better but YMMV.
Is that around 7 miles charged per hour? I guess that’s fine overnight most of the time but it would be more palatable with an EV6’s 350kWh rate over the Bolt’s Iron Duke 50kWh.
Yep, you get about 2 kWh/hour out of it. Worked fine in our usage but definitely wasn’t ideal. But the Bolt can’t charge that fast even at full Level 2 capacity.
The Leaf rides more softly, but with much worse body control. Whether it’s a “better” ride would be a matter of opinion. Neither car is a standout on ride.
Damn, Chris, I suggested this very story idea to Tim a few days ago!
Good, honest assessment about the state of infrastructure.
And I think this explains why Tesla is selling a crapload of cars and GM and Nissan have limped along with the Leaf and Bolt – the latter are chasing less affluent customers who may or may not have charging at home, but Tesla owners, being more affluent, usually have a garage to charge up in.
I live in an apartment complex, and would have difficulty charging up. A neighbor of mine owns a Model Y, and I asked him how he charges – turns out he works in Boulder and his employer has chargers on-site. I think we’ll start seeing more of that.
3,900lbs? yep, batteries are heavy. Why does it have a tunnel in the back? Are the batteries there instead of the skateboard arrangement? I assumed there would be a flat floor. Does it have a frunk? Looks better then the previous version, just not sure the floating roof design works here… maybe having the windows tinted would help.
Another EV review where the majority of the content is about not being setup to recharge the car and crappy hinterland charging infrastructure? Cool. Colour me surprised.
It’s a 5 year old car design, but it would be nice to know about things like handling. Can it compare to a simliarly powerful hatchback, etc. Does it lean? Does it oversteer like a pig? Does it feel locked down due to the low CoG?
Nothing about Chademo being a dead end, nothing about the battery cooling system being non-existant, come on guys.
It’s a heavy Versa and rides and handles pretty much like you’d expect a heavy Versa to. Softly sprung, indifferent body control, probably would understeer decisively if you felt the need to push it hard enough to find out, but it’s crystal-clear about not having any interest in that sort of thing. The low COG mostly means it doesn’t feel quite as heavy as it is, but it’s no one’s idea of a handler.
Which should be in the review on an enthusiasts site. Should it not?
This is the first generation of Leaf that has enough range to be useful. The range still ought to be higher. And for an EV to be frictionless you need a level 2 charger at home. Not having to stop at gas stations is a game changer.
I had a gig at Natalie’s in Worthington, just north of Columbus, in December. Drove my EV down, visited a supercharger near my hotel and drove back to Cleveland the next day. I don’t know what off-brand charging is like but it worked well for me.
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