Electric Leaf’s a bright spark

IT once seemed as if electric cars might be all the rage by the second decade of the new millennium and while their popularity has increased they haven’t taken the world by storm in the way some predicted.

Nissan is further along the road than many and the Leaf is a fine example of an all-electric and affordable family car.

It looks in many ways like a fairly average hatchback, but there are a few quirky design flourishes that set it apart.

Key among them are the protruding front headlights that give the nose an almost bug-like appearance.

Sit in the driver’s seat and the Leaf starts to feel very different. The instrument panel is very much designed around the car’s electric nature with the battery power status being a predominant feature.

A noticeably small gear selector has just forward and reverse modes, while the ‘handbrake’ is just a footbrake next to the clutch.

It’s a cinch to drive, once you’ve worked out where everything is and in essence not really that different to a ‘normal’ car.

As with all electric vehicles it’s eerily silent, feels surprisingly quick and offers instant torque.

It defaults to an eco mode which actually slows the car down considerably from the standard mode, which is positively sprightly.

While I preferred the speedier setting I ended up sticking with the eco mode for the most part, to get a feel for the vehicle and its range.

One of the biggest learning curves is appreciating you do need to plan in advance.

Of course most people will simply charge the Leaf at home - and t’s possible to charge it fully overnight from ‘empty’ using a standard domestic socket.

There are two battery choices with the Leaf, a 24kWh one which will give the car a range of 124 miles or a 30kWh which gives the car a 155-mile range.

Had I charged it fully from empty or thereabouts every night (estimated to cost around £2.80) I wouldn’t have had any problems and still spent a fraction of what I would have done on petrol.

Also, the Leaf won’t overcharge - the recharging process switches off when it’s full. Recharging is done via a panel in the bonnet.

One thing that’s worth remembering when calculating distances to be covered and ‘miles in the tank’ is an electric motor behaves differently to a conventional engine.

In an electric car you’ll eat up more power this way. Its maximum economy is at lower speeds, though when idling it won’t be using any power - unless you have the airconditioning or heating blasting away.

The Leaf Visia costs from £26,180 and it qualifies for the Government’s current £4,500 subsidy for zero emission vehicles and there are a number of ways of going about making the switch to electric motoring including leasing the car and the battery.

Overall I got to rather like the Leaf. It drives nicely, has a comfortable ride and its turn of pace is rather pleasing.

You need to be wary of the charge on longer journeys but you do get a sense of smug satisfaction, conscious of the fact you are not emitting noxious fumes.