2017 Nissan Leaf SL Review - Review 2022

As a veteran fully electric vehicle (EV), the Nissan Leaf has proven itself as a solid everyday commuter car. It's comfortable, roomy, functional, and relatively easy to charge at dwelling house or away. Equally the initial model of the Foliage nears the end of its lifecycle, an entirely new version will exist unveiled later this year. Therefore, updates to the 2022 model are minimal, just ane significant change is that the base of operations model now comes with the 30kWh lithium-ion bombardment that was previously available but on the height ii trim levels, which increases its range from 84 to 107 miles, making information technology a stronger buy.

Pricing and Trims

The 2022 Foliage is bachelor in three trim levels, all with an eighty-kilowatt electrical motor powered by a 24-kWh lithium-ion battery pack. This combination produces 107 horsepower, and the machine has a unmarried-speed "reducer" transmission.

Nextcar Bug art The entry-level Due south model starts at $30,680 and comes with a iii.6kW onboard charger, a portable 110/120-volt trickle accuse cable, a normal charge port, regenerative braking, a "B-mode" for more aggressive regenerative braking, hill-start assist, and cruise command. It also has xvi-inch steel wheels, body-color front and rear bumpers, chrome door handles, aerodynamic halogen headlights, an aerodynamic underbody cover and rear diffuser, a rear spoiler, a lighted and locking front-mounted accuse port, remote charge-door release, a rearview photographic camera, and keyless entry and ignition. There are heated front seats, a six-way manual driver's seat, a four-way manual front end passenger's seat, cloth seats, 60/40-split fold-downwardly rear seats, rear seat heating and cooling ducts, and steering wheel audio controls.

Tech includes Bluetooth for phones, a 5-inch in-nuance brandish, and a four-speaker audio system with CD, AM/FM HD Radio, satellite radio, and USB and aux-in ports. For $1,700, a 6.6kW onboard charger and quick-charge port can exist added as an option.

2017 Nissan Leaf SL

The SV trim starts at $34,200 and adds the vi.6kW onboard charger and quick-charge port every bit standard, every bit well as 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, automatic climate control, "Bio Suede" cloth seats, a heated leather-wrapped steering bike, and a half-dozen-speaker Bose audio system. It as well has the NissanConnect infotainment system with navigation, apps, SiriusXM Traffic and Travel Link, a vii-inch touch display, and the NissanConnect EV interface. A $1,570 Premium Package choice includes a seven-speaker Bose Premium audio system and around-view monitor.

The height-of-the-line SL trim we tested starts at $36,790 and adds automatic LED low-beam headlights, fog lights, leather seats, heated rear seats, an around-view Monitor, a solar panel spoiler to accuse a 12-volt battery for vehicle accessories, a hybrid heater organisation, and remote precooling and preheating. Our exam auto also had the $1,570 Premium Package selection, also as optional $200 floor and cargo area mats. With a destination charge of $865, the total sticker cost came to $39,425.

Blueprint and Battery

The Leaf has an aerodynamic if bulbous exterior blueprint, with unique LED headlights (on our SL examination car) that prominently sit down atop the front end fenders. With its futuristic palm-shift bulldoze selector, floating center stack, and digital "countenance" upper musical instrument panel display, the interior is equally unique, while rider and cargo space are surprisingly generous for such a small car.

I thing to keep in heed when is that the base-level onboard charger needs upwardly to eight hours to fully top off the battery pack, and that's with a 240-volt charging dock installed. With the 110/120-volt charging cable that comes with the car, it can exist upwardly twice that. Adding the optional half-dozen.6kW charger and quick-charge port (or stepping up to SV and SL) cuts this to 4 hours with a 240-volt charging dock, while the quick-charge port enables up to an fourscore percent accuse in 30 minutes at high-voltage commercial charging stations. And thanks to the fully electric performance, the car produces admittedly no emissions.

Interface and Connectivity

The Leaf's infotainment interface is straightforward, but an added layer of EV features makes it a scrap more complex than about systems. Come across our full NissanConnect EV review for details.

Non counting SiriusXM Traffic and Travel Link, the Leaf has only one app for bringing in cloud content, Google Local Search, which uses data from a connected smartphone. NissanConnect in the Leaf doesn't include the apps for Facebook, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Twitter, and TripAdvisor that we've seen in other vehicles with the system.

Most of the connectivity is centered effectually the EV functions, accessed either from the dashboard touch on screen, a web portal, or a split NissanConnect EV smartphone app. The dashboard features are grouped under the Zero Emission bill of fare, and range from finding charging stations in the vicinity to setting charging times and a climate command timer.

The app not only allows you to bank check the charge status of the vehicle, but besides set accuse times, locate the vehicle on a map, and a wealth of data such every bit CO₂ savings, travel time, and "eco rankings."

Performance and Conclusions

For a pocket-sized car, the Leaf isn't light at 3,405 pounds. Only with its EV battery pack positioned beneath the flooring creating a low center of gravity, it handles surprisingly well. The instant torque from the battery gives the machine a peppy feel around town, but this sense of swift dispatch quickly tops out on the highway. Put the Foliage in Eco manner to extend the range and it crawls—and feels like anybody is passing you.

Speaking of range, nosotros didn't have any issues in our calendar week with the car since it generally included quick trips. We had to drive near 120 miles circular-trip on one occasion and topped off the bombardment at a commercial quick charger. This took well-nigh 30 minutes and cost $10. On another 70-mile trip we set out with nigh a full charge and were surprised that we had to end for a quick charge before reaching our destination.

Since its debut in belatedly 2022, the Nissan Leafage has proven that a fully electric vehicle can be a viable everyday driver machine under the right circumstances. Range limitations notwithstanding, the 2022 Leaf is practical and like shooting fish in a barrel to operate. And while the upfront cost can be somewhat mitigated by sizeable federal and state revenue enhancement incentives, too producing zero emission, the real payoff is never having to pay for gas. That makes information technology a winner in our book, though it might be worth waiting for that new model that'southward merely effectually the corner.