Nissan Leaf (2011-2018) Review

If you cover a high mileage, the previous Nissan Leaf isn’t the electric car for you. Battery technology in 2011 wasn’t what it is now, and the 109-mile range is poor.  

On the other hand, if you have a home charger, and don’t need to cover hundreds of miles a day, an electric car will not only help you do your bit for the planet, but also save you a fortune in fuel costs. This is where the Nissan Leaf – one of the most popular new electric cars for some time now – might well make sense.

It’s practical, well equipped, effortless to drive and, as we mentioned, distinctive to look at, even if you might not necessarily think that a good thing. The clincher for many will be prices: a new electric car might be far out of reach, but a used Nissan Leaf for the same cost as a new Dacia Sandero? A very different proposition indeed...

Nissan only offered one motor with the Nissan Leaf, so there’s nothing to choose from there. We of course would recommend the 30kWh battery, and ideally one with the fast charger to make long-distance trips more painless.

Visia grade is a bit basic, so we’d err towards Acenta or Tekna. Our favourite is the Black Edition, because it looks so distinctive, while still costing less than the range-topping Tekna.

The Nissan Leaf was the pioneer, but it was followed a little while later by another mainstream electric car, the Renault Zoe. This was a bit smaller than the Nissan Leaf, but was a less opinion-splitting machine in terms of looks. Renault’s bizarre battery rental strategy makes them more complicated second-hand buys, though.

Volkswagen in time launched an all-electric e-Golf, while Ford rolled out the (very rare) Focus Electric. Continuing the reputation of the electric car for looking bizarre, Mitsubishi sold the oddball i-MIEV for a while (there were Citroen and Peugeot versions, too) and the Renault Fluence was a leftfield electric saloon with a large boot. Generally, though, the Leaf had few rivals when new, giving it a distinct advantage on the used market.

Like all Japanese cars, the Nissan Leaf is built to a very high standard. Everything is precise and accurate, with smooth panel gaps and rich paint quality. Inside, it all feels very tight and robust, and we can almost guarantee you won’t hear any rattles – even in the earliest models.

It’s a shame Nissan didn’t invest just a few more pennies into the finish, though. It’s just a bit too plasticky, with hard materials and shiny surfaces in clear view. A few more soft-touch surfaces would make all the difference, particularly given how durable the car itself seems to be. In fairness, 2013 UK-built cars were better in this regard, including an optional matt black dashboard that makes a big difference to perceived quality.

At least the interior is durable. It should shrug off the heavy-duty use of a growing family thanks to its hard-wearing surfaces.

The infotainment system on the Nissan Leaf is comprehensive and tailored to the unique requirements of electric cars. The colour touchscreen displays nearby charging stations, along with a graphical representation of ‘reachable area’. It can even suggest ‘eco routes’, for maximum battery range.  

The Nissan Leaf was one of the first cars to have a complementary smartphone app, called Nissan Connect EV. It allows owners to set the air-con remotely, or control recharging via a timer to take advantage of off-peak electricity. It’s a great tool on hot or cold days – you can get the cabin to the right temperature remotely while the car is still plugged in, so you don’t waste battery power doing so on the move.

All models apart from base Visia come with this comprehensive media system, which includes standard navigation and a reverse-parking camera. It’s fair to say the Nissan Leaf is a much less useful EV without it.

The driving position feels higher than a normal family hatchback. That’s because you’re sitting on top of the batteries, which are mounted beneath the floor. However, given how popular the high-rise driving position of SUVs is these days, we don’t think this is something potential buyers will object to – and it does help give a good view out.

Indeed, the lack of an engine up front means the Nissan Leaf has a shorter nose than normal cars. This makes it feel a bit more manoeuvrable and easier to drive in town, an effect aided by those guides on top of the headlights. The driving position is a tale of two halves – perfect pedal placement is offset by a lack of reach adjustment for the steering wheel. The limited range of up-down adjustment is also a bit frustrating.

In the rear, the floor is a bit shallow. It’s spacious enough for adults in there – but they will feel a bit perched, with their knees in the air, lacking under-thigh support from the bench seat. It would be nice to have a bit more space under the front seats for feet, too.

The boot is an impressive size, its 370 litres almost exactly matching a Volkswagen Golf. This is where the custom-built electric car underpinnings really come into their own. The load sill is a bit high, but the boot is reasonably wide and well-shaped. With the seats folded, it expands to 720 litres (this sounds a bit small as the seat-backs don’t have the space to fold fully flat, so they rest on the bench seat itself, eating into space).

The biggest inconvenience here will be some intrusion from the structure behind the rear seats: it’s there to strengthen the car for the heavy batteries beneath. On the other hand, we like the little battery charger carry-case that’s been custom-designed for the Nissan Leaf, which is stored on the right-hand side of the boot. Make sure your used car comes with it.

The Nissan Leaf dimensions are 4445mm long, 1967mm wide and 1550mm tall.

For those new to them, the really surprising aspect of electric cars is how quickly and cleanly they accelerate. There are no gears, and the engine doesn’t have to rev itself up to speed in order to deliver meaningful go. Simply press the accelerator and you surge forward, instantly.

The Nissan Leaf does 0-62mph in 11.5 seconds, but feels a lot quicker than this, because there is so much immediate torque. You will feel it the instant you press on the accelerator. If you’re particularly lead-footed, you might even get a bit of neck-snap, which may well surprise your passengers.

The Nissan Leaf’s 109PS motor doesn’t have to worry about a gearbox, so it simply surges forward seamlessly until you lift off. And if you’re getting worried about range, there’s a ‘B’ setting for the gearbox that, when you release the accelerator, turns the motor into a generator, creating electricity and slowing the car down at the same time. 

If you’re smart, you can actually drive a Nissan Leaf without hardly touching the brakes. It's called the  ‘one-pedal’ experience and it's pretty good... probably not a good idea to use it the first time you parallel park, though. 

The Nissan Leaf is also automatic as standard, naturally, adding to the convenience (and effectively giving buyers a ‘free’ auto gearbox).

This is the other uncanny aspect of electric cars – just how quiet they are. With no engine roaring away up front, only a bit of whine from the motor signals the car is accelerating forwards, and even this sounds more like a sci-fi spaceship than a car.

The biggest challenge for electric car designers is making sure refinement elsewhere is up to scratch. A noisy engine can hide a lot of sins, such as excessive wind noise or suspension clatter. Nissan has worked hard in these areas to make sure the Nissan Leaf wasn’t a letdown.

Refinement is, therefore excellent, with extremely low noise levels. There is very little roar from the road surface or tyres, and wind noise is kept at bay. Even the door mirrors barely whistle at speed. This is why many owners chose the optional Bose premium sound system – the car is so quiet that it’s the perfect place to enjoy music.  

The Nissan Leaf was awarded a very strong safety rating by Euro NCAP in 2012, showing how highly-optimised its custom electric car underpinnings are. A full five-star rating comprised 89% for adult occupant protection, 83% for child safety, 65% for pedestrian protection and 84% for safety assist features.

All Nissan Leaf models feature front, side and curtain airbags. There’s ISOFIX for the rear seats, although there is no airbag cut-off switch for the front passenger airbag. Disappointingly, the seatbelt reminder waning also only covers those in the front, not the rear.

Every Nissan Leaf also comes with a standard speed assistance device, to stop motorists exceeding a pre-determined limit. It’s particularly useful in an electric car, as the silence and instant response from the electric motor mean you easily exceed speed limits without trying.

The very earliest cars have a maximum range of 109 miles, which really isn’t good enough. Better to take one of the UK-built versions, from spring 2013, which have tech updates to the battery software. These take the range up to 124 miles. Nissan also introduced the 6.6kW onboard charger option, allowing fast-charging to 100 percent capacity in less than four hours.

The longest-range Nissan Leaf has a 155-mile range, as the battery was updated from 24kWh to 30kWh in autumn 2015. Spot these cars by their upgraded roof-mounted aerial and a cool new bronze paint colour.

The Nissan Leaf scored a highly impressive 9.45 out of 10 for reliability in the HonestJohn.co.uk Satisfaction Survey, the second-highest rated Nissan of all. This is no doubt helped by the fact that the Nissan Leaf is an electric car - with fewer moving mechanical parts there is theoretically less to go wrong.

As a brand Nissan finished a middling 19th out of 30 manufacturers, but you can be reassured by the fact that the Nissan Leaf is one of its best-performing models.

Don’t expect family car-style insurance groups with the Nissan Leaf. It was the first mainstream electric hatchback on sale in the UK, and it seems insurance companies worried about its exotic nature and expensive lithium-ion batteries.

The Nissan Leaf thus has a steep group 19 (out of 50) insurance rating, rising to group 26 for more upmarket variants. This will have a knock-on effect on insurance costs, although we hope premiums will start to ease as insurers become more familiar with electric cars (and car body shops see more EVs in for repair).

This is easy. VED (road tax) is free. The Nissan Leaf is a zero-emissions electric car, which the government rewards with zero-rated VED. 

Buy with confidence that you will probably never have to fork out for the annual road fund licence. However, you do still need to apply for your free tax each year – it may be free, but it’s not automatic. Well, not yet anyway...

The basic Nissan Leaf trim level is Visia, which sounds tempting, as it includes all-round electric windows, climate control, keyless go, Bluetooth, remote stereo controls and a combination of USB and aux-in connectivity. Crucially, however, Visia lacks the Nissan Connect touchscreen infotainment system, and also doesn’t have alloy wheels. Later versions also missed out on the upgraded, more efficient heater.

We therefore think you should start your search with Nissan Leaf Acenta. This grade includes cruise control, automatic lights and wipers, cruise control, folding door mirrors, alloy wheels and the Nissan Connect system, including a reversing camera.

Nissan Leaf Tekna is a desirable trim as it has heated front seats, black leather upholstery, 17-inch alloys, LED headlights and the powerful Bose stereo. From spring 2017, the aforementioned Nissan Leaf Black Edition arrived, bringing extra style to Acenta grade for a more affordable price than the Tekna.