Nissan Unveils New, Improved Leaf

Published September 6, 2017
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3 min read

The second-gen version of Nissan’s popular electric car now offers better range and tech, aside from being cheaper.

Six years after it was first introduced, Nissan has turned a new Leaf quite literally, having unveiled the second-gen version of its bestselling electric car. The new Leaf looks a lot more fresh and contemporary but more importantly, it now claims to offer a range of 400km per charge (up from 280km earlier), thanks to a 40kWh Li-On battery pack, up 10kWh from before. That puts it slightly ahead of its chief rival, the Chevrolet Bolt EV by about 17km, though it's still far from the Tesla Model 3’s 500km range. However, to address that, Nissan has promised a longer range version sometime in 2018. For now, the Leaf’s biggest advantage is its price tag that's just under a shade of $30,000 - about $5000 cheaper than the competition!

Coming back to the battery pack, it is the same size as before but interestingly it has higher energy-storing capacity. That has been achieved by improving the individual cell structure in the battery pack, resulting in a 67 per cent increase in energy density capacity. Nissan has also paid special attention to the design of the charging port which has been reconfigured so you don’t have to bend down while connecting.

Charging the Leaf will take about 8 hours on a 6kW unit, though you can get to 80 per cent in just 40 minutes using the Quick Charge feature. If you are on a 3kW unit, then expect to wait for 16 hours.

The new e-powertrain puts out 110kW of power, 38 per cent more than the previous-gen Leaf. Torque, too, has been bumped up by 26 per cent to 320 Nm, resulting in improved acceleration. Nissan is also offering a whole host of tech with the new Leaf, with the most notable being the ProPilot autonomous drive and park technology, and the funky e-Pedal that eliminates the brake pedal completely! You can start, accelerate, decelerate and stop using just the accelerator pedal! The Propilot feature essentially lets the Leaf track the vehicle ahead of it and maintain a preset distance - especially useful if you are caught in bumper to bumper traffic.

The Leaf also comes with an insane number of safety features such as Intelligent Lane Intervention, Lane Departure Warning, Intelligent Emergency Braking, Blind Spot Warning, Traffic Sign Recognition and a whole bunch of others that will ensure you’re safer in the car than anywhere else.

Speaking of design, the new Leaf is inspired by the IDS concept car, first shown at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show. Key design elements include the signature V-Motion grille flanked by projector headlamps, a blacked-out roof and diamond cut alloys. Aerodynamic updates have helped the Leaf achieve a low drag coefficient of 0.28.

The aerodynamic upgrades and exterior refinements have also helped make the Leaf’s cabin a lot quieter than before. And it’s a lot roomier too, thanks to Nissan’s “Gliding Wing” design philosophy which has helped in enhancing the sense of space. The leather-wrapped steering wheel gets a matte chrome finish that imparts a high quality feel to the cabin. The centre console at the front has been restyled for better ergonomics and easier access. The driver information system has also been redesigned to improve visibility.

Additionally, the infotainment system offers Apple CarPlay support and features a 7-inch TFT display with the power gauge meter as the standard setting. The new Nissan Leaf will be on sale in Japan first from October 2, 2017 followed by other countries in early 2018. Nissan has stated that it will extensively test the Leaf in India from later this year, but have not confirmed if they will launch it here anytime soon.

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