Respect to Robert who has kept using this car for so long despite not needing to. This is the direction we all need to take rather than throwing things away unnecessarily when we see the next new shiny thing. We need to take pride in making things last.

Hi, I was in charge of the car first generation Nissan Leaf as chief designer. I just want to say thank you for your love for the car. I already retired Nissan, but still having 2011 Leaf as you do and feel exactly same feeling to it. Thanks again.

What a fantastic overview. As a mechanic of 30 years , I’ve seen a few changes in the industry , and watched Nissan decline from one of the great manufacturers to producing some absolute rubbish . And then the Leaf came along. What they’ve done here is truly remarkable, a full electric vehicle for the masses that is actually incredibly well built . I’m so happy I bought one, every time I drive I smile . Yes the range is limited but it kicks arse in every other way. Future classic? I hope so .

My mom is still dailying our old family minivan, and I'm thinking that once the van dies and we get a replacement, I'll look in to an EV. The problem is that it's a Toyota Sienna, so it may never die.

Thank you Robert for providing this long term update. I think it is very important for people to see these kinds of reviews especially for vehicles with such a challenged start. My 2013 Nissan Leaf has been as you stated flawless. I have changed a wiper blade and wiper fluid and that is it. I still have the original tires after 56000 miles and have only recently begun to think about getting a brand new set. It is by far the most reliable vehicle I've ever had. Might 2013 Ford C Max hybrid has been very reliable but has needed work occasionaly, because, you guessed it of the internal combustion engine. Showcasing a car such as this early model is important because we can only go up from here. Stay safe my friend and thank you for the wonderful content over the years and please don't give up any time soon.

My 9 year old leaf (13 plate), has 110000 miles, 11 bars with soh 81%. Range around 80 miles in summer and 65 in winter. Also replaced the unit head with an android head. Well worth the £7000 I paid for it 5 years ago.

Oh my gosh you interviewed Carlos back in the day. So casually. That's huge.

Keep up the great work and the attitude ! We all need your smiles. Thank you Robert.

I've had a 2011 Blue Leaf since 2014. Bought it on the back of your (and Ian Sampson's) videos. 3 battery bars lost. 2 things have gone wrong: windscreen washer pump and driver door switch unit. Both replaced on the cheap (not at the dealership!). No other problems, no punctures, no lights gone. What a car!

I've always been a petrolhead, and first drive the Leaf through Enterprise Car Club. One of the best cars I've ever driven, solidly built, and quietly confident.

Bought a 2nd hand 24kwh leaf 3 years ago because of this channel & still love driving it. Cheers Bobby 👍

This is the genuine honest enthusiasm you brought to FC that made me subscribe a few years ago!!! Brilliant and thank you for bringing the old Robert back!

They are really great overall. Good point regarding the battery management. Glad to see you still have yours! My mom actually bought ours from us. So its still in the family AND she has solar. Good deal all around. Please keep up the great work!

Almost exactly my story and sentiments, down to the sourcing a 40kwh battery!. Mine, ex UK, has lived in Jamaica, so only has 3 bars left (it's still used all the time). Thanks for telling my story so well!

Last month I purchased a 2014 Leaf Tekna for just £4000. Battery is tested at 81-82% which is roughly ~75-80 mile range with 64000 miles on the clock. Previous owner had almost from new, full service history shows biggest work was only front brake pads & discs replaced last year, not a scuff anywhere else. Everything works, no faulty lights, buttons, cameras, etc. It's my first EV and although I admit I wasn't originally looking at the Leaf, I've since fallen in love with it and plan to hold on and cherish it for a long time yet. Still zero tax (for now), I'm lucky to have free charging at my work place, so insurance is really the only running cost. I commute 4 days a week and a couple of social visits, all on a single charge... even with a small battery by modern standards, it's suited for average household daily drives perfectly fine. I can charge on a 3 pin if needed, I roughly worked the cost to be around £12 electric to fully charge during off-peak which isn't a lot compared to a few litres of petrol which probably couldn't give you the same mileage. The Fully Charged Show also definitely helped and educated me with sticking to my guns and making the switch to an EV, despite the doubts of friends and family... most now who want to try it having seen or been in it 🙂

So good to hear you’re getting a 40Kw/Hour battery for your Leaf. I look forward to your first ‘range test’ video once it’s done. Once again, hope you are all keeping safe and well. 😊👍🏻

Would never have considered having a Leaf until I saw this.

I love your video….I have been driving my 2014 Leaf for 8 yrs now with 112,900 km on it and still in excellent shape and only one bar lost so far…cheers to all Leaf owners!

I'm watching this as a Leaf owner from hot and humid Sri-Lanka, thanks Robert, great show! Stay safe and I hope the new battery works out superbly!

I remember seeing this car at the Winchester Science Festival in 2013, Robert. Glad to see it's still going strong(ish)! I remember having a lovely chat with you there, and you kindly gave me a copy of your book half price because I didn't have enough cash left. You're an absolute gent. Keep up the excellent work!

I would agree Robert. My Nissan leaf is still going strong and hasn't gone wrong once. We've had ours for like 6 years now. We love it so much. Such an amazing car

I owned a '11 Leaf SV for a short while, absolutely loved it - was the reason why I subscribed to FC, actually! I live in AZ, USA, literally the worst place to own a Leaf due to the lack of active cooling (40c+ summers, throw a quick charge or two into the mix throughout the day and the battery is at the top of the temperature range). It's, in my opinion, the biggest problem with the Leaf; the range is second to the lack of active cooling. If Nissan put active cooling into the Leaf, it was a perfect first-gen EV. Still in AZ today, and I contemplate grabbing another, even knowing the battery will degrade at a ridiculous speed here. I really liked that car; yes its a slow EV and yes if I went anywhere beyond 30 miles I'd have to charge somewhere along the way, but I didn't mind. My employer at the time even let me level 1 charge while I was on the clock, with the Leaf evse and a beefy extension cable - so in the evening I had a full battery instead of half (35ish miles one way + second-hand so battery degradation). My first car was a Mercedes C230K. Great car, but painfully expensive to maintain and run. When I got the Leaf, I was worried I'd have buyers remorse - it's not a luxury car or brand, the battery isn't in great shape, it's not athletic - but that never happened. I absolutely loved that car. Range limitations and all. 🔌🚙

THANK YOU for the best review of this car! I was tired watching detailed description of cup holder position on other channels. You have done the best job telling your opinion as a long term car owner.

Great vid! Your enthusiasm for this technology is addictive and infectious.

I have my 2011 nissan leaf for about a year now. Thought it would be the perfect way to have cheap transportation as a 19 year old. I absolutely love it. And would also love to see a video after the pandemic about the 40kwh battery 😍.

I love my 2015! It's very encouraging to hear how well the old thing has held up for you. And I'm very interested to hear about the battery upgrade when possible.

Thanks for keeping the channel going in lockdown. I switched my Zoe 22kwh for my 2020 Leaf 40kwh and love it. Viva l'electric

I love the way you can help people feel good. And you called it, when it come to electric cars. the whole family thinks you the tops. you have made a difference in the world for the better. THANK YOU. P.S. we bought a 2019 LEAF after watching you drone on about the Leaf year after year. Colorado USA

Robert I very much and sincerely appreciate the role that you have played in helping to spread the word and reinforce the development of electric cars. Not only were you in the right place at the right time you chose to accept looking further into it. How many people in similar circumstances never did. They were waiting for someone else and still are while the planet's integrity is falling apart and their children's futures are going to be more horrible than it would have otherwise been. Yet and still because of you many other people didn't wait until things were a thousand percent sure and have purchased electric cars. Like myself they probably asked why I did not do it sooner. Ev's are far more sensible than we had been led to believe.

Best explanation of charging issues. We got yelled at by Nissan for too much fast charging on lease return (650 times). Our response was: then why is battery state of health 95%?

Thank you for share your fantastic love story with this fantastic car. I'm so excited to see your rebuild Leaf with the 40Kwh battery. A new life for this good boy. I usually can see some complaints about the Nissan Leaf batteries for some people. It's normal, the degradation of these packs is insane, especially in the 30Kwh version, but honestly, we should be grateful with the Nissan/Renault Group for creating these pioneers vehicles how much had they done for the electric and sustainable mobility. Thanks for this amazing video.

Great review! And- I'm sorry to hear of the loss of your pups :(

Very interesting video, thanks. I'm dying to know how much the new/reconditioned battery is going to cost and how it was sourced.

Great video, as ever Robert- thank you :) I am thinking of buying an electric car, but with a view to keeping it a LONG time- as you have with this very cool Leaf. Thing is, I live with a chronic health issue- and so a limited income- hence my wanting to keep the car for ages: the economics of an electric car, as well as the ecological side of things, is important to me. My question then, is simply- if you don't mind me asking- how much is the used battery pack that you have sourced? This will really help me to make a decision. Many thanks.

Thank you so much, Robert, for the tribute to this automotive masterpiece. It was SO ahead of its time! I owned a LEAF from 2016-2019 until my TESLA Model 3 LR 4WD was delivered and I LOVED IT!!! Sven, Hamburg

Absolutely love our 2011 leaf, we too really need a longer range battery. Been watching your channel Robert for a while and decided to get the leaf and we agree it's been 100% reliable. Great show keep up the great work👍

hello robert just being cheeky can i buy your old battery off you to enable me to convet my canal boat to electric power even with the depleted capacity it will power my boat for miles and be charged using my panels. its now got a 1956 ruston hornsby diesel a bit smelly and chugs a bit and but never misses a beat well not all the time but it would be great to bring my canal boat into the modern age.

Robert, when you make the battery swap video, would you mind talking a bit about insurance implications of it being a non-standard leaf please? I fear they'll either not insure you or charge you the earth just because they can...

Hi! Did not realized you managed to interview Carlos. First gen Leaf looked quirky when it first came out and it still looks quirky today! Kudos to their hard plastics and your interior cleaning - Still looks decently fresh even after all these years!

Thank you for taking the time to put this together!

Like your enthusiasm about the car, I remember being amazed by it when I first came across one on the motorway. One point though, you took ownership of the car in 2011, the video says review after 10 years and at the end of the video you mention the car as being 11 years old. If I check my Macs calendar it says we live in 2020. What gives? Can you also do a vid like this on the BMW i3, my personal favourite and albeit from some cosmetic changes and a huge battery upgrade, it's still essentially the same car as it came out 7 years ago. Cheers

Hi Robert, I have a 2013 here in Norway, exactly the same exterior color. After watching your video, I am inspired to keep my leaf for as long as i can :) I have done 100,000 KMS, all 12 bars intact and it gives a range of 120km in summer and 100km in winter, without running the heater/AC. I rarely have a use for running the heater and seat warmers are enough to keep me warm throughout the year. It serves all of our daily needs. We bought an Old petrol Passat for the long drives and vacations

I really enjoyed this video. I've just purchased a 21 plate Leaf 10 and this told me so much. Thank you!

Thanks for the information, very interesting and clear. Based in your experience, real and well explained. Keep it up!

I've had my '15 for three years now, still drive it like I stole it. How _did_ you keep your tires going so long with all that torque? I'm on my third set! At 7:45 , that looks suspiciously like a J1772 connector. Frankly, I'm surprised there are two different standards across The Pond (voltage differences notwithstanding).

I believe a long run with multiple fat charges improves the state of my 30kwh battery. I'm still 12 bar at 60000 km here in New Zealand.

Great! Looking forward to the episode covering the upgrade. Also, please tell us about what happens to the old battery.

Hi Robert we have a 2015 techna 24kw that's done 22,000 miles in five years we still get the maximum range and regularly travel from the bottom of Cornwall to Derby and Doncaster, We are over the moon with her. But our curiosity is awakened regarding this up and coming battery swop and we look forward to hearing more when your able to do this, many thanks for sharing and I have subscribed to you. 😊

It's a shame they never added active cooling especially for a "world car" when parts of the world are pigging hot.

I’d love to see the bigger battery replacement and then compare it to the new shape 40kW model

Great video Robert, will be interested to see a video when you get your battery swapped . I quite fancy a Leaf myself.

Nice to see you both together again. About 6 years ago perhaps longer you came to Winchester to do a talk in the leaf for the Cafe Sci. The leaf was parked outside the venue surrounded by cones so you had to walk by it on the way in. I can imagine it was charging but I can't remember the details. Viewers wont be surprised to hear that it was a great evening, Robert is very entertaining. I went with a group in an electric VW golf belonging to a German engineer and enthusiast which was one of a batch of about 1000 early test vehicles. One of the designers long retired maintains stocks of spare parts and advises on restorations. EV enthusiasm is more contagious than the "thing"

Maybe a show where you investigate 3rd party companies that will refurb batteries rather than just buying a new one? Leaf Spy (app) can show which individual cells have failed and these companies should be able to replace those alone.

I love my leaf. It’s down to 83%. But is great for the shops and short trips. So cheap to run.

This is a fun one! I’m looking forward to seeing the video about the new battery! Hoping you’ll make it into a video

Thanks Robert, nice work. Down here in Victoria, Australia I purchased an imported 2013 Leaf. No conversion on the dash. It was 46,0000 km and is now 63,000 km. Two bars lost but because of you and other social media people, I now slow charge between 4 bars and 9 bars mostly, (20% - 80%). A 32 km trip to my office (then charge using solar) back home (charge off peak). It is very inexpensive an tax deductible. I also use it on weekends and charge halfway to my girls place. Overall I can do 90 - 100 km but I’ve not seen the turtle. More importantly it’s so nice to drive and is fast when you need it. I love it and don’t regret buying it ever. I bought it because you bought one. Mal :)

Interested to see how the battery upgrade goes. I'm sitting on a 2013 Leaf SL at the moment. It was driven regularly to about 60,000 miles and now gets sporadic use since other EV's have been added to the stable. I've struggled on whether to keep or sell, but I'd love to see a viable upgrade path to make it a good mid range EV.

Thank you for this review. I have a 2017 1st-gen Leaf that I’m fond of. I would like to pay the car off and replace the battery at least one more time when it degrades enough.

I really like your videos because it's super sensible about the day-to-day of owning an EV, and not about frivolous upgrades

Really interesting to look back, about that time I had already had my Smart Electric Drive for 6 months and was getting used to the future of EVs, shame Mercedes didn't give an option to purchase these after the trial ended. Would have been fascinated to see a concise breakdown of cost ultimately with a cost per mile over the last decade, maybe something you could add to the battery upgrade video. At the same time this went on sale I opted for a Auris Hybrid due to the range and I knew I would be keeping the car for at least 10 years. 140k miles later and I still think the cost per mile would come in under me having bought a Leaf so I'm glad I held off.

I also owned a 2011 Japan-built Leaf for 3 years but unfortunately my experience of reliability was very different from yours. I lost my first battery health bar at only 17k miles which started to sound those alarm bells in the back of my mind. Then soon afterwards the car would occasionally refuse to start. It would make a single chime when I pressed the start button but then wouldn't go into drive mode. This became more frequent until I just couldn't use the car any more. It was in and out of two local dealers who were absolutely clueless and completely disinterested. It wasn't until I got Nissan UK involved that things started to improve as they couldn't do enough to try to help. They ended up trailering the car to their experts in Sunderland and they gave me a UK built Leaf Tekna to use as a loaner. The improvements between generations were very obvious! Well after a few weeks they managed to fix my car by replacing all the power relays but I never quite trusted the thing again and I was happy to hand it back at the end of the lease. Such a shame really because when it was working I absolutely loved the car.

Love this video ! Yes please, get a new battery, fix the scratches, do new range tests, and please, let us know about it ! The awesome thing about an old car is that you can tweak it without reducing its value. After a woman backed into my petrol car and I got a Kia Soul loaner when it was repaired, I could see first hand how awesome EVs have become and I now drives a MG ZS EV and is really happy about it even the software could be better.

Robert's enthusiasm for this "classic" car is infectious. If I could give this video more than one like, I would.

God I utterly love this channel and its content Robert. Never stop.

Would love to know how best to source replacement Leaf batteries. I'm still on 11 bars in my 24kw Leaf, but have no intention of (ever) parting with it........if I can replace the batteries in due course. Any chance of a video on how and where they can be found ?

I’m really interested in knowing, how much will the battery & swap cost.

Thanks for the video Robert! Great recap of your experience. We had a 2011 LEAF but sold it in 2017.. the range had dropped a bit too much for us. But I bought a 2018 LEAF a year ago.. and it's working great! We also lease a Bolt. I'm looking at a used Model S to possibly replace the Bolt when the lease is up. You know about the EV bug just like us. Thanks mate!

I bought an '11 used some years ago. It had many miles on it and I put many more. Today it is driven by a young niece with over 100,000 miles on the clock. The heat in Texas did degrade the battery but a new one was supplied under warranty. the build quality of the car is very high, never had a mechanical problem. A used LEAF with a good battery is one of the best bargains today for a city car.

Can I ask roughly how much the new battery you mentioned would cost? Cheap to install too??

I'm glad you think that the Leaf will become a 'Classic', I've long thought my 2013 Tekna will be a design Classic, in a similar way to the Citroen 2CV, - so no-one's going to have Posters of it on their wall, but the 'look' is unique, and it works ! And as a Plane Geek, I love the lack of compromises that the designer's made with its Aerodynamics, - love it ! :)

Excellent and thorough review, thank you!

Wow, what a fantastic project to swap the battery! Watching with interest :)

Would love to see a review when you get a new battery fitted. Also how much it costs.

here in america, i've seen alot of leaf taxis. i live in the middle of nowhere in indiana about 5 minutes from a cornfield.

Nice video. Our 2012 just hit 80k miles, 5 bars on a full charge. We used to charge it no more than 80% but in the most recent 4 years or so, we started doing 100%. It's our daily driver, even during shelter in place. It absolutely needed no maintenance except tire changes every 30k. We didn't purchase warranty and in its first year we have ever claimed several rebates from the federal government, the state, local utility company, and our employers! Worth every penny.

Thanks again for a very interesting and informative review. Stay safe.

Really hope u break down the cost of battery replacement

I like how it's possible to install a 60 kilowatt hour pack in a first gen leaf. Here in Portland Oregon a dealer is offering a 2013 leaf with a 60 kilowatt hour battery pack for 13 grand, pretty amazing.

Really nice to see a long-term EV review. It's reassuring for those of us that haven't made the transition yet. As others have mentioned, I'm keen to see the battery swap.

Definitely do a follow-up video on the battery upgrade. I wonder about any changes in wiring and software that could be necessary to the process and how difficult those issues might prove to overcome.

Got a '13 leaf several months back, it had done over 220k miles (330k km) when i bought it, original battery, vid on channel. Now looking for a 40kwh donor battery too, let me know if you know a good source in EU :) Hope Robert gets his upgrade done soon too! It is even easyer on 13+ leafs, since from that on all the connections are identical, on Roberts '11 car they have to fiddle and change connectors around.

go for the new battery it would be a good experiment , i feel that battery upgrades and exchange will be a future common occurance with the developing used car market. Heres a thought for a new busness a specilist battery replacement manufactuer for used electric vechicles. You could produce batterys taking advantage of higher density, and new advances in technology to upgrade exsisting cars . Just as you have to replace glutches , gearboxes, ect in normal cars whynot the same with evs??.

I would just like to say that this channel is the reason why I bought my first electric car. It inspired me to look beyond the worries of owning a limited range car. Having bought a BMW i3 rex. I am now confident I made the right choice. I dont think I have needed to use the rex ever so could have saved some money buying just a pure electric i3. Thank you.

That episode where you ran the Leaf to empty was the first episode of Fully Charged I ever saw!

Lucky for Ghosn that he got out when he did, now would be impossible.

Very interesting and great to hear probably one of the longest term reviews of an EV around. It just shows how reliable this technology is, and the fact that you didn't have to replace the battery 3 times as some would have you believe. Was this not bought with a battery lease? Was there the option to buy outright then? Yes the battery replacement will be very interesting. Whats is the cost? Is any reprogramming needed for the old leaf to accept the "new" 40KWh battery, or is it all handled by the onboard battery management?

16:11 into the video: 65k miles. Good service. My 2015 Leaf-S went beyond the 100k mark on the odometer early this March. I commute 60-65 miles round trip for my two part-time jobs. My car has also joined your scratched and dented car club. Still, I am proud of its reliability. No body squeaks. My second year in with this car, the 12-volt battery was replaced. Earlier this year, the three windshield wipers were replaced. A few years ago I replaced all four tires due to tread wear. That was around 50-60k miles on the odometer then. This car is owned for keeps. The dealership cautioned about the logged quantity of fast charging, but it still has the full twelve bars. Thanks for the 97% charge tip - do not plug in. I'll remember that.

We had that car here in Oregon, USA. Traded in for a 2016 after extending our lease twice. Just bought a 2020 recently and have loved them all! Test drove most other electric only cars in our market and there is just nothing that competes to this car for us. Comfort, dependability, range...it now has it all as far as we are concerned. Thanks for the show!

I just hit 30k on my 2018 Leaf and took it in for maintenance. Full battery capacity, no perceivable wear except for the wipers and a couple scrapes. I hated driving until I got this car.

Look forward to the details what the total cost of replacing the battery will be.

Ten years, wow! I look forward to seeing how the ownership experience changes what that new-old-stock battery swap. I had a 2012, 2014 and 2016 LEAF. So amazing to see how it changed over that short period of time.

Just watched this again, your so passionate about EV’s and renewables, makes me smile, I’ve just bought my 5th EV in 7 years, correction 6th if I include my motorbike (zero SRS) keep doing what your doing!!

To be fair, if I was Ghosn, I would have escaped Japan as well. Their judiciary system is terrible. They force you to confess to things you didn't commit through physical and mental abuse. They took him into custody multiple times but never pressed charges against him because they couldn't prove anything but they kept harassing him and they treated him inhumanely. Japan is dead set on jailing him even if they have to break the law themselves. All he wanted is fair process.

Still love my 2016 30 kWh LEAF...except for the battery. I'm interested in the battery swap review, but ultimately, it will happen again with the same technology. That's really the Achilles' heel of the vehicle.

It will be interesting if you will do a follow up video on the swapping of the battery and the increase in range that you get as well as the cost. Because there is a lot of older leafs that would give the cars a second life. As well as allowing them to be sold as a good used car for those people that can’t afford a brand new electric car. Great video as usual.

In social media almost every one keep talking and talking without doing nothing ,but he shows by involving with it, not only by talking.❤

I would like to see more manufacturers putting frunks in their EV's. Manufacturers like GM and Nissan are still treating their EV's like they're combustion cars, where the engine bay is completely taken up by drive train components. The beauty of EV's is that you don't need access to all of that stuff. All one really needs is access to the coolant and washer fluid reservoirs. The rest can be safely covered up with storage bins to make more efficient use of free space.

15:38 The 2011 Nissan Leaf has all the negative aspects of early electric vehicles manifest in it - as EVs go, it's the absolute worst. It's great! :-)

Enjoyed that, including your drives in Norway!

Wonderful review looking forward to you battery swappo adventure. My Leaf is a 2017 model and have enjoyed passing every ICE car on the road waiting for a tow to service. Never had a problem but I did spend on some wiper blades. I agree its brilliant even if it was assembled in Tennessee the patron state of shootin' stuff. My electron bullet fires every day!