2018 Nissan Leaf Long-Term Road Test - Wrap-Up

Edmunds.com

2018 Nissan Leaf Long-Term Road Test - Wrap-Up

Our editors offer their thoughts after spending a year with a 2018 Nissan Leaf, the second generation of the electric pioneer.

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gslippy

I don't really understand why so few miles were put on this car. In the 5.5 months I've had my Ioniq EV, I've already put 6000 miles on it, and it has less range than this Leaf.

When I test drove this version of the Leaf, it felt exactly like my former 12 Leaf did, so I passed. The Ioniq is better in every way from that car, including its normal horn. Nissan continues to pass up opportunities to improve the Leaf - a better gas gauge would be a start, a better horn, and less dorky looks. This Leaf 2.0 merely has a bit more rear legroom, and a more powerful motor, and the battery remains air-cooled. Those aren't minor improvements, but Nissan obviously developed the Leaf 2.0 on the cheap.

Hyundai's Ioniq EV has excellent pedal modulation (both accelerator and brakes), an accurate gas gauge, and simple controls. It's also far more efficient than the Leaf. But it's too bad Hyundai isn't really committed to the EV market, as only a handful of states offer their EVs, and Hyundai is production-constrained by a lack of batteries.