There’s a third generation Nissan Leaf on the road this year and it has grown by leaps and bounds from its 2011 North American debut as the first mass market electric car.
Back in the day, a federal tax credit of $7,500 brought the effective purchase price to around $26,000. With new guidelines, the credit has all but disappeared pushing the high-end Platinum + tester model we reviewed to a low $40s price, giving pause to some EV consumers.
That said, base models are available with a low $30s price tag that includes sought after driving assist features including adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitors, emergency braking with pedestrian detection, rear cross traffic alert, automatic high beams and 36-month scheduled maintenance.
This year’s model has more power, better acceleration and faster charging than its predecessor. Nissan labels it “SUV-like” in appearance though we found interior room and cargo space lacking.
The base S Leaf develops 174 horsepower, a gain of 27 ponies over last year while the S+, SV+ and Platinum+ come in at 214 horsepower, no change from last year.
Available battery packs have increased in kilowatt hours producing an increase in maximum travel range from 212 miles to 302 miles for the new Leaf. However, heavier components add 450 pounds to the new Leaf, offsetting some acceleration gains.
We found driving the new Leaf a fun experience. With instant on acceleration, it zips around corners with ease, accelerates from a dead stop to 60 miles per hour in 6.6 seconds and screeches off the line with pedal pressure.
As with most front-wheel drive cars, over and under steer come into play with aggressive maneuvering.
Being fully electric, there is silence in the cabin until you reach highway speeds where wind noise seeps into the cabin.
An upgraded multi-link rear suspension setup improves handling and stability under acceleration while a new electric power steering system improves performance over last year’s model. Nineteen-inch aluminum alloys provide added stability.
Nissan cleverly added two side charging ports – passenger side for Level 3 fast charging and driver side for Level 1 and 2 – 110-volt or 220-volt charging overnight. No, they cannot be used simultaneously.
Level 3 charging is reported to move the juice from 5 to 85% in 35 minutes although we could not confirm that claim.
For such a small car, the interior is spacious with front and back legroom to accommodate all but six-footers.
The sculpted interior in our tester was upscale and the four primary seats were well padded with bolstering for good support on long trips.
Our Platinum+ trim included an optional 14.3-inch touchscreen with integrated Google services, wireless connectivity, soft touch materials and 64-color ambient lighting.