Item: Used Nissan Leaf 2011-2018
Rating: 4
Author: What Car? Team

The smaller <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/renault/zoe/hatchback/used-review/n817">Renault Zoe</a> is a great electric car. Lease its&nbsp;battery and it makes a great used purchase and is exceptionally cheap to buy and run. It’s quiet and easy to drive, and its range is excellent. It didn’t fare as well as the Leaf in our last reliability survey, however.

One premium alternative is the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/e-golf/hatchback/used-review/n17990">Volkswagen e-Golf</a>. VW says it has a battery range of 186 miles, but admits that’ll drop to around 125 miles in the real world. You can charge it through a three-pin plug, too, although it’ll take 13 hours for a full charge. It takes four hours for a full charge via a dedicated quick charger. It’s great to drive, but it is pricey.

So is the other premium electric car, the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/bmw/i3/hatchback/used-review/n874">BMW i3</a>, but it's undoubtedly very luxurious. The i3 uses state-of-the-art production techniques to offset its weight and offers a range of around 124 miles. You can even choose a range-extender option that incorporates a tiny petrol engine to top-up&nbsp;the battery pack when charge (and range) run low.

The first-generation&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/kia/model/hatchback/used-review/n18179">Kia Soul EV</a> is a funky-looking car that combines an instant hit of torque from its electric motor with the ability to cruise happily on the motorway at 70mph. However, its realistic range is very short at around 70 miles, and it’s not the most comfortable, especially on a bumpy road. An all-new version, utilising the technology from its sibling, the e-Niro, is now available, and this has a far longer range, in the region of 250 miles.&nbsp;

<h2><a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars/nissan/leaf">Find a used Nissan Leaf&nbsp;for sale with&nbsp;What Car? Used Car deals&nbsp;&gt;&gt;</a></h2>

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter&nbsp;<a href="https://pages.haymarket.com/whatcar/wcar-form.html">here</a>

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What is it like?

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<h3>Engine start button</h3>

The engine start button could remain depressed on some Leaf models made between 10 September 2013 and 6 January 2014, which could result in the emergency stop protocol kicking in and shutting the car down. Speak to your Nissan dealer who will be able to let you know if your car is affected and modify the housing of the button to prevent any future issues.

<h3>Loss of steering control</h3>

A safety clip in the steering column could become dislodged on examples built between 12 February 2013 and 16 October 2014. This may in fact work loose over time, resulting in a loss of steering control. Your Nissan dealer will be able to let you know if your car needs a replacement steering column&nbsp;and fit one for you, free of charge.

<h3>Headlight&nbsp;auto-aim</h3>

Due to an issue during the manufacture of some cars made between 12 February 2017 and 29 March 2017, the automatic aim function of the headlights might not work. A&nbsp;software update is required to solve the problem, and can be performed by&nbsp;any Nissan dealer.

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In our most recent What Car? Reliability survey,&nbsp;this generation of Leaf&nbsp;achieved a high score of 95.6%, so it should be fairly dependable. Nissan as a brand, sadly, doesn't have the greatest reputation for reliability anymore because it languishes in 28th place out of 31 manufacturers - although this is mostly due to its traditional petrol and diesel models.

The Nissan Leaf carries a warranty of three years or 60,000 miles. Specific electric vehicle components, including the lithium-ion battery, carry a warranty of five years or 60,000 miles (eight years and 100,000 miles on the 30kWh car).

There’s a further five years or 60,000-mile warranty on the high-voltage electrical components and, finally, a 12-year anti-corrosion warranty.

If you would like to see the full reliability list, head to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/2019-what-car-reliability-survey/n20042">What Car? Reliability Survey</a>&nbsp;pages for more information.

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Hatchback

Nissan turned up early to the SUV party, with its Qashqai paving the way for the countless models we see today. The Qashqai continues to sell in big numbers in the UK, too, and was also our overall Car of the Year in 2014.

Don’t think Nissan is just about SUVs, though. As well as the Qashqai, the smaller Juke and the larger X-Trail, the Japanese brand has the Micra hatchback, GT-R sports car and Navara pick-up truck.

Nissan was also one of the first big car makers to launch a fully electric car, with its latest Leaf being one of the best on the market.

Despite being based in Japan, Nissan has long committed to building cars in the UK, making several of its best-selling models at a huge factory in Sunderland.

NISSAN

LEAF

The Nissan Leaf is easy, fun and comfortable to drive. Just make sure you can live with the limited range

Used Nissan Leaf 2011-2018

<h3 dir="ltr">MPG</h3>

One of the major positives of&nbsp;electric cars&nbsp;is that they&nbsp;cost considerably&nbsp;less than petrol or diesel vehicles to run. Choose an economy tariff and charge your electric car up overnight, and your bills will be a fraction of what they would be for a conventionally powered car on a cost-per-mile basis.

The 24kWh model has a claimed maximum range&nbsp;of up to 124 miles, further improved in 2016 with the launch of a 30kWh&nbsp;version that ups the&nbsp;figure to 155 miles.

There is a flap on the Leaf’s nose that hides the&nbsp;charging socket, or sockets, depending upon whether or not your Leaf has fast or rapid charging capabilities. To fully charge from flat, the smaller 24kWh battery&nbsp;takes 11 hours from a domestic plug socket;&nbsp;eight&nbsp;hours from a 3.3kW wall box, or four and a half&nbsp;hours from a faster&nbsp;7.kW&nbsp;wall box. A&nbsp;50kW rapid&nbsp;charge point with a CHAdeMo plug can get the battery from empty to an&nbsp;80% charge in around half an hour.

The bigger 30kWh pack takes longer because it has more cells to charge. A 0-80% 50kW rapid charge still takes 30 minutes, but you'll be waiting 13 hours from a domestic&nbsp;socket; nine hours from a 3.3kW box, or five hours from a 7kW wall box.&nbsp;

Find out more about the different types of <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/owning/types-of-electric-car-plug/n18057">electric car charging plugs here</a>.

<h3 dir="ltr">CO2 emissions</h3>

Since this is an electric car, there are no exhaust pipe emissions to have to worry about.&nbsp;

<h3 dir="ltr">Road tax (VED)</h3>

Annual car tax will be zero, as will be the London Congestion Charge (after you've paid to register your car on their system, of course). To find out more about the current <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/buying/car-tax-changes-in-2019-%E2%80%93-what-do-i-need-to-know/n1153">road tax costs, click here</a>.

<h3 dir="ltr">Servicing</h3>

Servicing is required every 18,000 miles and costs £159 for a minor service, and £209 for a major one. &nbsp;

<h3 dir="ltr">Insurance</h3>

Depending upon which specification you go for, the Leaf sits in&nbsp;groups 18-20 for insurance, which are&nbsp;lower&nbsp;than the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/e-golf/hatchback/used-review/n17990">Volkswagen e-Golf</a>, <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/bmw/i3/hatchback/used-review/n874">BMW i3</a>, <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-reviews/make/kia">Kia</a> e-Niro and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-reviews/make/hyundai">Hyundai</a> Kona; but R110 models of the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/renault/zoe/hatchback/used-review/n817">Renault Zoe</a> are lower still.

Find out more about <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/owning/are-electric-cars-more-expensive-to-insure/n18043">electric car insurance by reading our news story here</a>.

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<h3>&nbsp;</h3>

The Nissan Leaf is easy, fun and comfortable to drive. Just make sure you can live with the limited range


A good example of the Leaf will start at about £5500, at the time of writing for&nbsp;a 2011 car. Upping your budget to between £6500 to £7000&nbsp;will net you a 2013 car, while&nbsp;the improved 30kWh battery pack-equipped version starts from £10,000.

Check the value of a used Nissan Leaf with <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/valuations/">What Car? Valuations</a>

<h3>Engine</h3>

Both versions of the Leaf offer the same perfectly adequate straight-line performance, but 30kWh examples have a far greater maximum range than the 24kWh car. The bigger battery is worth having if you can afford it,&nbsp;because it'll take you&nbsp;100-120 miles per full-charge.

<h3>Specification</h3>

Since you can't have the bigger of the two battery options with entry-level Visia trim, we'd go for the mid-range Acenta; this&nbsp;comes with plenty of equipment&nbsp;and isn't as expensive as top-tier Tekna.

Our favourite Nissan Leaf 30kWh Acenta

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<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Sufficient range between charges to fit in with most people’s lifestyles – and in the real world, not on some far-fetched official test </li> <li>Quick charging times and compatibility with the most ubiquitous types of public charging points </li> <li>Priced to be within the grasp of more than just the privileged few </li> <li>As with any car, ride comfort, practicality and ownership costs can’t be ignored</li></ul>

We define an electric car as one that runs purely on battery power and has no tailpipe to puff out nasty chemicals. These cars qualify for the maximum plug-in car grant (PICG) of £3500.

The Renault Zoe is one of the most affordable options and has a surprisingly long range of between 120 and 180 miles (depending on the weather and the road type). However, the Nissan Leaf and Volkswagen e-Golf are more practical and more accomplished to drive, even if the latter doesn't have a particularly long range between charges.

At the other end of the scale, Tesla’s ground-up EV philosophy – and the American brand’s own network of super-fast chargers – makes the Model S a tempting choice. It has seating for up to seven, an classy interior and a long enough real-world range to make inter-city travel a real possibility.

Electric

Identifying a 24kWh Leaf from a 30kWh one can be tricky (they produced both in unison for a while to keep the basic price low). However, the 30kWh car is heavier than the 24kWh car, so check the sticker on the B pillar of the car when you open&nbsp;the driver's door. A 24kWh car will be rated at 1945kg, while the 30kWh car is 1970kg. If in doubt,&nbsp;speak to your Nissan dealer.

Also, all Leafs produced after the 2013 model year alterations (apart from entry-level Visia models) come with a more energy-efficient heat pump that uses less electricity to warm the interior and therefore increase the car's range in winter months. Examples built before this date that don't&nbsp;have a heat pump have been found to cover only 45 miles on a full charge in particularly chilly, snowy conditions.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Despite its unconventional powertrain, the Leaf is shaped like a normal car, with a significant nose and front overhang, largely to comply&nbsp;with pedestrian impact legislation. However,&nbsp;not all of the front end is visible from the driver’s seat, so check for any minor scuffs on the bodywork and any damage to the wheels, as the Leaf will mostly have been used in urban scenarios and in tight city centre parking spaces.

When test-driving a used electric vehicle, make sure you monitor the dash to see how quickly the battery is depleted and ensure that it can be charged fully, just so you have a rough idea of battery condition, especially if you’re buying the car and its battery outright, rather than going down the leasing route.

Battery packs are covered by a five-year warranty from new, but so far reports suggest they should last much longer than that. <a href="https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/new-nissan-leaf-battery-cost-4920">The cost of replacing a pack averages around £5000 at present</a>. If you're leasing the battery, it can cost from&nbsp;£70&nbsp;per month over a 7500 mile per year contract, to £129 for a 15,000 per annum policy. One upside if leasing you battery is&nbsp;that&nbsp;it'll&nbsp;be replaced if it falls below 75% efficiency. Leasing will mean being tied into a contract, though,&nbsp;and your annual mileage may be restricted.

<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/nissan/leaf/hatchback/used-review/n18923">Click here if you're looking for information of the second-generation Nissan Leaf.</a>

We can say the future’s electric, but that future really started to arrive in 2011. That was when <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-reviews/make/nissan">Nissan</a> first offered the Leaf in the UK. It was not only one of the first all-electric cars to go on sale, but also, by dint of being an <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/vauxhall/astra/hatchback/used-review/n17406">Astra-sized hatchback</a>,&nbsp;one of the most family-friendly.

For a first-generation electric car, most models have&nbsp;a pretty useful range, too, although the&nbsp;later 30kWh model that was introduced during the 2016 refresh is considerably better than the early&nbsp;24kWh Leaf.&nbsp;As with all electric cars, battery range is&nbsp;dependent on a number of factors, including how the car is used and even the weather, so&nbsp;you may not&nbsp;match the official figures&nbsp;in everyday use. Ideally, you will&nbsp;need&nbsp;some off-street parking or dedicated space to&nbsp;charge the car overnight, too. Otherwise, you'll have to rely on the public charging network, and this might&nbsp;not fit into everybody's daily routine.

There is a further factor to consider when purchasing a Leaf, new or used, and that is whether its&nbsp;battery is included in the cost of the car or whether it’s leased separately for a monthly sum. Battery life is ultimately limited and how long it lasts can also vary according to use. Leasing means not having to worry about the cost of replacing the battery.

Those points are worth considering before you decide whether an electric car fits into your lifestyle. If it does,&nbsp;the Leaf must be considered one of the very best of them. It’s quiet, comfortable,&nbsp;and good to drive. Pre-2013 examples have a more supple ride around town, while Leafs built after this date have slightly firmer suspension setup to improve stability at motorway speeds.&nbsp;

Equipment levels are generous, though; even an entry-level Leaf Visia comes with a fair&nbsp;amount of standard features, including climate control, Bluetooth, steering wheel-mounted audio controls, all-round electric windows, a height-adjustable driver’s seat and keyless start and go.

For a more rounded specification, we’d recommend the Acenta trim if you can find one. It adds cruise control, power-fold door mirrors, a driver’s armrest and automatic lights and wipers. You also get better infotainment with sat-nav and Nissan Connect EV, as well as plusher interior trim.

The top-spec Tekna grade features lots of toys, but it commands a hefty price, even in a used example. Only those really keen on having every last piece of kit, such as the high-end Bose audio system and heated leather seats all round, should opt for this.

The changes made in 2013&nbsp;also extended to the interior because you could specify a matt black dashboard, which wouldn't reflect sunlight as much as the earlier cream one, which tended to also look grubby unless you kept&nbsp;a fastidious cleaning regime. Space is par for the family car course upfront, but the steering wheel only adjusts up and down, so some may not find a comfortable driving position. Six-footers can fit in the back, but the boot is on the small side for a family car, and it has a high lip to lift items over.

If you're interested in finding a used Leaf, head over to the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars">Used Car Buying</a> pages to find lots of cars listed for sale at a great price.

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Used Nissan Leaf 2011-2018 review

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