It would be fair to say that the original Nissan Leaf was a smash hit at Roberts Towers. I can’t believe our original review was as long ago as February 2012 but there you go. And, for weeks after The Man from Nissan loaded it on its transporter and took it back home, Misses 5 and 2 kept asking where the lovely quiet blue car had gone.
The selling points for the junior members of the family were the novelty quietness minus the rumble of a combustion engine, the high seating position for a good view out, and the spacious rear compartment with flat floor for easy negotiation. So they were both delighted to see the new one show up a few weeks ago and note some of the numerous changes as a result of a detail update and the switch, for Europe, to UK build. The car is also now built in the US with similar updates and a wider choice of trims to better suit local prefrences.
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Launching the update last April, Nissan Europe likened the changes as a bit like an iPhone 4 to 4S upgrade: looks much the same on the outside but lots new inside. Outside, the rather bland pale blue, that seemed to coat every original Leaf I ever saw, has been replaced with a choice of various European-preferred metallics – including shades of silver, grey and black plus the metallic burgundy of the test car. You’ll need to be good to pick Localised Leaf from Global Leaf as one glides by; the key exterior change is a reshaped lower air intake with a flash of chrome. Inside, though hearing aid beige is still offered on one mid-range version, most now have black trim – with heated leather seats front and rear on the top Tekna version – and I reckon the European sourced interior materials are now higher quality, too. There’s a few additions – the Tekna has Nissan’s clever 360 degree all-round view monitor which uses cameras in the nose, tail and mirrors to give an ‘aerial’ view of the car when parking – that really intrigues passengers who wonder where the ‘big brother’ camera is.
I don’t recall a recharge plug lock switch on the original, either. This either locks the plug to the car until released with the switch or a button on the key – or you can use the ‘auto’ setting which unlocks the plug when the car is fully charged so someone else can use a shared recharge point. There’s also a new automatic LED light in between the ‘fast’ and ‘standard’ charge plugs under the hinged cover in the nose.
Updated powertrain, three trim levels, those extra paint colours, a 15-mile boost in claimed range, repositioned charger (now under the bonnet so there’s less cabling under the car), optional fast charger, better heating and revamped ride and handling were also part of the update.
The claimed driving range has risen from ‘up to’ 109 miles to 124 miles; in real world terms that meant 69 on the gauge after a full overnight charge in the ‘old’ model and 82-89 in the new one. As I toddled off on a typical short run – 1.5 miles to school – the range would sometimes drop 7-8 miles and then, particularly using the ‘B’ driving mode and a new Eco option which kicks in lots of regenerative braking and recharges the battery, it would come back up again. The bottom line seemed to be about an extra 20 miles of range on comparable trips, dialling back ‘range anxiety’. Nissan says this tends to diminish somewhat as owners get to know their cars and understand the effect of driving patterns on range. Among the changes are a new satnav ‘eco’ route option that takes topography into account and a new way the car monitors remaining range by using weight averaging to get more realistic distance parameters. The satnav highlighted what a difference 18 months can make – the nearest recharge point used to be 12 miles away in a neighbouring town; now there are two 1.5 miles away in a new ‘parkway’ (park ‘n’ ride) rail station and I know of two more in the town itself.
I was not yet brave enough to try long distance – you need to be set up with the right charge cards for where you are going (a rival automaker just launching its own EV reckons you need about nine different ones to be sure of getting a charge UK-wide) – and ideally carry a second cable that can connect to the fast-charge points as well. But I can easily charge at home and, with my longest journey usually a 42-mile round trip to the office, the Leaf has plenty of range for about 95% of our family motoring. I am not averse to taking the train for anything longer or, if we must have a car, popping in to see what the nice Mr Hertz downtown can do for that weekend away or fortnight abroad. Charging infratructure, or lack thereof, was a key gripe of early Leaf owners so dealer support and charging networks have since expanded – where there was once 150 dealers across Europe and 195 quick chargers, capable of charging a battery to 80% capacity in less than 30 minutes, there are now at least 1,400 dealers and over 600 fast chargers while the number of conventional public chargers has increased from 12,000 to over 20,000. Nissan also offers a home fast charger option and a new optional 6.6Kw charger fitted in the car reduces charging time from eight hours to four hours on a 32 amp supply.
Re-positioning said charger has also liberated some more luggage space though that’s offset a bit if you have the Bose sound system. It’s not the largest but adequate for a folded buggy and kids’ stuff or a decent weekly shop. A new comprehensive warranty plan for the batteries covers them for defects in materials and workmanship for five years/100,000 kms and now includes a ‘state of health’ clause which covers gradual capacity loss.
Another gripe in the old model was a lack of heat and a tendency to fog up inside. In the new one, a redesigned heat pump reduces electrical consumption in cold weather, delivering range improvements, and the heating – sampled in freeezing Oslo at the press launch – seemed much better; when we had the test car it was summer and the a/c worked well but we still managed to fog up the windows when it was humid and damp (British ‘summer’) outside unless we used the specific demist setting. The Leaf retains its neat trick – a timer you can set to preheat or cool the car while it’s still hooked up to the charger so you sap less driving range heating or cooling from scratch once on the move.
Changes to the chassis, steering and brakes were engineered in Europe and changes to damper settings to reduce float and deliver a better drive have worked well without adversely affecting ride comfort. The steering now has more weight and the brakes are more progressive. The engineers have also built in a noise generator which makes an artificial whine at low speeds up to about 25mph to avoid scaring pedestrians but you still have to keep a close watch for people who, not hearing the familiar noise of a petrol or diesel engine, step blithely out in front of you in towns.
People still seem to disparage electric cars and, though the numbers are picking up, it’s fair to say sales have not met some of the initial optimistic targets even though, worldwide, cumulative sales of the Leaf since launch had reached 83,000 units by the middle of September. Sales in Japan have passed 30,000 and global sales recently reached a record monthly tally of 4,700. Yet, just today, I learned that an online broker is offering the base model at just GBP10,831 – or about half of its list price – but only if you lease the battery separately at a monthly cost from GBP70 a month which gives you a 7500-mile limit on a three-year contract. Battery leasing is something else offered with the updated car as it reduces the upfront cost. Most buyers will also qualify for a GBP5,000 government subsidy which is included in this online deal. Buy the car and battery outright and the GBP25,990 list price falls to GBP15,913 after a GBP5077 discount and the GBP5000 grant. That’s getting tempting.
I reckon EVs are a bit like how a friend would describe the timeshare he used to sell – “not for everyone but for those it suits, it suits very well”. For me, with mostly short journeys, the Leaf works very well being cheap to run, spacious and comfortable for four. An electric motor simply needs adquate volts to start, doesn’t get cranky after being left for a long while (because you simply leave it plugged in after recharging so it keeps itself topped up to the max) and doesn’t pollute more when it’s first run from cold. Or clog up diesel particle filters because it rarely, if ever gets a motorway workout. In fact, motorways are best avoided as, like hybrids, EVs are at their least economical at higher speeds.
Launching this updated model, Nissan claimed 93% of European Leaf owners had said they are “very” or “completely” satisfied with the EV. Certainly, I enjoyed a second go at this highly innovative and thoroughly well sorted electric. The UK build – with 70% local content – has brought some worthwhile changes, particular in interior style and quality and that useful extra 20 miles of range. As a second car for tootling around doing the shopping and school run, it makes a lot of sense; for a low-use, walk-or-train-where-we-can famly like mine, it suits 95% of our motoring. I remain a fan.
