What Happens When My CHEAP Leaf DIES? | Used EV Range Test! - Shot On iPhone 13

[@AutoTraderTV]

Thank you all for watching! Did the Leaf go further than you expected?

[@dodgywheelsandropeywiring5697]

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.

[@acchaladka]

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.

[@jgtv5888]

How did you get home? And how did the leaf get home? Does running it to zero hurt the battery at all?

[@dodgywheelsandropeywiring5697]

@@jgtv5888 yes it will if done often, the odd time should not be significant enough to even notice.

[@MrRocknrolla4u]

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.

[@nhikoid]

What a brilliant presenter!. Concise, friendly, entertaining, clear as crystal. Not the usual cocky arrogant clever stuff some presenters feel obliged to do.

[@BikeFlips]

They should get this guy on Top Gear!

[@eliotmansfield]

@@BikeFlips yeh you might be onto something there…

[@robertsanders7060]

Everyone's ideal son-in-law!

[@almota7]

Yeah it’s ridiculous how good he is. Concise is the right word!

[@mrkevin6354]

I agree.....this young man did a most excellent presentation. Respect from across the pond. 👍👍👍👍👍 peace

[@Sebastian_Daniels]

Proper consumer advice and proper testing! Love it, Rory is absolutely brilliant at his videos, he does them all properly.

[@iainmackenzie3704]

Just watched a bloke drive a 9 year old car, 66 miles. Working from home is great.....

[@iainmackenzie3704]

Massive love Rory x

[@Markcain268]

It is great, my neighbors don't think so though with all the noise I make😀

[@JackMott]

would have been nice if he could have made 3 more miles

[@DavidRichardOwen]

You got to enjoy Bedford town centre too :)

[@mikehawk.]

Spoiler alert man

[@Michaellipmanactor]

Thanks to people like you Rory, Top Gear is now something of an insignificance. There are so many vloggers doing great videos that KZbin (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!

[@davyhoogy]

Top gear is painful to watch now. But yes I still watch it, mainly for Harris smashing supercars round a track.

[@squalloogal]

My favourite is Fully Charged.

[@Michaellipmanactor]

@@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 KZbin’s gain!!

[@seb1things1]

What is top gear ????🤣🤣🤣

[@toyotaprius79]

@@davyhoogy since 2012

[@smoothmicra]

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!😁

[@jamesaughney8470]

And cupholders, LED lights etc

[@dorianleakey]

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.

[@evornotev7794]

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.

[@santosh911]

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.

[@evornotev7794]

@@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.

[@arthemis1039]

@@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

[@Brian-om2hh]

Cleveleys Electric Vehicles in Gloucestershire are offering battery pack refurbs for the Leaf. They posted a KZbin 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.

[@TroyHR123]

@@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;

[@Larry]

For a £3000 ten-year-old car, 60 miles is brilliant, especially considering an EV Smart Car does that and that costs £25,000.

[@4039byrne]

He bought it for over £4000 didn't he?

[@robiulahmed]

For a third of the price, you can get a diesel that does 500 miles.

[@jozefbrodala5318]

@@robiulahmed I'd question how reliable that car would be and of course you'd be making the planet a worse place

[@stephensharp975]

@@robiulahmed i have a 30kwh leaf and a scenic with a 600 mile range. The scenic has cobwebs on it

[@robiulahmed]

@@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.

[@mitchpresley6]

I saw on KZbin 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.

[@SamPrince]

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.

[@rossdavidson5980]

Not exactly a real world test tho

[@GavinScrimgeour]

Interesting

[@markwellington1254]

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.

[@stephensharp975]

how much range does your 2107 leaf have? is it infinite...

[@markwellington1254]

@@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.

[@ChrisBigBad]

I have my EV-Blanket. I put it over my legs. It lives on the backseat when we don't snuggle :)

[@PiefacePete46]

@@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)

[@shadowbanned5164]

@@PiefacePete46 lol nice spotting I missed that as well.

[@hikintrailsndrinkinales]

Rory you’re an amazing reviewer. I can’t say it enough. Auto Trader owes you more $ than they can pay.

[@1one2two3threetwoone]

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.

[@TheLongonot62]

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.

[@RandyTWester]

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.

[@vink6163]

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.

[@darrellsears-uk]

@@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).

[@mathiasjensen4434]

@@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

[@ebismusic8813]

How did Rory get home? Is he still there? Can someone who knows where he is check on him?

[@DavidKnowles0]

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.

[@ebismusic8813]

@@DavidKnowles0 good. I’ve not slept for worry

[@ecurb10]

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.

[@localreviewking134]

@@ebismusic8813 Nope, here`s still in the car some 2 years later.

[@maximilianholland]

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.

[@GoldenCroc]

Well, degradation is but one part of the puzzle but in theory it is possible.

[@loosabway3400]

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.

[@GoldenCroc]

@@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.

[@DerpEye]

No they won't. The battery degrades with time, not only with mileage.

[@presterjohn71]

@@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.

[@David-bl1bt]

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👍

[@PiefacePete46]

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"?

[@Lb.q2]

Man the amount of angles he got for just filming on his iPhone was great

[@thomwillemse9108]

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

[@Lb.q2]

@@thomwillemse9108 I was going to say because I noticed a few rolling shots lol

[@brianiswrong]

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. 👍👍😀

[@David-bl1bt]

@@brianiswrong 😂🤣😂

[@davidhamishwill367]

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.

[@garycat]

Now you need to find that IONIC5 driver and get them to give you a boost from their V2L adaptor.

[@CharlesGregory]

If only electric cars could drive while plugged in, they could drive along together :)

[@GudieveNing]

@@CharlesGregory That would be cool. A little like towing I guess, but a cable instead of a rope!

[@gramamg100]

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.

[@newforestgiles4899]

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.

[@abigailsmith6977]

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!

[@saitenspieler3489]

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. :)

[@DeathByPollaxe]

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.

[@brettd5884]

The Leaf does too. I'd like to know how our man Rory recovered from a dead battery....

[@DeathByPollaxe]

@@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!

[@dpfreedman]

As someone who has essentially no interest in cars I'm not sure why KZbin 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.

[@pebh]

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.

[@nonyanks2510]

My 2014 just passing 55,933 miles 12 bars, never dissapoints!

[@pebh]

@@nonyanks2510 I'm in Portugal. Some summers give us 40°C, so it's a bit harsh to the battery.

[@GoldenCroc]

Newer Leafs (like yours) have much better battery chemistry that degrade less.

[@pebh]

@@GoldenCroc yep. They're called "lizard", but even so, we have some 30kWh in Portugal that have already lost 3 bars!

[@GoldenCroc]

@@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!

[@BasicMike]

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.

[@kl9518]

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.

[@markchip1]

Range - or RAGE? Is that a bit Freudian??

[@Rachel_Tensions]

@@markchip1 shut up marcus.

[@robsengahay5614]

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.

[@toyotaprius79]

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.

[@toyotaprius79]

@@robsengahay5614 2 - 2.5 miles per kWh for constant motorway driving. It goes up when departing the motorway with regen and lower speed etc

[@allanatyou]

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.

[@stephencockett824]

Best bit for me was seeing that you can get just over ten real miles from the last 'five' on the guessometer. Very useful!

[@fosterdogg]

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!

[@CH-vb5kr]

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?

[@privatenexus5764]

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.

[@maugre316]

@@privatenexus5764 They could come with an EV6, though?

[@sandies5248]

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.

[@marydecelle3896]

I Love Your Review !!! I have had my Nissan Leaf since 2015. I can't say enough Great things about her !!! She has never run out of charge. Nissan knows what they are doing when it comes to EV cars.

[@jonathansmith5850]

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

[@michaelp4122]

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.

[@mrfoameruk]

@@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.

[@michaelp4122]

​@@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?

[@ghibli608]

Very interesting report. 3 remarks though: 1. A on board heating system has about 7-9 kW of power. Heating over an hour consumes 7-9kWh… That’s roughly 15-20% of your range. 2. 30% on 9 years is quite a lot. A BMW i3 enjoys warranty for 70% capacity in 10 years. 3. Continuing to drive will bring the batteries into « Deep Discharge » area; basically destroying the batteries. And thus voiding your warranty… You should avoid to continue to drive when the mileage indicates ZERO. Always a joy seeing your reports, Rory. I’m a big fan.

[@craigbrown5667]

The moss under the charge flap is freaking me out. Gonna wash the damn car Rory! 😛

[@ChrisBigBad]

what? no turtle-mode? that's strange. did the first ones not have that? It should display a small warning-light showing a turtle when it starts reducing power. turtle means: find the next parking space and look up the number of a tow-truck. thanks for looking into old EVs. this is my recommendation for a second / commuter car: EVs with degraded batteries. If you charge them daily and think a bit before you get behind the wheel, they offer insane value. Love my 2015 Leaf Tekna-edition. 400V > 16V!

[@josephanthony9294]

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.

[@davidleonard5585]

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.

[@bryonipidsley3240]

I don’t use the mileage counter as a guide because it isn’t linear, especially as I travel up a lot of hills. I use the % indicator and the bar indicator is useful too.

[@thathairyguy]

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.

[@Cotherto]

It's amazing how even Nissan who made the first mass produced electric car (the leaf) know that their range is inaccurate like most electric cars

[@MonirKhan-po5mu]

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

[@copyjim81]

Just a couple quick comments… 1) I like the video and your presentation. Very nice. 2) Most, if not all, modern gas cars show range left, and reach zero range with a reserve of 1-2 gallons left in the tank. Helps prevent a lot of people from running out on the road. The gas gauge also shows empty at that same point. Likely the leaf does similar. 2) As you know, running the battery too low will damage the battery… the only question is how bad is the damage, mild, heavy, or kaput. I personally would love to see better recycling for the batteries. Batteries that are less harmful to the environment, and that last longer. Have you checked to see what the cost might be on a battery pack replacement? New replacement versus reconditioned battery pack, etc. I also think we have a charging problem. If we just double the number of EVs on the road the current charging locations wouldn’t come close to being able to handle the load. Personally my range anxiety is more around charging times. If you get a longer range car, the charging time also increases. Imaging taking a trip that would use 2 tanks of gas… how much longer would the trip be using an EV… even assuming a 200 mile EV range, the gas car likely gets over 350 a tank, so a 700 mile trip and would require 3 full recharges… how long would that take? But if all your trips are short trips, and you can easily charge at night, EVs are great… well, good. Thanks for the video. I enjoyed it.

[@davidhamishwill367]

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.

[@Brian-om2hh]

David, you don't *replace* your battery with a reconditioned one. You have your *existing* battery refurbished and reconditioned....

[@vincescott8496]

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.

[@EmjayO]

Awesome video. Please bring on more of the vlog style videos. It’s awesome

[@KurtPlace]

I ran my 2012 leaf out once about a block from home. That loss of power is supposed to be some kind of warning to 'Get to the Charger!' (read with a Schwarzenegger voice). I had my 13 yo daughter (no driving experience) with me so she got to steer as I pushed it into the driveway. Nice vid.

[@MrGMawson2438]

Keep going it's amazing how much further it can go after telling you to charge 😃

[@coffeeisgood102]

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.

[@devonbikefilms]

Another well presented and informative production. Top job from a real professional presenter.

[@intergrale4x4]

My Subaru WRX does about 200 miles per tank with all the lights and stuff on ! It's also pretty fast and handles great !! Also only normally takes me about 2mins to recharge with Shell Super at the nearest Tesco !! I rest My Case !!

[@JohnAdams-kc8wx]

Great stuff. You’re my fav car journalist Rory. I’m over Clarkson, Hammond and May now.

[@Ilander86]

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.

[@PaulNorman80]

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.

[@razzyrascal7961]

Load it into a Howitzer and dispose of it, Clarkson style.

[@frankelf3151]

If you're considering a Leaf I would definitely recommend late 2013+ Acenta/Tekna models with improved battery chemistry and heat pump. Look for one with at least 10 bars out of 12. I own a 2014 with 74k miles and only lost 1st bar at 73k. Range is roughly 60-80 miles without going to the extreme. You'll also learn how to maximise range even in winter. I would say even with heater on I can easily achieve 60+. Trick is not to use auto climate control, rather set your fan speed to low followed by heater on, mode to blow on you.. Starts off around 1.5kwh then quickly drops to less than 0.5kwh. Even 0 at times when the cabin has reached it's temp.

[@bittertruth0000]

Loving this series . Thanks for this series to tell us that used EVs can be good .

[@fabulousoffroaddesigns5080]

I just watched a video by QC CHARGE where they replaced the battery in a 2012 Leaf with a 62 kWh battery from a new Leaf Plus and the range went up to almost 240 miles. That would be brilliant.

[@airchie2]

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! :)

[@wlhgmk]

It is virtually impossible to get replacement batteries for Leafs unless you can get one from a crashed Leaf. However, a company in New Zealand is designing a replacement 40kWh battery that will use cylindrical Li batteries, have a cooling system and will fit into any 24, 30 or 40kWh leaf. It is called EV enhanced.

[@hsimpson1152]

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.

[@davidholden2658]

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.

[@pedazodetorpedo]

@@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.

[@Brian-om2hh]

@@davidholden2658 Or, on the other hand, Cleveleys can refurbish a Leaf battery for much less than that. I watched a KZbin video of a Leaf battery being refurbed by Cleveleys, and after 4 hours it was done, at a cost of £600.

[@craigchatterton4164]

I have a 2013 Leaf with 80,000 miles, only lost one bar. In eight years of driving we ran out of range precisely ONCE. It died just like yours. Less than two miles from our home and less than 100 yards from a nearby level 3 charger! Unfortunately the charger was up a hill so no way we were pushing! We grabbed our 110v charger (I'm in US), and asked the nearest house if we could use their plug to charge. One interesting thing; when the Leaf "dies" it won't turn back on until it has at least 25% charge! So we had to sit there for four hours while it trickled on a 110v. But we got it charged and got it home. It's never had a problem since.

[@BanterEdits]

That's 106km. Not too shabby! This vehicle is definitely a massive W!

[@adalbert93_75]

Horrible range - remember that one have to return so the range in reality is half that - also I cannot imagine the range anxiety…

[@MrRandomguyTom]

@@adalbert93_75 exactly

[@DarkDutch007]

@@adalbert93_75 depends on your life, get to work, put it in the charger, done with work, car should be good.

[@adalbert93_75]

@@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

[@99thObsidian]

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.

[@AutoTraderTV]

Leaf GANG!

[@globalimpactinstitute]

"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

[@Miggis1000]

In addition to the satnav "range circle", there are at least 2 additional things Leaf "had to" do. As there's no engine noise, some of the other noises did come apparent and had to be dealt with, so... 1) There was significant wind noise from wingmirrors, headlamps/indicators were shaped in such fashion that they deflect air past mirrors this subsequently has been made to other cars as well. 2) Wiper motor was too noisy for relatively silent EV, had to be re-designed So... Leaf has been a frontrunner in several aspects and paved the way

[@jonathanfrankel6787]

Back in the days when I lived in London, that would have been enough for 3 days commute for me.

[@dudmanjohn]

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.

[@jonathanfrankel6787]

@@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 .

[@haycrossaudio5474]

Brought a 30kWh leaf last week. Best thing we ever did. Absolutely love it. Driving is fun again 🙃

[@absurdignites]

Please do a range test on motorway on a speed limit. please

[@nonyanks2510]

Don't sweat doing the video yourself, Jay Leno did the same thing for over a year (Covid) and it was Great, yours went swimmingly!

[@robertlloyd7493]

I was waiting for the leaf to fall 😃

[@dmoskaly]

This is a great series because I live in a parallel world: 2011 Leaf, 61,700 miles, 8 bars, 58 range, northern CA coast line. Thank you for "going the distance", I never had the balls to find out. Looking forward to coming episodes.

[@disc-golf]

How are the charging options near you?

[@dmoskaly]

@@disc-golf If I was charging away from home I have enough choices to get around locally (Eureka, CA). But I charge at home and feel, for me, the EV will never be a long distance vehicle. It's part of my "hybrid" combo; Leaf for local, RAV4 for distance. And since we have the Leaf for local, my 2012 RAV4 just turned only 70.000 miles, mainly camping trips. Side note: the Leaf is actually my wife's car, her decisions concerning it, and she has chosen to replace the battery although the dealership has been waiting months to receive it. Yep, old battery, old technology, but it has satisfied our local needs for ten years and with the price and availability of new vehicles it might not be a bad decision contrary to my thoughts about never supporting old technology. For me, hydrogen is the better choice once costs come down and infrastructure is in place.

[@davidperkins3621]

About time you gave the poor little thing a good wash

[@davidmarshall5596]

Totally agree. This guy talks about the cars he reviews & solely so without trying to be 'smart' & so called 'funny' keep up the good work sir..very refreshing 😌

[@ruairiobradaigh9810]

Love this I'm thinking of buying one as a second car, the review is exactly what I needed thanks mate 👍

[@shadowbanned5164]

Second hand EV good luck with that one.

[@A-ELL]

@@shadowbanned5164 Why? Can you elaborate, please?

[@shadowbanned5164]

@@A-ELL Lithium battery's have a cycle limit after which they can fail.

[@atman5230]

You put the car into Eco mode which gave you 5 miles on top of 57 mile range that equals 62 miles range and the car batteries were exhausted at 66 miles:4 mile bonus.Very good review.

[@richardcarter1000]

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.

[@dwade3202]

Its all politics my dude

[@NickFoster]

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?

[@dwade3202]

@@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

[@NickFoster]

@@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.

[@GoldenCroc]

The progress is in a multitude of areas, but I am pretty sure you already knew that...

[@benanderson89]

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.

[@SheepShearerMike]

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! :)

[@davidhamishwill367]

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.

[@ordinaryelectric2081]

This summer I bought a 2013 Nissan Leaf and a 2002 GEM car. I would never drivel my Leaf down to zero on purpose, but I find 60 miles range to be very useful. We even used it for a weekend getaway. Like I said, I would never drive it down on purpose, but I do keep a tow strap ... just in case.

[@FFVoyager]

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!

[@davidholden2658]

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.

[@kofio7581]

5:58 Hoodie with red sleeves 6:05 Leather jacket 6:09 Back to hoodie

[@KurtPlace]

yeah I saw that too. Bit of editing and old footage going on there.

[@themicrowavenetwork]

3 miles short of the perfect range

[@danieljames1921]

Your "professional" camera worked very well. Have thought about buying a used Leaf for years. For around town, with most things less than 5 - 15 miles away, should work fine.

[@adalbert93_75]

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 👍🏻👏🏻

[@kiae-nirodiariesencore4270]

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.

[@cwx8]

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.

[@DangerousDac]

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.

[@pokerman111111111111]

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

[@livelyosprey]

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

[@NickFoster]

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.

[@renegerritsen6178]

The battery degradation of a Nissan Leaf is quite a bit more significant than that of, say, a Tesla. Nissan does not have thermal management, which is bad for battery health. I was amazed that the new Leaf still does not have thermal management built in. The problem with EV's like this is that they require regular charging. If you have an EV with a larger battery, you don't need to charge daily or every other day, you could only charge up to 80% and down to 20% every week (or every other week, depending on your needs). But short range EV's (just like plugin hybrids) often require you to charge to 100% and drain it to close to 0%, which is bad for your battery.

[@19501960]

Range Anxiety it's real.

[@pt6423]

AS a Leaf owner, the heating will show a significant drop in range. However, after a couple of minutes when the car has started to warm up the range gets better. Put the heating on auto and it will adjust the temperature as it warms up therefore allowing more range. Same principal for summer air con.

[@calsvlogs430]

Question: what happens when my cheap leaf dies? Answer: it will fall off the plant

[@samteknic]

Rory, you can replace the keyfob battery yourself, it’s a CR2025. Dead easy. There’s a few KZbin vids out there.

[@nigelpayne4641]

Great vid, just 2 questions, how did you get back home and was it my eye's or in a couple of shots did you have a leather jacket on.

[@levenkay4468]

You kind of implied that "heating and air con" both reduce the car's remaining range equally. The model LEAF you're driving has resistive heat, though, while its air conditioner is, of course, a heat pump. Using your car's air conditioning in summer will impose much less of a burden on the car's main battery than demanding cabin heat in winter will.

[@darkoampem]

I drove a 2019 leaf a few weekends back and could have sworn that the heated seats get hotter under braking, pretty smart if Nissan actually dump the extra electricity to the seats.

[@EwanV]

Did a similar test myself on Monday, or more to the point I forgot to charge the car, drove further than I thought I was going to have to, and got home with 2 miles showing on the range... Its fun! 🚗🤣

[@anthonymayorgarcia1735]

Thanks for this video! I have a 2015 SV with 9 capacity bars (between 70-80 miles displayed when fully charged) I’m trying to take on a 38 mile road trip with a couple of buddies. The camp site has NEMA 14-50 outlets and I’ve already bought an adapter for my charger! Can’t wait for my weekend, I’ll totally take a video of how things go. Worst case I’d have to call a tow truck…

[@Craig-wp3pz]

If you have an ICE car, it is actually offence to enter the motorway knowing you don't have fuel to get to you to your exit, can't say I've ever heard of anyone being done, but wonder if that rule now translates to EVs and battery 🔋 range?

[@DavidRichardOwen]

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.

[@briansteele2723]

My Dad was 85 and loved the simplicity of his leaf. It only had 90 miles max but we only got caught out twice when chargers were out of action and most times would stop for coffee or lunch somewhere as car was getting charged. Bloody fun if you turned off the eco mode.

[@HypnotizinDetailz]

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! 😊

[@kcender3771]

Rory, what you did for me was think about the short term drives I typically do. I have been focused on long drives and the stress, but in reality, that's not what I do. Thank you!