Nissan Leaf review

In keeping with the oddness-reduced external style, the cabin is more visually orthodox than it was before… but it still looks horribly dated compared to everything else that’s out there. The instruments (a proper hardware speedo, the rest by screens) have relatively subdued graphics, while offering a cornucopia of factoids on journey, energy, assistance and entertainment.

All Leafs now get an 8in infotainment screen as standard. It too feels like a victim of time, but thankfully Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are also thrown in for free. A well-rounded Bose sound system is on offer in top-spec Tekna trim. 

It uses decently plush materials in the most eye-catching sections of the dash and doors. You don't have to look far for let-down cheap elements though. Among them, the cupholders are simple hard-plastic cylinders. Only one vessel size will fit, while everything else rattles annoyingly. None of the oddments bins are soft-lined.

So, all-round a cabin that's practical if not the very roomiest, nor up there with the Leaf’s Korean counterparts for perceived quality: the Kia Niro EV and Hyundai Kona Electric, for example, are leagues ahead. As are many others.

Is it easy to adapt to, at least?

More so than it used to be, actually. Unlike Leafs of old the steering wheel does telescope now, so gone are the days when the wheel felt too close or too distant unless you reclined the seat in a way you weren’t used to. The seats are lovely and soft, though; a match for the generally laid-back driving style the powertrain encourages. The routes of the drive selector can get slightly confusing, mind.

In the back, room is OK, except for a lack of foot-room under the front seats. Behind, the boot is about average for mid-size hatches: 385 litres up to the parcel shelf, or 1,167 litres with the rear seats felled. But there's no spare wheel, and the backrest fold is just a simple flop, leaving a very stepped floor in the max-cube mode.