Took a ride in the new Nissan Leaf 2 today. Probably the most important car release this year in the world of city mobility. It’s 7 years since the original car’s release, which I was fortunate to experience when I worked for Nissan.
My 1st impressions then were the incredibly quiet ambience. It was like a top of the range luxury car in terms of noise and ride quality. My major concern then were the awkward looks, which continued into the interior. It was also a bit limited on real world range and the price was high.
7 years later Nissan have made a major step forward on styling, which is impressive as the bodyshell is basically carried over. The interior is also more European with some nice leather, although the finisher on the assist side is not to my taste. The ride quality is smooth, but the car I was in, suffered a little from road noise. This could be the 17inch tyres, but I was still surprised by a step back from Version 1. With government subsidies and cities allowing free access I expect it will build on the success of version 1.
Like most Battery Electric vehicles, there is no towbar option, and with a large plastic roof spoiler, it is ill-advisable to add a rack to the tailgate. Putting your extra stuff on the roof is also ill-advised as range is diminished. Watch this space.
