Nissan doesn't get the credit it deserves for putting a viable EV on the road at an affordable price. The 2nd gen is actually a decent looking car and its range is respectable for the price point. It's good to see CG doing a 'used' car segment for those that are in the market for a good deal and to get their feet wet in alternative energy vehicles. I do hate the way the white headliner clashes against the black A, B and C pillars. Such a bad design feature. But the video review was both concise and informative, all you can ask for really. Vicky is one of the best auto journalist on You Tube. Also, the locations always makes me want to come to the UK to see it in person and to get her autograph.
No, not all. Some are driven by "a doctor who took good care of him" and if the car has a TVDE sign, that means that "Teacher Vaguely Driven Economically" car
Another great review Vicky. As we are aware range anxiety has been one of the bug bears of an EV, thankfully the range on the 2nd generation leaf is good for this class of car. The charging socket might put me off though if they are less popular than the popular ones out there, this would for me anyway make me think more about that range. Style and equipment are good and build quality should be OK so I'd not rule it out just yet should it be that time to change my car.
@@ashb8572 yes if you go for the lower spec trim and higher mileage you can get a bargain. I bought a Tekna with decent mileage for £8k and it's been great so far. Really decent car for the price and cheap to run. 👍
@@Digitalnik1 Range is about 100 miles on a single charge, it has the outdated CHAdeMO DC charging socket, and the battery overheats on longer jouneys. As a daily driver though, it's great value.
The original Nissan Leaf was sometimes loved, sometimes criticized for its' weird bugeyed styling. For the second gen, Nissan made it so normal-looking there's a tweaker underneath it trying to steal the cat right now as we speak...
Good review. I understand though that only the Nissan Leaf and the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV appear to be the only cars using the Chademo charging system. Surely this must signify a potential problem in who knows how many years. As Clint Eastwood might say 'You've got to ask yourself a question: 'do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya?'
Here in the U.S. (Arizona), used prices are just too much to put up with the Leafs short comings. Once things normalize, if ever, they may be worth a look
When Nissan decided to replace their Leaf MK1 EV, they had a golden opportunity to style the MK2 Leaf to make it stand out from the rest of the motoring 'herd' and make it something special & unique. But, they BOTTLED IT. Instead they gave us jus another boring looking car that is difficult to identify from the rest of the 'car clones' on British roads. In fact most motor manufactures are stuck in the car styling trends of the late 1990, no more so than Ford. The exceptions being - Hyundai & Kia who both produce outstanding modern design concepts for all their cars. Well done Hyundai & Kia, you're a breath of fresh air on our otherwise boring roads.
I really like your reviews but I think on this one I must disagree with the battery degradation issue. I would suggest that the Nissan Leaf is probably one of the worst EV's for this issue and peoples concerns are valid. I have a Mk.1 30kW/hr Leaf, which admittedly is probably the worst Leaf for degradation, but at the same time they will all be similar as they have similar battery chemistry and lack of thermal management. It is six and a half years old and I have bought it when it was three years old. I have tried to look after it as best I can to preserve the battery. Using Leaf Spy it had a battery State of Health (SoH) of just under 92% when I bought it. Since then I have taken monthly records of the SoH and it has been a pretty linear degradation and is now at 77%. I find this a pretty significant loss of range. Unfortunately the Nissan battery warranty (8 years on this car) is not 70% but when you have less than 9 bars showing on the health display. The first bar hangs on for a long time (83% in my case) then they drop away quicker (next bar went at 78%). I'd estimate about 66% would be when the warranty claim would kick in if still within age an mileage - I have a feeling I'll be just outside that (Nissan have worked it all out...). Range wise, despite careful driving I have never had great range. Efficiency the average over the whole time I have had the car is 3.9 miles/kWhr. In summer we can average 4.4 and the winter down to 3.3. Original usable battery was 28kW/h's. If currently on 77% SoH that gives 21.5kWh, which in 100-0% range = summer (up to) 95 miles, average 84 miles and winter 70 miles. This reduces a lot at speed, i.e. on the motorway. So it you want to arrive with say 15% in the winter you have a usable 60 mile range. Also the indicated range should not be trusted, knock a third off to be safe. It is a great car, any EV is a great car, but I'm not sure I'd recommend the 30kWh one unless it really suits your use case/budget. I have not driven the 2nd gen one but a huge amount of it was carried over from the first one. I currently have an Ioniq 38kWh which (in summer) is absolutely true to the displayed range and has great efficiency - 4.9 miles per kW/hr over 4,000 miles of summer use including motorway trips. Its a definite step up from the Leaf - just a shame I don't have the money to upgrade!
@@darylevans5075 My understanding is it remains pretty level. My average monthly summer efficiency was 4.2 for the last two years compared with 4.4 for the first two years but this was also the time of a change in use pre and post covid. There is gearbox oil that needs changing at 70k miles I think and with time I guess bearings will degrade slightly but overall I'd work on the basis of no efficiency degradation.
At £16k it would be worth buying but no ones buying it at over 20K / 25k makes no sense, the prices are over inflated and the charging system that this car uses is now almost obsolete or soon will be, its a good car I've driven one and think its a nice car to drive bit the numbers don't add up for me. has to be cheaper.
@@GeordiLaForgery Unless you want to spend a fortune on installing a phase 3 home charger for Chademo speeds plus most likely begging your energy supplier to upgrade your supply. A 7kw home charger will be around the 7hour mark so overnight easy enough and you most likely wont be charging every day. I'm getting away with a public charge once/week or even 2 weeks as I live in a flat and not had any issues or stranded anywhere in the last 6months :)
Is the real world range that you have suggested based on a single occupant i.e just the driver? This is meant to be a family car so I would be interested to know if you have tested the range with a full load i.e 4 occupants and a bootload of luggage and using the AC. My experience of driving a MGZS EV which has a similar WLTP and battery size was awful when it was fully loaded. I barely managed 80miles (the range indicated was 157miles when we left) and that was driving at 60mph on the motorway. What would have been a 2½ hour journey took over 6 hours with stops for recharging! I've gone back to and ICE (Skoda Octavia 1.5 petrol) that returns nearly 50mpg when fully loaded and driven at 67mph.
I have a 71 plate 40kw Tekna and I'm getting 4.2m/kw = 163 miles. This is using climate when needed, B mode with E-Pedal on without touching eco mode :)
@@sukhvinderubhi9202 I've never been fully loaded. I've done longer motorway trips like: Edinburgh-Glasgow, Edinburgh-Inverness was getting 3.8m/kw if I drove at real 65mph. Would drop if you go faster in the 70-75mph range.
80 miles in the 42kWh MG ZS EV sounds REALLY low...! Whilst not a Leaf, I did a 35 mile round trip - up hills and down, mostly 40-50mph A-roads - in my 33kWh BMW i3 recently, with 3 adults in the car and a boot full of my Mum's wheelchair and I got 6.3 miles/kWh. Even on the motorway at my regular 68mph, again with 3 in the car etc, I usually get around 4.5 - 4.8 miles/kWh depending on weather conditions. I guess you just had a 'bad day' with the MG, maybe...? 🤔
Yes Vicki I looked at one earlier this year and to be honest was not that impressed. But I've decided to stick with my ICE until the last drop of fuel can be sourced in the UK, as after all it is mine to do with as I see fit. No faffing about at charge points, no need to stuff my wallet with extra cards, just go into a refuelling station and put £40 in the tank, enough to see me do about 320 miles.
Today my Nissan Leaf has to go to Nissan heaven 2013 MK1 Purchased from Nissan Dealership, full service history and all repairs completed at Nissan and today at only 48k, yes 48k! miles the error code of inverter and motor was found with an estimated repair bill of £9800 pounds. Nissans response was car is over 8 years old so we cant help.
Hello Sir, when the charging cable connected the charge indicator light illuminate in sequence and then stop, what we need to do to bring it in charging mode
Are you sure about that? Greetings from Germany. Aral, (BP in Germany) recently installed 5 fast chargers at a Burger King not far from me. 4 CCS and 1 Chademo. I'm largely happy with my 40kWh Leaf. The warning chimes and the triangulated A pillar do bug me though.
Except they are, at least here in the UK. A brand new charging hub has opened up near me and every single rapid charger has two options: 1 for ccs and 1 for chademo. And that's in 2024.
The Leaf really is a bad choice for EV, they always seem to degrade their batteries really quickly. I have never liked them. The Chademo connector is just the final nail in the coffin.
I would prefer a petrol car because with a petrol car you can fill up in about 5 minutes and get 400 miles range. Sorry but I do not want an EV no matter how many features it has.
I owned petrol and diesel vehicles for 50 years. I charge my Leaf at home. It takes about 20 seconds to plug in and starts charging at midnight until 7am. My wife and I drive over 1000 miles a month at a cost of 2.5p per mile. Rarely use rapid chargers except on runs like South Coast to York. Would never go back. That would be like using an old Nokia waterproof rubber phone again or a VHS player to record TV..
At 2.5p a mile I beg to differ (my cost). Try using a calculator and work out total costs. If you still don't agree, no hard feelings. You are helping to pay taxes for all of us and you think you are saving money. That's good all round.
Excellent no nonsense review. Presenter should be more prominent on channel. Honest no nonsense style..
Vicky is one of the best car journalist!
Watched a few reviews on the leaf and this was easily the most fair and informative. Vicky needs to be on here a lot more!
Thanks for your lovely comments!
Nissan doesn't get the credit it deserves for putting a viable EV on the road at an affordable price. The 2nd gen is actually a decent looking car and its range is respectable for the price point. It's good to see CG doing a 'used' car segment for those that are in the market for a good deal and to get their feet wet in alternative energy vehicles. I do hate the way the white headliner clashes against the black A, B and C pillars. Such a bad design feature. But the video review was both concise and informative, all you can ask for really. Vicky is one of the best auto journalist on You Tube. Also, the locations always makes me want to come to the UK to see it in person and to get her autograph.
Easily the most polished car reviewer on YT
Many thanks for your kind words
"Ask the dealer how it has been used" Really? Aren't all secondhand cars sold by dealers driven by little old ladies once a week to church.
Dumb comment.
No, not all. Some are driven by "a doctor who took good care of him" and if the car has a TVDE sign, that means that "Teacher Vaguely Driven Economically" car
This is one of the best car reviewers out there - excellent detail without the BS.
Great Review ~ am currently driving the 2021 N Connecta and you can now adjust the steering wheel in and out in addition to up and down.
Another great review Vicky. As we are aware range anxiety has been one of the bug bears of an EV, thankfully the range on the 2nd generation leaf is good for this class of car. The charging socket might put me off though if they are less popular than the popular ones out there, this would for me anyway make me think more about that range. Style and equipment are good and build quality should be OK so I'd not rule it out just yet should it be that time to change my car.
As always, an excellent review with comments on the things that really matter
Thank you, we really appreciate the feedback.
LEAF 40kWh is now less than £10k used with decent mileage in the UK. Good value EV.
Now £7k 😊
@@ashb8572 yes if you go for the lower spec trim and higher mileage you can get a bargain. I bought a Tekna with decent mileage for £8k and it's been great so far. Really decent car for the price and cheap to run. 👍
Yea I.noticed that too. Why is it soon cheap? Any catches?
@@Digitalnik1 Range is about 100 miles on a single charge, it has the outdated CHAdeMO DC charging socket, and the battery overheats on longer jouneys. As a daily driver though, it's great value.
The original Nissan Leaf was sometimes loved, sometimes criticized for its' weird bugeyed styling. For the second gen, Nissan made it so normal-looking there's a tweaker underneath it trying to steal the cat right now as we speak...
Good review.
I understand though that only the Nissan Leaf and the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV appear to be the only cars using the Chademo charging system. Surely this must signify a potential problem in who knows how many years. As Clint Eastwood might say 'You've got to ask yourself a question: 'do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya?'
Here in the U.S. (Arizona), used prices are just too much to put up with the Leafs short comings. Once things normalize, if ever, they may be worth a look
We've got one and its a really good car, its not very flash or exciting but its fast and very roomy, running costs are tiny!
When Nissan decided to replace their Leaf MK1 EV, they had a golden opportunity to style the MK2 Leaf to make it stand out from the rest of the motoring 'herd' and make it something special & unique.
But, they BOTTLED IT.
Instead they gave us jus another boring looking car that is difficult to identify from the rest of the 'car clones' on British roads.
In fact most motor manufactures are stuck in the car styling trends of the late 1990, no more so than Ford.
The exceptions being - Hyundai & Kia who both produce outstanding modern design concepts for all their cars.
Well done Hyundai & Kia, you're a breath of fresh air on our otherwise boring roads.
What a lovely car.
Japanese (Sunderland) engineering is top class. The LEAF is still the best EV.
There is a CCS charger adapter, so can charge anywhere now
I really like your reviews but I think on this one I must disagree with the battery degradation issue. I would suggest that the Nissan Leaf is probably one of the worst EV's for this issue and peoples concerns are valid. I have a Mk.1 30kW/hr Leaf, which admittedly is probably the worst Leaf for degradation, but at the same time they will all be similar as they have similar battery chemistry and lack of thermal management. It is six and a half years old and I have bought it when it was three years old. I have tried to look after it as best I can to preserve the battery. Using Leaf Spy it had a battery State of Health (SoH) of just under 92% when I bought it. Since then I have taken monthly records of the SoH and it has been a pretty linear degradation and is now at 77%. I find this a pretty significant loss of range. Unfortunately the Nissan battery warranty (8 years on this car) is not 70% but when you have less than 9 bars showing on the health display. The first bar hangs on for a long time (83% in my case) then they drop away quicker (next bar went at 78%). I'd estimate about 66% would be when the warranty claim would kick in if still within age an mileage - I have a feeling I'll be just outside that (Nissan have worked it all out...). Range wise, despite careful driving I have never had great range. Efficiency the average over the whole time I have had the car is 3.9 miles/kWhr. In summer we can average 4.4 and the winter down to 3.3. Original usable battery was 28kW/h's. If currently on 77% SoH that gives 21.5kWh, which in 100-0% range = summer (up to) 95 miles, average 84 miles and winter 70 miles. This reduces a lot at speed, i.e. on the motorway. So it you want to arrive with say 15% in the winter you have a usable 60 mile range. Also the indicated range should not be trusted, knock a third off to be safe. It is a great car, any EV is a great car, but I'm not sure I'd recommend the 30kWh one unless it really suits your use case/budget. I have not driven the 2nd gen one but a huge amount of it was carried over from the first one. I currently have an Ioniq 38kWh which (in summer) is absolutely true to the displayed range and has great efficiency - 4.9 miles per kW/hr over 4,000 miles of summer use including motorway trips. Its a definite step up from the Leaf - just a shame I don't have the money to upgrade!
Useful information, thanks. I understand the range decreases over time, but does the miles/kWhr decrease as well 🤔
@@darylevans5075 My understanding is it remains pretty level. My average monthly summer efficiency was 4.2 for the last two years compared with 4.4 for the first two years but this was also the time of a change in use pre and post covid. There is gearbox oil that needs changing at 70k miles I think and with time I guess bearings will degrade slightly but overall I'd work on the basis of no efficiency degradation.
The 40kwh is far better than the 30 , I wouldn't touch a 30 either
At £16k it would be worth buying but no ones buying it at over 20K / 25k makes no sense, the prices are over inflated and the charging system that this car uses is now almost obsolete or soon will be, its a good car I've driven one and think its a nice car to drive bit the numbers don't add up for me. has to be cheaper.
The chavimo charger worries me as I have no means to charge at home.
Thought you were an engineer 😏 You wouldn’t be using the chadamo port for home charging anyway.
@@Bistonounou123 Haha 🙂 well that's why I want a fast charger that isn't redundant or soon to be.
@@GeordiLaForgery Unless you want to spend a fortune on installing a phase 3 home charger for Chademo speeds plus most likely begging your energy supplier to upgrade your supply.
A 7kw home charger will be around the 7hour mark so overnight easy enough and you most likely wont be charging every day. I'm getting away with a public charge once/week or even 2 weeks as I live in a flat and not had any issues or stranded anywhere in the last 6months :)
Is the real world range that you have suggested based on a single occupant i.e just the driver? This is meant to be a family car so I would be interested to know if you have tested the range with a full load i.e 4 occupants and a bootload of luggage and using the AC.
My experience of driving a MGZS EV which has a similar WLTP and battery size was awful when it was fully loaded. I barely managed 80miles (the range indicated was 157miles when we left) and that was driving at 60mph on the motorway. What would have been a 2½ hour journey took over 6 hours with stops for recharging! I've gone back to and ICE (Skoda Octavia 1.5 petrol) that returns nearly 50mpg when fully loaded and driven at 67mph.
I have a 71 plate 40kw Tekna and I'm getting 4.2m/kw = 163 miles. This is using climate when needed, B mode with E-Pedal on without touching eco mode :)
@@caolkyle thanks, but is that when you're loaded up with passengers, luggage and motorway driving?
@@sukhvinderubhi9202 I've never been fully loaded. I've done longer motorway trips like:
Edinburgh-Glasgow, Edinburgh-Inverness was getting 3.8m/kw if I drove at real 65mph. Would drop if you go faster in the 70-75mph range.
80 miles in the 42kWh MG ZS EV sounds REALLY low...!
Whilst not a Leaf, I did a 35 mile round trip - up hills and down, mostly 40-50mph A-roads - in my 33kWh BMW i3 recently, with 3 adults in the car and a boot full of my Mum's wheelchair and I got 6.3 miles/kWh.
Even on the motorway at my regular 68mph, again with 3 in the car etc, I usually get around 4.5 - 4.8 miles/kWh depending on weather conditions.
I guess you just had a 'bad day' with the MG, maybe...? 🤔
Yes Vicki I looked at one earlier this year and to be honest was not that impressed. But I've decided to stick with my ICE until the last drop of fuel can be sourced in the UK, as after all it is mine to do with as I see fit. No faffing about at charge points, no need to stuff my wallet with extra cards, just go into a refuelling station and put £40 in the tank, enough to see me do about 320 miles.
Well done but £40 for 320 miles sounds a bit optimistic.
@@GeordiLaForgery hmmmm. Your car is doing nearly 80mpg. I would settle for that too.
I can get 290 miles from my LEAF in summer.
You drive a Leaf+?
@@marcg1686 yes
Today my Nissan Leaf has to go to Nissan heaven 2013 MK1 Purchased from Nissan Dealership, full service history and all repairs completed at Nissan and today at only 48k, yes 48k! miles the error code of inverter and motor was found with an estimated repair bill of £9800 pounds. Nissans response was car is over 8 years old so we cant help.
15-20% loss after 10 years? More like 66% in our hotter states.
Hello Sir, when the charging cable connected the charge indicator light illuminate in sequence and then stop, what we need to do to bring it in charging mode
Без заземление вы не зарядите .
One to avoid if only because no one is installing chadamo charging points anymore.
Are you sure about that?
Greetings from Germany. Aral, (BP in Germany) recently installed 5 fast chargers at a Burger King not far from me. 4 CCS and 1 Chademo.
I'm largely happy with my 40kWh Leaf. The warning chimes and the triangulated A pillar do bug me though.
More than 500 new CHAdeMO in the UK in 2022 so far. InstaVolt, Shell, MFG, Osprey and others put CHAdeMO on all their chargers.
There were 1,000 Chadimo chargers installed in the US in the past year... Every Electrify America charging location has at least one...
Except they are, at least here in the UK. A brand new charging hub has opened up near me and every single rapid charger has two options: 1 for ccs and 1 for chademo. And that's in 2024.
Thought it only had 1 battery size, 40 Kwh??
No, there is 62 kWh as well
Why does the Leaf always look so rediculous on tiny wheels. Why do they always do this?
Highly interested to get one but chavimo is the show stopper, God knows when chavimo will be remove in uk as ccs became the standard
Out of date charging is a failure
The Leaf really is a bad choice for EV, they always seem to degrade their batteries really quickly. I have never liked them. The Chademo connector is just the final nail in the coffin.
Not necessarily. It is possible to obtain an adaptor, to allow the use of a type 2 charger.....
@@Brian-om2hh You mean CCS? I've not seen that. This car has both Type 2 and Chademo ports
No true at all. Chademo is everywhere and it’s a great car for small families. Treat your cars right and you won’t have a big problem.
I would prefer a petrol car because with a petrol car you can fill up in about 5 minutes and get 400 miles range. Sorry but I do not want an EV no matter how many features it has.
I owned petrol and diesel vehicles for 50 years. I charge my Leaf at home. It takes about 20 seconds to plug in and starts charging at midnight until 7am. My wife and I drive over 1000 miles a month at a cost of 2.5p per mile. Rarely use rapid chargers except on runs like South Coast to York. Would never go back. That would be like using an old Nokia waterproof rubber phone again or a VHS player to record TV..
I’m still not convinced by EV
I’ll stick with my Lexus CT200h Premier
Daily.
And Merc R129 320 straight 6
EV's are not worth the asking price
At 2.5p a mile I beg to differ (my cost). Try using a calculator and work out total costs. If you still don't agree, no hard feelings. You are helping to pay taxes for all of us and you think you are saving money. That's good all round.