If you’re still amazed with how many hybrid vehicles are seen in nowadays, it’s time to catch up: the fully electric vehicles have also became so popular that they’re already creating their very own competition, apart from the first kind of ecologically-propelled. Even though the EVs market is still composed mostly of one vehicle for each brand, many of them have similar prices and therefore aim to the same customers. This was Nissan’s precise concern when giving Leaf the updates that characterize its latest model year.
Having few and very different competitors may paint the picture that the North-American EVs are an easy market to succeed, but the fact is the exact opposite. Nissan decided to enter using the most generic body for a city car, thinking it would be easy for a hatchback to attract many kinds of buyers. Chevrolet, in turn, placed their bets on a very stylish sedan with Volt. Mitsubishi created the i subcompact probably to compensate the electric systems’ higher prices with a smaller car, while Ford prefers electric versions, probably to make use of the conventional vehicles’ charisma rather than submitting new names and images to public acceptance. And Fiat combines the two last strategies with 500e. All of that came to explain that it’s very easy to lose sales at these markets: someone who wants bigger space will never take a Mitsubishi i, while the tight-budget ones won’t look to a Ford C-Max Energi. While Leaf’s sales still don’t push Nissan into creating new body versions, they’ve made some efforts at pleasing the North-Americans a little more. This car is now produced at their Tennessee plant and received some visual enhancements, such as new wheels design and color options, and a rear air diffuser, to improve the aerodynamics. Not to mention the new entry version: now there’s the upmarket SL, the mid-level SV and the cheaper S.
The price reduction came from taking away the cruise control, navigation and the remote-access systems, along with smaller steel wheels with plastic covers, only one internal coating option and the 4.3” LCD screen, instead of SV and SL’s 7” one. While S’s interior only comes in black, SV receives better-quality materials in gray or black and SL uses black leather, but heated seats are now a standard item. Leaf S brings a 3.6-kW charger while the others use a 6.6-kW, this one now enabling full charge in four hours with a 220V outlet – there’s also a quick-charge port to recharge at public stations. The engine wasn’t touched, but both the heater system and the regenerative braking were improved, and the navigation system now finds the “eco routes” to the driver, which are more energy-efficient courses to a given destination. The official consumption rates haven’t been released yet, but Nissan has improved Leaf’s warranty: eight years or 100,000 miles for the battery system as always, but with a new item: the dashboard brings a capacity gauge. If this 12-bar display falls below nine bars, it means the batteries now have around 70% of the original capacity. If this is achieved within five years or 60,000 miles, Nissan will replace the battery pack. More information about this car is expected at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show.
