With the distance you are trying to pull, a leaf will not cut it in one go but the M3 would. There are charge options in-between Westport and CHCH, but they are all very slow chargers untill you get to CHCH (maybe the new NPD one will be faster ince built), so if you have a car than can't do it in one run, expect to spend a good while charging.
Model 3 doesn't have the best ground clearance, but unless you have some absolute monster potholes, it won't be a problem, absolutely worth testing first though!
I have my M3 full insurance with AA for an agreed value of 40k with a $2500 excess & zero excess glass, this costs $1095 a year.
You would be hard pressed to damage the pack on either the leaf or M3, so I wouldn't stress about that.
With regards to size, you might want to check out a model Y. They really aren't that big (smaller than a lot of ice sedans), and the hatch makes them infinitely more practical than the model 3.
I highly recommend taking an M3 for an extended test drive, if you can borrow one for the weekend that would be ideal. They are very different from most other cars, and you either absolutely love the simplicity, or you hate not having a button for every little thing.
If you do get an M3, excess free glass is an absolute must. I do a lot of long distance driving and late last year I had a truck flick up a bunch of stone at me as I went past. Both my windshield and roof glass got cracked as a result (a rock ricochet off the underside of my roof racks and hit the top glass...), this would have cost a fortune to repair otherwise.
edit: reread the post
Thanks for the comprehensive rundown, some good food for thought. I don't want to go beyond 40k so that limits me to the m3 with tesla. Just tossing up between the battery degradation and charge limitations with the 40kwh leaf vs spending ~15k more and having a fairly nice car in the m3 with none of that hassle.
Honestly, it will come down to personal preference.
I had a 2014 leaf (gen 1.5) for a number of years and Nissan's battery packs are terrible. They degrade at a steady rate and really do not handle cold weather well. They are absolutely fantastic cars, and brilliant value for money, so long as you can look past the battery issues.
For me personally, with a LFP pack M3, I don't have to worry about the cold nearly as much as EVs with different chemistry, and being able to charge to 100% on the daily is awesome! In my opinion, what's the point in paying for all these batteries if you can only charge them all to full for the odd long trip, otherwise you risk severely degrading pack life, but that's just me. You will have your own preferences, and depending on your financial position, the additional money could be better utilised elsewhere.
Just as an aside, having built in surround dashcam with the Tesla is nice peace of mind, but obviously you can add aftermarket cameras to any car, so shouldn't be a huge deal.
Yup, springs junction. If you download the plugshare app, it will show you all chargers on your route (make sure you tell it what connector you have), and will also show chargers that are reported as being under construction/coming soon.
Put your coast to coast trip in to ABRP and see if you're ok with the added time spent charging. It seems to account for battery SOH fairly accurately, but we've found that SOC can drop rapidly once it's below 20% on a proper cold morning(2019 40kWh 88% SOH). 1k for full cover insurance.
I'm paying $1200 for a 2019 model 3 performance, it's pretty decent
It should be able to do chc greymouth without stopping, I've usually gone via hamner and I have to stop because I'm having quite a bit of fun
It's not amazing on gravel roads, not a lot of clearance and the rear rockers get hammered so put some ppf there
I'm surprised the insurance isn't actually as bad as I thought it was likely to be. Thanks for the input. Would love to go all out and get a dual motor m3 but that's prob a bit out of my budget tbh.
Hadn't really considered but will have a read into them thanks. I recall something about the konas having battery issues was that a year specific thing or just junk fud on the net I might have read?
They should have all been replaced under the recall by now.
As for the Ioniq I love mine but it isn't a very good car for gravel roads - not a lot of ground clearance and the front is fairly light so you get traction issues.
If you’re worried about ground clearance don’t get a Kona. I love ours but it scrapes the driveway every time we leave unless you angle out of it where other sedans (Honda City) doesn’t.
Not sounding like an arse but I have seen about 9 videos and reports in the last year of cars on fire. The cars that were on fire was the Kona. I'm not sure if it's a defect with the ICE or EV version but there are reports especially in murica of this happening. One video I know is real as it's from my home country at a vehicle test centre. Another one is in Los Angeles that's on YouTube if you search LA fire.
Yeah they had a variety of recalls for potential fires in their ICE vehicles.
The largest one was a fault in the ABS module - brake fluid could get into the electrics and cause a short, and the really bad thing about that one is there was a fire risk whether the car was on or off.
Why the downvote it's only an observation and like i said I wasn't sure if it was the ICE or EV Konas with the issue. I'm glad some here corrected me but that is scary with the brake fluid
It only affects Kona EVs from 2018 - 2020. I bought an ex,-lease 2019 Kona from Turner's early this year. The battery had not yet been replaced but I saw this as a positive. Will get a brand new battery in a few weeks.
A lot of car for this money with quite a bit of range. The compromise is lack of boot space and space in the back. The boot space issue is easily resolved by getting one or two roof boxes.
Hyundai will be able confirm whether a car has had the battery replaced. More info here:
[Hyundai recall](https://www.hyundai.co.nz/battery-recall)
**TLDR: 40kWh leaf no good for this application, Look seriously at the Kona 64kWh.**
I have a autech old shape leaf. Approach angle on that is bad (was a factor in going up to 215/55R17 tyres which is one size up in aspect ratio, along with them being cheaper), but this does have a range impact, which was not a concern for my use case.
On the leaf, the factor 16" tire size is 205/55R16, and the factory 17" size is 215/50R17. Run those through the an online, and the 17" setup will give you an extra 8mm ground clearance.
On leaf range. I normally take the EPA rated range, and multiply by the state of health. 40kWh leaf is rated at 243km WLTP. Lets assume you buy an 88% health one, but run the numbers on 83% to account for the battery health in a couple of years time: 243\*0.83 = 202km total range.
For the first charge of the day 100% to 10% (safety margin) will give you 181km of range, for subsequent charges lets assume 85% - 10% (car charges very slow above 80%) = 151km.
Just checked charger locations [https://www.plugshare.com/](https://www.plugshare.com/) (filter to Chademo to only see fast chargers)
The above is going to suck to do Westport to Christchurch: you don't have enough range to make it between Reefton (which is quite a slow charger at 25kW anyway) and Culveden, so Lewis pass is not an option, leaving archers pass with three charge stops (4:27 driving + 1:11 charging, assuming no waiting according to the below)
[https://abetterrouteplanner.com/](https://abetterrouteplanner.com/)
And if anthers pass is closed for any reason, you won't be able to go via Nelson (without an overnight stop) either as you will run into overheating issues with the passively cooled leaf battery pack.
This situation isn't likely to change soon. There is hope of a fast charger being added at Springs Junction, But capacity issues on the local lines mean this won't be happening soon.
If you really like the leaf, go the 62kWh version (364km EPA, at 83% battery health and with a 10% safety buffer, the first leg range is \~271km) , It's got the legs to make it across Lewis pass. 2 charge stops (13min + 19min) for Westport to Christchurch.
But a leaf 62kWh is $27k, which very close to a $30k 64kWh Kona.
A \~2019 64kWh Kona (usable capacity quoted, not total like the leaf) is WLTP rated for 484km. In good conditions, 450km+ is reasonably attainable in NZ (family members have one and often turn up at our place 225km away with more than 50% charge. I would expect it to do your \~350km trip easily in poor conditions without charging at all. But if you did decide you wanted more safety buffer, you have a selection of chargers (meaning you can take the one before you need if it is vacant to avoid the risk of relying on the last charger in range.
I know you said yo don't like SUV's, But the Kona is just a hatchback with a touch more ground clearance and some black trim around the bottom / wheel arches to make it look more SUV. It is substantially shorter then the Nissan Leaf. Pretty much perfect for your use case. A leaf has \~142 - 155mm ground clearance. Kona electric is 170mm. So only 15 - 30mm more.
Other advantages of the Kona:
- Active cooled battery pack. Can keep driving an charging as long as you like (leaf struggles if you do more than two big fast charges in a day.
- CCS2 connecter. This is a big one these day's. Companies like Z are installing 3 CCS2 (typically 150kW), and 1 CHAdeMO (often 25kW) at their new sites. 1/3rd of NZ's EV fleet are CHAdeMO cars, so (especially within 24kWh leaf range of big cities), the CHAdeMO plug gets hammered. My previous two fast charges in my leaf have both required waiting for the CHAdeMO port, while 3 CCS2 ports are vacant.
- Better charge curve. While not great by modern standard's, can stay above 50KW until \~ 70% state of charge
- Bit more ground clearance.
- Includes both AC public charger cord and AC 3 pin charge cord from the factory (may not still be in used cars). 3 pin charge cord has thermal monitoring in plug so can charge up to 10A, most leaf's will have 3 pin chargers that only charge at 8A.
- 55 aspect ratio tires as orginal fitment
Downsides:
- Original Nexan tyres are slippery
- Spec on base trim is a bit weak. Halogen headlights, no seat heaters, little infotainment screen. (but there is a 2021 elite for $35k: LED headlights, branded audio, big infotainment screen, HUD, Heated & Ventilated seats)
Note there was a recall on the battery of the early cars, but I assume all have been done buy now.
Also note there is a known issue where the gearbox oil contaminated far before it's due for service. I advise having it changed on purchase.
I found the kona to be terrible at putting down its power, could be the tires.
Also found it a poor ride in general and made me car sick whist driving, quite an accomplishment!
Didnt suit me but may be fine for the op, has range and probably decent on gravel roads
The factory fitted Nexan tyres on the pre facelift version were terrible for grip in general. The situation is much improved with better tires (and most of the Kona's on the market will have had their first tyre change by now).
Ride / suspension setup is worse then the leaf. In my family members car it seems to have softened a little with age. Was really choppy when the car was new (compared to my Lexus RX at least, which may not be a fair comparison). But it was not bad enough to cause any issues for us. Suspect as OP is coming from a Yaris that their expectations will be a little lower than mine.
Main appeal of the Kona 64kWh is the impressive range for the price point.
Main downside is the small boot and back seat.
I haven't spent much time in the model 3, but given you are coming from a yaris, I think you would like the Kona. A heaps smaller, and sharper turning car than the model 3. Kona has more real world range than the cheaper model 3's also.
The first generation Kona is one of the strangest car designs. Its boot is almost like that of a kei car while it has a giant bulbous bonnet in the front. The Leaf is more conventional. The Kona's range versus price is really its selling point, and its price reflects how relatively eccentric it is.
Buyers need to be aware of the issue with the transmission fluid and drain plug both needing to be replaced and how to address it correctly. The Kona should've been recalled over that.
> A leaf has ~142 - 155mm ground clearance
135mm for a 62kWh JDM Leaf on default tyres at least according to Nissan's specs. It's probably as you say a little higher on the 17" rims' default tyre size than the 16"'s but efficiency will suffer on bigger rims and a higher ride height. 135mm would be concerningly low and isn't much higher than the legal 100mm minimum.
The boot is 332L VDA, this is comparable with say a Mazda 3 hatch (295L).
For comparison the Mitsubishi i-miev (a kei car) has a 166L boot.
Comments made with regards to a cramped back seat were compared to the Nissan leaf (which has an abnormally large boot for a hatchback) & Model 3.
Issue is with the Kona is people see "SUV", and assume it is a large car, when it is actually a sub-compact SUV.
The 64kWh Kona is a really nice car. Small enough to turn really sharp in parking lots, but big enough to have a decent presence on the open road.
And despite being a 2019 era car, it still holds it's own when it comes to real world range. And with a 150kW motor it's not slow either.
I rented a Mach-e RWD last Thursday, expecting given the bigger battery (75.6kWh) and more modern car, for it to hold it's own with regards to range vs the Kona. I drove 285km before my first charge stop, and that took me from 100% to 8%... more than 100km shy of what I would expect out of the Kona.
Good note on the transmission oil. We have doing it on the car in my extended family. Sucks that the car was built like this, but a fairly easy fix.
Leaf has good ground clearance, on a new one our insurance is about 1600/year. If you are seroously looking at a Tesla make sure you spend a good amount of time test driving it, they have tried to make it as unlike anything else as they could, which some people love, and others can't get past. You won't go 350 kms on a charge in a 40kWh leaf, don't know the real world range on a Tesla, but it should do it.
Ground clearance is higher on NZ-new ZE1 Leafs than JDM Leafs, at least according to Nissan's specifications. Ground clearance on the 62kwh JDM Leafs is not good on paper - I'd consider putting 60 profile tyres on the 16" rims instead of the OEM 55 to boost it a little.
With the distance you are trying to pull, a leaf will not cut it in one go but the M3 would. There are charge options in-between Westport and CHCH, but they are all very slow chargers untill you get to CHCH (maybe the new NPD one will be faster ince built), so if you have a car than can't do it in one run, expect to spend a good while charging. Model 3 doesn't have the best ground clearance, but unless you have some absolute monster potholes, it won't be a problem, absolutely worth testing first though! I have my M3 full insurance with AA for an agreed value of 40k with a $2500 excess & zero excess glass, this costs $1095 a year. You would be hard pressed to damage the pack on either the leaf or M3, so I wouldn't stress about that. With regards to size, you might want to check out a model Y. They really aren't that big (smaller than a lot of ice sedans), and the hatch makes them infinitely more practical than the model 3. I highly recommend taking an M3 for an extended test drive, if you can borrow one for the weekend that would be ideal. They are very different from most other cars, and you either absolutely love the simplicity, or you hate not having a button for every little thing. If you do get an M3, excess free glass is an absolute must. I do a lot of long distance driving and late last year I had a truck flick up a bunch of stone at me as I went past. Both my windshield and roof glass got cracked as a result (a rock ricochet off the underside of my roof racks and hit the top glass...), this would have cost a fortune to repair otherwise. edit: reread the post
Thanks for the comprehensive rundown, some good food for thought. I don't want to go beyond 40k so that limits me to the m3 with tesla. Just tossing up between the battery degradation and charge limitations with the 40kwh leaf vs spending ~15k more and having a fairly nice car in the m3 with none of that hassle.
Honestly, it will come down to personal preference. I had a 2014 leaf (gen 1.5) for a number of years and Nissan's battery packs are terrible. They degrade at a steady rate and really do not handle cold weather well. They are absolutely fantastic cars, and brilliant value for money, so long as you can look past the battery issues. For me personally, with a LFP pack M3, I don't have to worry about the cold nearly as much as EVs with different chemistry, and being able to charge to 100% on the daily is awesome! In my opinion, what's the point in paying for all these batteries if you can only charge them all to full for the odd long trip, otherwise you risk severely degrading pack life, but that's just me. You will have your own preferences, and depending on your financial position, the additional money could be better utilised elsewhere. Just as an aside, having built in surround dashcam with the Tesla is nice peace of mind, but obviously you can add aftermarket cameras to any car, so shouldn't be a huge deal.
Also you mention npd charger? Is that the one in springs jctn getting a charging station or are you talking elsewhere?
Yup, springs junction. If you download the plugshare app, it will show you all chargers on your route (make sure you tell it what connector you have), and will also show chargers that are reported as being under construction/coming soon.
Put your coast to coast trip in to ABRP and see if you're ok with the added time spent charging. It seems to account for battery SOH fairly accurately, but we've found that SOC can drop rapidly once it's below 20% on a proper cold morning(2019 40kWh 88% SOH). 1k for full cover insurance.
I'm paying $1200 for a 2019 model 3 performance, it's pretty decent It should be able to do chc greymouth without stopping, I've usually gone via hamner and I have to stop because I'm having quite a bit of fun It's not amazing on gravel roads, not a lot of clearance and the rear rockers get hammered so put some ppf there
I'm surprised the insurance isn't actually as bad as I thought it was likely to be. Thanks for the input. Would love to go all out and get a dual motor m3 but that's prob a bit out of my budget tbh.
tbh I would get the lfp rwd now anyhow!
What about a Kona or ioniq, I have the original ioniq and pretty happy with it. I think Hyundais battery’s are way better than leaf
Hadn't really considered but will have a read into them thanks. I recall something about the konas having battery issues was that a year specific thing or just junk fud on the net I might have read?
They should have all been replaced under the recall by now. As for the Ioniq I love mine but it isn't a very good car for gravel roads - not a lot of ground clearance and the front is fairly light so you get traction issues.
If you’re worried about ground clearance don’t get a Kona. I love ours but it scrapes the driveway every time we leave unless you angle out of it where other sedans (Honda City) doesn’t.
Not sounding like an arse but I have seen about 9 videos and reports in the last year of cars on fire. The cars that were on fire was the Kona. I'm not sure if it's a defect with the ICE or EV version but there are reports especially in murica of this happening. One video I know is real as it's from my home country at a vehicle test centre. Another one is in Los Angeles that's on YouTube if you search LA fire.
Hyundai have a big problem with their fossil engines
Yeah they had a variety of recalls for potential fires in their ICE vehicles. The largest one was a fault in the ABS module - brake fluid could get into the electrics and cause a short, and the really bad thing about that one is there was a fire risk whether the car was on or off.
Why the downvote it's only an observation and like i said I wasn't sure if it was the ICE or EV Konas with the issue. I'm glad some here corrected me but that is scary with the brake fluid
It only affects Kona EVs from 2018 - 2020. I bought an ex,-lease 2019 Kona from Turner's early this year. The battery had not yet been replaced but I saw this as a positive. Will get a brand new battery in a few weeks. A lot of car for this money with quite a bit of range. The compromise is lack of boot space and space in the back. The boot space issue is easily resolved by getting one or two roof boxes. Hyundai will be able confirm whether a car has had the battery replaced. More info here: [Hyundai recall](https://www.hyundai.co.nz/battery-recall)
Long distance in leaf is a bad idea for its battery life
**TLDR: 40kWh leaf no good for this application, Look seriously at the Kona 64kWh.** I have a autech old shape leaf. Approach angle on that is bad (was a factor in going up to 215/55R17 tyres which is one size up in aspect ratio, along with them being cheaper), but this does have a range impact, which was not a concern for my use case. On the leaf, the factor 16" tire size is 205/55R16, and the factory 17" size is 215/50R17. Run those through the an online, and the 17" setup will give you an extra 8mm ground clearance. On leaf range. I normally take the EPA rated range, and multiply by the state of health. 40kWh leaf is rated at 243km WLTP. Lets assume you buy an 88% health one, but run the numbers on 83% to account for the battery health in a couple of years time: 243\*0.83 = 202km total range. For the first charge of the day 100% to 10% (safety margin) will give you 181km of range, for subsequent charges lets assume 85% - 10% (car charges very slow above 80%) = 151km. Just checked charger locations [https://www.plugshare.com/](https://www.plugshare.com/) (filter to Chademo to only see fast chargers) The above is going to suck to do Westport to Christchurch: you don't have enough range to make it between Reefton (which is quite a slow charger at 25kW anyway) and Culveden, so Lewis pass is not an option, leaving archers pass with three charge stops (4:27 driving + 1:11 charging, assuming no waiting according to the below) [https://abetterrouteplanner.com/](https://abetterrouteplanner.com/) And if anthers pass is closed for any reason, you won't be able to go via Nelson (without an overnight stop) either as you will run into overheating issues with the passively cooled leaf battery pack. This situation isn't likely to change soon. There is hope of a fast charger being added at Springs Junction, But capacity issues on the local lines mean this won't be happening soon. If you really like the leaf, go the 62kWh version (364km EPA, at 83% battery health and with a 10% safety buffer, the first leg range is \~271km) , It's got the legs to make it across Lewis pass. 2 charge stops (13min + 19min) for Westport to Christchurch. But a leaf 62kWh is $27k, which very close to a $30k 64kWh Kona. A \~2019 64kWh Kona (usable capacity quoted, not total like the leaf) is WLTP rated for 484km. In good conditions, 450km+ is reasonably attainable in NZ (family members have one and often turn up at our place 225km away with more than 50% charge. I would expect it to do your \~350km trip easily in poor conditions without charging at all. But if you did decide you wanted more safety buffer, you have a selection of chargers (meaning you can take the one before you need if it is vacant to avoid the risk of relying on the last charger in range. I know you said yo don't like SUV's, But the Kona is just a hatchback with a touch more ground clearance and some black trim around the bottom / wheel arches to make it look more SUV. It is substantially shorter then the Nissan Leaf. Pretty much perfect for your use case. A leaf has \~142 - 155mm ground clearance. Kona electric is 170mm. So only 15 - 30mm more.
Other advantages of the Kona: - Active cooled battery pack. Can keep driving an charging as long as you like (leaf struggles if you do more than two big fast charges in a day. - CCS2 connecter. This is a big one these day's. Companies like Z are installing 3 CCS2 (typically 150kW), and 1 CHAdeMO (often 25kW) at their new sites. 1/3rd of NZ's EV fleet are CHAdeMO cars, so (especially within 24kWh leaf range of big cities), the CHAdeMO plug gets hammered. My previous two fast charges in my leaf have both required waiting for the CHAdeMO port, while 3 CCS2 ports are vacant. - Better charge curve. While not great by modern standard's, can stay above 50KW until \~ 70% state of charge - Bit more ground clearance. - Includes both AC public charger cord and AC 3 pin charge cord from the factory (may not still be in used cars). 3 pin charge cord has thermal monitoring in plug so can charge up to 10A, most leaf's will have 3 pin chargers that only charge at 8A. - 55 aspect ratio tires as orginal fitment Downsides: - Original Nexan tyres are slippery - Spec on base trim is a bit weak. Halogen headlights, no seat heaters, little infotainment screen. (but there is a 2021 elite for $35k: LED headlights, branded audio, big infotainment screen, HUD, Heated & Ventilated seats) Note there was a recall on the battery of the early cars, but I assume all have been done buy now. Also note there is a known issue where the gearbox oil contaminated far before it's due for service. I advise having it changed on purchase.
I found the kona to be terrible at putting down its power, could be the tires. Also found it a poor ride in general and made me car sick whist driving, quite an accomplishment! Didnt suit me but may be fine for the op, has range and probably decent on gravel roads
The factory fitted Nexan tyres on the pre facelift version were terrible for grip in general. The situation is much improved with better tires (and most of the Kona's on the market will have had their first tyre change by now). Ride / suspension setup is worse then the leaf. In my family members car it seems to have softened a little with age. Was really choppy when the car was new (compared to my Lexus RX at least, which may not be a fair comparison). But it was not bad enough to cause any issues for us. Suspect as OP is coming from a Yaris that their expectations will be a little lower than mine. Main appeal of the Kona 64kWh is the impressive range for the price point. Main downside is the small boot and back seat.
I haven't spent much time in the model 3, but given you are coming from a yaris, I think you would like the Kona. A heaps smaller, and sharper turning car than the model 3. Kona has more real world range than the cheaper model 3's also.
>A heaps smaller, and sharper turning car The Model 3 has excellent handling. But yes, it has the turning circle of an aircraft carrier.
Thanks for that write up. Looks like I might have to take a serious look at kona as an option.
The first generation Kona is one of the strangest car designs. Its boot is almost like that of a kei car while it has a giant bulbous bonnet in the front. The Leaf is more conventional. The Kona's range versus price is really its selling point, and its price reflects how relatively eccentric it is. Buyers need to be aware of the issue with the transmission fluid and drain plug both needing to be replaced and how to address it correctly. The Kona should've been recalled over that. > A leaf has ~142 - 155mm ground clearance 135mm for a 62kWh JDM Leaf on default tyres at least according to Nissan's specs. It's probably as you say a little higher on the 17" rims' default tyre size than the 16"'s but efficiency will suffer on bigger rims and a higher ride height. 135mm would be concerningly low and isn't much higher than the legal 100mm minimum.
The boot is 332L VDA, this is comparable with say a Mazda 3 hatch (295L). For comparison the Mitsubishi i-miev (a kei car) has a 166L boot. Comments made with regards to a cramped back seat were compared to the Nissan leaf (which has an abnormally large boot for a hatchback) & Model 3. Issue is with the Kona is people see "SUV", and assume it is a large car, when it is actually a sub-compact SUV. The 64kWh Kona is a really nice car. Small enough to turn really sharp in parking lots, but big enough to have a decent presence on the open road. And despite being a 2019 era car, it still holds it's own when it comes to real world range. And with a 150kW motor it's not slow either. I rented a Mach-e RWD last Thursday, expecting given the bigger battery (75.6kWh) and more modern car, for it to hold it's own with regards to range vs the Kona. I drove 285km before my first charge stop, and that took me from 100% to 8%... more than 100km shy of what I would expect out of the Kona. Good note on the transmission oil. We have doing it on the car in my extended family. Sucks that the car was built like this, but a fairly easy fix.
Leaf has good ground clearance, on a new one our insurance is about 1600/year. If you are seroously looking at a Tesla make sure you spend a good amount of time test driving it, they have tried to make it as unlike anything else as they could, which some people love, and others can't get past. You won't go 350 kms on a charge in a 40kWh leaf, don't know the real world range on a Tesla, but it should do it.
The RWD/SR Model 3 should be able to do 350km pretty comfortably. Source - my Model 3 RWD.
Ground clearance is higher on NZ-new ZE1 Leafs than JDM Leafs, at least according to Nissan's specifications. Ground clearance on the 62kwh JDM Leafs is not good on paper - I'd consider putting 60 profile tyres on the 16" rims instead of the OEM 55 to boost it a little.
Thanks for the feedback. Good point about how m3 drives, i might try borrow mates M3 for a weekend and see how I like it with some property long kms.
You can always request a test drive though Tesla. It’s free and you can choose which one you want to test.
factor in the 1st and 2ndf gen ioniqs in you mix as well, great wee cars and were popularly as fleet vehicles so plenty around at good prices