I got in touch with Yeomans Nissan in Waterlooville to ask if there was a chance of a test drive of the new Nissan Leaf; my current vehicle’s lease is coming to an end and we are contemplating going fully electric. Gerard at Yeomans took my call, and arranged a date and time for the test drive.
Paperwork completed, Gerard gave me a overview of the of vehicle controls which included electronic parking break, transmission selector, how to activate the self-driving function, and how to activate the ‘e-pedal’ – a feature that allows you to drive and come to a full stop only using the accelerator pedal.
Unlike the previous Nissan Leaf, which shall we say is challenged in the ‘looks’ department, the current version of the Leaf is much more aesthetically pleasing and looks positively space-age in black.
The 168 mile range from the 40kWh battery is more than we would need- a recharge to 80% doesn’t take long at a rapid EV car charging point.
Dashboard and controls are quite self-explanatory, the car we test drove has Level 2 Autonomous driving, eg, it can steer to follow the road and is aware of the vehicle in front and can slow down as required; driver supervision is of course required 100% of the time.
We drove from the Nissan dealership to Clanfield via the A3(M), then returned via normal roads. What did I think of the Leaf? It’s a nice drive, has got a bit of poke if you need it, tons of storage room inside the cabin. The interior trim is of good quality, and the heating works really well unlike my current EV. As a family of five we weren’t sure if the Leaf would be big enough for all of us – it was fine.
Our thanks to Yoemans for the test drive and for participating in this review. Yoemans Nissan are located at 1 Elettra Avenue, Waterlooville, PO7 7XW, telephone 023 9427 0855.
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