The best car

The best car

Most carmakers are still up to two years from launching their first proper standalone mainstream electric cars. Even in its final months of production, the outgoing Leaf was outselling in Britain all other pure-EVs puts together. That original Leaf has amazingly loyal and satisfied customers. They loved the tiny running costs, convenience of home charging, silence, and simple practicality. And they liked that at the top and bottom it was just a car - five seats, good boot, easy to drive, affordable to buy. People who have owned electric cars almost never return to combustion. But that first Leaf had weaknesses. In a world where Tesla got the headlines if not the sales leadership, it was slow and lacking in range (though it got better with the 30kWh battery upgrade). It looked odd. And as all cars got better connectivity and driver-assist, the Leaf needed upgrades there too. So those are the new Leaf's promises. Quicker, further-reaching between charges, better-looking, more assistance. And prices are lower, a model for model. The motor is the same as before. But a new inverter,  the heavy-duty electronic device that supplies and controls the electricity going around the car is more powerful. So the motor can now develop much more power, 150bhp, and the 0-62 time falls to 7.9sec. The battery is the same physical size as it always was, but new chemistry and management mean it has a capacity of 40kWh. Nissan has tested it in the new more realistic global test protocol, WLTP, and got 168 miles range. On the existing, if discredited EU cycle it gets 235 miles. Nissan is also busily installing more high-power DC chargers. It already has twice as many across Europe as Tesla has Superchargers. But then with a shorter range than a Tesla you need to visit them more often in a journey.