Although the new car is slightly squatter than the first-generation Leaf, headroom inside is excellent – unexpectedly so for the rakish-looking hatch – although its exterior dimensions make it almost as wide as the Ford Focus, and larger than one in every other direction.
A seating position that’s slightly too high compared with the shallow windscreen makes the interior feel a little less spacious than it deserves, though. Otherwise, the dashboard has the perfect button-to-screen ratio. Important functions aren’t relegated to a sub-menu in the infotainment, but the dash is nevertheless satisfyingly uncluttered.
The blue button on the right-hand side of the steering wheel unlocks a key feature of the new Leaf; Propilot is the name given to Nissan’s semi-autonomous driving system. It’s as easy to operate as adaptive cruise control: just set the speed, wait for the system to confirm that it’s ready, and relax. Let go of the wheel, though, and a reminder tells you politely to keep your hands on it.
The reminder is less polite the second time around. Propilot Park - an extension to the Propilot system – makes light work of automated parking, albeit slowly. There’s no setting to make it faster as it rolls into a space, so it’s certainly not suited for city parking, but it’s accurate and intuitive, even allowing for situations where space isn’t marked - you move a box into your desired space. It’d be brilliant if it wasn’t so timid in its speed. Luckily Nissan will be updating that too.
Steering is where this Japanese Leaf loses a sizable chunk of driver appeal. It feels numb, and not all that direct, either. It’s far from where it should be. And guess what? That’s getting updated too; Nissan is tightening up the rack to be more responsive on UK-market vehicles; it’ll take closer to two turns lock-to-lock than the Japanese market’s three.
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A dumpy, ill-proportioned
A dumpy, ill-proportioned mess. Look at the i3 from BMW...shouts contemporary...forward thinking.
If they want it to look mainstream...they have done a grand job. Perhaps their logic is that they want the hum drum hatchback buyer not to be affronted by the Leaf and see it as an option to a Hyundai something or a Toyota corolla. People are truly dull so they are probably doing the right thing.
Look at the i3 from BMW..
Look at the i3 from BMW...shouts contemporary...forward thinking' It may be contemporary but it's still ugly, even made in the top 5 ugly car listing..
It’s fugly
Let’s not beat about the bush.
Only its mother could love it.
Robbo
It'll need to be very good
I really expected this new Leaf to blow away the competition, such as it is. After all, Nissan has had the benefit of many years experience with the old one. Looks are subjective but to me this looks worse than the old model – dumpy, fussily styled, contrived, badly proportioned. There's not an inch of it I really like. And the interior looks like the Golf did many generations ago. It seems like a big opportunity missed to take things forward. So I'm sad to read that the way it drives is not, apparently, a huge advance either. Considering all the new competitors that are going to be biting at its heels very soon, I wonder if Nissan has done enough to stay ahead with this new car.