With a full-charge range in the 350 kilometre neighourhood, the Leaf Plus eliminates range anxiety for the daily commuter. OVERVIEW A real-world EV with plenty of onboard tech, including cutting edge semi-autonomous driving features PROSMore powerful battery pack; Spacious cabin CONSRecessed rear cargo deck VALUE FOR MONEYExcellent (particularly as it qualifies for provincial and federal EV rebates) WHAT TO CHANGE?Added bolstering to front seats and the addition of manual regen paddles HOW TO SPEC IT?As is I had to chuckle when I first jumped into the 2019 Nissan Leaf Plus and looked at the full-charge range: 390 kilometres. Almost seven years to the day, back in May of 2012, I recorded the full-charge range of the 2012 Leaf on the first day of a six-month long-term test for my nascent EV blog, Driving Unplugged: 155 kilometres. Had you of asked me back then to guess what the 2019 Leaf range would be, I honestly would have thought that double that 155 would be quite something. Needless to say, the Plus’s near-400 km range is impressive. And just as that first-gen, early adopter Leaf was a technological marvel in so many ways, so too is this second-gen version. What has also changed is that Nissan’s best-selling EV is no longer one of just a handful of all-electrics vying for cash-conscious consumer’s dollars as it was seven years ago. Back then, the competition was the costlier expensive Tesla Model S—introduced a month after I took possession of that 2012 Leaf—and the quirky Mitsubishi i-MiEV—which I had for a long-term test following my time with the Leaf and came away underwhelmed. Today, there’s EV competition from many manufacturers, including BMW (i3), Chevrolet (Bolt), Ford (Focus), Hyundai (Ionic and Kona), Kia (Niro and Soul), Smart (EQ fortwo), Tesla (Model 3) and Volkswagen (e-Golf). And those are just the EV models in the same price ballpark as the new Leaf Plus. Needless to say, the competition is fierce in the EV sector in 2019, and will just become tougher in the coming years. Great for consumers; a challenge for automakers. As much as Tesla is credited with spurring the burgeoning EV revolution, the humble Leaf, which debuted in 2010, can make a strong case as the vehicle that truly plugged the world into the benefits of going electric. As of March of this year, more than 400,000 Leafs have been sold, making it the planet’s best-selling highway-capable electric car. However, as with Tesla, much of those sales took place when there was little to no real competition. So, this first-ever Leaf Plus might have the name of the heavyweight champ, but does it have the ability to retain and hold that title? My week driving it certainly brought back memories of my half-year of seat-time in the original. It’s quick off the line and is a sharp handler like its predecessor; many of the controls are very similar (i.e. round gear selector); and its spacious and airy cabin belies its hatchback configuration. But of course there are marked differences. First off, there’s that aforementioned range, and subsequent increased power output. The ‘Plus’ in the Leaf Plus refers to its upgraded 62 kWh battery pack and 160 kW electric motor, combining for a horsepower output of 214 and 250 lbs.-ft of torque. For comparison’s sake, the regular 2019 Leaf is equipped with a 40 kWh battery pack and 110 kW motor, which translates to a full-charge range of 243 km, horsepower of 147 and a torque number of 236. Then there are the two ‘blue’ buttons, one found on the centre console and one on the steering wheel. The first is the e-Pedal setting, which when engaged is the epitome of one-pedal driving, allowing you to accelerate, decelerate and stop by using the accelerator pedal alone. ‘Game-changer’ is a term thrown around too frequently in the automotive world, but use the e-Pedal in stop-and-go traffic and you’ll come to appreciate how revolutionary this technology truly is. Other EVs might have similar systems, but none work as well at this one. On the steering wheel is the Pro-Pilot button, which activates a semi-autonomous system for single-lane highway driving. Unlike the e-Pedal, this kind of tech is onboard many vehicle these days, and while pretty cool, apart from trying it out to see how it works, I’m still more comfortable with being totally engaged in the act of driving. Call me old school. So, the Leaf Plus is by far the best performing Leaf to date, from range to power, and also boasts some cutting-edge driving aids that, while not put the joy back into driving, at least take some of the tedium out. But I do have a couple of quibbles. First, the regen braking controls are, in my opinion, outdated. In 2010 the ‘B’ selection on the gear shifter was great, allowing you to manually crank up the amount of friction applied to put energy back into the battery pack. But in 2019, there are much better manual regen options, most notably the Chevy Bolt’s
Origin: Car Review: 2019 Nissan Leaf Plus