Nissan Leaf 2020 review: long term

Love them or hate them, electric vehicles (EVs) are here and they are the future of motoring.

One of the most affordable emissions-free vehicles on the Australian market is the second-generation Nissan Leaf, which kicks off at $49,990 before on-road costs in a single, highly specced variant.

The Nissan Leaf kicks off at $49,990 before on-road costs in a single, highly-specced variant.

Let’s run through the numbers first. With a single electric motor spinning the front axle, the Nissan Leaf produces 110kW of power and 320Nm of torque. Fitted under the floor is a 40kWh lithium-ion battery that provides 270km of driving range before needing a recharge.

Now, on paper that 270km range might seem miniscule, after all, you travel 400-500km a week in your internal-combustion car, right? Doing some quick back-of-the-envelope maths means you’d need to charge the Leaf halfway through the week to ensure you get the full commuting potential, and that is discounting any incidental trips you might make in that time.

The last thing you want is to be stranded somewhere on your way to/from work in an EV that’s run out of juice – how embarrassing would that be! You might add all this up and go, “yeah, nah, an electric vehicle isn’t going to work for me”, but you’d be surprised at how easily it can slot into your day-to-day life without much, if any, inconvenience. 

For starters, we want to lay some ground work here. This Nissan Leaf long-term review will be tackled by two different writers – myself and deputy news editor Justin Hilliard – in alternating months. We figure the Leaf is a prime candidate for what car-sharing could look like in the near future, so why not just share the car? This will also give us two different perspectives when tackling the question of “is now the time to switch to an EV?”

I have an off-street undercover garage at home with power outlets available, meaning I could charge the Leaf every night if I need to.

For my part, I have an off-street undercover garage at home with power outlets available, meaning I could charge the Leaf every night if I need to. What about at work then? The Melbourne CarsGuide office car park has no available charging outlets, so I’m only able to juice up at home or when there is a publicly available charging station at my destination, whether that be at a shopping centre or in another car park complex.

The Nissan Leaf sits on 17-inch alloy wheels.

With a 12km commute each way morning and evening, on paper the Nissan Leaf’s battery should easily last long enough for a week of coming and going from the office. And in reality, the answer is that it predictably – and maybe disappointingly – works out nearly exactly how it should. In a single day, the Leaf will drain just 10 per cent of its battery to get me to and from work, meaning by the end of the working week, there is still 50 per cent or 135km left in the tank. Take that, range anxiety!

Now of course, you don’t just use your car to commute, you also head out to the shops for groceries or visit your folks during the week or go to yoga, but even considering all of that, a full charge of the Leaf should very comfortably see out my weeks’ worth of activities.

At 405L it’s not the largest of the hatchback boots.

The regenerative braking system also works well to recoup some energy to the battery, so while the range indicator is always going down, it doesn’t decrease as fast as you might think. Whereas the Leaf shines in inner city driving, it is out on the open highway where it loses some of its lustre. Without the constant braking of bumper to bumper traffic or traffic lights to recoup energy, the Leaf seems to just chew through its battery at highway speeds.

One trip from Dandenong to Melbourne’s CBD took off 20 per cent of battery for us, while turning on the air conditioning (often times a must in Australia’s summer weather) cuts about 25km from the range. Using the heater also cuts down the range by a similar amount, but there is an Eco option and 'e-Pedal' function (more on these in our next review) to maximise range. And when you do have to charge, it’s as simple as plugging the supplied cable into the car and the other end into a power point, easy as that!

With a 12km commute each way morning and evening, on paper the Nissan Leaf’s battery should easily last long enough for a week of coming and going from the office.

Charging times will vary, but on our household outlet, a zero to 100 per cent charge will take just under 20 hours according to Nissan. Though that may seem like a long time, how often will you be charging from empty to capacity? From the figures, it will take around 10 hours for a 50 per cent charge, or overnight. Chances are, you already charge your smartphone overnight, and an EV is no different.

The biggest pitfall of our first month of ‘ownership’ of the Leaf is probably the price. At just under $50,000 for a small hatchback, its not exactly like the Leaf is affordable when the likes of the Mazda3 and Toyota Corolla can be had for half the price. A small hatchback is a bit hard to swallow at this price point, and we can’t help but feel if Nissan jacked it up and called it an SUV, it would appeal to many more buyers and make the cost a little more palatable.

In the cabin you'll find leather seats and Alcantara highlight trim.

Its hard to recommend an EV right now as each use case will be different, but owning an emissions-free model is much easier than you think given you have somewhere to plug in. Sure, you might have to think twice about a long road trip, but if you are only doing such a trip once or twice a year, it could be a great opportunity to rent a car – even a sports car – to have some fun.

In all honesty, our first month with the Leaf has been a real eye-opener as the Leaf works flawlessly for our use case.

Acquired: November 2019
Distance travelled this month: 386km
Odometer: 4323km
Average enegery consumption for Nov/Dec: 15.9kWh/100km

After three months of ‘ownership’, the ‘wow’ factor of driving an electric vehicle really starts to wear off – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The Leaf after all, just like any car that comes through our garage, is used for transportation – commuting to and from work, hitting up some cafes on the weekend, etc.

It struck us as to how seamless the transition from internal-combustion engine to full electric could be, with the caveat that there is no long-distance driving to do.

So how you use the car might not be any different, but how you drive certainly can be.

Instant torque means you can come away from the lights quicker than almost anything else, and the silent powertrain means the Leaf will emit an audible ‘beep’ when reversing to warn pedestrians (don’t worry, you can turn this off if it really annoys you).

Nissan’s second-gen Leaf also features an e-Pedal for one-foot operation. What this means is that the acceleration and braking can be controlled with just the right foot.

If this sounds weird an alien, it’s because it is a little unintuitive – at least to begin with – but after an hour or so with it switched on, it is really easy to get the hang of.

Since switching to the e-Pedal, we’ve actually not switched back to the traditional two-peal method of driving.

How it works is by modulating the throttle, so press it down to go forward as normal, but when you start to release the right foot, the Leaf will begin to brake.

What we liked about e-Pedal is that it made us look ahead and think about our driving, rather than react as things happened around us.

With two pedals in play, you could just sail towards a set of traffic lights or roundabout until you wanted to slow down, then change the right foot from throttle to brake.

But with e-Pedal activated, you have to gauge how far away you are from stopping and factor in those decisions ahead of time.

The Leaf really delivers as a comfortable, easy-to-use and approachable vehicle.

What this translates to is a smoother, more efficient driving experience.

And it’s not just the passengers who will be thankful, it also has a positive result on the all-electric Leaf’s driving range.

We reported in our last review that it took about 10 per cent battery to get us to and from work on any given day, but with e-Pedal in play, that dropped down to as low as five per cent.

Now you’d think that might translate to doubling the driving range, but the truth is that e-Pedal just makes you more diligent and effective with the throttle.

We also noticed that the energy recuperation from the brakes were stronger in e-Pedal mode compared to the traditional two-pedal operation, likely because when you use the brake pedal, you are only depressing it slightly to shed speed.

Now, there are some downfalls to the e-pedal operation, namely if you take your foot off the throttle too quickly, the Leaf will screech abruptly to a halt, jerking passengers about.

It also makes it tricky when you have to perform an emergency stop – say when a dog runs across the road or when traffic lights change suddenly – but the brake pedal still works for the reactionary foot stomp.

There is also an ‘Eco’ mode in the Leaf that will add a few extra kilometres to the driving range by easing acceleration, though we found that e-Pedal does a much better job of boosting travel miles.

While the Leaf has been relegated to second-car status as work kept me from raking up the kilometres on Nissan’s EV this month, we still came back to the ‘Greta’ when we needed a quick trip to the shops or the occasional jaunt out.

As a comfortable, easy-to-use and approachable vehicle, the Leaf really delivers, and would be a great entry point to someone’s first electric vehicle.

However, its biggest letdown isn’t that it is an EV, it might be because it’s a Nissan, which means cheapy-feeling plastics on the inside and less-than-cutting-edge in-cabin technology…. But more on that in the next month!

Of note, we did not get behind the wheel nearly as much as we wanted to this month, simply because our duties meant we were pulled away attending events and reviewing other vehicles.

Acquired: November 2019

Distance travelled this month: 138km

Odometer: 5447km

Average energy consumption for Jan/Feb: 14.3kWh/100km

We’re now four months into Leaf ownership and we’ve come to accept its electric-ness.

That said, it’s so easy to get caught up in the ins and outs of electric cars that you forget what they are at their very core: cars.

For this reason, we’ll now focus on how the Leaf stacks up as a car – that is as a mode of transport.

As we all know, electric cars are polar opposites to their internal-combustion counterparts under the metal, and this affects how they’re packaged.

We’re now four months into Leaf ownership and we’ve come to accept its electric-ness.

In the Leaf’s case, its battery is located underfloor. While it’s actually not that large, at 40kWh, it still eats into cabin space, as opposed to a fuel tank that generally occupies the space beneath the boot.

This is immediately apparent when you jump into the driver’s seat, which is positioned higher up, like it would be in a crossover. You needn’t look any further than the massive battery-related hump underneath it for evidence of that fact.

And the driving position isn’t helped by the Leaf’s steering column, which doesn’t have telescopic adjustment. It’s also awkwardly positioned to begin with, which leaves the wheel more or less in our laps.

The Leaf’s steering column misses out on telescopic adjustment.

That said, it’s the rear occupants that are impacted the most, especially when there are three abreast. Why? The massive central tunnel that eats into the footwell.

The Leaf is a small hatch, after all, so there’s not a lot of width to play with in the first place, even if it’s not the only one to have such a hindrance (yep, we’re talking about internal-combustion cars).

The positioning of the rear bench is also a little awkward due to the battery, with under-thigh support lacking (and central air vents, for that matter). In the Leaf’s case, you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

Cargo capacity, however, is good for a small hatch, at 405L, although it’s worth noting the Bose sound system’s subwoofer occupies a decent amount of space at the rear of the boot.

With the rear seats in place, boot space is rated at 405 litres.

The onboard charging cable and its case are also in tow. While they can obviously be stored elsewhere, they’re best kept in the boot given it has two side cargo nets, both of which are just the right size to accommodate them.

Fold the 60/40 split-fold rear bench ‘flat’ and you realise that it too is positioned up high, as another massive battery-related hump is exposed, making loading bulkier items a challenge – something we found out the hard way.

Indeed, on one particular weekend, we used the Leaf to finish a house move. With up to 1176L of cargo capacity available, it was able to get the job done, but not without some serious Tetris skills.

Fold the 60/40 split-fold rear bench ‘flat’ and the cargo capacity grows to 1176 litres.

We mainly had large plastics tubs to fit in, plus a few random items. The former was the challenge, as we managed to double stack on the boot side but failed to do so atop the rear bench for obvious reasons.

Granted we got there in the end, but it didn’t happen without some serious frustration along the way. If it wasn’t obvious enough yet, the Leaf isn’t your typical small hatch.

Connectivity-wise, the Leaf gets the job done with a USB-A port, a 12V power outlet and an auxiliary input, all of which form part of the centre stack.

The former delivers Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support, which is frankly better than the Leaf’s multimedia system that while an improvement over Nissan’s previous-generation effort, is still limited in its functionality.

Those in the second row are out of luck, however, as their connectivity options are non-existent. Yep, you don’t even get a single USB port to recharge your child’s device with.

Back seat passengers get no creature comforts, not even a 12V power outlet or USB port.

Next month we’ll discuss the Leaf’s in-market positioning and how it stacks up against its competitors. See you then!

Acquired: November 2019

Distance travelled this month: 699km

Odometer: 6146km

Average energy consumption for Feb/Mar: 14.7kWh/100km

Okay, month five living with the Leaf. Let’s see if we can work out if the monetary benefits of buying an electric car over an internal-combustion hatchback have added up.

We’ve now clocked 6344km in the Leaf, meaning we’ve travelled around 2000km since picking up our Nissan (lovingly nicknamed Greta) in November 2019.

Our current average electric consumption of 14.7kWh per 100km, means Greta has used up around 294kWh in our daily commute, ferrying us to the shops and the occasional road trip out of town.

Checking my electricity bill (a task seldom done), the electricity provider is charging us (pun intended) $0.25 per kWh, which equates to around $73.5 spent on keeping the Leaf going.

It’s nice to be able to recharge from the comfort of your own home.

To be fair, we’ve also charged at public outlets in Melbourne’s CBD (though you do have to pay entry to the carpark), as well as at a few Airbnbs on our travels, so the total cost might be off by a few dollars.

Let’s size that up against the popular Mazda3 hatchback, specifically the G20 Touring powered by a 114kW/200Nm 2.0-litre petrol engine paired with a six-speed automatic transmission.

Official fuel consumption figures for this specific Mazda3 peg it at 6.2 litres per 100km, meaning our 2000km distance would have consumed about 124 litres of petrol.

At the time of writing, the average cost of fuel in Melbourne is at radical lows thanks to the high supply and low demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic, so it might be unfair for us to use this figure.

Instead, let’s take the average cost of petrol over the last five months, which works out to be around $1.44, meaning the Mazda’s fuel bill is about $178.56.

The difference might not seem all that tangible for now, but imagine that difference amplified over the life of the vehicle.

The Nissan Leaf is no doubt better for the environment.

Just for reference, at 10 years with an average of 20,000km travelled a year, the Leaf will cost $7350 in electricity, while the Mazda3 will drink $17,856 in fuel – a difference of $10,506.

But fuel isn’t the only thing you have to fork out for over a vehicle’s life, you also have to consider servicing.

The Nissan Leaf is scheduled a service every 20,000km or 12 months, whichever comes first. While the former figure is higher than the Mazda’s 10,000km recommendation (most vehicles these days have 15,000km service intervals), the latter figure is the same, as every vehicle should be inspected at least once a year.

In the first five years of ownership (or up to 1000,000km) the total cost of servicing for the Nissan Leaf is $1388.

As for the Mazda3, scheduled servicing will set owners back $1991 over the same period, but only up to 50,000km – a difference of $603.

All in then, the Leaf’s cost of ownership is cheaper than a petrol-powered vehicle, but the Nissan does cost more than the Mazda.

In fact, with the Leaf’s $49,990 before on-road costs price tag versus the Mazda3 Touring’s $30,590, you’d have to own the former for more than 10 years to make up the difference in price when running costs are taken into consideration.

Leaf’s cost of ownership is cheaper than a petrol-powered vehicle.

The Nissan Leaf is no doubt better for the environment, especially if you have solar panels or can recharge with 100 per cent renewable energy. But without subsidies or incentives, the cost equation doesn’t quite stack up in the electric car’s favour.

Of course, this will change in future, as the cost of new technology comes down or the government steps in to incentivise emissions-free models, but for now it’s a case of paying up front, rather than over the life of the vehicle in fuel and servicing costs.

We’d also point out that in the Leaf, you never have to traipse to a dingy servo on a cold and wet night to fill up your car for the week. We’re not sure what price you’d put on convenience, but it’s certainly nice to be able to recharge from the comfort of your own home.

Next month, Justin takes back the keys for our final instalment of long-term reviews.

Acquired: November 2019

Distance travelled this month: 188km

Odometer: 6334km

Average energy consumption for March/April: 14.7kWh/100km