)
The 2020 Nissan Leaf now comes in two flavors. The previous Leaf with a relatively short range of 149 miles, and a new version called Leaf Plus with a more competitive range of about 226 miles. Since iSeeCars recently reviewed the short-range Leaf, we will focus most of our commentary here on the newer Leaf Plus. We feel it is the Leaf that most shoppers will have interest in. Our test vehicle was a Leaf Plus SL with a price as tested of $44,825. Before you slam the laptop shut, be aware nobody will ever pay that for this vehicle. Incentives matter - a lot - in EV pricing. We would expect most Leaf Plus SL owners to end up with a cost after incentives of between $33K and $37K.
The Leaf is the original all-electric vehicle of the modern age. In the marketplace now for nearly a full decade, the Leaf has done well globally in the context of a battery-electric vehicle (BEV). However, sales remain very low in the American market by comparison to green cars in general. Were the Leaf not an important EV to Nissan to demonstrate a commitment to the mandates imposed by the State of California, it would be canceled immediately due to tiny sales.
Let's forget about the politics and marketing surrounding EVs for a bit and just look closely at what the Leaf is like once it arrives in your driveway and you begin to use it as a daily driver. We will, of course, circle back to the facts and figures of driving electric, but we will endeavor to tell readers what being in a Leaf is like.
See the full 2020 Nissan LEAF Test Drive Review.
2018 Nissan LEAF
For 2018, Nissan's legendary Leaf battery electric vehicle (BEV) is all new. This Leaf feels more energetic on the road, has a long list of safety upgrades and brings a very competitive list of features to the affordable compact EV segment.
The Nissan LEAF has been overshadowed by the Tesla Model 3, but the truth is they are in entirely different vehicle segments. A fully-loaded Tesla Model 3, which doesn't even offer some of the Leaf's key features, is literally twice the price of the Leaf after incentives for both cars, at the time of this writing.
Nissan's five-passenger Leaf is roomy inside, has much more cargo space than the Chevrolet Bolt EV, its closest rival, and does almost everything better than the more expensive and now dated BMW i3. The new Leaf will appeal to anyone who is willing to give it a test drive, if its range is sufficient to meet their needs.
See the full 2018 Nissan LEAF Test Drive Review.
How much is a Nissan LEAF?
Nissan LEAF
A new Nissan LEAF's average price is 34884
and the price range is 28777 to
43036
A 3-year-old used Nissan LEAF's average price is 29211
with a price range of 22585 to
34984
See below for the average Nissan LEAF price across model years.
The average price for a 3-year-old used electric car is 36165, with the Nissan LEAF's price typically
6954 below
average for this vehicle type.
How long do Nissan LEAFs last?
Nissan LEAF
The Nissan LEAF is the 3rd most reliable vehicle in the electric car category, with a reliability score of 7.6.
Approximately 1.36E-4 of all Nissan LEAFs on the road have reached 150,000 miles or more, which compares to an average of 7.84E-4 for the electric car category
The best-ranked electric car for reliability is the Tesla Model S
See below for the reliability scores of various cars in the electric car category:
Tesla Model S
9.4
Hyundai IONIQ Electric
7.9
Nissan LEAF
7.6
Tesla Model 3
7.2
BMW i3
7.2
Chevrolet Bolt EV
7.1
Smart EQ fortwo
MINI Hardtop 2 Door
Smart EQ fortwo
FIAT 500e
Volkswagen e-Golf
Honda Clarity Electric
Porsche Taycan
Kia Soul EV
Hyundai IONIQ 6
Porsche Taycan
BMW i4
Polestar 2
Lucid Air
Genesis Electrified G80
Mercedes-Benz EQE
Audi e-tron GT
Audi RS e-tron GT
BMW i5
Mercedes-Benz EQS
BMW i7
Rolls-Royce Spectre
Is the Nissan LEAF a good car?
Nissan LEAF
The Nissan LEAF earns an ISC quality score of 7.226142 based on its reliability, value retention and safety ratings.
The Nissan LEAF is ranked 4th in quality in the electric car category,
with the Chevrolet Bolt EV ranked just above it and the Smart fortwo electric drive Convertible ranked just below it
The best-ranked electric car for quality is the Tesla Model 3