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I've been waiting for one of the big Japanese automaker to make a reputable electric car. I'm hopeful for 2020 especially after Toyota announced that they're jo

I've been waiting for one of the big Japanese automaker to make a reputable electric car. I'm hopeful for 2020 especially after Toyota announced that they're joining NVIDIA's DRIVE. An electric car that has Level 2 self driving capabilities and 200 mile range under $30000 would be awesome.

bulletsvshumans 8y ago
The Nissan Leaf is a fairly well regarded all-electric car. I've been very happy with mine.
- ajford 8y ago
  I loved mine for a while, but the range was a problem for me. I traded it in for a Chevy Volt (2017), and don't regret it. The Leaf is fantastic, and will qualify that I had a 2011 model, so my range was ~45 miles due to degradation. Sadly I didn't make it in the recall range, so no replacement for me. I've heard that people with the 2013+ have better range and reliability (and less or unnoticeable degradation). I wish more manufacturers would consider plug-in hybrids with more range. 40mi electric seems like a perfect compromise between electric range and reduced weight.
  - throw0u1t 8y ago
    I don't understand why you're being downvoted, this sounds a like perfectly reasonable comment.
    - ajford 8y ago
      I just assume it's people not agreeing. The Leaf gets a bad rap, and a lot of hate. Nissan put a lot of great work into that car, and it doesn't get much recognition thanks to other developments in the recent years. They've been steadily increasing range (I think they're in the ~70mi range now), and have a much higher charging rate than others (Volt included, sadly). If it wasn't for the guess-o-meter (range gauge) being so unreliable, and the degradation, I would have held on to my Leaf. But my range vehicle (an '08 Prius) was starting to need some more maintenance, and the Leaf became problematic if I needed to run any errands after work.
  - bulletsvshumans 8y ago
    My wife has a conventional car, so we use hers for anything requiring an especially long drive, which only really happens maybe four times a year. I never hit the ~72 mile range of my 2015 in the course of my normal day. I feel like having access to a gas vehicle for rare occasions is the missing ingredient that makes fully electric cars viable for a large portion of the population. Maybe there's a market opportunity there.
    - ajford 8y ago
      Agreed! My average day left me with about 10mi range out of about 45mi, which caused some amount of stress if I had to deviate from my normal day to run an errand or something similar. If I had to stop for groceries on the way home, I'd end up limping home in turtle mode, which was nerve wracking. My wife was driving an 08 prius at the time, which served as our long range car, but her work commute was about 40mi round trip, so if she had to run AC/Heat, she wouldn't make the round trip on the Leaf if I had to swap cars for the day. Now she drives the Volt, and the 53mi range seems perfect. She usually gets home with 10-15mi range, and the ICE eliminates range anxiety. Rental is always an option, and was something we considered if we were to get another BEV, but we routinely take 300mi round trips, so it would't economical.
      - cptskippy 8y ago
        Yikes! Only 45 miles? I have a 2015 Leaf and it gets anywhere from 75-92 miles depending on who is driving.
        ajford 8y ago
        Yeah, and 45 was the high side. It often seemed closer to 38-40. I live in a hot climate, so the car was an oven without AC, which meant the range was reduced. But yeah, the early models had much worse degradation, on top of their lower range (expected on an early model, since it was new tech).
  - dougmany 8y ago
    My 2014 with 41,000 miles is about 87% capacity according to leafspy. This puts it at around 73 miles which handles about 80% of our driving.
throwaway12iii 8y ago
The biggest selling electric car is from Japan. The Nissan leaf. Yes, you used the weasel word "reputable" - but what better reputation is there than having the most sales? Nissan from Japan sells the most electric cars. Apart from sales, the Nissan Leaf scores 7-8/10 and 4/5 from the critics. Which is around the same as the Tesla model 3. If the critics think they are ok, and they sell the most of all electric cars... then they can be considered reputable.
- technofiend 8y ago
  He also mentioned a 200 mile range, which the Leaf is still working towards; Nissan's website clearly states the latest Leaf has a 150 mile range [1]. I've been lusting after all electric cars for a while including the Leaf but range is definitely a concern. Kudos to Tesla for breaking open the market and creating all electric cars with 200+ mile range. But I'm with the original poster in that I want 200+ miles and a quality product with no fit and finish issues or supply-chain problems when there's a breakdown. Tesla has one of three right now and eventually the majors will catch up. [1] https://www.nissanusa.com/vehicles/electric-cars/leaf/range-charging.html https://www.nissanusa.com/vehicles/electric-cars/leaf/range-...
  - andrewmunsell 8y ago
    For anyone interetsed, the Leaf E-Plus is coming within the next couple months with a 200 mile range: https://insideevs.com/leaf-e-plus-nissan-joins-200-mile-club/ https://insideevs.com/leaf-e-plus-nissan-joins-200-mile-club... There's still no active battery cooling though, which is a disappointment.
    - technofiend 8y ago
      Particularly in hot climates there's concern both around battery performance and actual range. Practically speaking you need to factor in climate control use when driving, which lowers range.
  - athenot 8y ago
johnatwork 8y ago
For City driving or as a second car. A used Nissan Leaf is an incredible value, I'm saving about 200~250 a month in what I would have used in gas.
ed_balls 8y ago
Why wouldn't you buy plugin hybrid Prius then? It cost 30k, range is not an issue and I wouldn't be surprised if your total Co2 would be similar to Tesla model 3 (it varies by location and how much you drive, but creating the battery produces a lot of Co2)
- lukeschlather 8y ago
  Personally, I don't commute by car, so really a majority of the miles I drive would probably be all-gasoline given the plug-in's meager 12 miles of electric range. So a used Prius is far cheaper and also more efficient for me.
  - ed_balls 8y ago
    You can do 30 miles all electric in a new Prius (with a solar panel on roof). If you drive very little renting a car could make more sense.
  - timbit42 8y ago
    A Prius isn't very efficient for about the first 5 minutes of a trip. I believe this has to do with the engine warming up. I live in a small town so most of my trips are under 5 minutes. I get much better fuel economy on the highway.
- ajford 8y ago
  The PHEV Prii have such a paltry range. Even the newest models have ~30mi IIRC. If you happen to have a very short commute, or very little traffic, they might be a good fit, but I feel like you really need to be in the 50-60mi electric range to make much sense.
  - danw1979 8y ago
    I just bought a 2013 PiP and knew the EV range was < 10 miles. What I like about it is: - on my 65 mile round trip commute I get a +10mpg increase if I leave home with a full charge and without charging at work. - I get the lovely EV driving experience for the 4 miles in and out of the city I work in. - I'm not contributing to poor urban air quality. - Its fully charged with 10 miles in 90 minutes. At weekends I frequently find that I make more than 30 miles of all-EV journeys around my home town.

bulletsvshumans 8y ago

The Nissan Leaf is a fairly well regarded all-electric car. I've been very happy with mine.

ajford 8y ago
I loved mine for a while, but the range was a problem for me. I traded it in for a Chevy Volt (2017), and don't regret it. The Leaf is fantastic, and will qualify that I had a 2011 model, so my range was ~45 miles due to degradation. Sadly I didn't make it in the recall range, so no replacement for me. I've heard that people with the 2013+ have better range and reliability (and less or unnoticeable degradation). I wish more manufacturers would consider plug-in hybrids with more range. 40mi electric seems like a perfect compromise between electric range and reduced weight.
- throw0u1t 8y ago
  I don't understand why you're being downvoted, this sounds a like perfectly reasonable comment.
  - ajford 8y ago
    I just assume it's people not agreeing. The Leaf gets a bad rap, and a lot of hate. Nissan put a lot of great work into that car, and it doesn't get much recognition thanks to other developments in the recent years. They've been steadily increasing range (I think they're in the ~70mi range now), and have a much higher charging rate than others (Volt included, sadly). If it wasn't for the guess-o-meter (range gauge) being so unreliable, and the degradation, I would have held on to my Leaf. But my range vehicle (an '08 Prius) was starting to need some more maintenance, and the Leaf became problematic if I needed to run any errands after work.
- bulletsvshumans 8y ago
  My wife has a conventional car, so we use hers for anything requiring an especially long drive, which only really happens maybe four times a year. I never hit the ~72 mile range of my 2015 in the course of my normal day. I feel like having access to a gas vehicle for rare occasions is the missing ingredient that makes fully electric cars viable for a large portion of the population. Maybe there's a market opportunity there.
  - ajford 8y ago
    Agreed! My average day left me with about 10mi range out of about 45mi, which caused some amount of stress if I had to deviate from my normal day to run an errand or something similar. If I had to stop for groceries on the way home, I'd end up limping home in turtle mode, which was nerve wracking. My wife was driving an 08 prius at the time, which served as our long range car, but her work commute was about 40mi round trip, so if she had to run AC/Heat, she wouldn't make the round trip on the Leaf if I had to swap cars for the day. Now she drives the Volt, and the 53mi range seems perfect. She usually gets home with 10-15mi range, and the ICE eliminates range anxiety. Rental is always an option, and was something we considered if we were to get another BEV, but we routinely take 300mi round trips, so it would't economical.
    - cptskippy 8y ago
      Yikes! Only 45 miles? I have a 2015 Leaf and it gets anywhere from 75-92 miles depending on who is driving.
      - ajford 8y ago
        Yeah, and 45 was the high side. It often seemed closer to 38-40. I live in a hot climate, so the car was an oven without AC, which meant the range was reduced. But yeah, the early models had much worse degradation, on top of their lower range (expected on an early model, since it was new tech).
- dougmany 8y ago
  My 2014 with 41,000 miles is about 87% capacity according to leafspy. This puts it at around 73 miles which handles about 80% of our driving.

throwaway12iii 8y ago

The biggest selling electric car is from Japan. The Nissan leaf. Yes, you used the weasel word "reputable" - but what better reputation is there than having the most sales? Nissan from Japan sells the most electric cars. Apart from sales, the Nissan Leaf scores 7-8/10 and 4/5 from the critics. Which is around the same as the Tesla model 3. If the critics think they are ok, and they sell the most of all electric cars... then they can be considered reputable.

technofiend 8y ago
He also mentioned a 200 mile range, which the Leaf is still working towards; Nissan's website clearly states the latest Leaf has a 150 mile range [1]. I've been lusting after all electric cars for a while including the Leaf but range is definitely a concern. Kudos to Tesla for breaking open the market and creating all electric cars with 200+ mile range. But I'm with the original poster in that I want 200+ miles and a quality product with no fit and finish issues or supply-chain problems when there's a breakdown. Tesla has one of three right now and eventually the majors will catch up. [1] https://www.nissanusa.com/vehicles/electric-cars/leaf/range-charging.html https://www.nissanusa.com/vehicles/electric-cars/leaf/range-...
- andrewmunsell 8y ago
  For anyone interetsed, the Leaf E-Plus is coming within the next couple months with a 200 mile range: https://insideevs.com/leaf-e-plus-nissan-joins-200-mile-club/ https://insideevs.com/leaf-e-plus-nissan-joins-200-mile-club... There's still no active battery cooling though, which is a disappointment.
  - technofiend 8y ago
    Particularly in hot climates there's concern both around battery performance and actual range. Practically speaking you need to factor in climate control use when driving, which lowers range.
- athenot 8y ago

johnatwork 8y ago

For City driving or as a second car. A used Nissan Leaf is an incredible value, I'm saving about 200~250 a month in what I would have used in gas.

ed_balls 8y ago

Why wouldn't you buy plugin hybrid Prius then? It cost 30k, range is not an issue and I wouldn't be surprised if your total Co2 would be similar to Tesla model 3 (it varies by location and how much you drive, but creating the battery produces a lot of Co2)

lukeschlather 8y ago
Personally, I don't commute by car, so really a majority of the miles I drive would probably be all-gasoline given the plug-in's meager 12 miles of electric range. So a used Prius is far cheaper and also more efficient for me.
- ed_balls 8y ago
  You can do 30 miles all electric in a new Prius (with a solar panel on roof). If you drive very little renting a car could make more sense.
- timbit42 8y ago
  A Prius isn't very efficient for about the first 5 minutes of a trip. I believe this has to do with the engine warming up. I live in a small town so most of my trips are under 5 minutes. I get much better fuel economy on the highway.
ajford 8y ago
The PHEV Prii have such a paltry range. Even the newest models have ~30mi IIRC. If you happen to have a very short commute, or very little traffic, they might be a good fit, but I feel like you really need to be in the 50-60mi electric range to make much sense.
- danw1979 8y ago
  I just bought a 2013 PiP and knew the EV range was < 10 miles. What I like about it is: - on my 65 mile round trip commute I get a +10mpg increase if I leave home with a full charge and without charging at work. - I get the lovely EV driving experience for the 4 miles in and out of the city I work in. - I'm not contributing to poor urban air quality. - Its fully charged with 10 miles in 90 minutes. At weekends I frequently find that I make more than 30 miles of all-EV journeys around my home town.