Nissan Leaf review - Reliability and Safety

This latest Leaf scored a full five stars out of five when tested by the experts at Euro NCAP in 2018, scoring 93 per cent for adult occupation and 86 per cent for child occupant protection.

Similarly, we’re reassured by the large amount of safety-related tech that comes on the car. As well as the usual collection of airbags, ABS and ESP, every version also has Intelligent Emergency Braking (which will automatically apply the brakes if it senses a possible impact), Lane Departure Warning and Intelligent Lane Intervention, which will guide you back into lane, if you start to drift out of it. 

Also standard are Nissan’s Intelligent Trace Control and Intelligent Ride Control systems. The former will automatically apply the brakes to keep the car on its desired cornering line, while the latter uses a combination of the engine and brakes to prevent the car pitching up and down as it travels along a poorly surfaced road.

It takes advantage of the way that a car’s nose will rise slightly when the driver accelerates, and then fall again when the driver brakes or just lifts off the accelerator. So, by imperceptibly adjusting the brakes or accelerator, the system can make the car ride more smoothly.

Beyond that, the Pro Pilot system (an option on N-Connecta trim and standard on Tekna) not only adjusts your speed to keep you a set distance from the car in front – bringing the car to a complete halt, if necessary – it will also keep you centred in your lane.

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The Leaf ranked 18th in the 2019 Driver Power ownership survey, which is a pretty good result. It earned high praise for its low running costs and smooth, silent yet powerful drive system. Owners also like the handling and the safety tech on board, although the bland styling inside and out stopped the Leaf finishing any higher in the ranking.

Warranty

Like every Nissan car, the Leaf comes with a three-year/60,000-mile warranty. This is about average for this class, but it can be extended for an additional fee.

However, beyond that standard warranty, there is also some extra cover to recognise the fact that the Leaf is an electric car.

For a start, the car comes with a five-year/60,000-mile warranty on all the dedicated EV components; and, for eight years/100,000 miles, the battery warranty cover protects against capacity loss of more than nine of its 12 bars, as shown on the capacity gauge on the dashboard.

Servicing

Service intervals on the Leaf are every 18,000 miles – the same as on a diesel Qashqai, for example. 

Nissan also operates a system of fixed-price servicing options, starting at around £150 for a minor service on an electric car – which is cheaper than for a petrol or diesel model.