Nissan Leaf

Nissan Leaf Overview

The 2019 Nissan Leaf  is a compact four-door hatchback vehicle powered purely by electricity, and its 40-kWh lithium-ion battery can be charged at home. Nissan's first electronically controlled shift-by-wire gearchange, delivers effortless driving performance. With a weight of 1,580 kg, the electric motor that replaces the conventional engine provides a completely different driving experience, with quiet and responsive acceleration. The activation of the push-button power switch will be accompanied by a soothing start-up sound, welcoming you to a new world of zero-emission mobility. 

Nissan Leaf Design

The EE Pocket-lint Awards 2019 saw the Nissan Leaf being crowned ‘Product of the Year’ as well as ‘Best Car’ for overall comfort and peace of mind. The Leaf sets the standard for a more conscientious, greener future and it’s a superb looking car.

Nissan Leaf Dimensions

Table shown a comprehensive list of dimensions for the Nissan Leaf including wheelbase, length width and height.

Nissan Leaf Interior

The redesigned dashboard is now simpler in appearance, as the two-tier instrument cluster has been replaced with a centre stack that also holds a five-inch touchscreen infotainment system. It is paired to a four-speaker sound system and seven-inch Multi Information Display as standard. Air vents have been reshaped, with those in the centre now being much slimmer. Other notable features include automatic air-conditioning with a timer function, a multifunction steering wheel, keyless entry and start, as well as seats trimmed in leather/Alcantara. Boot space stands at 435 litres.

Nissan Leaf Features

Nissan’s signature V-motion grille flanked by angular LED headlamps, giving the EV a rather aggressive face. The boomerang-shaped taillights blends in neatly with the two-tone tailgate. It comes with 17-inch ‘Turbine’ wheels, wrapped with 215/50 profile tyres. As for safety and driver assistance systems, the Nissan Leaf gets six airbags (front, side, curtain), Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC), ABS, EBD, brake assist, Hill Start Assist, Forward Collision Warning (FCW) with Forward Emergency Braking (FEB), Around View Monitor (I-AVM) with Moving Object Detection (I-MOD), Driver Alertness (I-DA), Ride Control, Trace Control and Nissan Intelligent Safety Shield systems.

Nissan Leaf Driving Performance

The battery pack itself is mounted underneath the vehicle floor, and supplies power to an EM57 electric motor that drives the front wheels. The mill puts out 150 PS and 320 Nm of torque, which results in a zero to 100 km/h time of 7.9 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 155 km/h.

Easy Driving Using Only the Accelerator Pedal (e-Pedal)

The e-Pedal allows the driver to start, accelerate, decelerate and stop using only the accelerator pedal.

For instant acceleration, press down hard on the accelerator pedal. Lift off the pedal and the e-Pedal mimics stepping on the brake pedal, allowing the vehicle to slow down and even come to a complete stop. By using only one pedal, tasks such as judging the distance between the car in front, decelerating and stopping when going downhill, and stopping for traffic lights, have been drastically simplified and become more convenient.

In stop-and-go city traffic, the e-Pedal greatly reduces the need to shift from one pedal to the other, making driving simpler and more comfortable. It even allows sporty driving on winding roads, making the process of driving more exciting.

Acceleration

Experience the powerful acceleration and throttle response of an EV.

Deceleration

Easing off the accelerator pedal creates a deceleration force (max 0.2G) comparable to stepping on the brake pedal. Thanks to its precise electronic motor management, the e-Pedal system can even deliver smooth automated deceleration while traveling downhill.

Stopping

After the vehicle comes to a complete stop, the hydraulic brake system is automatically activated to keep the car stationary. The system can keep the car stopped on a slope (of up to approximately a 30-percent steepness grade) in uphill and downhill directions.

Brake lamps

Like conventional vehicles, the brake lamps will light up when decelerating or stopping.

Nissan Leaf Ride Comfort

The Leaf's low centre of gravity results in flat and predictable handling around bends and compliments the progressive responses to the steering wheel. The ride isn’t too hard but the absence of engine noise means you hear the sound of tyres and wind more, but it could be subdued by increasing the volume of music.

Nissan Leaf Battery Consumption

Nissan LEAF claimed operating range of 311 km on one full charge based on the NEDC (New European Driving Cycle) test mode. The single-phase home wall box charger that comes as standard delivers 6.6 kW of single-phase AC charging power, and it will take approximately seven hours to fully charge the battery. When you go out, charging can be done with a quick charger, a 10-minute charge will allow you to drive an additional range of 50 km.

Nissan's lithium-ion battery realizes high energy density, lightweight compact design and reliability by adopting Ni-Co-Mn positive electrode material and laminated structure cells which allow a higher density of lithium ions to be stored with have a high level of cooling performance. This results in an increase in travel distance. With the 40 kWh battery pack, each battery module is constructed with an 8-cell configuration as standard, increasing charging efficiency. Due to its high durability and reliability, the battery capacity warranty is 160,000 km or 8 years.

Nissan Leaf Conclusion

Overall, it appears that the Nissan Leaf can be used on a regular basis in Malaysia, and range anxiety should not be an issue,around town at least. Aside from the ageing interior, it's a fascinating and impressive product that offers a peek into the future of the automotive landscape and EV incentives should be introduced to bring down the hefty price tag.