Motoring

with Toby Aiken

Blown away in the Nissan Leaf?

The Nissan Leaf is one of the UK’s oldest electric vehicles. It’s been around for 12 years now, probably second only to the Toyota Prius in terms of longevity. And yet until last month, I’d never driven one.

The early days of the Leaf saw very limited range, as was pretty much the norm for an EV, but the latest model boasts a range of more than 200 miles, meaning (in my book) that it is a contender for an everyday driver. It’s not often that I need more than that in a single day, and certainly not without a break for a coffee and a bite to eat near a highcapacity charger.

A good first impression

My first impressions were that it looked really quite good. It can hold its own in terms of exterior looks and sits well on the drive. A good start. Moving on to the interior, I have to say I found myself a little disappointed. Not just by the feel of some of the interior plastics, which were cheaper than I felt they should be, or at least they seemed to be, but by the experience. Let me explain.

Ten years ago, when EVs were few and far between, it was expected, perhaps even necessary, for an electric car to stand out; to make it clear that you were in something different, something futuristic even.

Nowadays, with most of the mainstream manufacturers offering at least one fully electric option in their fleet, EVs are much more normal –not quite conventional, but they are getting there. But inside the Leaf, it felt at least a little like I had gone back in time and the manufacturer was trying to signpost the differences at every opportunity. And it’s just unnecessary now.

On to the driving experience itself.

“I didn’t feel quite at home.”

First off, I noticed that the driving position was slightly off. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but no amount of adjustment made me feel 100% comfortable. Perhaps it was the dash layout, perhaps the slightly oversized A pillars, or the still-quirky gear selector, but I just didn’t feel quite at home and I’m used to feeling comfortable in a whole range of cars.

Another thing that initially jarred slightly was Nissan’s epedal. Essentially, this encourages greener driving by increasing the regenerative braking so that letting off the throttle actively slows you down. Done right, you won’t need to use the brake pedal nearly as much. Initially this felt strange, but given time, I actually found it to be a good feature. And in fairness, that timeframe was probably only a day or two at most. So I’m going to count that as a win for the Leaf.

Good range and spec

Essentially, the Leaf is a good package. Good range, good spec and not the loud ecostatement that it once was. But I think it’s trying too hard. It’s shouting ‘look at me, I’m green’ when the competition is quietly changing the drivetrain from petrol to electric and keeping the feel and look of the car the same.

Was I blown away by the Leaf? Not quite. And of all the things that niggled, for me the price was the biggest sticking point. At just under £35k, it’s not that much of a stretch to be looking at a Tesla Model 3. And that’s a whole different package entirely.