The new 2016 Nissan Leaf has been announced by the company, giving potential buyers a great deal to think about when it comes to the EV market.
There are several vehicles available this year, including the Leaf, the Chevrolet Volt, and the far more expensive Tesla. The starting price for the Nissan being $29,010 is a much easier for most than the $70,000 for the high end Tesla.
The 2016 Leaf has several great upgrades and additions that make it a fantastic choice for an EV. With an enhanced “Nissan Connect” Banner with improved infotainment and connectivity features, and a new graphic interface and charging screen data that is updated each use of the vehicle – the car has a tremendous value for being user friendly.
The 30 Kwh battery replaces the 24 Kwh pack, adding only 46 pounds. The Carbon, Nitrogen and Magnesium that Nissan has added to the electrodes, improves the performance. The modules have doubled, 8 in total, but the battery still has 192 cells in total.
Nissan attributes the vehicles’ commodity to the automotive-specific battery, “Unlike conventional cylindrical batteries, the thin, compact, laminated cells offeer more flexibility and design applications,” said Andrew Speaker, director of EV Sales and Marketing at Nissan. “The new battery offers more advantages than just the 27 percent increase in driving range – it also offers improved battery performance.”
The stiff competition in the expanding EV market makes the technology not only great, but necessary. The three new colors available, Forged Bronze, Coulis Red and Deep Blue Pearl are a great perk, but will not be the greatest seller of the vehicle. With the current starting point of the Leaf S $29,010 (prior to tax credits), is still lower than the Leaf SV and Leaf SL which begin at $34,200 and $36,790, respectively. There are still incentives to factor into the price, bringing it down and making it a little lighter on the wallet.
The new colors, the easy user interface, extended battery life, and more make the Leaf a great vehicle to purchase now. The most important factor in the decision to purchase this vehicle could just be the end of expensive trips to the gas pump. As of April, 2015 – 170,000 Leafs have been sold worldwide. I guess the whole world is turning over a new Leaf.
Some of that weight could offset by replacing the Lead acid secondary battery with a lighter Lithium Battery of the same capacity.