Second generation Nissan Leaf revealed

While it doesn't look like it from where we sit in the Antipodes, Nissan has a proper hit on its hands with the all-electric hatchback, the Leaf. Its green credentials quickly shot past hybrid pioneers like the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight, going on to become the globe's best selling electric car.

After all the hype of the last few years, you'd have thought that Tesla was the only one in the game, but the Leaf has been plugging away for a lot longer with less fanfare.

The mercurial head of the Nissan-Renault (and now Mitsubishi) business, Carlos Ghosn, is on the record saying Nissan is betting a good chunk of the farm on electric, with the French arm also throwing a lot at electro-propulsion.

The new Leaf was revealed in Tokyo, not far from the Oppama plant that will begin churning out the second-generation offering. A sleeker, less bulbous machine, the trend towards making electric cars look less silly continues, but this may not be to all tastes with an aggressive front-end. Nissan's corporate face is bolder and the blue lighting leaves you with little doubt as to the Leaf's motivating force.

What's most important about the new Leaf is the significant jump in range courtesy of the 40kWh battery pack. Nissan is quoting 400km from a single charge (based on standardised Japanese testing), immediately putting it in contention against the weird-looking Tesla Model 3. Charging from a domestic point is quoted at 16 hours at 3kW or 8 hours at 6kW. With a fast charge connector, the company says you'll get 80% charge in 40 minutes.

Nissan isn't admitting to an extended range version, but the usual rumours are swirling that a higher capacity battery is on the way. As it stands, power is up to 110kW (a rise of 38 per cent) while torque also jumps, now at 320Nm (up 24 per cent). Naturally, the power hits the road via the front wheels.

Critically, despite the increased range, the battery pack has not grown. This means the car doesn't have to grow with it and more importantly, the car's weight hasn't bloated out of control to blunt performance.

New for the second-generation Leaf is what Nissan is calling e-pedal. Similar to BMW's 'one-pedal operation' in the i3, the vast majority of normal (and, let's be honest, sensible) driving is achieved using just the accelerator pedal. Lifting off produces a strong enough braking effect to bring the car to a stop without the need for the brake pedal, which is there if you need more stopping power.

“Drivers of the new LEAF will quickly come to love the e-Pedal, as it makes the usual experience of urban driving far smoother and more fluid, and less demanding,” said Hiroki Isobe, chief vehicle engineer. “Our testing has showed that drivers quickly find the e-Pedal intuitive and even enjoyable."

Also new is a pair of semi-autonomous driving technologies, 'ProPilot' and 'ProPilot Park'. The first is basically active cruise control which works at both highway and bumper-to-bumper speeds. The Leaf can also steer itself to help you stay in the lane and will pretty much follow the car in front unless you stop it with the brake pedal.

Pro Pilot Park is pretty much what it says on the box - helps you find a car space and gets you in.

Inside the car is a big improvement on the old. New tech such as Apple CarPlay join an improved media system set-up. Nissan says the new car is quieter than the old, partly down to a stiffer chassis.

Frustratingly, we're yet to drive the Leaf. This was a big media event rather than a drive program. Japanese drivers will get their hands on their cars in October, with global markets to follow. The Leaf has been very popular in the US and Europe, so at this stage, it's anyone's guess when we'll see it in Australia.

The Leaf will be on sale in Japan in October while local sales will probably start late in 2018 as production comes on stream. We'll be sure to let you know as soon as pricing is released and, most importantly, how it drives, when the cars are available.

From what we've seen, the doubling of the range could prove to be the breakthrough Nissan needed to send the Leaf mainstream. As European manufacturers get increasingly punchy about their electric ambitions, Nissan continues to lead the charge for Japan.

Is the new Leaf the car that could prompt you to make the switch? Let us know in the comments.