What Happens When My CHEAP Leaf DIES? | Used EV Range Test! - Shot On iPhone 13
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 พ.ค. 2024
- Rory takes the cheapest Nissan Leaf on Auto Trader for an extended drive to see how far it'll go on its ageing battery pack, and discovers exactly what happens when an electric car runs out of battery! Shot on iPhone 13 Pro Max.
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Thank you all for watching! Did the Leaf go further than you expected?
It didn't go far enough for me to even make it to my mother inlaws and back and I live among hills.... Wait a minute.. SOLD! Shut up and take my money.
What was the original range and is there a graph of the implied degradation over the years? Data geek gotta data, after all.
Thanks for this Rory, I’ve been a subscriber since before your TopGear days.
How did you get home? And how did the leaf get home?
Does running it to zero hurt the battery at all?
@@jgtv5888 yes it will if done often, the odd time should not be significant enough to even notice.
It did! Question is how do you recharge it or get it to charging point once it runs out of juice? That would be good video in itself! “How to rescue your EV once it runs out juice on the road.
Just watched a bloke drive a 9 year old car, 66 miles. Working from home is great.....
Massive love Rory x
It is great, my neighbors don't think so though with all the noise I make😀
would have been nice if he could have made 3 more miles
You got to enjoy Bedford town centre too :)
Spoiler alert man
What a brilliant presenter!. Concise, friendly, entertaining, clear as crystal. Not the usual cocky arrogant clever stuff some presenters feel obliged to do.
They should get this guy on Top Gear!
@@BikeFlips yeh you might be onto something there…
Everyone's ideal son-in-law!
Yeah it’s ridiculous how good he is. Concise is the right word!
I agree.....this young man did a most excellent presentation.
Respect from across the pond. 👍👍👍👍👍 peace
Thanks to people like you Rory, Top Gear is now something of an insignificance. There are so many vloggers doing great videos that TH-cam (and this channel in particular) have become the ‘Go To’ place to view cars and tests that help us make decisions on what we should do with our ‘hard earned’. More power to you Sir!
Top gear is painful to watch now. But yes I still watch it, mainly for Harris smashing supercars round a track.
My favourite is Fully Charged.
@@squalloogal that’s exactly what I mean. So many good ones on here doing what TG did maybe 20-30yrs ago. The Beebs loss is TH-cam’s gain!!
What is top gear ????🤣🤣🤣
@@davyhoogy since 2012
Proper consumer advice and proper testing! Love it, Rory is absolutely brilliant at his videos, he does them all properly.
Without doubt the most interesting EV video I have ever watched. Usually it's a reviewer in something that comes in entry level £40K, waxing lyrical about how good it is (headline news, a car costing £40K damn well SHOULD be good), with some boring facts about rear leg room, USB charging points and boot space.
Give me a slightly tired Nissan Leaf any day! Now we're talking!😁
And cupholders, LED lights etc
This is a great way of summing up my feelings on this, a few years ago Autotrader was this magazine i would think about every few years, but now, its fascinating real word car reviews, and even better i can see comments like this appreciating what they do.
Well done Rory. A cheap electric car for every day use. If you want to, you can get the battery tested to see if any cells can be replaced and improve the range. The big difference with this car to modern EVs is the battery management and cooling systems. The Leaf is 10 year old technology, and air cooled, so we'd expect that degradation in capacity to be much less in cars on sale now with water cooled batteries and intelligent management systems. Also in the early days of EVs owners charged their cars too often which we now know hurts the battery life. Looking forward to seeing what you are going to do with the car.
You say cheap, I say affordable. For many of us, the new EVs are simply unachievable. So saving the planet remains rich man's aspiration, unless these good, used EVs are an option. Now someone needs to do something about the cost of battery replacement.
@@santosh911 3 Nissan Leafs on offer on Autotrader in the UK today at under £6k. It may not be 'cheap' but it's entry level and makes EV ownership a reality for many car owners.
@@santosh911 The Dacia Spring is 12.000 euros. You can find Renault Zoé from 2020 WITH battery starting around 18.000 euros used. Yes most EV have new prices pretty hard, but don't forget that they also depreciate when used. While 20.000 euros is not cheap for everyone, I say that 20k for a 400km range 2 yo car is pretty decent and totally a normal price for lower middle class already
Cleveleys Electric Vehicles in Gloucestershire are offering battery pack refurbs for the Leaf. They posted a TH-cam vid a few years back of a refurb they carried out on a 10 year old Leaf. The work took 4 hours, and cost the owner £600. But of course this would be determined by the number of failing cells in the pack..... although a refurb will almost always cost quite a bit less than a complete pack replacement.
@@evornotev7794 If someone only has £6k to spend on a car (assuming its an only car); An old Nissan Leaf would be a regrettable mistake for most, if not all buyers. Unless the hypothetical individual near never leaves a 25 mile bubble around their residence which is barely any more than the area of most counties in the UK; it is simply inconvenient and more so, the slow charging would effectively strand you 50 miles from your residence for hours if someone tried to fully utilise the range. Need i speculate that come winter time the 60 mile range will likely become just 30 miles uncomfortable miles with the heating/radio off. I am sure this will get better in the future but these early cars (if they didnt when they were new, certainly now) demand the owner to be practical, not the other way round. That is a problem for an econobox, a small displacement petrol is still definitely the way to go at the budget end;
I saw on TH-cam a group of guys called Nissan an found out the at 35mph is the optimal speed for maximum range. They took a 24kw leaf on a closed 7-9 mile track and held it at 35mph and achieved 135 miles on it before it was 100% dead. You could try the same type of test with a reduced capacity battery and see what it would do. Just a thought.
I think you'll get more range at even lower speeds. A lot of the loss for EVs is drag and that varies with the square of the velocity, so 17.5mph will have 1/4 the drag of 35mph. Some of the other losses I'd expect to be lower at lower speeds too. Rolling resistance would probably be the next biggest.
Not exactly a real world test tho
Interesting
How did Rory get home?
Is he still there?
Can someone who knows where he is check on him?
he was just down the drive away from the place where he planned to charge the car, he probably just rolled it back a bit and charge it up.
@@DavidKnowles0 good. I’ve not slept for worry
Haha! But yea, it would be nice to know what he did next, like did he get a mobile charger to come (if such a thing exists)?
Also, it would be nice to know if that damaged the battery at all.
For a £3000 ten-year-old car, 60 miles is brilliant, especially considering an EV Smart Car does that and that costs £25,000.
He bought it for over £4000 didn't he?
For a third of the price, you can get a diesel that does 500 miles.
@@robiulahmed I'd question how reliable that car would be and of course you'd be making the planet a worse place
@@robiulahmed i have a 30kwh leaf and a scenic with a 600 mile range. The scenic has cobwebs on it
@@jozefbrodala5318 Early 2000's diesel cars were and still are extremely reliable. Not much goes wrong with them. The later common rail ones have more finnicky ancillaries and can go wrong. As for "killing the planet", you can spend the money you save into planting trees.
In 2021, most new EVs will keep 90% of their battery capacity even after 1000 charge cycles. For an EV with 250 miles of range, that means 250,000 miles. Basically the batteries will last much longer than most combustion cars.
Well, degradation is but one part of the puzzle but in theory it is possible.
What an utterly ignorant and stupid remark.
My 1973 Capri looks immaculate and still gives 100% of the range it ever did as it will in another 50 years time.
Same is true of all my other petrol cars.
@@loosabway3400 You are correct, but dont think the harshness is needed, this is far from the worst comment, in fact it even has some merit from certain points of view. The reviewer himself had some way worse statements.
No they won't. The battery degrades with time, not only with mileage.
@@loosabway3400, if you have an immaculate 73 Capri that runs like new it's because you look after it and maintain it. I would guess you give it lots of love and attention too. Most cars are workhorses and people do the least they can get away with to keep them on the road that is why they have a ten-year average life span. Your highly unusual situation is just that, highly unusual.
Man the amount of angles he got for just filming on his iPhone was great
Haha that's why we like to recycle old b-roll footage. In one shot inside the car he's suddenly wearing a black leather jacket
@@thomwillemse9108 I was going to say because I noticed a few rolling shots lol
I noticed (and he did it for us remember) a few times he propped the accelerator pedal down with a piece of wood,and jumped out and ran Infront,behind and down the sides of the car at 30mph to get the shots.
And had a couple of slip on leather sleeves to spice the steering wheel views up.
👍👍😀
@@brianiswrong 😂🤣😂
The Nissan leafs are notorious for the worst battery degradation because they have no thermal management. New EVs with thermal management seem to lose around 10-15% max. It's great progress in a short space of time.
This actually applies mostly to the earliest ones, as after that the cell chemistry has been worked on making the battery much more durable. They still don't have active thermal management, but on the other hand this makes them much easier to work on/swap dead cells and so on. Lots of shops doing this type of thing.
Our '75 KW' Model 3 was down to 66 KW by the beginning of year 3. The trip planner still shows '470 km' at the start of a trip, but it's only gone past 300 km on the warmest days.
What I find interesting is why they need thermal management at all. Batteries only get hot if you push them too hard, so if they designed the cars to go easier on the batteries the heat wouldn't be such an issue. But I suppose then you end up with a slower car and a larger battery pack and most drivers would rather better performance even if it shortens the life of the batteries.
@@vink6163 I think most of battery cooling is for rapid charging (50-150KW). So your can charge at services and not wait to 8 hours+ for trickle charge to finish (like you can at Home 7KW charge).
@@RandyTWester The trip planner is and estimate as far as i know it is just the WLTP. Why i just use % instead of KM. The Tesla estimated arrivial is for me within 1-2% difference
Now you need to find that IONIC5 driver and get them to give you a boost from their V2L adaptor.
If only electric cars could drive while plugged in, they could drive along together :)
@@CharlesGregory That would be cool. A little like towing I guess, but a cable instead of a rope!
So speaking from experience from a Nissan Leaf owner, I have found a good rule of thumb how to use the heat and AC for better range. I use the low setting on the heated seats, the lowest setting on the fan for either heat or AC and if you have cold hands like me the heated steering wheel adds enough comfort for warmth. this seems to be the best way to maximize your range in colder weather driving a 2107 Leaf, 2019 Leaf and a 2019 Leaf+, all vehicles I've owned and currently own.
how much range does your 2107 leaf have? is it infinite...
@@stephensharp975 Don't I wish! Full charge off of 120v trickle charger puts a little over 100 miles on the gauge. I never use the Auto Climate mode to heat or cool.
I have my EV-Blanket. I put it over my legs. It lives on the backseat when we don't snuggle :)
@@markwellington1254 Mark, Stephen Sharp is pulling your chain... you have made a typo with the year for the first Leaf; I think you meant 2017 but you typed 2107. ;o)
@@PiefacePete46 lol nice spotting I missed that as well.
Rory you’re an amazing reviewer. I can’t say it enough. Auto Trader owes you more $ than they can pay.
Great to see a £3000 car running for next to nothing, wake up to 60 miles a day if you have a home charger. No car tax, Hartley any maintenance costs. Absolutely brilliant. Great video.
Rory had me well and truly 'going' there... I was fuming with the expectation that he was going to throw in the towel and cheat me out of the climatic battery death moment😲.... What a tease he is🙄
Rory is one of the best reviewers out there, professionally delivering real-world honest answers to questions that viewers want to know.
Rock-on Rory👍
David: I did feel a little bit cheated though... with an ICE car, the tester then pulls out a can, tips a few gallons of dead fossil juice into the tank and motors off into the sunset.
What did Rory do? I could lose sleep over this... could there be a "Part 2"?
Another well presented and informative production. Top job from a real professional presenter.
Thanks for the video. Our old '65 Leaf (30kwatt battery) has done around 55,000 miles, and still gives us 105 miles of range (battery health indicator still shows all 12 bars). When it was new it was giving us up to 115 miles. So I echo your views on how slow (and therefore impressive) the degradation is. And it's so comfortable! We still love it, alway remembering its limitations of course - especially that under 5 degrees centigrade you are going to lose 20 miles of range easy.
Massive work Rory! Thanks for the video and I'll stay tuned for all the tunning and repair videos as well!!! 🙏🏻
Fully agree with you, driving an old Zoe with about the same range myself. It is totally fine for what I do and these cars are really affordable. :)
Awesome video. Please bring on more of the vlog style videos. It’s awesome
I just bought a 2012 Leaf on 7-30-2022 and I am so glad I watched your video. Thank you for this as it was so helpful and helped me with my concern about the range. I feel so much better and will drive it now with joy and confidence. Seriously, thank you.
I wasn't surprised by your findings. Thank you for sharing.
Entertaining to see a man drive an EV carefully until the battery died.
Now do a video driving aggressively with all lights, AC, radio and windows open to get more drag, to see the minimum rage.
Range - or RAGE?
Is that a bit Freudian??
@@markchip1 shut up marcus.
What kind of idiot has the aircon on and the windows open.
That was actually a mild day. So yes, drive (rather than eco) mode on a motorway on a very cold day with the heater on and I am guessing this would die in 30 miles.
AC wouldn't consume that much. But the old resistive heater in the Leaf can suck over 6 kW at full blast.
Worst case scenario for most electric cars is 2 miles per kWh and for a 24kWh LEAF brand new, well you do the math.
@@robsengahay5614 2 - 2.5 miles per kWh for constant motorway driving. It goes up when departing the motorway with regen and lower speed etc
Love your content Rory. Good job as always.
As a 40kwh leaf driver I love this series of vids. Always wondered how far I could actually go on one charge and this gives me more of an indication!
Just a quick note to say that later Leaf iterations handle the heater situation better. They installed heat pumps in the newer Leafs so when you hit the heat button it estimates a loss of just 3 miles as opposed to 10. Same with aircon. Obviously other factors effect range too but it shows tech is moving on all the time.
I love those original Leafs! Looking forward to more of these.
Kudos! Great drive-along video, very informative and well presented. Cheers!
Excellent real world test, and what I've been witing for. When people ask me, as an EV owner about range anxiety, and "what happens when you run out of battery", I now know hat to tell them. I've come close to absolute panic driving through Suffolk where the only chargers were so few and slow that the 5 miles that it took to get to took 90 minutes to get 5 miles of charge. I reckon most EV owners accept the range and factor it in to the journeys they most often make. Still love my 3 year old Kia Soul EV, but as winter approaches will have to get used to wearing a warm coat and avoid losing 35% range just to keep warm.
I've got a 2014 Leaf. I love the car! Fits 100% of my needs! Has lost 2 bars, but I can easily do 140km in the summer and over 120km in winter.
My 2014 just passing 55,933 miles 12 bars, never dissapoints!
@@nonyanks2510 I'm in Portugal. Some summers give us 40°C, so it's a bit harsh to the battery.
Newer Leafs (like yours) have much better battery chemistry that degrade less.
@@GoldenCroc yep. They're called "lizard", but even so, we have some 30kWh in Portugal that have already lost 3 bars!
@@pebh Yes, I know. Some climates and heavy usage is terrible for air cooled cells. I think some people in Arizona or some such lost a bar every month for the first few bars!
As someone who has essentially no interest in cars I'm not sure why TH-cam recommended an AutoTrader video for me a few days ago. That said, Rory's charisma being off the charts, I've now watched six or seven of his videos. What a ridiculously likable (and informative) guy.
Thanks for the memories! I bought a 2012 LEAF SV in 2015 but had to trade it when the charging port died. Yes, I could have had it fixed, but at $1500, plus the degrading battery, it would be a financially poor decision. Moreover, the price of the Chevy Bolts was finally within my range.
One of the things I loved to do with my LEAF was work the numbers on the dash. The software in the dash and infotainment system was filled with hard-coded values; 5 miles between D and Eco, 10 miles for switching on the climate controls, etc. I used to play a game where I could get 11 - 13 miles per kilowatt. I would reset the values in the dash at the top floor of a parking garage, punch the accelerator (no gas pedal here), and watch the numbers go up as I coasted to the ground and the exit.
I found my LEAF way more comfortable than my Bolt. I truly enjoyed the gauging on the dash, it really helped to allay my range anxiety. The smaller battery was quickly charged, and, unlike my Bolt, no limits on the CHAdeMO fast-charge. If the charging port didn’t quick, I was working on a solar power source so I could extend my range while the car was parked. Aah, the good ol' days.
Great video and interesting to see a review about second-hand EVs rather than the latest super expensive model to hit the market.
When you started this series you were looking for the cheapest (proper) EV on Autotrader which meant the Leaf or the Zoe. Both these models have stood the test of time well and various strengths & weaknesses have emerged for each.
Sadly range degradation has proved more of a weakness for the 24kWh Leaf, partly as it relies on passive air cooling of the battery, leading to increased loss of capacity (66% of original after 9 years in your example). However, as another commenter points out, it’s possible to replace the battery or even individual cells within the battery, but I don’t know how realistic this would be, given the value of the car.
The Zoe did a little better in this respect having fan(s) to actively manage battery temperature, leading to typically 85-98% of original capacity (according to various EV forums) in similarly aged vehicles (capacity is not displayed on the dashboard of the Zoe, but requires an OBD dongle to interrogate the battery management system). Certainly my old 22kWh Zoe will still do over 90 miles when in Eco mode.
The take home from this is it is possible to purchase an EV on a budget, but if range is a worry, try to discover the current state of health (SOH - capacity) of the battery in any prospective purchase.
The dealer told me I couldn’t replace individual cells. It’s all or nothing. I called three different places, and they all said the same thing. I’m down to 6 bars and only getting ~20 miles. And it’s $12,000 to replace the battery now. 😱
Reallllllly regret getting an EV due to this battery degradation issue!
Great video, but the Leaf is old tech battery wise with its air cooling. Post Leaf EV’s got temperature controlled battery management systems as well as generous buffers they can release over the course of the battery life. My BMW i3 clocked up 110,000+ miles over 4 years with hardly any loss of range.
And how much was your BMW i3?
True but your BMW will cost a fortune to repair when anyone bumps into it such as £800 for a wing mirror replacement etc. It's swings and roundabouts.
I leased a brand new 2012 Leaf back in the day. FYI - I live in Phoenix, AZ, USA. Summer temperatures get up to 115F (46.1C) frequently during the hottest days, and cooling to 90F (32.2C) at sunrise. Due to that lack of a battery cooling system, my car lost 5 bars battery health bars, and received a warranty replacement battery at 2Yr 9Mo, about 30k miles.
For a couple months before replacement, I was making long, hard drives during the summer (52 miles w/DCFC round trips) almost every weekend for a couple months. Leafspy (android app) and an OBD2-Bluetooth plug showed the battery frequently going beyond 140F (60C) during those hard drives and not really cooling off overnight. Very bad for the battery. After getting the replacement battery, I had a new car again... for a few months (end of lease). These days, I drive a Volt (Ampera) with a cooled (sometimes refrigerated) battery.
@@brettd5884 thanks Brett, living here in outback Oz .i have the same concerns you experience as to weather and driving distance, you are the first person i have heard from regarding the range in extreme temperatures (ie needs aircon) and battery degradation. Over here we had a leaf with 6 miles range, After 3 years in Canberra from new (temperature range similar to Phoenix). Nissan quoted 30,000 to replace the battery. (about 22000 US) under their replacement program. I think the court of public opinion changed the prices of the program after that. and thanks Rory, for showing a little of the affects to battery life for using aircon.
All Nissan Leafs have passive air cooled thermal management systems. Not for use in hot climates.
This is great, thanks for the vid! Excellent presenter too. Need more!
The moss under the charge flap is freaking me out. Gonna wash the damn car Rory! 😛
Love your videos and this one was especially gripping. I have a near identical car with 10 bars. Took it from 20 meters to 200 meters above sea level on a 29 mile test. It cost me 38% - about 3.6 miles per kWh. The return trip cost me 27% - about 5.6 mile per KWh.
Best bit for me was seeing that you can get just over ten real miles from the last 'five' on the guessometer.
Very useful!
👍🏾👍🏾Thanks for the vid.. Keep rolling
Wow, just found your channel Rory!! Great videos, you’re so good you should be on top gear.
Really enjoying your take on all things car!!!
Keep going it's amazing how much further it can go after telling you to charge 😃
Great video - but what did you do to get out of the flat battery predicament?
Call a mate to give you a tow?
Call a tow-truck?
Get a heck of a long extension cable?
3 months and no response? maybe he is stuck out there still... Its not as if someone could come with a jerry can full of fuel ;)
And now, running till flat, would probably damage the battery further.
@@privatenexus5764 They could come with an EV6, though?
Thanks Mate you Keep safe and have a good and 2022 👍😊
Great fun video Rory! The Leaf is much maligned in some EV circles but you have to give them credit for building it when battery prices were $1,000/kWh...adding the cost of an active BMS back then would have meant it never getting built. I wouldn’t mind betting that Gen 1 Leaf’s become EV classics and avoiding mishaps yours will still be doing the school run for someone in 15 years time, probably having had a recon battery, or may be an upgrade to 40 Kw as by that time batteries will be cheaper than an engine rebuild on a fossil car. There won’t be any CHADEMO chargers around then but that won’t matter for a car doing local trips. As you’ve said on previous videos the Leaf feels almost new, whereas a 10 years old fossil car with 70K miles on will be starting to fade. There is so little to go wrong with an EV that 25 or 30 years and >200,000 miles is doable.
A really great video! As a leaf owner, I have never pushed it until it died and always wondered what would happen ... Thanks for going there for us 😀. Can't wait to see what you do with it.
Load it into a Howitzer and dispose of it, Clarkson style.
Loving the Leaf videos, was my first EV and I still kinda miss it a bit...
Surprised you didn't see turtle mode though?
I'm wondering if you were in gear when the battery got too low it'd show the turtle mode?
I never did get mine down low enough to see it.
Can't wait to see what else you've got in store! :)
Excellent test, enjoyed every minute, intelligent comments, on point!
Thanks for the tour around Bedford. You seemed to go by my street a few times. That made me lol. Interesting range and a bit disappointing that I can get to Cambridge and back without a bit of a range anxiety. Love the video.
Loving this series . Thanks for this series to tell us that used EVs can be good .
Loved this video. Let's not forget, most people who own electric cars won't let it drop to zero while on the road. Most modern ones will guide you to a charging station long before that happens.
The Leaf does too. I'd like to know how our man Rory recovered from a dead battery....
@@brettd5884 That would have been good to see, though it looked like he ran out on his drive. If that's the case, that's excellent planning!
Nice review, it was good to see a real range test👍
Nice! My 2020, I did drive it once down to the point that the range indicator shut off, haha, but I was only 1 mile from home, I knew it would make it from there. Like here, it shut down at 5 miles.
Note for those trying to eke out extra range: Newer LEAFs have "ECO Mode," but it only really changes the throttle response and aircon settings.
Excellent video! Just for a bit more specificity on the "Turtle mode numbers". When miles of range go to --- that indicates approximately 6kw remaining, when battery goes to -- then 4kw left, and when the turtle mode kicks in (restricted throttle to about 10mph or less) you have 1kw remaining before the driving mode stops altogether. This gives you about 4 miles in turtle mode to get off the road.
I have a 2013 Leaf 50k miles with 11/12 bars and have tested these numbers to be accurate. Keep up the good work!
I’ve never been a leaf fan because it’s never made sense just to have a car that you use around town, but this was brilliant at what it achieved compared to computers expectation. Also it’s fairly accurate as to the battery life counter. Despite my issues with the leafs range in general, can’t help but be impressed with these figures. Esp as it’s 9 years old
Yes a 15% drop in range isn't bad, but it's not really an accurate comparision when you are hypermilling.
Drive this at highway speed, and Rory got as little as 21.8 miles of range.
Most EV owners I know say to expect 50% range in winter, which makes the leaf and all EV's limited to city folk.
@@michaelp4122 You mean when he tried his best to get as few miles by driving at 100mph, with light, aircon, and anything else to reduce it. I was still impressed with it then as it did a 100mph. Your reply was misinformation at best. At 70mph my range is nearly as good as urban driving.
@@mrfoameruk50% range in winter is fact, not misinformation. I'd probably get less than that with the way I drive LOL.
I think most of us use heaters in the winter and 80-85 mph is pretty standard for the highway.
50% is what most EV owners tell me, why would EV owners understate their range? Wouldn't they exaggerate their range instead?
I enjoyed this video, good work! I like the way you demonstrated how easy the cars controls are easy to use. I have friends who are concerned they would have to learn all sorts of new things when driving an EV. I assure them this is not the case and your video demonstrates this.
Great to watch this as a LEAF owner in Sydney and immediately recognise lots of landmarks of my home town in Bedford… 👍🏻 good video Rory.
I’ve been patiently waiting for this video. Thanks Rory! Some of us can only afford these cars and to see these real world tests being done is brilliant! Hope you continue doing these videos, Renault Zoe ZE40 and all the other battery variations would be nice to see :D
I echo other comments that it would be really interesting, in due course, to see you go through the process of replacing the battery with a reconditioned battery. I too have watched a couple of videos of garages doing this, and it's a great idea.
David, you don't *replace* your battery with a reconditioned one. You have your *existing* battery refurbished and reconditioned....
Great report Rory. My son is looking at a leaf for sale here in Australia, but not as a tourer of course, just a 'shopping trolley' !
Nice to see all your pleasant countryside, thankyou!
I was waiting for this new video. Eager to see more videos on this 1st gen Leaf. Seems like a great car to drive around the city.
Love this I'm thinking of buying one as a second car, the review is exactly what I needed thanks mate 👍
Second hand EV good luck with that one.
@@shadowbanned5164 Why? Can you elaborate, please?
@@A-ELL Lithium battery's have a cycle limit after which they can fail.
Great work, Rory. I would be Interested in seeing how much it would cost to replace the battery on a 10yr old ev in relation to what the car is worth. That would give us a ballpark idea as to what even newer ev's cost of ownership compared to a economic petrol car would be. Shame you have to sacrifice heating/cooling. Imho still not worth switching yet.
Cleverly Autos will replace the 24kWh battery for ~£5500 with a good used battery. Or, for £8900 they'll fit a good used 40kWh battery to a 24kWh Leaf. Lots of info on this on youtube.
@@davidholden2658 lol you could buy a whole car for that. I am literally looking at second hand petrol/diesel cars for £6k right now. EVs are at least another 10-15 years away from being accessible to the masses.
@@davidholden2658 Or, on the other hand, Cleveleys can refurbish a Leaf battery for much less than that. I watched a TH-cam video of a Leaf battery being refurbed by Cleveleys, and after 4 hours it was done, at a cost of £600.
Very informative. Looking forward to the next instalment.
Have you thought about replacing the battery pack?
Really nice presentation style. Clear, concise and nice to listen to. Excellent.
"Camera guys didnt want to do it riding ages" with an old Leaf... I cracked laughing :). Very nice t3st though. Shows that for many purposes such a car is totally enough. And now think of all the morons riding a huuuuuge SUv guzzling 12-14 liters at 20 mph just to stop and go to work or drop kids off 2km from home... such a clever choice you show people. I mean such car is megacheap to get used. But maybe a cleverer choice is the Dacia Spring which after subsidy at least in Germany or so is around 10,000 eur. And it will be very cheap as a used car, low resale price. Regarding degradation check out Björn Nyland and his Millenium Falcon. 8 yrs old, I think some 200,000 km or so and about 8% degradation... and that was one of the very first model s, so not so great battery management back then BUT software updates uimprov3d that. So a lot will depend on the quality of the software-based battery management
Great stuff. You’re my fav car journalist Rory. I’m over Clarkson, Hammond and May now.
Awesome! You don't often see people test old electric cars. It's very helpfull and more youtubers should be doing this. But just imagine. This probably means that in about 9 years or earlier, you are going to get cheap EV's and you'll probably still be able to drive over 120 and up to 200 miles. So even used EV's are going to be very usefull then. I'm looking forward to this!
I'm also looking forward to how my Skoda Citogo e is going to age. I bought it last year and i love it!
Great info !! Top man Rory.
I was waiting for the leaf to fall 😃
Please do a range test on motorway on a speed limit. please
I've always liked the startup noise in the Leaf. It's really damn pleasing. As for battery health: newer leafs of this body style built in Sunderland have way better battery chemistry. It's not uncommon to see 2013 reg cars that still have over 80% of their capacity, sometimes as high as 90% if it's been properly cared for making them a bargain.
Fantastic video absolutely brilliant i hotta say the speed and casualness of that parallel park was *chefs kiss*
Back in the days when I lived in London, that would have been enough for 3 days commute for me.
Serious question. When you were living in London why didn't you use public transport? Genuinely interested. For me I like the personal space and convenience a car gives me.
@@dudmanjohn It was a weird commute from Tottenham to Hampstead , and sometimes to Southgate. Lots
Of changes , buses tubes etc. just one of those routes that was easier to drive door to door .
About time you gave the poor little thing a good wash
Beautiful choice of watch Rory! Great video as always too :)
Great series on the Leaf Rory - can't wait to see what you do with it in the future!
That's 106km. Not too shabby! This vehicle is definitely a massive W!
Horrible range - remember that one have to return so the range in reality is half that - also I cannot imagine the range anxiety…
@@adalbert93_75 exactly
@@adalbert93_75 depends on your life, get to work, put it in the charger, done with work, car should be good.
@@DarkDutch007 sure it’s got it’s use case but i would not call it competitive enough to buy for most people. I think as of now the everyday Joe should still buy ICE / plug in hybrid whether new or used
Rory, can you do another range test in your Leaf please, but this time on the motorway, so we can see what difference it make, I guess round 45 miles.
Oh, but you don't need to take it below zero miles range! :)
In our Leaf, which has done 55,000 miles and is a 2015 30kwatt battery, the motorway makes a fair bit of difference. WE currently get just over 100 miles (originally about 115) and I think this would come down to about 85-90 if I did 65mph on the motorway on a pleasant spring day. But there is quite a big difference going up to 75mph, and beyond that the charge seems to evaporate. Hope this helps.
Nicely done mate.Keep it up.
Thank you 🙏🏼…Very helpful 😊👍🏼
Great vid. I took my 1963 Mini Minor shopping today as I always do. It costs £25 to fill and does 200 miles. I can refuel in 5 minutes. The car is very 'green' as it's 58 years old.
Not sure where the progress is. Batteries need to be a lot better and cheaper. The current battery costs make EV scrap after 10 years.
Its all politics my dude
Because my Tesla Model 3 can do the same 200 miles on £2.50 since I charge it overnight at home? And I don't have to make a trip to a petrol station just to fuel it up?
@@NickFoster tesla 3 costs 80k in my country and most people live in apartments and have no way of charging at home. Whereas you can buy and old diesel here and go 600 miles on a single tank
@@dwade3202 You asked where the progress was citing your fuel costs and boasting about refuelling times, and I demonstrated an EV is dramatically cheaper and less hassle to run. I've actually been driving a diesel car for a few weeks recently and it's just a sucky experience in comparison.
The progress is in a multitude of areas, but I am pretty sure you already knew that...
3 miles short of the perfect range
That video was rather fun to watch. I’d like to take this opportunity to share some info most people are not aware of. I purchased my 2018 Leaf SL this past July. My main concern before purchasing was that since this is a pre-owned vehicle what happens if the battery goes ker plunk on me? I called Nissan USA and battered them with questions. They asked for the VIN number and I gave it to them. Turns out that the battery is under full factory warranty until May 27, 2027. And that warranty is transferred to the new owner. With that I felt confident in calling the dealer and purchasing the car. I have been driving this baby for 5 months now with no regrets. The best total range I have got is 170 miles and it fast charges from 30% in 46 minutes. Great car. Will never go back to gas.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for posting this video. I just purchased a 2012 leaf yesterday. I had to drive 150 miles home and had a bit of anxiety. Drove it today to work and mileage decreased. I didn't even know how to put it in eco mode. Thank you so much.
Battery degradation - my second-hand 40,000 mile 2017 Hyundai Ioniq's battery is still reporting it is 100% of it's capacity (checked with EVNotify, canIoniq and Car Scanner Pro).
It's a 28kWh pack (with around 150 mile range in the summer and 120 or so in the depths of winter) and after charging at home with the Level 1 'granny' charger recently from 5% back to 100% and checking the total kW reported by the BMS with EVNotify at the start and at the end it took 26.4kWh for a 95% charge - which is damn close to 28kwh for the whole pack. Although Hyundai advertised the battery was 28kWh but there is a 'buffer' the car uses - the actual size of the pack originally was about 30.5kWh (about 8.5% more that you can't access) and that appears to be down slightly to around 6%.
This means at if this rate continues (and most battery degradation happens quite early in the batteries life) the car will not be dropping below '100%' (available) capacity until it is close to 120,000 miles (another 8 years!) which will be fine by me. (I've seen similar Ioniqs at 70k still with 100% and have been told of one that is over 90k still with 'full' capacity!)
Don't worry about the batteries in modern cars - worry about the appalling lack of efficiency they are building in to them. I am getting around 5 m/kWh (and guess Rory was getting about 4m/kwh in that test) the Ioniq 5 seen at the roundabout gets about 3.5m/kWh - and some massive heavy brick SUV's are even worse!
I've got a 28kWh Ioniq too but with far less miles. It's one of the best budget EVs available. Amazing efficiency and the batteries do seem to hold up very well.
Range Anxiety it's real.
Love your intelligent comments and analysis.
Great vlog Rory!
Mike
Horrible range - remember that one has to return so the range in reality is half that - also I cannot imagine the range anxiety…
Quality video nevertheless 👍🏻👏🏻
Question: what happens when my cheap leaf dies?
Answer: it will fall off the plant
Great vid Rory, cracking range for having lost so many bars. Looking forward to you doing it up. I've had plans for mine the 5 years I've had it but just no funds to go do it. Some nice skirts n stuff for it around but the best stuff is in Japan (isn't it always 😂) . Qashqai and such wheels fit, I've a set of 19's off a special edition that go straight on but suitable tyre sizes are thin on the ground. Just like the sidewalls 😁 prob why 1 of them is buckled right now 😂 Apparently 18"s are the best compromise. Always fancied Skyline R33 rims for it tho. Think they should fit, anything off the Z33/4 should be good too afaik. Then a retrim and a wrap 😃 Loads of ideas but as I say, no dough to devote to it at min.
You're our only hope Rory 😁 Make Leaf's sexy!
Proper real life and very informative test Rory, well done! 🤩
Just noticed that poor Leaf looks a bit grubby... It’s yours, therefore deserves a nice shiny look. If you are looking for a free deep clean and polish, please let me know, I’ll do it for you more than very welcome! 😊
15:05 this is one of the biggest concerns around rolling EVs out in countries like Canada. Instead of purposefully driving around to kill your range, you may find yourself stuck on a highway in winter with nowhere to go. Battery dies. Now you have zero options and are in a life-threatening situation. EV zealots like to ignore how common this situation is.
I don't think any "EV Zealot" would advocate for their use in Long distance remote area driving. If you life in a city or nearby one and you spend 99% of your driving life in a 30 mile radius to and from work and home and shopping and leisure, then an EV makes sense. If you live in a dense city, everyone going EV would make tremendous improvements to air quality. That's where I would say everyone SHOULD have an EV. And I'd bet 99% of cases fall into what I've established.
Where you have to drive across vast countries, then no, even a long range Tesla with a supercharger network isn't worth it. Mind you, you're still fucked when you run out of fuel. Difference being someone can bring you a jerry can. We're really not long away from the electric equivalent of a "Jerry can" and I don't think we're far from ev trucks that have battery banks on them for remote charging.
Erm then dont buy an EV if you might die ? in 90% of countries for 90% of people on 90% of journeys EV's are fine but if you do 500 miles per day in -30 weather dont get one. if you do 50-100 miles per day in ok weather like uk (never really cold or really really hot) they are fantastic. its cost me £2 to do 150-200 miles
While definitely a concern, I doubt its that big of an issue because you'd know what your range was an if you were capable of making the journey before you set off. Much like checking how much fuel you have just slightly more important
According the AA in the UK people run out of battery about the same amount as people run out of petrol. They have the actual stats on this since they are the organisation rescuing both. It's not nearly as common as you think.
Rory, great video mate! My son just bought a 2013 Leaf with 50k miles for $7k US. He's a new driver and he uses it to commute to work (10 miles round trip). Great first car that rides like a bigger car and handles well. The range is only 44 miles fully charged. We haven't tried the eco mode but will to see if range improves. He loves that he doesn't have to buy gas especially since gas is more expensive now. He was riding a ebike so the Leaf is a big improvement especially since its cold and dark.
Leaf GANG!
Brilliant real World test, fair play. Cheers for keeping it interesting and genuine 👍
Rory you're a legend by far my fav Car presenter! Keep up the good work and superb reviews!
amazing! loved this episode!
Nice little video Rory!! I think should have explained a bit more about the lack of proper battery temperature management system (active liquid cooling) in the LEAF compared with most other cars which is why many other EVs (even older ones like some Teslas), have a much lower degradation than the LEAF. But still a suitable round around car for most people especially if they can charge at home or at work reliably.
Rory iv just subscribed to the channel and I want to say thank you for the information on the leaf. Always been a favourite to watch on top gear. Looking forward to the modification to the leaf.
Maybe the leaf would have made abit more without the headlights been switched on.
Possible remaps also for the car be a good idea.
Cheers! I bought a used 2016 Leaf and was wondering exactly the same thing. Easier to do with a traditional car where you can just throw a petrol can with a couple of gallons in the back. Glad to know what the “cushion” is.