Turning over a new LEAF

So, suddenly, what had been a impractical curiosity has turned into a practical vehicle you can use every day… and that is just what I did, including two 100-mile plus round trips to see an old friend near Blackpool and attending a motoring event in South Yorkshire - on both occasions there and back on a single charge with plenty of power left in reserve.

Simply plugging the car in every night covered all my driving needs and, at a cost of only around £3.50p, was way cheaper than the price of petrol or diesel, which again seem to be heading rapidly upwards at the moment.

So I now see why the new Nissan LEAF was named a ‘Game Changer’ at this month’s Autocar Awards 2018. The awards are given only to vehicles that bring new, higher standards to their class or for defying conventions for the benefits of buyers.

Mark Tisshaw, Editor of Autocar, said: “Nissan’s purely electric hatchback is already a game changer, having sold to the tune of more than 300,000 units since its introduction in 2010. No zeroemission rival has managed to bottle quite the same blend of range and usability at an affordable price, though several have come increasingly close.

“The second-generation model represents a towering achievement for Nissan. Simply, this car moves the LEAF out ahead of its would-be rivals once again. Conventional combustion-engine rivals also now face a greater threat from this Nissan than at any point to date. Few, if any electric cars, and certainly none at this price point, offer such a compelling case for making the switch.”

And that is why the LEAF, made in the UK at Nissan’s plant in Sunderland, is the world’s bestselling electric vehicle.

Another reason this new model may also sell well is that It looks much more conventional than the previous LEAF - Nissan felt that the looks of the old car put some people off ownership.

During my time with the LEAF I found that switching off the Eco setting only seemed to make a difference of around five miles range per 100 travelled and made the car so much more pleasant to drive.

And another button I tried was labelled e-pedal which meant learning a whole new way of driving. Basically the idea is that you only use the accelerator - push to go and when you take your foot off the car’s regenerative braking system cuts in.

It feels weird at first but soon becomes quite easy to use, and proved ideal in heavy, stop start traffic - another way the LEAF is a game changer.

Equipment wise our top-of-therange Tenka version has a long kit list including 360 cameras, leather and suede seats (heated in the front), 17” alloy wheels, privacy glass, metallic paint, touchscreen infotainment system, keyless start, heated steering wheel, auto air can, adaptive cruise control and premium Bose audio.

There is also an impressive list of safety kit including intelligent emergency braking, parking sensors, moving object detection, lane departure warning, cross traffic alert and blind spot warning.

There are Visia, Acenta, N-connecta and Tekna trim levels as throughout Nissan’s line-up starting from £25,190 (inc gov plug-in grant of £4,500). Every model has a 148bhp electric motor that’s powered by a 40kWh battery and our range topping Tenka is £28,390.

So keep the eco switch off and enjoy saving the planet in style with the all-new LEAF - which, I am sad to say, puts another nail firmly in the coffin of the internal combustion engine.

To find out more about the new Nissan LEAF, visit: www.nissan.co. uk/leaf