[Aberdeenleaf]

Had a 24 for a year, just wondering how much quicker the 40 is.
Initial take off in the 24 wasn't bad, but the weight/power didn't take long to tell and acceleration tailed off significantly.
Overtaking cars doing 40-50mph took some planning etc.
The extra 40bhp of the 40 should be very evident, I'm just curious as to how evident.

 

[80698]

You notice it at first but it's maybe not as significant as you may think. The acceleration once you're at higher speed can still take a little longer than you may want for things like overtaking.

I feel its worth noting that I've experienced a performance model Tesla though. Since then everything feels a bit sluggish to me!

 

[GOSPORT DAVE]

I cannot compared the 24Kwh with the 40Kwh as I have no experience of the 24Kwh.

What I can say is that when I acquired my 40Kwh, I came from a BMW 320 Diesel auto, that was quite rapid, the 40Kwh was similarly responsive. Because the power is instantaneously available in an EV, I never had an issue accelerating from say 40 mph to 65 mph on an A road to pass a slower moving vehicle, when safe to do so. Like wise on the motorway, acceleration from 70 mph to 85 mph to safely overtake was never an issue.

In the Yorkshire Dales, you quite often get those stone pack horse bridges at the bottom of a valley followed by a very steep hill leading out, probably 1 in 3 gradient. You have to slow down to 20 mph to safely navigate the bridge, I had no problem accelerating up the gradient at anything up to 60 mph, never felt like the power was not there.

Unless somebody is used to driving a high powered performance car, the 40Kwh will not disappoint in the acceleration and on tap power department.

 

[srichards]

The Soul EV I had was similar to the early Leaf I think. The 40 is noticeably quicker. 8 seconds to 60 and mid range isn't bad. It's massively better than the Zoe I had just with 90 bhp. That's a snail in comparison.

It's about right for fun without too much licence threatening danger.

 

[Aberdeenleaf]

I cannot compared the 24Kwh with the 40Kwh as I have no experience of the 24Kwh.

What I can say is that when I acquired my 40Kwh, I came from a BMW 320 Diesel auto, that was quite rapid, the 40Kwh was similarly responsive. Because the power is instantaneously available in an EV, I never had an issue accelerating from say 40 mph to 65 mph on an A road to pass a slower moving vehicle, when safe to do so. Like wise on the motorway, acceleration from 70 mph to 85 mph to safely overtake was never an issue.

In the Yorkshire Dales, you quite often get those stone pack horse bridges at the bottom of a valley followed by a very steep hill leading out, probably 1 in 3 gradient. You have to slow down to 20 mph to safely navigate the bridge, I had no problem accelerating up the gradient at anything up to 60 mph, never felt like the power was not there.

Unless somebody is used to driving a high powered performance car, the 40Kwh will not disappoint in the acceleration and on tap power department.

Overtaking in the 24 could be a bit scary, it was only around 109bhp in a heavy car.

 

[Chrisb]

I have a 30 kWh and a 40 kWh, i feel the ‘throttle’ response on the 30 is much better, seems more lag on the 40. I think the 30 initial pull away is better off the line but once you are moving i feel the 40 maintains the acceleration for longer in as much as it does not drop off so quick.

I have owned some pretty powerful petrol cars,Imprezas,Evo’s,RS Fords, all these would eat either Leaf for breakfast so both Leafs really dont feel that quick if i am honest but the electric drivetrain is nice in its own way.

So i would say the difference is not massive but for sure to overtake 40 to 60 mph cars in front the 40kWh is better.

 

[A_Camera]

Had a 24 for a year, just wondering how much quicker the 40 is.
Initial take off in the 24 wasn't bad, but the weight/power didn't take long to tell and acceleration tailed off significantly.
Overtaking cars doing 40-50mph took some planning etc.
The extra 40bhp of the 40 should be very evident, I'm just curious as to how evident.

I never tried the 24kW, we have a 40kW but the feeling I have is that it behaves like an ordinary petrol car. Not bad, but it is not superb in that respect. One disadvantage of the Leaf 40 is that it is very heavy, due to the battery, much heavier than a similar petrol car would be, at the same time, a similar petrol car would have much higher top speed, which helps when you are overtaking because it gives you extra margin. To be fair, I am sure you'd feel a huge difference between the 24kW and the 40kW version, just like you would feel a huge difference between a weak petrol car and a more normal one with a bit bigger engine and better performance. 40bhp extra is quite a lot, even if some of that is lost due to the higher weight. Also, overtaking is not just about horse power, but also how well the car is sticking to the road when you suddenly make some maneuvers requiring acceleration. I don't know how well the 24 is handling the situation, but the 40 is pretty good, never feel like I am losing grip or get blown off the road.

 

[Aberdeenleaf]

I never tried the 24kW, we have a 40kW but the feeling I have is that it behaves like an ordinary petrol car. Not bad, but it is not superb in that respect. One disadvantage of the Leaf 40 is that it is very heavy, due to the battery, much heavier than a similar petrol car would be, at the same time, a similar petrol car would have much higher top speed, which helps when you are overtaking because it gives you extra margin. To be fair, I am sure you'd feel a huge difference between the 24kW and the 40kW version, just like you would feel a huge difference between a weak petrol car and a more normal one with a bit bigger engine and better performance. 40bhp extra is quite a lot, even if some of that is lost due to the higher weight. Also, overtaking is not just about horse power, but also how well the car is sticking to the road when you suddenly make some maneuvers requiring acceleration. I don't know how well the 24 is handling the situation, but the 40 is pretty good, never feel like I am losing grip or get blown off the road.

You’ve lost me with your post, sorry.
The extra 40bhp of the 40Kwh is compared with the 24kwh.
The weights of the two cars are similar.
Also, I don’t know why you’ve mentioned traction when overtaking.
That only becomes an issue when taking about very powerful cars, it’s not an issue when talking about 150bhp.
Not unless your tyres are crap or the roads are extremely slippy.

 

[A_Camera]

You’ve lost me with your post, sorry.

Sorry about that.

The extra 40bhp of the 40Kwh is compared with the 24kwh.
The weights of the two cars are similar.

The 40kW Leaf weights a 100kg more than the 24kW. That is not similar at all and requires some extra energy to carry around all the time. They do seem to have similar consumption data according to the specs, but as we all know, specs are normally optimistic, but because the 40kW is much newer, it may be that they have similar consumption.

Also, I don’t know why you’ve mentioned traction when overtaking.
That only becomes an issue when taking about very powerful cars, it’s not an issue when talking about 150bhp.
Not unless your tyres are crap or the roads are extremely slippy.

I disagree. Traction is important even for small and weak cars. Any car can wiggle, making the overtaking manoeuvrer more difficult to perform, even if the acceleration data may be good. The higher weight of the Leaf 40 may contribute to higher stability and definitely contributes to lower center of gravity, because all the 100kg extra is probably battery weight and that is placed at the bottom of the car, contributing to better road stability. Of course, tyre quality and state is important, but I am not talking about crappy tyres and icy roads... Even weak cars can slide off the road, so traction is important even for those.

Anyway, I think you should notice quite a difference between the two regarding overtaking. The 24kW has a 0-100kmh acceleration of 11.5s, while the 40kW has 7.9s, and that's a lot of difference. You asked and I answered. My answer is not based on experience with the 24kW but with the 40kW compared with my previous ICE, which had a very powerful engine and in my opinion good acceleration data, and the Leaf 40 felt about the same as my ICE up to about 120kmh, after that it started to lose power. I guess the 24kW starts losing power a bit earlier, which is why you may feel that overtaking requires careful planning (feels scary...?). I never felt like that in the Leaf 40, except on a motorway where the traffic in front of me was keeping a speed of 110kmh+. In that situation it needed careful planning and long time. On the other hand, that car is not made to be used at higher speed than 120-130kmh, even if the top speed is said to be 150kmh.

 

[Aberdeenleaf]

I disagree. Traction is important even for small and weak cars. Any car can wiggle, making the overtaking manoeuvrer more difficult to perform,

No offence, but I can't recall the last time traction created any problems for me overtaking another car.
Honestly, truthfully, I can't think of a single occasion where I've pulled out to overtake and suffered wheelspin or 'wiggle'
And I'm including many 200+bhp cars here.

With regard to the weight, yes the 40 is 100kgs heavier than the 24
But in real-life that's just like having a large-ish (not necessarily fat) bloke with me.
It won't suddenly dull the performance to the point 150bhp feels like 110bhp.

 

[A_Camera]

No offence, but I can't recall the last time traction created any problems for me overtaking another car.
Honestly, truthfully, I can't think of a single occasion where I've pulled out to overtake and suffered wheelspin or 'wiggle'
And I'm including many 200+bhp cars here.

No offence taken. On the other hand, I have had several cars during my life with poor traction, wiggling and losing grip sideways easily. The Citroen C3 was one of them, a Volvo 340 from the early or mid 80's was another. In both of those cars, overtaking on motorways was a challenge, especially in crosswind, which we have a lot on the roads I need to travel almost every day. Both of those were weak, tall, short and not well balanced, with pretty high center of gravity. Jost google "moose test" or "elk test" and you will find plenty small cars losing grip, including the brand new Rav 4, ever since 1997 when the Swedish magazine Teknikens Värld managed to turn over a Mercedes A class car and forced Mercedes to seriously improve the car stability. Spinning wheels is also not something unknown for small and weak cars, even though today we have a lot of smart solutions to prevent that as much as possible. Horse power doesn't matter, except that high powered cars may (or may not) lose grip easier, but at a certain point, every car will lose grip. Of course, it is possible to build a car which would never lose grip but those will be heavy and slow, or must have some other serious limitations.

With regard to the weight, yes the 40 is 100kgs heavier than the 24
But in real-life that's just like having a large-ish (not necessarily fat) bloke with me.
It won't suddenly dull the performance to the point 150bhp feels like 110bhp.

OK, if you think 100kg more does not make a difference that's fine, but never the less, my point was that to answer your question, "just wondering how much quicker the 40 is". You should notice the difference because the difference in acceleration is a measurable fact, and 3.9s difference for 0-100kmh is HUGE. While I have no data, the difference should be obviously notable even if you measure from 50kmh to 100kmh or 70kmh to 120kmh.

 

[Aberdeenleaf]

No offence taken. On the other hand, I have had several cars during my life with poor traction, wiggling and losing grip sideways easily. The Citroen C3 was one of them, a Volvo 340 from the early or mid 80's was another. In both of those cars, overtaking on motorways was a challenge, especially in crosswind, which we have a lot on the roads I need to travel almost every day. Both of those were weak, tall, short and not well balanced, with pretty high center of gravity. Jost google "moose test" or "elk test" and you will find plenty small cars losing grip, including the brand new Rav 4, ever since 1997 when the Swedish magazine Teknikens Värld managed to turn over a Mercedes A class car and forced Mercedes to seriously improve the car stability. Spinning wheels is also not something unknown for small and weak cars, even though today we have a lot of smart solutions to prevent that as much as possible. Horse power doesn't matter, except that high powered cars may (or may not) lose grip easier, but at a certain point, every car will lose grip. Of course, it is possible to build a car which would never lose grip but those will be heavy and slow, or must have some other serious limitations.

OK, if you think 100kg more does not make a difference that's fine, but never the less, my point was that to answer your question, "just wondering how much quicker the 40 is". You should notice the difference because the difference in acceleration is a measurable fact, and 3.9s difference for 0-100kmh is HUGE. While I have no data, the difference should be obviously notable even if you measure from 50kmh to 100kmh or 70kmh to 120kmh.

Quite honestly, I'm lost.
You seem to be confusing traction and stability.
Thanks for your input, but I'm confident neither will be an issue.....

 

[GOSPORT DAVE]

The LEAF 24Kwh has 107 BHP and 280 N-M of Torque


The LEAF 40Kwh has 149 BHP and 320 N-M of Torque

Says it all, there will be a noticeable difference straight from off the line.

Hyundai Ioniq EV - 295 N-M Torque - 120 BHP as below:

 

[A_Camera]

Quite honestly, I'm lost.
You seem to be confusing traction and stability.
Thanks for your input, but I'm confident neither will be an issue.....

Call it whatever you want, both traction and stabilitet can be different but the difference in acceleration is definitely noticeable. That was the answer to your original question.

 

[Aberdeenleaf]

Call it whatever you want, both traction and stabilitet can be different but the difference in acceleration is definitely noticeable. That was the answer to your original question.

So...to sum up.
Traction and stability are the same thing, but aren’t, but can be, maybe.
And the acceleration difference is noticeable, despite you never having driven a 24/30.

okaaaaaaay...

 

[Chrisb]

I still think having driven my 30 yesterday after just driving the 40 for a while that the 30 launches quicker.

But on handling i think the 40 is a bit tighter and sure footed on B road bends etc but i believe Nissan have tweaked the suspension so understandable.

 

[Aberdeenleaf]

I still think having driven my 30 yesterday after just driving the 40 for a while that the 30 launches quicker.

But on handling i think the 40 is a bit tighter and sure footed on B road bends etc but i believe Nissan have tweaked the suspension so understandable.

I suppose in terms of initial thrust, the extra 100kgs of the 40 might work against it.
Thrust/weight is why little cars can be as quick as much more powerful cars up to XXmph.
Then the greater thrust of the more powerful engine takes over.

 

[GOSPORT DAVE]

I have always thought that the slight lag from launch is software induced to prevent wheel spin and torque steer.

 

[mrdr_ev]

Can't comment on the Leaf situation, but I can say that a FWD Corrado with 220lbft can break traction with the tarmac on a country road at full throttle during overtaking in second gear (or third, in the wet). Care is required, particularly on bumpy or uneven roads. Most modern cars on the other hand have computers that deal with this for you such that even the 800+ lbft from a Tesla Model S P85D can be held at full throttle on the same roads with no significant risk to the driver until simple velocity overtakes the driver's ability to steer!

 

[A_Camera]

So...to sum up.
Traction and stability are the same thing, but aren’t, but can be, maybe.
And the acceleration difference is noticeable, despite you never having driven a 24/30.

okaaaaaaay...

Look, I don't know what your problem is but it seems like you want to argue for the sake of argument, and that is not something I am interested in. Other than that, I never said they are the same, but tried to explain to you that they are connected. Bad stability can lead to losing traction, even in a weak car. Anyway, you disagree and that's fine for me.

In terms of acceleration, if you can't read the specs them I am sorry, that's your problem. There is a HUGE difference between 7.9s (the 40kW) and and 11.5s (the 24kW), you have never mentioned the 30kW in your OP, so that's something new, but all I can say. look it up if that's the one you are interested in suddenly. In your OP you are asking about the comparisons between the 24 and the 40. I don't have to drive the 24 to KNOW that the difference between the 40 and the 24 is HUGE in terms of acceleration, and if you can't feel that then it depends on your driving, not the car, or the manufacturer is lying about the acceleration data of the 24. I know the 40 better than you seem to know, but it sound like you didn't hear what you wanted to hear, apparently you wanted to hear that they are the same or marginally different. Well, whatever rocks your boat is fine for me, but it bets me why some people ask questions on a public forum but not interested in answers and opinions.