Advice from current i3 owners who owned a Nissan Leaf

I've been driving my i3 REx for 7 months; turned my leased Leaf in last week.

The REx is:
[*] More zippy and responsive
[*] More fun to drive (like a sports car vs. a family station wagon)
[*] Completely removes range anxiety; if I run out of 'lectricity and the gas begins to run out, it takes 15 seconds at a gas station (literally) to pump in more gas
[*] Not at the mercy of costly public chargers. Although I have free EvGo fast charging for another year, I wouldn't be likely to pay for charging—I'd simply run on gas and buy more as needed.
[*] When I do go to public chargers, if they are down or in use or ICEd, etc., I simply go on my way without a worry about making it to my destination

With the Leaf:
[*] I enjoyed driving it until I got the i3; it was faster, sportier, zippier than my Plug-in Prius
[*] I really liked and miss the surround-car cameras
[*] It had an owner's manual that was complete and which contained information I could understand
[*] It was a much better vehicle to carry three passengers—four in a pinch
[*] It had more storage space in the rear

OVERALL, I find the i3 REx gets me as far on battery power as the Leaf ever did, and if I don't find or want to charge while out and about, the REx takes over and allows me extended range travel and to wait until I reach home to charge at a cheap rate.

Thanks everyone. Anyone have experience with snow and rain traction/performance of the front wheel Leaf compared to the rear wheel i3? This has now become the showstopper in the lease.

I have both vehicles (Gen 2 Leaf & i3 Rex) and agree with all the helpful replies posted here.

There is however one more thing to consider ... over the weekend I did a 100 mile trip in the i3, the range extender kicked in at 91 miles. My point here is that I used ALL the usable charge from the i3, this is something I have never done with the Leaf as range anxiety precludes me from ever dropping below 15miles GOM remaining unless I am within easy reaching distance of an available charger. On this basis, for the most part, I never use all the available charge on the Leaf for fear of being stranded .... with the i3 Rex however, I can use all available charge without any concern about being stranded.

This being the case, I am actually driving further on electric with the i3 because I'm using ALL available charge without leaving myself a safety buffer .... this really has made a big difference to the way I use the vehicle.

If you do decide to buy one, and you're anything like me, you'll go through a love hate relationship with it because it is different to the Leaf, but persevere and you'll grow to really appreciate the i3 big time

epirali said:

Thanks everyone. Anyone have experience with snow and rain traction/performance of the front wheel Leaf compared to the rear wheel i3? This has now become the showstopper in the lease.

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I drove RWD cars with studded winter tires for 10 years in Vail, Colorado. I never got stuck, lost control, etc., and was always able to drive anywhere that any FWD car could go. My cars performed well because they were mid- and rear-engine cars, so there was a lot of weight over the driving wheels just like a FWD car. The mid-engine car was especially good because of more weight over the front wheels which helped with steering and braking.

The weight distribution of an i3 is like that of my mid-engine car. It has a lot of weight over its driving wheels, but enough on its front wheels that it should do well in winter driving conditions. This is unlike most RWD cars with front engines which results in so little weight over the driving wheels that their traction is limited thus giving RWD cars a bad reputation for winter driving.

If you go with the 20" wheel option (not my recommendation), you will also need to figure in the price of a second set of winter tire/wheels, as the 20" are only available in summer performance tread, and would be nasty in real snow.

You have two choices of tires that will fit right now, the OEM Bridgestone winter tires (the dealer pricing on them is actually pretty good!) or the Nokian R2, which is also designed as a low-rolling resistance tire that has embedded crystals in the rubber for additional grip.

I opted to get the second set even though I have the 19" all-seasons, and made a deal for them when I purchased the car. When they need replacement, I may consider the Nokians instead. I don't really drive all that much since I retired, but I had no issues with the winter set. If you regularly get snow or it stays cold, the winter tires are a very good safety addition.

I cannot respond compared to a Leaf but my i3 has been used through this horrendous winter in the Northeast and was able to climb my driveway in deep snow and slush with its All Season 19 inch tires where my 2012 Volvo with front wheel drive and dedicated snow tires barely made it and in certain condition needed to be left at the foot of the driveway. Steep driveway. Very impressed with the i3's bad weather driving and traction.

Thank you all for the very valuable feedback. Pulled the trigger today and in a couple of hours really liking the car. Everyone's feedback and comment were amazingly helpful and spot on.

Will miss the Leaf just a little bit...

epirali said:

Thank you all for the very valuable feedback. Pulled the trigger today and in a couple of hours really liking the car. Everyone's feedback and comment were amazingly helpful and spot on.

Will miss the Leaf just a little bit...

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Awesome news, welcome to i3 ownership !!!

Disco300 said:

epirali said:

Thank you all for the very valuable feedback. Pulled the trigger today and in a couple of hours really liking the car. Everyone's feedback and comment were amazingly helpful and spot on.

Will miss the Leaf just a little bit...

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Awesome news, welcome to i3 ownership !!!

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Thanks I wish that was true. I did get to do a 15 min test drive before we picked up car Friday, but since then I have not driven the car. I'm afraid it's a lost cause, wife fell in love with it.

My fault really, I said: "hey you drive it home I'll take the other car..."

I guess I'll start search for another 2014....

I also leased a 2011 Leaf as an early adopter and switched to the i3 REx last month. Everything about the ride quality has been covered in previous posts. Also the range benefits of the REx is why I switched. The lease deals for 2014 models were too good to pass up.

Here are a few more comparisons that I think might be helpful.

The range estimate in the BMW is more accurate than the LEAF. There are many jokes in the forums that the LEAF SoC and range estimates is called the "guessometer." I tend to agree even after some software updates from Nissan. Since range esimate is so important in EVs, this was a big improvement when I started driving my i3 REx.

The general build quality of the i3 is much better than the Leaf. You are definitely paying for this with the BWM. Things like the buttons, switches, and turn signals stems feel much sturdier in the BMW. This makes a difference to me because you interact with these things all the time as the driver.

Conversely, I think the touch screen center console in the LEAF is more intuitive to use than the BMW iDrive system. Don't get me wrong, it's not that the Leaf is like using an iPad. However, a touch interface is what most people naturally prefer when interacting with a screen.

Furthermore, audio controls for the LEAF on the steering wheel work better with apps like Spotify and Downcast. For example, the LEAF's fast forwarding scrubber feature works from the steering wheel on Spotify, but doesn't work on the i3. BMW only made this work for iTunes and Podcast apps, which I think is a complete miss for BMW. To scrub forward or backwards on Spotify in the i3 requires you to reach across to the left/right arrows on the dash. Again as the driver, I interact with these features all the time.

Lastly, the seats and ride position for the front seats are much better on the i3. Being 6'2", the tilt and telescope steering wheel significantly improved my comfort as the driver. I also like riding higher in the i3. I find myself using the climate control more in the REx because I have less range anxiety. Even though the ride is sportier in the i3, I think these other features improved my comfort overall.

I hope this helps.

Congrats on your purchase. As for the adverse weather performance, I have found that my i3 performs much better in heavy rain than my Leaf did. The narrow tires on the i3 make it much less prone to hydroplaning than the Leaf. I have driven through deep standing water several times in both cars and in the i3 it was almost unnoticeable whereas the Leaf reacted like any other car would.

jelloslug said:

Congrats on your purchase. As for the adverse weather performance, I have found that my i3 performs much better in heavy rain than my Leaf did. The narrow tires on the i3 make it much less prone to hydroplaning than the Leaf. I have driven through deep standing water several times in both cars and in the i3 it was almost unnoticeable whereas the Leaf reacted like any other car would.

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Thanks my wife found this out yesterday is our local torrential downpours. She felt so stable she started hitting the big puddles on purpose!

Ok I am adding this in case anyone ever reads this. I have had the i3 for over a week now and my impressions compared to the Leaf:

1) The interior is much nicer than the Leaf, specially with the technology package display, but the Leaf touch screen is much more usable,

2) The exterior is more "unique" than the Leaf and not necessarily in a good way!

3) The ride is more sporty and the car is much faster, but much more bouncy and less relaxing than the Leaf. This is specially true of the aggressive accelerator/regen, and this is from someone who is used to aggressive regen from Tesla Roadster. I think they missed the mark, this car should not have been tuned to be sport,

4) The efficiency (miles/KWHR) is almost identical to Leaf, which is surprising considering all the technology,

5) Which brings me to electric only range, which is a good 5-10 miles LESS than the Leaf. This is the biggest disappointment.

So all in all I have to say bang for buck definitely goes to the Leaf, the quality/experience (interior) definitely goes to the BMW, and the purity of purpose goes to Leaf (a very useable and comfortable daily commuter), where the i3 is I am afraid a little confused. And if you need people in the back seat the Leaf is much better for room, but the i3 wins in seats down cargo as the seats go flat.

Only saving grace is the REX, I honestly could never recommend the BEV i3 over the Leaf.

And one last nit: who thought the key fob needed a "frunk" opener over the hatch, and why the heck does the hatch not unlock with other doors on stop? That is a constant source of irritation.

Interesting. I find just the opposite on range. Consistently better than the Gen1 Leaf by 5 miles or so even when using the heater in winter. (In the Leaf we shivered - in the i3 we just leave the climate control on all the time). Of course it may be that the i3 performance is tempting you to be more enthusiastic? Or maybe our urban and country road driving suits the i3 brick shape more whereas high steady speeds suit the more aerodynamic Leaf?

BrianStanier said:

Interesting. I find just the opposite on range. Consistently better than the Gen1 Leaf by 5 miles or so even when using the heater in winter. (In the Leaf we shivered - in the i3 we just leave the climate control on all the time). Of course it may be that the i3 performance is tempting you to be more enthusiastic? Or maybe our urban and country road driving suits the i3 brick shape more whereas high steady speeds suit the more aerodynamic Leaf?

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That is a good point I am doing around 55-60 most of the drive. But it's not because of faster acceleration, I use Eco Pro and am very good at whole electric car range game. In fact I used the adaptive cruise control for most of the drive one day and had great "Eco pro" stats.

This is mostly in warm weather and honestly the i3 has the advantage that it's a more efficient AC compared to my 2013 Leaf heat pump (better in winter, less efficient in summer).

epirali said:

2) The exterior is more "unique" than the Leaf and not necessarily in a good way!

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Just my opinion, but I think the Leaf is one the ugliest cars ever made, full stop. The i3 is completely unconventional looking and looks a bit close to a minivan, but it's growing on me.

epirali said:

3) The ride is more sporty and the car is much faster, but much more bouncy and less relaxing than the Leaf. I think they missed the mark, this car should not have been tuned to be sport,

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I came from a E46 3 Series and, true to the brand, the ride feels similar. I consider the spongy ride quality in the Leaf to be a minus, not a plus.

epirali said:

4) The efficiency (miles/KWHR) is almost identical to Leaf, which is surprising considering all the technology,

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Somewhat surprising, I agree. But a REx has DOUBLE the range of a Leaf.

epirali said:

5)Which brings me to electric only range, which is a good 5-10 miles LESS than the Leaf. This is the biggest disappointment.

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A fair comparison would be BEV vs BEV not REx vs BEV.

spinball said:

epirali said:

epirali said:

3) The ride is more sporty and the car is much faster, but much more bouncy and less relaxing than the Leaf. I think they missed the mark, this car should not have been tuned to be sport,

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I came from a E46 3 Series and, true to the brand, the ride feels similar. I consider the spongy ride quality in the Leaf to be a minus, not a plus.

epirali said:

4) The efficiency (miles/KWHR) is almost identical to Leaf, which is surprising considering all the technology,

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Somewhat surprising, I agree. But a REx has DOUBLE the range of a Leaf.

epirali said:

5)Which brings me to electric only range, which is a good 5-10 miles LESS than the Leaf. This is the biggest disappointment.

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A fair comparison would be BEV vs BEV not REx vs BEV.

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Maybe I am being unfair but compared to the ride quality of an M Roadster the i3 is a miss in my opinion. It needed to be either stiffer/less bounce, or smoother/less sport. Its a bit of the bad bits of both.

I am finding the REX is NOT double the range (using the current limited capacity), rather only adds about 40-50 miles. Don't get me wrong, 70+40 is still better than 80 on a leaf, but not the double I was hoping for.

And finally you are correct, the REX is adding more weight drag, but I can't imagine I would get more than maybe .2 or .3 m/KWHr and that would still put in firmly in the same range as the leaf. And the battery is smaller.

I will be very curious to see if the i3 BEV has no difference in range in the 2016-2019 model years. We keep hearing no new "i" models until 2020 but that doesn't mean the current ones won't see significant changes.

I'll be watching closely as I'd really like to step up to from my REx to a full BEV (doesn't have to be a BMW) in the summer of 2017! I don't have enough experience yet, but I'll be surprised if 50 mi range in the winter would be comfortable for me even after 2 years of experiencing an electric car.

spinball said:

I will be very curious to see if the i3 BEV has no difference in range in the 2016-2019 model years. We keep hearing no new "i" models until 2020 but that doesn't mean the current ones won't see significant changes.

I'll be watching closely as I'd really like to step up to from my REx to a full BEV (doesn't have to be a BMW) in the summer of 2017! I don't have enough experience yet, but I'll be surprised if 50 mi range in the winter would be comfortable for me even after 2 years of experiencing an electric car.

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It looks like there will be a few 150 mile realistic BEVs out around 2016-2017 time frame, so hopefully BMW doesn't just sit on this limited range until 2020.

After owning both a Leaf and the i3 now for a while I'm finding the i3 to have a much more consistent (and longer) range than the Leaf. The Leaf had a VERY optimistic range display while the i3 seems to be very conservative. Many times I have left work and gone home only to have more range than when I left.