Nissan LEAF (2011-2017) vs Nissan LEAF (2018-2023)

The Nissan LEAF is £500 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £168 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Nissan LEAF comes out roughly £580 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 76 miles for the Nissan LEAF and 109 miles for the Nissan LEAF - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Nissan LEAF goes roughly 33 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 30 minutes in the Nissan LEAF and 40 in the Nissan LEAF, so the Nissan LEAF loses less time at each stop. That makes the Nissan LEAF the stronger long-distance car.

The two are within 18 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 630 mm of total clearance for the Nissan LEAF and about 612 mm of total clearance for the Nissan LEAF.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 65% battery health for the Nissan LEAF and 76% for the Nissan LEAF. That gives the Nissan LEAF a modest edge in retained real-world range. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation. Both batteries carry a 8-year manufacturer warranty.