Nissan LEAF Review: Is This New LEAF The EV To Beat?

Road Tested by Hugh Maguire.

Price: €51,795

Pros: 

Decent range.

Quiet and refined.

Well equipped.

Cons:

Price at over €50k its steep.

Max charging not as good as rivals at just 150kW DC.

Value for money is questionable at over €50k.

This new Nissan LEAF is only the 3rd generation of the model. I remember well test driving the very first LEAF back in 2010. 

That first Leaf had a range of about 120km todays new model has an official WLTP claimed range of some 600km if you go for the larger battery option. 

Since those early days Nissan has managed to shift some 700,000 LEAF models so they know a thing or two about electric cars.

The new LEAF range is offered in five trim levels starting with the ENGAGE version powered by a 52kWh battery right up to the top of the range EVOLVE on test here with the larger 75kWh battery.

First Impressions.

The new external design is less quirky than the previous model and has more of a coupe like profile. It does not set new standards for car design as it looks quite like a lot of other contemporary EV’s. It has the now typical light bar running across the front and a large area of facia where once there would have been a grille in a car with an engine. From the rear it is a bit more distinctive. In some of the brighter colours in particular I think it looks well.

What is it like inside?

Slip inside and the new cabin is immediately impressive. I particularly like the new digital dash display which shows the instruments as round analog style dials rather than the simplistic and rather bland displays of many rivals. 

The dash now consists of two large 14.3 inch digital screens which are designed to look as one integrated unit. It looks excellent creating a single cohesive look to the dashboard. Beneath the touchscreen are a row of very clear easy to use haptic touch “buttons” for the climate control and heated seats. The voice control works very well for the key functions such as tuning the radio channel or activating aspects of the climate control. Thankfully between the buttons and the voice control you do not have to interact with the car solely though the touchscreen. The menus on the touchscreen are I found intuitive and the screen works very well delivering exactly what you requested quickly. 

Storage space is adequate rather than generous with the usual door bins, glovebox and small centre console box. The driving position is good though I did feel I was perched in the car rather than sitting in it as the battery below the floor results n a high driving position. 

Standard equipment in the top of the range EVOLVE version is comprehensive with highlights that include a photo chromatic glass roof, a drivers head up display, electric massage drivers seat, there are heated front seats and a heated steering wheel as well as an excellent Bose sound system with speakers integrated in the drives headrest for use with phone calls and so forth. 

Room in the cabin is best described as adequate rather than generous. Up front its roomy but in the rear like a lot of EV’s I could not slide my feet under the front seats when seated due the high floor…….a result of that space occupied by the battery. Knee room is tight for adults and the boot space is no where near best in class at 437 litres. In fact most rivals beat it for boot space.

Nice to know.

I noticed some cool new features on the LEAF worth mentioning. It now has vehicle to load (V2L) functionality. Simply put that means you can plug in a variety of small devices such as a kettle or electric grill and power them from the car. Handy if you in to camping I guess.  Also this new Nissan uses Google built in for maps, route or charging planning something I find very useful. Nissan have now changed to the widely used CCS2 cable connector which gets rid of the less available CHADEmo previously used. 

What’s under the bonnet?

The new LEAF has two battery options. The 52kWh battery offers a claimed 424 kilometres WLTP range while the 75kWh battery has a claimed top range of up to 622 kilometres. Both variants support DC fast-charging up to 105kW and 150kW respectively. 

I covered some 570km behind the wheel of this test car with the 75kWh battery and I returned a real world range of 440km. Max DC charging lags behind rivals at 150KW, while charging from about 10% to 80% at fast charger in reality will take about 40 minutes. Performance is pretty good with a power out put of some 217 bhp and delivering 355Nm of torque it gets down the road in a spritely manner. There are a choice of drive modes though I did not find much difference between them . You do have paddle shifts for the regenerative braking  as well as a handy dash mounted button for the I-Pedal one pedal driving mode. Probably the most annoying factor I found was the overly intrusive warnings from the ADAS. From endlessly telling me I needed a break ( after just ten minutes behind the wheel) to never ending “driver distracted” warnings because I had to use the touchscreen. Nissan need to dial these back, they are both annoying and frankly actually distracting.

What is it like to drive?

The new LEAF drives very smoothly and rides and handles equally well. The suspension set-up manages to absorb the worst our roads could throw at it and the car is generally very quiet and refined except maybe for a bit more wind noise than expected generated from those big door mirrors at motorway speeds. 

Hugh’s Verdict.

The new LEAF is by no means perfect and in ways I am surprised Nissan fell short in areas such as rear seat space, boot space and only having a max DC charging rate of 150kW. Rivals from Hyundai and Kia beat the LEAF in these areas. Yet as a package I really liked the new LEAF. It proved really comfortable, very well equipped on the EVOLVE version tested and it offered a decent range. I liked so many aspects of living with the car. It made journeys a pleasure from the way the doors open and lock automatically as you arrive or depart to the nicely appointed cabin and quality feel. Therefore if a huge boot and big rear seat space is not a priority I can really recommend the new LEAF.

The 75kWh battery option starts at €39,995 for the ENGAGE grade, and €51,795 for the EVOLVE grade tested here.