Nissan LEAF e+ 2021 Long-Term Review

UPDATED 6/09/2021: The 2021 Nissan LEAF e+ has been a welcome member of the carsales garage for a few months now, throwing up plenty of insights into living with an electric car.

This latest update looks at charging costs, which is often the question of everyone’s lips when it comes to EVs, but an answer that’s difficult for the car-makers – and owners themselves – to provide.

So how much does it cost to recharge the Nissan LEAF e+?

At home, it cost $10.85. Using a public fast-charging station, it cost roughly double that: $24.80.

We’ve provided our calculations below, but let’s take you through our experience.

There are some variables here that need to be taken into consideration including location, charging infrastructure, power rates and time. 

Starting off at home and plugging into a standard 10-Amp socket, the Nissan LEAF e+ accepted a maximum input of 3.3kWh via the supplied TYPE-2 charger. Assuming the 62kWh battery is completely dead, the LEAF e+ should take 18 hours to fully charge.

Using the charge schedule function allowed me to program the LEAF to accept power during off-peak tariff times. At home (for me at least) that’s 11pm to 6am. 

During those times, my provider is charging 17.5 cents per kilowatt-hour compared to 28 cents during peak times. While 10 cents may seem insignificant, when you multiply that by the size of the battery and the time involved it adds up quickly.

Over three consecutive nights during off-peak times, I was able to charge the LEAF, albeit slowly, to a cost of $10.85 (see data below).

That’s a lot of time – 18 hours – with no driving in between over the course of the three days, but no inconvenience either given the LEAF was charging overnight.

This may, of course, be completely impractical depending on your usage requirements. There’s the option of wiring in a higher-output wallbox at home, although easy access to a public fast-charging station might be all you need…

The cost versus time equation is all-important when it comes to EV recharging, and if you have access to an ultra-rapid fast-charger it’s worth considering how much extra you’re prepared to pay for the convenience of the EV equivalent to a ‘splash and dash’.

The closest fast charger near me is part of the Chargefox network in Melbourne’s west. With a maximum input of 44kWh from a direct current (DC) plug, the Nissan LEAF e+ can charge from 0-80 per cent in 40 minutes and 0-100 per cent in two hours.

That last 20 per cent takes longer as the LEAF’s onboard inverter slows input down to protect the battery from degradation and heat stress. The latter is important as lithium-ion batteries can pose a fire risk in some situations.

As a comparison, I recently plugged an Audi e-tron into the same fast-charger and was pumping power in at 112kWh.

The only caveat here is the cost. The fast-charger I use costs 40c/kWh, costing $24.80 to fully charge the LEAF e+.

That’s more than double the cost of charging at home, but like most things you pay a premium for speed. And some car-makers are throwing in the cost of charging for a set period with the vehicle purchase.

How does that compare to a petrol-powered car?

The LEAF e+ has spent time with most of the editorial team now and has been driven through a wide range of conditions. We have not reset the trip computer and it is currently sitting at 17.7kWh/100km, giving us a theoretical range of 350km or 330km if using climate control.

However, fully charged the LEAF e+ estimates a range of 392km, presenting some obvious discrepancies.

Charging at home with off-peak power could give you an average cost of $3.09/100km.

Compared to a similarly sized, petrol-powered car – let’s use our recently reviewed Nissan JUKE Ti as an example – the average fuel consumption was 7.3L/100km. If you multiply that by the average fuel price in Melbourne, $1.27, that totals $9.27 per 100km.

That’s makes the LEAF a much cheaper car to ‘refuel’ than the JUKE.

There are always many other factors to consider – from the higher initial purchase price for an EV, right through to the harder-to-quantify whole-of-life costs and carbon footprint.

Charging the EV at my house at night meant it was sure to have been powered by fossil fuels, but I do purchase carbon offsets to mitigate the emissions I generate from power consumption.

I call them guilt offsets, and I invest in them so I can sleep easier at night while the LEAF is slowly sucking in juice from a coal-fired power station.

- JOHN WILSON

Using the supplied (stock) car charger at home plugged into a 10-Amp socket
• Maximum input of 3.3kWh
• 18 hours to charge (0-100%)
• We programmed the LEAF to charge between 12-6 am (off-peak) over three consecutive nights
• 0-100% charge @ 17.5c/kWh (off-peak) totals $10.85

Using the 350kW ultra-rapid DC charger (Chargefox):
• LEAF e+ would only accept a maximum input of 44kWh
• Between 80-100% input tapers off from 44kWh to 2.2kWh the closer it gets to fully charged
• 0-100% charge @ 40c/kWh totals $24.80 
• 0-80% charge in 40 minutes
• 0-100% charge in 2 hours

UPDATED 31/08/2021: Electric cars remain a novelty to 99 per cent of car owners and drivers. The hackneyed golf cart analogy doesn’t do anyone any favours – those still clinging to it show themselves as luddites, but it also brands early adopters as out of the ordinary.

After living with first a standard Nissan LEAF and, most recently for two months or so, a 2021 Nissan LEAF e+, I can attest that life with an EV can be very ordinary. In a good way.

But first a few qualifiers. I have three of the essentials for easy ICE to EV transition. For a start I live in the inner suburbs and my commute to work – when we’re not in lockdown – is in single digits.

We also have easy access to charging (a garage at home and chargers at work) and, finally, we have more than one car in the house. For the absence of doubt, a couple of BMWs, a Skoda, a race car and too many motorcycles (if you ask some family members).

None of this should discount the easy EV transition the LEAF e+ can and has delivered to yours truly, but I acknowledge I come at this from a position of ‘opportunity’.

Fact is, however, there are plenty of new car shoppers who are in similar positions (save for the too many motorcycles). And even if their commutes are longer, a home or work charger and 320km-plus range of the LEAF e+ make a one-charge week (or, at the most, a two-charge week) a reality.

The long holiday drive is thrown up often at this point as a reason why we Aussies can’t or won’t go EV. With typically multi-car families and our propensity to fly, it’s a bit of a furphy…

In any event, the point I’m making up front is, yes, EVs are not for everyone. But there’s simply a hell of a lot more than the current two per cent of new car buyers opting for EVs that COULD easily go the battery-electric route.

I’ll now step off my soapbox.

It’s interesting contrasting the 2021 Nissan LEAF and the 2021 Nissan LEAF e+ back-to-back. On the way into this long-term test of the LEAF e+ I drove the standard LEAF for almost three weeks to establish a baseline.

No prizes for guessing the obvious difference is range. In the three weeks of standard LEAF operation most of the ‘tanks’ delivered a real-world range in the 210-240km region. Stepping up to the LEAF e+ with its larger battery increased the distance per charge to the 310-350km range.

The second difference is performance. The change from 110kW to 160kW doesn’t seem marked at first glance but how often does a car-maker improve the power output of an existing model by almost 50 per cent?. More on this below.

Finally, there are a number of small changes that only LEAF owners will notice – specifically updates to presentation of the various info screens the driver can access. We looked but couldn’t find mention of it in Nissan’s new model documentation so these may be a running change that makes it into all LEAFs coming Down Under.

Our observed full-charge distances were achieved with no real attempt to maximise range save for the almost universal use of the ECO mode. This softens throttle response and limits motor output though the LEAF e+ (especially) is anything but a slouch around town.

I found myself also opting for B (Brake) rather than D (Drive) mode most of the time as the level of additional regenerative braking makes for fuss-free progress in normal traffic – even if it doesn’t generate the one-pedal experience Nissan’s e-Pedal mode delivers. More on e-Pedal in a moment.

Step-off acceleration away from the lights in ECO is better than most normal hatches and instant torque and no gear changes meaning you’re at urban speed limits before you know it. There is also good ‘in-gear’ acceleration for merging onto a freeway or the like.

With the LEAF e+ driven in normal mode, the full 160kW is available and performance delivers a smile and will impress many. It’s no Model 3 Performance, nor Porsche Taycan Turbo S, but it’s enough to silence many ‘golf carters’.

On the freeway, a steady 100km/h is cruisy for the LEAF e+ even in ECO mode, but it will have you looking hard at the consumption figures. Fact is, the Nissan LEAF e+ is far from the most parsimonious battery-electric car we’ve tested.

So far, we’re looking at about 16kWh per 100km in normal usage – that is, B mode with attention to how and when the ‘thirsty’ climate control is switched on.

On that, it’s worth noting that depending on the conditions (and we’re talking heating rather than air-con – it’s winter and I’m in Melbourne!) switching the climate control on can drop the predicted DTE (distance to empty) up to 30km.

As such, we’re more likely to rely on the heated seats (and heated steering wheel) to keep the chills at bay. It’s perfectly comfortable (I hate overheated car cabins though) and they don’t seem to affect predicted range one iota.

Nissan has had much to say about its e-Pedal innovation. In the simplest terms, this is an additional level of regenerative braking that will decelerate the 2021 Nissan LEAF e+ at around 0.3g and bring it to a standstill (relatively quickly) once the throttle is lifted.

Nissan says in most traffic conditions this allows one-pedal operation.

While it’s early days, in my book e-Pedal seems to be counterproductive to achieving better economy and range in everything but start-stop heavy traffic conditions. Such is the effect of the heavier regenerative braking that it kills any coasting.

Indeed, you’ll often find yourself having to re-accelerate to the traffic pace, even once you’re acclimated to the deceleration.

e-Pedal works as a brake hold function – handy in that stop/start traffic – but it’s not enough of a plus in my book. Freeways and faster arterials, for example, are definitely no-e-Pedal zones. In fact, I tend to leave the car in normal D mode and take advantage of the EV’s propensity to coast to make the most of my momentum.

Reading the above I’m making driving a 2021 LEAF e+ sound like a 24/7 hypermiling eco-drive. There’s an aspect of that but it’s greatly overstating the case.

When you’re driving an EV regularly it’s more about making the most of the modes and tech you have at your disposal.

And this mindset doesn’t take much headspace. In fact, it soon become second nature as you settle into your EV stewardship.

- MIKE SINCLAIR

ORIGINAL REVIEW PUBLISHED 09/06/2021: Nissan wants Aussies to love the LEAF… or at the very least be fond enough of it to take one home.

Until late in 2020 the world’s best-selling EV, the Nissan LEAF has been on sale across two closely-related generations since 2010. Yet in Australia, where it first went on sale just two years later (2012), it has struggled to achieve more than novelty status.

But the visibility and footprint of EVs is rapidly changing. Indeed, based on projected deliveries one EV could be Australia’s best-selling car this month (June 2021). Sure, that’ll be a one-month wonder thanks to delayed deliveries and other factors, but the point is made nonetheless. There is growing interest and demand for the right EVs.

LEAF is more than just a model for the Nissan brand. It’s success or otherwise is seen as a barometer of the brand’s position as an innovator. Little wonder Nissan’s local execs wring their hands when the LEAF’s lack of sales traction is brought up.

Nissan has a new generation of electric cars rapidly approaching but LEAF will be holding the fort for another 18 months or so – at least. Nissan is hoping that somehow it can tip the scales and attract a growing number of buyers into the LEAF circle.

Hence the 2021 Nissan LEAF e+ – a higher-performing version of the five-door hatch.

More battery. More power. More money. So, has the performance-versus-cost equation been tipped enough to make it a thumbs up?

We’ve added a Nissan LEAF e+ to our long-term test portfolio to try and find out.

Priced at $60,490 plus on-road costs, the 2021 Nissan LEAF e+ is the new flagship variant in the two-model LEAF range and costs $10,500 more than the standard LEAF ($49,990 plus ORCs).

That 10 large or so pays for two significant upgrades.

For starters, the Nissan LEAF e+ features a 62kWh battery – a 55 per cent increase in capacity from the 40kWh battery fitted to the standard model.

The extra capacity translates to an extra 115km of range for a WLTP figure of 385km – or 450km by the ADR81/02 standard.

Further, the bigger battery powers a motor with an extra 50kW over the standard LEAF – 160kW versus 110. With 340Nm, maximum torque is boosted 20Nm as well.

Nissan claims the 0-100km/h acceleration of the 2021 Nissan LEAF e+ is a full 1.0sec quicker than its standard counterpart at 6.9sec. There are no official times for rolling acceleration, but we can attest that in back-to-back drives the e+ is substantially livelier around town and on the freeway.

The 2021 Nissan LEAF e+ gets some small changes to the onboard information data screens and other detail changes it takes a straight jump from LEAF to LEAF e+ to notice.

Both LEAF variants feature a relatively high level of kit – close to, if not befitting, their elevated price tags.

Low-rolling-resistance tyres on 17-inch alloy wheels, privacy glass, heated electric fold-in mirrors, auto on/off LED headlights with high beam assist, climate control, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, rain-sensing wipers, keyless starting, adaptive cruise control, leather-accented upholstery, front seat heating and a 60/40-split folding rear seat are all standard.

The LEAF e+ gets seat heating to the split rear bench and its ride height is marginally higher. No one will pick it, but it must be so – it made the difference between the two variants scraping or not scraping on my particularly steep driveway entrance.

There’s Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functionality via cable and the sat-nav/infotainment system features an 8.0-inch colour touch-screen, seven-speaker BOSE audio and DAB radio. It’s adequate rather than cutting-edge stuff – as a quick glance at the graphics will attest.

Passive safety items fitted to the LEAF e+ include centre, front side curtain and side-impact thorax-protecting airbags (on the front seats).

Driver assist technology includes all-round camera monitoring, front and rear parking sensors, driver fatigue monitoring, forward collision warning, AEB with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning/lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, tyre pressure monitoring, traffic sign recognition and audible warning for pedestrians (reverse and low speed only).

We can already vouch for the fact the autonomous braking on the LEAF e+ can be a little too attentive, particularly, for example, when approaching stationary cars waiting to turn right. This is more disconcerting than dangerous but we’ll keep an eye on it.

What hasn’t changed between LEAF and LEAF e+ are two unwanted nods to the advancing age of the platform upon which Nissan’s mainstream EV sits. A foot-operated park brake is anachronistically archaic in an EV. Less so, but still a ‘WTF’ in a $60K car, is the fact there’s only tilt adjustment on the steering wheel! Nissan’s new EV platform can’t come soon enough...

In terms of aftersales coverage, the 2021 Nissan LEAF e+ has a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty. The Nissan LEAF Lithium-Ion battery State of Health guarantee also protects against “battery capacity loss (less than 9 bars out of 12) as shown on the in vehicle capacity gauge” for a period of eight years or 160,000km, whichever comes first.

Service intervals are every 12 months/20,000km and a look at the recommended servicing items suggests that the LEAF is pretty close to maintenance-free. Change brake fluid and the air-con filter every couple of years and you’re done. That goes some way to explain the identical $250-$330 annual service fees Nissan quotes for LEAF and LEAF e+.

Our testers have offered drive impressions on a number of occasions on the LEAF and the new 2021 Nissan LEAF e+, and you can read more via the links below. But what feedback does a LEAF newbie deliver? I enlisted the assistance of my EV neophyte partner to find out.

Like many EVs the first impression she noted was noise – or rather lack thereof. And second guessing whether it’s ‘running’ or not.

Once she worked through the slightly odd gear selector mechanism and had a few kilometres and trips under her belt, however, the next impression was normality. That is, it’s easy to forget you’re driving anything out of the ordinary.

There’s good and bad in that sentiment but I suggest mainly the former. Without getting too esoteric, it’s also perhaps why the LEAF hasn’t garnered the audience that Nissan would like.

The packaging of the LEAF is conventional five-door hatch. There’s good legroom, shoulder-room and headroom in both rows and sightlines are decent all around. Even the big D-pillar is not too obtrusive when parking or negotiating tighter spaces.

Nissan’s well-proven 360-degree camera view assists here too. And like a proper hatch there’s plenty of boot and luggage space – even without a frunk.

The ride is decent around town and on the highway. And as noted above, this LEAF e+ variant is not short of get-up-and-go – even if, like me, you’re opting for the lower-power ECO mode much of the time.

We’ll detail our mileage and charging experiences in later updates. For the record, we are achieving around 330km per charge across a range of roads including freeways without any particular attention to driving economically or sparing power, climate control or the like.

Conveniently for Nissan, this is around 110-115km more than the standard 40kWh LEAF – so spot on with the suggested extra increment the LEAF e+ will deliver.

Our Technical Editor Ken Gratton attended the launch of the 2021 Nissan LEAF e+ and delivered his opinion. It’s perhaps best summed up by the following: “The LEAF e+ will appeal to the 80 per cent of the population looking for comfortable and safe motoring…”

My early observations are along the same lines. The Nissan LEAF e+ is a car that is relatively nondescript in the looks department. It doesn’t move the needles on equipment levels or have a trendy brand name or ludicrous performance claim to hang its hat on...

It definitely runs the risk of being damned with faint praise for just getting on with the job.

In a very short period, however, it’s already convinced me of one thing. Even before we take into account the brave new world of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) functionality, at least one of our two family cars could, and probably should, be electric...

How much does the 2021 Nissan LEAF e+ cost?
Price: $60,490 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: AC synchronous electric motor
Output: 160kW/340Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 62kWh lithium-ion
Range: 385km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 18.0kWh/100km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2018)