So I bought a Leaf

"Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen" (distraxi)
07/15/2014 at 16:32 • Filed to: None

And not only that, but I sold a Jaaaaaag XJR to do it!

Before you all pile on: Yes, my testicles are still attached and fully functional (I've checked). It's all been done for the most manly and gearheaded of reasons. Let me explain...

A couple of years ago, in a rush of blood to the brain, I bought, at more or less the same time:

an old, British, high performance luxobarge as a DD,

and a half share in an even older, Australian, high performance racecar as a toy.

This combo has been a lot of fun, but it has perhaps not been my wisest decision. After steadfastly ignoring reality for longer than sensible, I have now confronted the fact that I can't afford the time, money, or matrimonial credit to run both.

The Jag is a truly lovely car to drive, but it's a high maintenance mistress: it's constantly demanding TLC and presents from the parts department, and it drinks like a fish. And the Commodore? Well, lets just say that motor racing is second only to hookers and blow as a way to lose all your weekends, nights, money, and family and enjoy doing so.

Neither of these facts was unknown to me when I got into it, but some people are just idiots. I have, in fairness, been surprised by just how much of a racing budget goes into repairs, but also in fairness, I shouldn't have been. Take a powerful old car, add a pile of upgrades, tune it with an inch of its life, and thrash it mercilessly, and lo and behold it will break a lot. Duh!

So one of the two had to go. And in the end, the Jag loses. Mostly because I don't get enough chances to use it the way it should be. Its native environment is long distance fast cruising on sweeping backroads (for which it's the best thing I've ever driven). It's a nice enough place to be on city streets and freeways, but it's really a waste. And city work's what I mostly do nowadays - we travel a lot less than we used to. Maybe that's related to weekends being taken up with race days, track days, and Holden repairs, or something....

So the Jag has gone. Sometime soon I'll do an Oppo review as a memorial to it.

And the Leaf?

Well, having decided the Jag had to go, I started looking at replacements. The new DD had to be:

Not too thirsty, so probably not big

Low maintenance, so reasonably new

Not too expensive

Not beige

But not oddball enough to be impossible to live with or sell later (which is my usual mistake)

Competent enough to enjoy the odd long haul

And powerful enough for any overtaking manoevre I'm brave enough to try

While docile and soft enough to be mostly a city car

Auto (I'm a manual guy, but face it, they're a PITA in traffic). But not a sucky auto - which is difficult, because autos suck by default

Not ugly (personal foible, call me shallow)

After several months cruising ads, I came to the conclusion that the only thing I could find which met these criteria was a Golf GTi. Only problem with that is the wife already has one. And 2 identical cars in the garage is not only dull, it's slightly creepy. So no more Golfs. Which left me with...Nada.

OK, Plan B. Lets turn the existing Golf into our primary car, and buy a shopping trolley for round-town work. Sounds great, I have a soft spot for economy cars, I've even owned a Renault 4! So off we go poking round small car options. 500, Micra, Fiesta, Jazz, Mazda3, no Yaris (forget it, it's a Toyota), no Mini (forget it, it's too cynical), nothing Korean (because I still don't trust their safety & quality), nothing Chinese, because Are You Crazy? And a Leaf, because why not, right? No range, true, but I live 15km from work and my wife lives 3, and we still have the Golf. How often do both of us need to travel more than 100km, separately, on the same day? And anyway, I'm curious. I love cars, this, like it or not, is the future of cars, lets give it a look.

And you know what? The Leaf was the nicest. Best low-speed oomph, happy enough at urban freeway speeds, best ride (weight is good for ride and batteries are great for weight), quality feeling interior, dash that doesn't look like an 80s boombox (lookin' at you, Honda), no crappy robot-manual gearbox (and you, Fiat) or push-pedal-and-wait slushbox (everyone else except Ford). Actually no gearbox at all - weird feeling, but cool. Spacious. Big-ass luggage compartment, because no gas tank or exhaust. Quiet. No vroom-vroom noises, but no city car really has an exciting engine. And anyway, I have an unsilenced 450hp V8 at home, so who cares? Probably doesn't handle at the limit, I haven't tried, but it feels nice enough at a city-sensible 5/10ths. More expensive than the others, but by the time you figure in NZ gas at US$8/gallon, preferential parking in town, and low service costs, comes out evens over 3 or 4 years.

And, most importantly of all, it's weird. And novel. I know it's not if you live in Norway or San Francisco, but there are like 50 of them in NZ, because Nissan's only just last month come to their senses, realised you can't price it like an executive saloon, and cut sticker price 40%. Which means it's about to stop being novel, so it'll be saleable by the time I want to.

And it's full of shiny new technology stuff - I love shiny. But not scary new technology stuff: Nissan have made 100k Leafs, and apart from some hot climate battery issues, they seem to have been pretty reliable. And lets face it, Pri-ii have been out for years, and electric forklifts years longer than that.

And having found I don't hate it, I really want to try it and see what it's like to live with. Because I love cars, and I'm insatiably curious about cars.

So here we are. Taking delivery in a couple of weeks. Once I've lived with it for a while I'll give y'all an Oppo review.

So now you can pile on....

DISCUSSION (22)

Vince-The Roadside Mechanic > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
07/15/2014 at 16:35

Should have got a 500. But congrats.

Brian Silvestro > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
07/15/2014 at 16:35

I skipped your lengthy explanation because having an electric dd is just common sense. Cheap, barely any moving parts, and ultra efficient.

505Turbeaux > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
07/15/2014 at 16:36

At least you dont have $700 wheel bearing jobs anymore!

HammerheadFistpunch > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
07/15/2014 at 16:36

Gotta nuke something.

thebigbossyboss > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
07/15/2014 at 16:40

*Grabs bludgeon*

Did you check out a Mistubishi Mirage? Do they get those in Australia?

I have decided I like those as little goofy cars.

Kinja'd!!!

What about Mazda 2? Smaller than 3. Rusts a lot less too. Although mind you rust probably isn't as big an issue in Aussie as it is in Canada (hello salt).

Just curious. I should go to a Nissan dealer (ewww a dealership) and try to test drive a Leaf.

Racescort666 > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
07/15/2014 at 16:42

Gotta nuke something.

I like your attitude sir: Nissan Leaf? Yeah, I'll give it a shot.

I wouldn't personally own one but you've got your automotive bases covered so why the hell not?

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
07/15/2014 at 16:46

Reading this made me realise that an electric car would be perfect as my parents second car. If only they didn't cost so much new...

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
07/15/2014 at 16:46

Congrats! We've had ours since 2011 and it's been very reliable. It's a perfectly likable little transportation appliance.

Even though it's a little beige-ish. :-)

CRider > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
07/15/2014 at 16:48

Not too thirsty, so probably not big- Leaf wins this

Low maintenance, so reasonably new - Leaf wins this

Not too expensive- You wanted inexpensive and new?

Not beige- I'd say the Leaf is pretty beige

But not oddball enough to be impossible to live with or sell later (which is my usual mistake) The Leaf is an absolute oddball and it will be hard to sell. They also depreciate badly.

Competent enough to enjoy the odd long haul- The Leaf doesn't have enough range for a long haul.

And powerful enough for any overtaking manoevre I'm brave enough to try- You must be pretty brave to try overtaking in a Leaf

While docile and soft enough to be mostly a city car - Leaf does well here

Auto (I'm a manual guy, but face it, they're a PITA in traffic). But not a sucky auto - which is difficult, because autos suck by default - Doesn't the Leaf only have one forward gear?

Not ugly (personal foible, call me shallow)- The Leaf has a face only a mother could love

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
07/15/2014 at 16:53

I was very close to getting one, but the range I need just isn't there yet on the Leaf. So, i went with the 500. I agree with you about Fiat's auto...it is awful, but mine is a stick, which as far as I am concerned is the only thing to have in a small, Italian car.

Dsscats > thebigbossyboss
07/15/2014 at 16:55

Go test drive a Mirage. You will never dare to say you like it again.

Alex B > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
07/15/2014 at 17:01

Kinja'd!!!

Congrats! Our leaf sends greetings.

thebigbossyboss > Dsscats
07/15/2014 at 17:34

I should do that definitely. I want to test drive a leaf too!

burntartichoke > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
07/15/2014 at 17:37

My wife and I have been looking at Leafs, has any Leaf owner gotten anything from the Nismo catalog yet?

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > thebigbossyboss
07/15/2014 at 18:24

Australia =/= New Zealand!

Didn't try a Mirage because I've previously driven a friend's one and wasn't too impressed. Can't remember why, just remember thinking "meh". It was a Mazda2 not a 3 we tried, I wrote the wrong thing. I liked it. Also tried a Swift. My preference if we'd gone internal combustion would have been Fiesta, Swift, Mazda.

gavinski91 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
07/15/2014 at 19:21

In some states, government incentives can make leasing a ridiculously practical option. Exhibit a: four families in my church (out of maybe 50) have leases on Leafs (Leaves?) as second vehicles. In Washington state, after government incentives, they're paying around $200.00 per month for the lease, which makes it an easy decision when you consider how much they are saving on gas.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > gavinski91
07/15/2014 at 19:23

Combined my families cars are worth about $3000 so even a good lease deal is a reach for us haha

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > CRider
07/15/2014 at 19:25

You missed my point. I looked for cars which met that list and got nothingI fancied. So I decided we only needed one car which met the list (the Golf), and changed the goalposts. A Leaf meets very few of these criteria, as you've said. But as a second car, it doesn't need to.

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast.
07/15/2014 at 19:26

If we'd gone stick, it'd have been 500 all the way - apart from the truly hideous auto, they're a really nice little car.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
07/15/2014 at 19:28

I agree. that auto sucks all the fun out of that car. The stick is an entirely different, and better driving experience.

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > 505Turbeaux
07/16/2014 at 00:47

I haven't had to deal with bearings, thank God. But don't talk to me about the cost of Brembo brake rotors!

thebigbossyboss > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen
07/16/2014 at 08:45

Oh sorry. I don't know why I said Australia. You clearly said you were in NZ.

Oh well as long as you gave the Mirage a try I'll put down my bludgeon. I am now thinking I should go test drive a leaf, if they'll let me. I have never driven an electric car before.