The Good, Bad And Ugly: What It's Like To LIVE With A Nissan Leaf For 3 Months!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ม.ค. 2025
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( www.alltfl.com/ ) Check out our new spot to find ALL our content, from news to videos and our podcasts! Mary's been driving TFL's cheap-lease Leaf for the past three months. Here's how the experience has been with the nearly-free EV!
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#electric #car #review - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
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You’ve said you don’t want to be in front of the camera, but we’re all glad you are!
Seconded. She's honest about her experience and she's funny. Can't ask more from an EV reviewer.
Not sure why she said that. Opposite seems to be true. She puts the camera on herself way too much, and keeps checking herself while her cohost is trying to talk about the car. I guess she is a "influencer type" content creation. Not why I watch TFL.
YOUR Leaf doesn't have heated seats. The SVs with the Cold Weather/All Weather package will have a heat pump, along with a heated steering wheel and heated front seats. The heat pump takes less of a toll on the mileage than the normal resistive heater. Heat pumps make a big difference in EVs.
Yeah, we drove our 40kWh Leaf in CA - had a heat pump as part of cold weather package; can't imagine one in CO without that.
TFL leased this car for practically nothing, but the catch was that it was bare bones. The idea was what one can get for under $100 a month.
Cars aren't bad in the snow, tires are
Definitely
Exactly. Good snow tires on the front axle of our leaf made a big difference. Would take it almost anywhere id take our AWD escape.
Indeed. The LEAF is perfectly fine in the snow with decent winter tyres, at least no issues in Finland and winter weather here looks a lot worse and more snowy and colder than what we see in the video.
right I think its a lot better than another car its size. Its significantly heavier and the traction control for grip is superior to gas engines.
Totally agree, I got winter tires on my 2018 Leaf, gets me anywhere I need to go, with my ski-addiction, and the Ontario weather, never had any problems.
TFL should get you a set of winter wheels/tires for this for the winter. It makes a world of difference in a car that doesn't have AWD in the snowy months.
I agree. Winter tires should really be required in CO between December and April.
Correct all weather Tyres are just as important on an AWD as they are on a 2WD
AWD doesn’t help you stop or corner
@ No such thing as an “all weather” tire. There are all-season tires, which is what comes standard on almost all cars. including this one. All-season tires are okay at most things, but not great at anything. You need winter tires for cold weather driving.
@ Wrong
Mary, you're very good at this. Your layman's perspective is really valuable because, well there's a lot of us laymen out here lol. Great job
We're glad you're enjoying it!
EV eco tires are notoriously bad in the snow. Need to spring for a winter tire set.
I love how she says EV is anxiety in winter as she passes a Tacoma with its hood up. great video ty
2018 Nissan Leaf owner here. I live in Canada, and we have the "winter package", that includes heating steering wheel and seats. The model I have didn't come with heat pump, so I lose even more than you do in the winter. But, just as you said, it is still a great commuter car. One small important addition was the "all weather" tires, that makes the car much better for the snowy and icy roads. I had to replace the tires and instead of buying 2 sets for winter and summer, I went for a set that "does it all". Seeing that I don't drive too fast or too far during the winter, I thinks it was a good choice. Oh, and I have L2 where I live, and that means I can fully charge up the car in 4-5 hours.
Here has no heat pump either.
Mary; As a “car guy” it’s great to see a person who is more like everyone else just the average car owner. You bring the perfect perspective to every review. Roman great addition to the team.
This was a great review and entertaining as well.
Great video thanks Mary
Glad you enjoyed it
I have the SV plus and it’s better than the base model. Range is 212 in the cold and 245 in warmer weather. Also, if you get a 220 for the garage the SV plus will fully charge in 8 hours.
But the idea of this car was to see what one can get on a lease that’s like $25 a month.
Why do you have to pay $15 per month extra in rent to charge? Is your electricity free or is your electricity in the garage not connected to the same meter as the house?
That's a pretty good deal actually. She's using way more electricity than that
@@thedopplereffect00 Yes true, but is the $15 in addition to the electricity used to charge the car?
"This car is NOT good in the snow."
Try installing winter tires on it, and come back with your updated opinion.
You can easily reduce the range hit from the heating in the winter by preheating the car from the app 30 min before you want to leave. It will take the energy from the wall outlet when it is still plugged in. Also the range estimator (GOM Guess-o-meter) is based on previous use and current draw, so don't trust in it. I would just drive to work wirh heater on and check the result, espacially because you can charge up at work as well. P.s the leaf has another 10% batterie below 0 as a buffer, so you can really drive it down to zero.
On a level 1 charger, I don't think it'll make much of a difference. While it'll definitely slow the rate of discharge, the heat definitely uses more power at a level 1 charger can provide. Extremely solid advice though for someone who has a level 2 charger available.
@l10industries According to Leafspy the heater in the Leaf uses ~2.5 kW during Initial heating and afterwards 0.5-1.0 kW to keep the current temperature. I'm from Europe, so I don't exactly know how fast your US Level 1 chargers are, but over here the simple household socket chargers are rated for ~2.4 kW, so it works nicely.
@@Maku-mysr: Level 1 charging in the US is 120v @ ~12 amps, so just over 1.4kW. Just so you know.
For someone who doesnt want to be in front of that camera, you do a damn good job of it, Mary. Your humor, and your abiltiy to verbalize your thoughts and experiences with the cars and sound , ho.nestly, like yourself, and not every other youtuber out there is so refreshing, I look forward to alot more of you and Jen
Three things you should consider...
- When buying a EV in cold climate ALWAYS check the heated seats and heated steering option (This gives you comfort and range and usually is a cheap option).
- Having you breaker panel in your garage you should install a a level 2 (this would not be expensive - since it is a short run - and help you recoup charge faster if needed) .
- It looks like you are running on all season tires (Tell TFL to spring for some winter tires and your grip problem will go away ) . 👍😃
Love the honest real life, real use review by a real person who also happens to be really likeable.
I have the same exact car now. I'm enjoying it. I bought cheap heated seat covers on Amazon for mine for $35.
Glad to see an Nissan LEAF on this channel! I currently own 2018 LEAF SL, where i bought it used back in december 2022 during one of the coldest days possible! I definitely learned the hard way about how heaters and cold weather reduces range, to the point that energy consumption doubles. Almost didnt make it back home on first night from a dealership 50 miles away because of that. 😅 I will have to say, it's just as vulnerable in Texas hot summers too where your range takes hit if exposed to extremely high temps for prolonged period of time. The fact that it has passive cooling system does come with annoyances on living with this car during both spectrums of extreme climates but other than, i find LEAF to be a sensible car for commuting and driving on daily basis. just not really for long distances or road trips that's all.
Mary, you do a great job on screen. Keep up the good work!
i've owned a leaf; I've owned a volt, Ive owned a tesla. 3 very different cars. and very different how they work in winter. the leaf is really old technology. Its only a city car. great for that. the volt was no stress but I just wish the battery was bigger. And the tesla is just....no stress at all.
If you had the SV Plus trim level ($58/month) you would have heated front seats and heated steering wheel. The HVAC in our LEAF works much better than an ICE vehicle. It will melt the ice off the front/rear windows in just 5 minutes.
Great job Mary, tell Roman to get you some good tires for the snow. Hope to see you in more videos.
Thanks for such an honest review. Well done. That was fun to watch. 😊
Your electrical panel is RIGHT THERE. 6:25 A competent electrician can give you a 220V outlet on that wall for very little money. In fact, you would be increasing the value of the garage if there was a 220V outlet next to the work bench. Like TFL offices, some conduit, wire, and a new breaker in the panel is a pretty cheap way to get you L2 charging.
Her specific case is different because she’s a renter.
Actually, there are no 220v outlets. They are 240 volt outlets.
From what she said in the review it’s a rental. I guess it’s up to the landlord
@@scotturich What if the landlord is an electrician and he takes over the rental?
@@mowcowbellare you really going to be the "actually" guy today? I believe we all know the 220V & 240V are interchangeably used to refer to the same split phase electrical input for North American electrical feeds.
Would it make you happier if I edited my original comment?
Mary has been a great addition
You really need heated seats and steeringwhel is a must in an EV. Great job.
I really like your different perspective on stuff like this as an honest consumer who doesn't know the ins and outs and all the technical details of things - just "this is how I use it, these are my thoughts" is great. That said, you mentioned you felt other vehicles were more reliable - has the car ever let you down, and did you just mean you felt the range might not get you there? Because that I understand, and that's where a 220/240v socket in that garage would be a game changer. With only slow charging, charge management is definitely a thing - I have a 1.5kW (5mph basically) charger at home and I drive a Tesla now, but I find that if I put it on charge whenever I'm home if it drops below 50%, I have no issues at all covering my usual 40-80 mile journeys when I use the car. This weekend I have a 150 mile drive and it just means I left the car plugged in whenever it was at home all week, gradually building up towards a full charge, so it'll comfortably do what I need.
Mary is easily the most entertaining presenter on the TFL team!
I would love to see you try a chevy bolt, since it's a pretty direct competitor to the leaf and can be bought used for under 10k.
I have put 31000 miles on my Leaf Plus, which comes with heated weats and heated steering wheel. It also starts fully charged with somewhere between 240 to m250. miles range, depending on driving style. I never use a fast charger, and only use it for local driving. I have a level 2 charger at home..
we frequently haul an electric scooter for my wife to use while shopping in the mall.
Mary, great update on your experience with the Nissan Leaf, yah that sucks no heated seats, they do affect range, a friend of mine has a 2023 Leaf, one of the upper models, charges at home with a level 2 unit installed in his garage , charging there 95% of the time, he had a set of Bridgestone Blizzak snow tires installed at Costco, good deal and the Leaf drives fine in the winter and we live in Central Canada, the car is good, in our extreme low temps we get _25-30 he does say it'll lose range pretty quick almost 35% ,he has no anxiety about it ,he just plans his routes accordingly and charges at home, great video 👍
Ask your boss to put some snow tires on it, you'll like it much more.
Snow tires are a game changer. A must have.
Fun video. Yeah my wife gets way less range in her EV in winter with the steering wheel and seat heater on and the cabin heater set to 84 :D She plugs it in every night but in the summer it is only once a week.
You still use Regen when you touch the brake pedal. You're refreshing. I hope they let you do more reviews. Cheers 🥂
Very Nice, Mary. Keep up the good work. I hope TFL keeps using you on camera . . . it's great to see someone who is not a car enthusiast giving their opinions on these vehicles.
Thank you! You too!
Does your car have the cold weather package with the heat pump? The difference in my 2024 M3 with a heat pump from my 2018 without has been a very pleasant surprise.
Mary, you have been a welcomed addition to the TFL team, keep up the awesome work.
Thank you so much!
My points about the Leaf.
Heated seats is very low spec issue. Mine has them.
Can't complain too much about the defrosting (though I usually preheat 5-10 minutes from the app).
Mine has 40kwh battery, so the range is bit meh, but fine for my commute.
It's pretty ok with snow with good studded tyres but I miss 4wd/awd.
I don't like 1 phase level 2 charging.
Window-washer sprayers get covered in snow sometimes (bad location)
Hvac is too hot ate the beginning and bit chilly afterwards (sensor location).
Chademo is beeing phased out everywhere :(
It's great to see someone (Mary) who doesn't think every vehicle needs to be a rock crawler.
I'm currently driving a loaner Leaf while my Nissan Ariya is in the shop. The one i have is better equipped with heated seats and steering wheel, so no complaint there. It definitely feels like a rental car though with acres of hard black plastic. I fully agree that it's not great in the snow. Tires are certainly a factor, but also the ABS/ESC doesn't seem as well tuned as in other cars I've driven.
Appreciate your relatable review style. It would be interesting to see how it does with winter tires. TFL should outfit you with winter tires.
79°?! No wonder it drains your battery, you want a rolling sauna!
I thought the same! I keep my Bolt at 68-73 depending on how much battery I want to save and how much I'm already wearing
I live in North Dakota, the temperature is currently -4 with a wind chill of -19. Tonight it’s supposed to drop to -16 for a low. When I get in my vehicle I’m cranking the heat. I’m not choosing between comfort & range. My wife is worse, heated seats on high, heated steering wheel on, heat set to highest level pretty much all the time. Having to worry about that decreasing range would definitely cause anxiety. I would not trust an EV here in winter outside of a metro area. If your battery dies when it’s -20 it’s a matter of minutes before you’re in serious trouble. EV’s seem like they would be good for commuting & running errands around town, but where I live I would definitely not want one to be my only vehicle
@@Bugzapper-t9j don't let a frugal hypermiler like me inform you about how YOU should drive YOUR car. Route planning apps are really good at estimating power consumption based on conditions, and you can choose to recharge before hitting 10% or 20% or whatever you want. Just like you probably do with picking when to refuel your gas car: 1/4 tank, when the light comes on, whatever you're comfortable with
@@benroberts2222 Here’s a scenario I think of with electric vehicles. I live near a bigger city in ND, plenty of charging options around here. But say I want to go see my parents who live 90 miles out of town in rural ND? Should be able to go there & back on a charge in most EV’s right? Now let’s say I do that same trip on one of these cold (below 0) winter days with the heat cranking the whole time. Between that & just the range loss from the cold, making that round trip would not be as much of a given without having to charge. There’s no charging stations out there. I’d hate to have to be coming back home running on “fumes” so to speak in those conditions. Your route planning apps don’t do much good if you don’t have enough juice to make it to a charger. Not to mention the extra energy needed to precondition the battery so it’ll actually take a charge in those conditions. I’m not completely against EV’s they’re just not the right vehicle for every use case. But for a commuter & errand runner they’d be great if you can charge at home & run them on the cheap
@@Bugzapper-t9j We didn’t really ask and no one lives in North Dakota. We’re concerned with how these vehicles work where the rest of us live, thank you.
Another great review from a new perspective.
Great video Mary. I have a similar experience with my Bolt EUV. I think a lot of cheap EV experiences are the same. The one huge difference is driving in the snow. I grew up in NY and I have a lot of experience with snow driving but I will never drive my Bolt in the snow. The stock tires on the Bolt make it drive like it is in on skis. It doesn't have great traction in regular weather so in the snow it is horrible.
Time8:40 The spontaneous singing about "Getting Stuck in the Snow/ Not Getting Stuck in the Snow" was great. I make up songs all the time about things I see while driving.y
I mean, 10 or 20 miles range loss, that isn't bad, if you slow down a bit, stick to 55 MPH on the freeways, you can make that range up. But also your commute to work and back leaves you with 40% range anyway, nothing to worry about.
Tires, winter ones, should help a lot with snow.
You're pretty great as a host!
I had the gen 1 24 kWh.
It was the cheapest car I have ever owned and the only problem I had after 6 years was the 12V battery being weak.
And it was fantastic in the snow for a 2 wheel drive. (Denmark). Which tires do you use ?
Zero active termal management (or active cell balancing) of the battery will remain the biggest flaw of the LEAF and that was a deliberate decision by their engineering team. It's such a pain it's as if Nissan lowkey didn't want the LEAF to flourish. I would still take a LEAF over the Prius tho
Drives by a Tundra with its hood up at 3:55
I may have missed Mary saying it, but a minor benefit of an EV is not having to go to a gas station at all, which saves time. The downside is using public charges once in a while if on a long trip, which takes extra time. For my driving style, I am saving time massively if you consider both.
Also, who doesn't hate gassing up their vehicle in sub-zero temps?
I have a 2022 leaf sv plus. I’m thinking of switching the oem tires to Michelin cross climate 2. Any thoughts out there? How much range will I lose?
I’m not sure these types of reviews actually further the cause of electric vehicles. Are you paid for by the oil industry?
Thinking about getting one for my daughter who’s about to turn 16 but we live in America’s highest town of Leadville Colorado it was -21 last night so I’m not sure how that would work in the winter lol I’m not worried about how it handles in the snow. A front wheel drive car with good tires is fine with us in the snow because we’re used to driving in the snow.
I’m worried about having electric car in general in a place that gets cold. Temps but a lot of people do. Our town is literally 3 miles from end to end so I think it would be a good grocery getter for my kid.
The LEAF is great in the snow (I'm in Canada, so real snow). Studded winter tires FTW
What a great video Mary, thank you!
4:47 It is a rental car. A lease is a long term rental car.
You've got a great onscreen presense ,love the sense of humor.
Wow, sorry to hear about the defrost. Not usually a bad point on any leaf I’ve ever heard of, maybe just that one model/variant.
For the most part they’ve been offered as Acenta, N-Connecta and Tekna (S,SV & SV+ in US markets) I’ve got an accenta and although it was a base model when I bought it, it does have a heat pump but no heated seats. I could have got a heat pack from factory or traded up to the n-connecta but I was in a hurry to buy settled for a stock unit.
The defrost works on a timer (or app if you pay $$)
Sounds like the model you have is the basement spec, we used to have visia spec here in the UK, (similar)it was wheels and doors.
That may be why yours has no heated seats pump and only steel wheels.
I hope Nissan get your heating sorted but they’re pretty basic things, sounds more like an actual heater problem if it’s not running.
In terms of range though, I drive mine everywhere as my only car including hundreds of miles for work. I’ve been travelling locally for work, 42miles there, 42 back and today is about the coldest it really gets here normally(-6c). Left with about 92% got back with 12%. No problems, 4yrs in and I could live with it another 4 still as my only car.
It seems you have the wrong trim level: the Leaf SV Plus, which includes heated seats and offers a better mileage range.
I have never understood the affinity for heated seats. Living in the snow belt, I have never felt a need for them and have never used them when my vehicle is equipped with them. Then I will hear from associates who will say things such as "It's 50 degrees in Florida this morning...thank goodness for heated car seats!" Seriously? What would you want in your car on a 15 degree morning...a wood burning stove in the dash?
It's an alternative to turning the air heating on, which is very inefficient in an EV.
You got a lot of car for what you pay - and keep the car rolling for the next 18 months cause summer is coming.
HVAC update will come soon and hopefully work better.
great content hands on and straight from the heart with all the impressions you have in that particular moment even if a RAV4 from 2007 outperforms the car you are sitting in - except the key point: costs to drive cause RAV 4 will take more money for gas, oil and maintenance.
At the end the solution of a small EV with a shorter range is a proper companion used ice car with all you might be missing like 4x4 or a tow hook and so on. I like this kind of fresh impressions and the different angles of view like talking about all the bags and space.
I tried the leaf back in 2018 and It had heated wheel, seats and windshield. Which version is yours?
In our experience, winter tires are a must in some areas like for instance in mountains, in Colorado, or in our place, Northern Idaho.
Our Chevrolet Bolt EUV is like any GM product: has excellent, AC, heating, defrost etc.
Please say what the trim level and battery capacity are.
In Australia, I have a used 40 kWh 2018 Leaf G trim from Japan and it does have heated seats and steering wheel. The windscreen demister (heat plus air conditioning) works well in the Blue Mountains near Sydney (not so cold but often very foggy).
What do you think if you had lvl2 charging at home ?
Mary takes top awards for best TFL facial expressions.....by far
I like the way the leaf looks, however was so disappointed with the tech and non thermally managed battery with an out dated charging port. Ended up going with a Chevy equinox Ev
Due to murica having a lower voltage than other countries around the world, I use 240v and it's a breeze on in my country.
America has 240V. You just need to install the outlet for it
Better host than most of main TLF crew tbh. Those guys always act like they showed up to class late, didn't do their homework, and are now BSing their way through it.
Mary is a very fortunate asset acquired by TFL. Good job recruiting her!
She is awesome!
You're not a huge winter fan and you live in Colorado?
with a 2wd leaf ...
I am seriously considering getting rid of my gas car for a leaf. I don't drive much so I feel it would be good, and I live somewhere where we don't get snow so it would be perfect.
One of my neighbors got the nissan Ariya much more practical than the leaf.
3 months? Have you been a TFL team member that long already? Congrats!!
Looking forward to many many…many…more! 🤙🏼😎
I wonder if the having the heat on would the same as AC as far as range
Can you disable the regen in the snow? That regenerative braking can put you into a skid with slippery roads.
Actually e-pedal/one-pedal driving (she got that mixed up with regen braking) actually gives you a lot more fine-grained control, so actually less skidding and slipping when road conditions are bad. (based on 5 Finnish winters with the LEAF now)
I assume you don’t have winter tires on it. I wonder how it would handle with winter tires in the snow?
Thanks, Mary. Enjoying your content. I have an Ioniq6.
Better tires would probably help the lack of snow performance.
Man I think next year when the lease is up she should try the AWD Nissan Ariya with all the creature comforts
3 months is long term?
Heat and AC at the same time will defrost the fastest. You never said how much battery you get back while sleeping. Why?
This kind of regular driving review is great. Thinks like the defrost problems might not be noticed otherwise.
I hope “Polly” has Nokian winter tires all around.
4:00 at least you were not stuck at light with the hood up!
Hot weather (AZ HOT) will kill your range. My Ioniq 5 (RWD, long range) would drop from 300ish miles to 240 in an AZ summer because of AC usage. Currently driving a 2019 eGolf, EPA 125 miles of range. In what passes for winter here in AZ my range swings from 150 to 110 depending on freeway vs surface street and temperature.
Great, honest review! And you are definitely quite the character.
Living here in CA I'm seriously considering going back to gas. The rates here are off the charts compared to you all in CO. When I hear 0.30c kwt for PUBLIC charges and 0.07 for Home, I just start getting sad. I pay 0.60 for Public and 0.37-0.48 for Home.
My bill going from the super efficient Honda Accord Hybrid to my Honda Prologue hasn't achieved the savings in anyway except for maintenance. I just don't know if that's going to be enough to offset the massive increase for power compared to gas.
If you can install solar panels and charge at home during daytime it would help a lot.
@alanwardrop9575 I have 19 panels. no battery unfortunately though.
Polly likes you tooo!
The girls do way better review , they are more real world . thank you for the video
I take the traction control off in the snow
I wonder how this compares to the Fiats TFL have. Do they have a good heat and defrost system. "If it is not your only car" the key words of any EV owner
Every vehicle NEEDS winter tires.
I got an e-Golf for driving around town. The tires always squealed, and the front end understeer meant my SUV could take turns more sharply. Then I got a puncture in a tire sidewall which meant I had to replace the tire.
After a lot of research and consideration, I replaced all four low rolling resistance tires with high performance touring all season tires. OMG what a difference. The car is now fun to drive, carves out turns, and I feel like it would be a breeze driving it through a slalom course. The only downside was a 5% reduction in range, which is practically unnoticeable.
If you don't feel confident with how an EV drives (especially in snow), you really should consider swapping in regular tires.
Does the Leaf have snow tires? Might be fun to send Mary on a winter driving course with the Leaf. Would be informative and educational to see how she feels driving the Leaf after that.🤔
she should be driving a jeep compass in the snow, jeep compass has heated seats and heated steering wheel, the 2.0 turbo love being in the high elevations, compass uses a 8spd automatic transmission with all wheel drive 4x4. its gasoline no need to worry about charging an ev. you should trade in the nissan for a jeep!
I don't know how anybody lives on L1 charging, much less in the cold. Maybe talk the landlord into cost sharing a 240v install outlet next to the panel?