What is it?
This is Nissan's first all-electric car, which goes on sale in the UK in March 2011, at the somewhat breathtaking price of £28,350. That figure falls to £23,350 if the new government maintains the previous administration's plan of offering incentive to electric cars, the Leaf qualifying for the full £5,000 incentive.
The Leaf is a purpose-built electric vehicle and it's a five-seater hatchback in the VW Golf class that in many respects looks conventional.
So, you get a five-seater hatchback capable of 90mph and a decent 0-60mph time of 11.5sec, and acceleration up to 30mph that's the equivalent of a 3.0 V6 automatic. The Leaf is fully automatic and as a consequence couldn't be much easier to drive - your only preoccupation will be the car's available range, which is clearly displayed in the instrument pack and, should you wish, the infotainment display.
Other differences include the small panel ahead of the bonnet, which lifts to reveal the conventional charge and fast-charging sockets, while lifting the bonnet itself reveals a power unit that at first sight looks rather like a normal engine.
The battery pack in question consists of 48 lithium-ion modules, most of them located below the floor, and they power a 107bhp electric motor that drives the front wheels via single-speed gearbox. Although the power output isn't great it is torque, or pulling power, that's more important, and the Leaf has plenty of that with its 207lb ft.
What Leaf drivers must get used to above all is that this car has a range of just 100 miles, and less than that if you enjoy its decently brisk performance to the full. That relegates its role to commuter car, because it needs eight hours for a full recharge. It can be fast-charged, to 80 percent of the battery's capacity in under 30 minutes, but as yet fast-charger availability in the UK is extremely limited. However, fast-chargers should start to appear during 2011.
