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Post by stevewa on Jun 14, 2014 23:18:57 GMT 11
Hi, I went to test drive the Leaf in one of the authorized dealers in Perth recently. Impressed with car, except for a few surprises:
1. Battery warranty. The salesman told me that the battery, the same of the whole car, is under warranty for 3 years only. After 3 years, if some of the cells need to be replaced, it will be at cost. In one of the reviews, I read that the battery was under warranty for 8 years or 160,000 km. Perhaps this extended warranty is for elsewhere in the world except Australia. One would ask why not in Australia?
2. Tow bar. The spec for the Leaf state that the towing capacity is 600 kg unbraked. I wanted to fit a towbar to the leaf mainly for mounting my bicycle rack on it. But the salesman said there is no option to fit a towbar. He said there is no space underneath the car for such fittings??
3. iPhone control. Again for this feature, it is only available for 3 years. After that there is a subscription fee for it to continue!
4. Luxury car. I was thinking that with $40K, the Leaf might be a premium car. Not so. I would like to have electric front seats, two seat memories, leather seats, sunroof and park assist. I believe none of the above are in the current Leaf (still only the 2012 models).
A bit disappointed and although very tempted to buy, I held back. Perhaps the next model (2013 or 14 models) as reviewed on the internet. However, in the mean time, could you clarify and comment on my points above. Thank you.
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Post by gabzimiev on Jun 15, 2014 0:06:13 GMT 11
1. see this thread ozleaf.proboards.com/thread/343/free-extended-battery-coverage 5 years or 100,000km 2. see this thread. ozleaf.proboards.com/thread/133/towbar-fitted mark is sydney has one fitted. 3. no one knows this yet no one is yet to get a bill. how it works is your car has a mobile phone in it from telstra, so when you use your phone app to control it uses the mobile phone nextg network obviously this costs but nissian is yet to hit up an Australian driver with the bill. 4. park assist I think is an option I assume you mean the front and rear radars (ultrasonics). i wouldn't call a $40k car luxury.... no sure what ICE car at the 30-40k mark has 2 seat memories, but i don't follow cars much... it doesn't do leather seats because it's a recycled plastic fabrics. (i doubt it'll ever do leather) |
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Post by Feng on Jun 15, 2014 0:38:03 GMT 11
Hi stevewa, welcome to the forum. Just a few things to add to gabz's points: 1. The battery warranty only covers 9 out of 12 capacity bars (see my post in the thread Gabz linked which explains what to expect). You only hear about horror stories of large capacity loss from owners overseas living in extreme heat. Heat is what kills the battery the fastest. Nobody on this forum has had battery problems although lesmando24 has already lost a bar due to his mileage, which is expected. 4. They must have cut back on some features to bring the costs down. A lot of R&D went into the LEAF so it's not just material cost. For that matter, the battery is a very expensive part of the car - something ICE cars don't have added to their price tag. While it's not a luxury car you still get a feeling of satisfaction when driving it because, hey, you're in an electric car. If you want something higher end and the budget can stretch that far, you might want to consider the BMW i3 that's coming out later this year. Also the standard reverse camera works a treat. Have you watched Revenge of the Electric car before? You might find it informative and entertaining: www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6dUB6HO3Xw |
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Post by gabzimiev on Jun 15, 2014 1:10:01 GMT 11
also when you factor in cost is that you normally spend $2000 a year on petrol (for 20000km) that cost is gone.
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Post by Jim Hare on Jun 15, 2014 9:49:10 GMT 11
Hi Steve, Just adding to the thorough points made above. The eight year battery warranty was required in the US because the technology was unproven and buyers needed more confidence. Since then it's been shown again and again that battery reliability is a non-issue. The only other car I would even consider owning would be a Tesla, but the one I want priced out at $128,000 so that's not going to happen for me. Now THAT'S a luxury car!  |
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Post by stevewa on Jun 15, 2014 14:54:11 GMT 11
Thank you everyone for your replies and comment! I was thinking of the Volt when I thought about luxury car. Of course, it is $20K more! Currently I am driving a Camry Hybrid (L model) and love the features in this car. Sharing with my wife, the seat memories are so useful! I read the US reviews that there are more option for the Leaf 2013/14 there, such as leather seats and larger batteries etc. Perhaps I might have to wait for the later models to come to Australia!
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Post by Phoebe on Jun 15, 2014 14:58:25 GMT 11
Welcome to the forum, Steve. You may be waiting a while before any new models reach Australia  |
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Post by gabzimiev on Jun 15, 2014 21:50:17 GMT 11
American will always get cars before us, it's just economies of scale the number 1 selling car in the world was only sold in the USA. that's how big there market is. we are 2-3 years behind on tesla with EVs a bit behind with Nissan the bmw i3 (pricing is out $70kish) should be released on roads in 12 months so only slightly behind the USA who have them now. and Mitsubishi I’m sad to say won't release a new I-miev in Australia again..
interesting you say you have a camry hybrid ($5k more than a LEAF) one of my wifes co workers brought one and went all data made got a CAN buss to bluetooth converter and brought in graphs of fuel consumption into work my wife just sorta laughed, he said given the choice again he would of gotten a LEAF.
The best thing for the environment is you not buy a new car. but if you are going to buy a new car EVs are great.
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Post by Brian on Jun 16, 2014 0:32:39 GMT 11
Hi stevewa, and welcome. It would seem that you have run into a less-than-well-informed salesperson.  I.M.H.O., they should not be allowed near E.V.s. Instead, properly trained young kids, straight out of school, who have not been contaminated by I.C.E.s and the fossil fuel industry, should be employed. Overseas, LEAFs do not have spare tyres - here they are a requirement of car regs. In view of the time you spend behind bars ( bike bars ), if I were you, I would remove the spare and it's apparatus, and fit a bike carrier. If nervous, you could put the spare in the boot. If not, you could leave it at home - we haven't needed ours in two years. My wife and I use different seat settings. But it only takes an effortless few seconds to change. Sure, the LEAF may not have all the ' bells and whistles ' of some other cars, but as far as we are concerned, the quality of build, and the general' feel ' of the car, are much better than many others. I did not use the term ' competition ', because as far as we are concerned, the LEAF does not have any in its class. If it is luxury that you want, then go for the Tesla, and leave us to enjoy our LEAFs to the MAX. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2014 15:38:53 GMT 11
It is interesting how there is an EV in each Australian vehicle category
a) small, yaris - i-MiEV
b) medium, corolla, golf hatch - LEAF
c) medium sedan/liftback - Volt
d) SUV - outlander PHEV
e) large, BMW 5 series - tesla model S
f) sports car, lotus - tesla roadster
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Post by gabzimiev on Jun 17, 2014 0:02:21 GMT 11
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I.M.H.O., they should not be allowed near E.V.s. Instead, properly trained young kids, straight out of school, who have not been contaminated by I.C.E.s and the fossil fuel industry, should be employed.