The Nissan Leaf has been one of the most admired cars on the road for the past generation of the car for only one reason. This is the first mass produced all electric vehicle on the road and it came with a range that was enough to handle all your around town driving in a day along with a short stint on the highway. Even though this car has been one of the best-selling EVs ever built, there haven’t been that many for it to compare with. The Leaf is an affordable EV, making it easier for more of us to buy it, but it does keep us penned up in the city day after day.
The new Leaf has an impressive improvement to help keep it ahead of what is now the EV curve. Currently only the Model S from Tesla has more range in an EV, but to buy that car you could purchase three of the Leaf. There are other manufactures producing EV models but none of them have the range the Leaf has with its new battery pack. This batter has been upgraded from a 24-kWh to 30-kWh battery pack to take the range of this car from 84 miles to 107. The closest any other vehicle comes (other than the Tesla) is 93 miles making the Leaf the only current mainstream vehicle to have at least 100 miles of electric range.
While the improvement of distance and battery are impressive and certainly were needed the Leaf still comes with an interior that is badly in need of an upgrade. the trees that would show themselves in the instrument cluster were cool the first time around, but as we’ve gotten more used to EV models it’s time for a new way to tell us we’ve driving efficiently. The infotainment system inside the Leaf does have some EV-specific functions such as showing you where the next electric charging station is and overlaying your remaining range so you can stop before you run out of battery power.
Originally the Nissan Leaf was made to be a city car, and for the most part it still is. As the Leaf continues to gain more range Nissan will need to improve this car to be more comfortable on the highway and accelerate a bit faster. Currently it takes the Leaf 10.4 seconds to reach sixty mph, making this a right lane car any time you take it on the highway, but now it can actually make some short runs on the highway without the fear of running out of battery charge.
The Leaf continues to fill a space in the market that is about to see even more competition, but as the most experienced car on the road, the Leaf should continue to be a great seller for Nissan. Inside the car you find plenty of space and foldable seats that make it a car you can bring some stuff in, but you might want to avoid that and keep more of the range of your vehicle for your driving needs.
The Nissan Leaf has been a pioneer for EV models and shown us the way toward a better tomorrow where we have low to no emission vehicles. When the generational change occurs for the Leaf you can expect to see new tech and a much better style, but for now, the increased range from a stronger battery can make all the difference in your driving on a daily basis.
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