Find out about the Nissan Leaf, fully electric vehicle.

Nissan Leaf

The Nissan Leaf is a pure electric car which is made by the Nissan Motor Corporation Limited. The Nissan Leaf was first introduced in 2010 which at the time, it was one of the first real family pure electric cars to come to the market place, with lots of environmentally friendly benefits, such as no CO2 emissions, no carbon monoxide emissions, no tailpipe pollution or greenhouse gas emissions, due to its electric motor and battery power.

The Nissan Leaf is the world's best-selling electric car with an estimated market share around 40%. This is due to its family friendly interior and exterior and to its price tag which puts it within the boundaries of most family saloons. The Nissan Leaf is now available in 35 countries with global sales that have been stated over 150,000 units by the end of 2014. The biggest marketplace for the Leaf is the United States with approximately 70,000 units sold, with Japan being its second biggest market place at around 50,000 units sold. The European marketplace is the up-and-coming sector with Norway hitting top results at 11,000 units sold and the UK coming second place within the European marketplace with over 6000 units sold.

The Nissan Leaf is currently manufactured in the United States of America, Japan and the United Kingdom. This has made the car a success due to its locations of manufacturing, with all these three countries having a great infrastructure and scientific background to help the build and design of this vehicle.

Design

The Nissan Leaf looks different to every other car, with it smart fluidity and curves that you see only on a Leaf, but yet still keeping with the family Nissan saloon. Looking at the body design you can see where the Leaf has been optimised through the wind tunnel at Nissan, but it looks fun, different and quirky.

The Leaf's design the interior is absolutely superb, you have all the luxury comforts from the leather seating, heated seats, air conditioning, satnav, front and rear cameras, parking assist, Bose sound system, electric windows and it even comes with some cup holders for those daily commutes whether it be from the house to the school, or from your workplace to home (Some of these are optional extras).

This car has a great feel about it, you are in a nice high driving position with lots of room and lots of visibility when driving this electric car. Inside the car, you notice that the interior is very spacious, this is due to its design and because you have no transmission tunnel under the car taking up precious internal space.

Technology

Features inside the Nissan Leaf such as “CARWINGS” is Nissan's on board programming technology. This helps you find your nearest charging stations, you can Connect to this through your PC or you can connect to this via your smartphone app, whereby you can put the air conditioning on in your car or heat the car up before you even opening it. You can also join the Nissan Leaf Global community for eco-drivers to see how you're driving compares to those who are driving Nissan Leafs. We think this is great, as this will really try to help you bring down the consumption of the battery and also keep you connected to other Leaf customers by being aware of how they are driving. You can also connect this to see how your car is charging remotely and this can be shown on your PC laptop and a smartphone.

The Nissan Leaf uses and 80 kW and (110 HP) battery this is driven by its front mounted Electric motor which drives the front axle. That is then powered by a 24 kW lithium ion battery. When these components are combined, this car delivers up to 90 kW (120 HP) of pure electric power. The lithium ion battery is expected to still retain over 80% of its capacity after 10 years of its lifespan. Which is not a lot different to the guarantees of the traditional combustion engine when you purchasing one.

Charge and Range

You can charge the Leaf simply at your home via a 3-pin plug, or you can have a home charger installed. There is also a big range of superchargers and other charging schemes around the whole of UK where you can charge your Nissan Leaf.

When charging the Leaf from a 3-pin plug at home you can expect 0-100% charge in around 8 hours. If you have opted for a rapid home charging unit you can expect this time to half at around 0-100% charge in around 4.5 hours, however if you are part of the charging scheme whereby you can use these superchargers around the UK you can charge your car 0- 80% in around 30 minutes. Some of these chargers can be found at local Nissan dealerships, where Nissan are now offering there use to Nissan Leaf customers free of charge.

The range in a Nissan Leaf is good, with a manufacturers estimated range being 123 miles and a real life range being between 90-105 miles, which is at least three times as much as the average person drives a day.

Car Exchange Scheme

If the range puts you off buying a Leaf because once or twice a year you take a long car journey, don't worry Nissan have it covered with their exchange scheme, where Leaf customers are guaranteed a conventional car from a Nissan Dealership free of charge for a set amount of days.

If you want to find a Nissan Leaf for sale, follow the link.

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