In my opinion, a combination of legislative agendas, marketing mishaps and a chip shortage made the Leaf lose it's first place position. Unfortunately, I bought a car during the chip shortage which caused exactly the wrong message to be sent to Nissan's marketing team. They probably think the features in the SV trim is what people want rather than the S plus model - when the exact opposite is true. Below is why.
One reason I'm a repeat Nissan customer is that the company has delivered impressive results in the past. In 2012 the first generation leaf hit the road. Unlike small run electric cars of the past, the leaf series managed to be a mass-market luxury compact car that stuffed every convenience possible in the package. The basic 2013 model, which I acquired used, included a decent radio/cd/satellite system and a well laid out driving control arrangement. It also had other nice features such as hands-free mobile phone, key-less entry and heads-up display for speed. The trim I had also included a fast DC charging option and a winter package including heated seats and mirrors. Although I only fast-charged once, it was nice to know the option worked.
In the 2012 models, many users reported temporary battery problems due to low temperatures and more permanent battery problems due to chemistry degradation. As for my experience with the 2013 model, my battery degradation was minimal. I traded mine in a few years later still having full bars. My car's primary weakness was an EPA rated 85 mile range, which when driven in the cold gave it only a 50ish mile range. Other than range, the rest of the car performed quite well. For my short commute to work, it was well suited as an inexpensive second car.
Over the years, I noticed that Nissan has incrementally improved the leaf. Each year the basic bug-eye chassis of the car stayed nearly the same but the battery capacity gradually increased. In 2018 , Nissan decided to introduce a nicer looking 40KW model with a claimed range of 150 miles. Unlike the unique electric car look of before, this was a more conservative look. It was a car that looked very similar to the popular gasoline car, the Versa. When the new 2019 car came out, I decided to trade my older 2013 for a new car to get the better range and nicer body style.
I was very impressed with the 2019 model. Although no car is perfect, the "S" trim level was pretty close. Really, it still is the best car I've ever owned. The 40kw battery proved to be more than sufficient to go to any part of the nearest city with range to spare. Acceleration was decent. Standard features included cruise control, heated seats, heated steering wheel and it still had a retro CD player, which is hard to find in newer cars. Most important, it had a sensible car control layout with real buttons rather than a touch screen. It was just enough technology without being too much. It was simple. It worked. Thanks to the 3rd party leafspy app, I could turn off the annoying low speed driving and backup noises. From then on, it was the quiet pleasant driving car that I always wanted. I was happy. The neighbors, not needing to wake up to my car sounds each morning were happy. All was well with the world.
Then, I did a very foolish thing. Since the tax incentives were still in effect, I got greedy for more range. I decided that if 40KW was good, a car with a 62KW battery would be great! So, I sold my wonderful 2019 car and tried buying a 2022 S+ model. Unfortunately, due to Covid, the chip shortage made it easy to sell my car. However, after selling the car, I found that it was almost impossible to by another one! I couldn't find a dealer that had an S+ model! I eventually ended my search and bought an SV trim instead. I simply accepted that I was getting some features I didn't really care for but at least had a car with more range. I figured I could just ignore the extra features I didn't want.
Unfortunately, between 2019 and 2022 Nissan took a great value and turned it into an average one.
First the good. The 2022 range has indeed improved from the 2019. During cold snowy days, with snow tires, the range does decrease. However, I can reliably get 160 real miles (80 round trip) driving at any speed even in below zero weather. Also, because the car has a heat pump rather than relying on engine heat cabin is very quick to warm up. Even though the 62kw model is heavier than the 40kw model, acceleration remains good. Also, I rate the sound system audio and FM radio reception as being exceptionally good. The 4 direction backup camera with anti-collision is also handy for parking. Due to the hood being a bit lower, visibility is also marginally better than the 2019. The LED headlamps provide decent lighting at night and running lights plus fog lamps are standard. The seat, featuring heat and electric settings such as lumbar support, can be made to be very comfortable. Although I didn't really need the dashboard map, I found it works rather well. However, the hands-free voice recognition feature doesn't work as well as the 2019 since it requires SIRI and I find that program annoying. Fortunately, the dashboard touchscreen is configurable. So, instead of saying the number I want to dial, I use a quick-dial from the touchscreen.
One feature that I thought I would like on the 2022 would be adaptive cruise control. However, I found having snow gather on the car while driving can knock out the front collision sensor. This does two things. First, cruise control no longer works. Second, a very annoying blinking amber light appears on the console. It appears often enough that I've finally just covered the dashboard light with tape. As for other features, such as lane departure and anti-collision, these are easily toggled off.
Unfortunately, the presumably federally required digital noises diverge from the efficient silence an electric car should have. First, there are the audio warnings. For example, when winter storms occur I get multiple messages saying "Winter storm warning". One was OK. however, when I got six in quick succession, I thought was a bit much. Also, the warnings did not specify what direction the storm is coming from, just that it's x miles away. When I drive in the general direction of a toll booth, I also get an audio warning - again no indication of where, just that it's nearby.
My biggest gripe is that the 2022 touchscreen console is not as easy to operate as the 2019 S model that has real buttons and knobs. That means that most features can be operated without eyes off the road. Most features also can operate with gloves too. Contrast that with the touch screen model of the 2022 SV model. I find I'm constantly removing my hands from my gloves and eyes from the road is both annoying and potentially dangerous. There are two features I do wish were at least options. First, there is a rear-windshield wiper, but no washer. Second, I grew to love the heated mirrors that came with the 2013 model. I really would have liked that option on the SV plus.
In summary, Nissan almost got it right. The thing that Nissan needs to realize is that I didn't buy my new car for gee-wiz features. I also didn't buy it to save on petrol. I bought it for basic mechanical simplicity. No oil changes, a motor with minimal moving parts and a simple transmission that should last for years. The 2019 S model was close to perfect for being a reliable daily driver and also happened to be a nice quiet driving experience. The 2022 adds nice features, but I still would have been happier with the basic model. Still, it was better (for me) than any other car choice I had during the great car shortage of 2021.
