http://ecomento.com/2015/03/03/nissan-leaf-ev-review-4-years-70000-miles/ 4 years and 70,000 miles with a Nissan LEAF EV March 3, 2015 | Steve Hanley
[image http://cdn.ecomento.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Nissan-LEAF-EV-review.jpg ] The folks at Transport Evolved purchased one of the first Nissan LEAF’s in the UK. It was placed in service on March 28, 2011 and has accumulated 70,380 miles driving around England, with occasional forays into Belgium and France. Cars in England that are more than 3 years old are required to have a regular inspection by the Ministry of Transportation, similar to the safety inspections most US drivers are familiar with. A recent MOT inspection revealed the front brake pads needed replacing. Also, a front strut was found to be noisy but still serviceable. The charge for the brake replacement, routine maintenance and wiper blades all around came to about $500. The only other money spent on the car to date has been for new tires. And how do the Transport Evolved people feel about their LEAF? They say they will get another, which is precisely what Nissan wants to hear. But it hasn’t been all sunshine and sweet nothings for the LEAF over the past 4 years. Here are some of the major concerns. Battery degradation The LEAF dashboard has a battery capacity display with 12 bars. The LEAF “lost” a bar at about 52,000, indicating the battery now had 15% less capacity than when new. The LEAF Spy phone app says, with 70,000 miles now on the odometer, the battery is down to about 80% capacity. Battery degradation has been an issue for some LEAF owners, which caused Nissan to strengthen the battery warranty to 8 years, 60,000 miles. Lots of charging needed The loss of battery capacity has been offset by increases in the number of charging stations available over the past 4 years. Being able to recharge more often has meant that range issues have not been a major factor in the enjoyment of the car. But the Transport Evolved experience has taught them never to pass up an opportunity to recharge. For many typical days, the car was asked to complete an 80 mile round trip. It was happy to do so, as long as the driver took advantage of any public chargers along the way. At other times, the daily commute was more than 100 miles, which is greater than the car’s useful range, but the car was recharged during the 3 hours the driver was inside working. In fact, the appearance of the LEAF encouraged more than one business to install a charger where none existed previously. The only times the LEAF had to be towed was when the charging infrastructure failed. The car itself has been surprisingly reliable. Wear and tear Transport Evolved reports the interior of the car has held up well as the years and miles added up. The only complaint they have is with the exterior of the car, which seems to suffer from paint that is prone to stone chips and other damage. Reports suggest that Nissan has improved the quality of the paint used on the LEAF in 2013 models and later. Cost of operation Using a very conservative estimate, electricity for the car would have cost about $3000 for 4 years use. In fact, the owners often recharged at home during off peak hours and took advantage of free public charging whenever available. Their actual cost of electricity has been roughly $1500. By comparison, gasoline for a Toyota Prius would have cost in excess of $7500, even taking into account the recent decline in fuel prices. Owner satisfaction It’s fair to say the Transport Evolved staff has been very satisfied with its LEAF experience, often picking it over the Chevy Volt in their test fleet due to its quiet and comfortable ride. In the comments to the TE story about their car, another LEAF owner with almost the same amount of miles summed up his experience this way, “The LEAF is still the most amazing vehicle I have ever owned. I recommend the LEAF. However, I do understand that one must seriously want to go electric due to the lifestyle changes required.” It’s that last sentence that perhaps best sums up where the electric car industry is today. The cars are improving. Prices are coming down (slowly). The number of charging stations is increasing. Public acceptance of electric cars is rising. But there are still things an owner of an electric car is required to deal with that the owner of a conventional car is not. Electric cars will not go mainstream until those differences disappear. 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