Sometimes, you just have to stand still for a moment and take stock. 15 years ago, Nissan rocked the world when it introduced the Nissan Leaf, the first truly popular all-electric car. This is way back before anyone heard of Elon Musk, and when the charging network was knocking on someone’s door and asking if you could borrow a socket for a couple of hours.
That original Leaf was utterly ground-breaking, from its pebble-smooth futuristic styling, to its all-electric heart, and it was the first car to start breaking down those boundaries between our petrol-fuelled past and our all-electric future. It was the first electric car, incidentally, to win the prestigious European Car Of The Year award, and for several years would be the best-selling electric car in the world.
Now that we have taken stock, now that we have absorbed the achievement, it’s time to consider the new Nissan Leaf. Technologically speaking, this is like a Formula One car compared to the original Leaf’s Model T Ford, but the two cars share a singular mission — to make switching to electric motoring, whether you’re a family driver or a tech-head (or both…) that much easier.
The first thing you notice is that the new Leaf is stylistically different to the original. The original Leaf was a hatchback, but this new one has subtly altered its physique, so that it’s now more of an SUV. Not a large and bulky SUV — that would be inefficient — but a sleek and purposeful one, with more space inside and a bigger boot (it holds 437 litres, if you’re counting).
RM Block
Nissan’s engineers have bent the laws of physics and physicality to your needs, so although the new Leaf is only fractionally taller than it used to be, it’s far more spacious inside, and yet its roof has been designed to be low and sleek so that the Leaf cuts through the air with barely a molecule disturbed. The flush-fit door handles, which spring out as you unlock the Leaf, also help with that, making this new Nissan much more efficient, as well as handsome. Even the stylish 18 or 19-inch alloy wheels are designed for maximum efficiency. The optional two-tone paint and ultra-cool Z-car-style brake lights aren’t doing anything for efficiency — they just look awesome.
How efficient? Well, the new Nissan Leaf comes with a choice of batteries. There’s a ‘small’ 52kWh battery, which gives you a potential range on one charge of up to 440km, a distance covered that would have stunned any original Leaf buyer in 2010 if you’d told them it was possible.
That’s only for starters, though. There’s a bigger 75kWh battery option, which gives this sleek and efficient Leaf a potential range of 622km in one go. That is actually enough to go from Mizen to Malin without stopping (the distance is officially 608km). This being a Nissan, you’ll be reassured that all of this battery tech is reliable, and that’s backed up by a warranty that stretches to eight years and 160,000km for the battery itself (and Nissan is confident enough that it includes a live battery health monitor right there on the driver’s instrument panel).
Range is only one facet of making for an easier switch to electric motoring. The Nissan Leaf can recharge, from a fast public charging point, at up to 150kW. What does that actually mean, though? Well, it means that you can add as much as 420km of extra range in just 30 minutes of charging time. So by the time you’ve bought a coffee, waited for it to cool down, and picked out the donut of your choice, you’re back on the road with a pocket full of extra range.
Oh, and if you needed to stop and have a fresh cup of tea somewhere along the Wild Atlantic Way, there’s an accessory — called a Vehicle To Load adaptor — which turns your Nissan Leaf into a wandering power station, allowing you to plug in a kettle and boil up some water.
As you’d expect, life on board the Nissan Leaf is dominated by technology, with a big sweep of twin digital screens atop the dashboard, each one measuring up to 14.3-inches across. However, this being a Nissan, the whole idea is to make the tech easier to access and simpler to use, so Nissan uses Google-based software to speed everything up, which includes a satellite-navigation system based on Google Maps, so you’ll always have live traffic information, as well as the ability to automatically plan any charging stops you might need to make. You can even download extra on-screen apps of your choice through the Google Play Store.
The screens are crisp and clear, and incredibly easy to use, but Nissan’s engineers — those thoughtful people again — have thought hard about how you actually use a car when you’re driving, so there are also physical shortcut buttons on the steering wheel and on the dashboard for quick, safe access to commonly-used features.
None of which your passengers will notice, as they’ll be too busy enjoying the comfort of the optional vegan leather upholstery, which can be had in a handsome two-tone colour if you like. Then there’s the clever all-glass roof, which shades itself, using clever built-in pixels, at the touch of a button. There’s more to this than mere appearances — because this clever heat-absorbing roof doesn’t need a sunshade, it can be mounted lower without impacting on passenger space, which means a sleeker exterior, which means… you guessed it, more range.
Of course, you’ll also want to know that you and your family are safe when you’re out and about, and here the Nissan Leaf has you well-covered. All new Leaf models come with Nissan’s clever ProPilot active safety system which includes cruise control and a speed limiter, automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assistance, driver drowsiness monitor, traffic sign recognition, and a blind spot monitor. It’s as close as modern motoring gets to actually being as safe as houses.
The all-new Nissan LEAF starts at €34,995 for the 52kWh battery and at €39,995 for the 75kWh battery, see it at Nissan dealerships nationwide. For more information click here.
