Cargazing
By Derek Price
For better or worse, one of the many impacts Tesla has had on the electric car market is positioning them as luxury items.
“Aren’t electric cars $80,000?” my mom asked this weekend after hearing I was driving the all-electric Nissan LEAF.
Nope. Not even close.
While some of the flashiest and most famous EVs easily cost $80,000 or more, there are a growing number of battery-powered cars aimed at mainstream buyers.
After selling more than a half-million copies, the inexplicably capitalized LEAF stands at the top of that list.
To drive home the point, Nissan dropped the LEAF’s list price to $27,400 this year. That means, after a $7,500 tax credit, you can put yourself behind the wheel of a nice, electron-powered car for less than $20,000 net. That’s unusual for any new car and even more so for one that drives as nicely as this one does.
If you haven’t driven an electric car before, it can be a shocking — ha! — experience to discover just how fast and fun they are. EVs’ closest cousins, hybrid cars, have a well-deserved reputation for being snails on the highway, but a nicely engineered EV like the LEAF can bring big smiles when you step on the “gas” pedal.
Nissan lowered the price of its LEAF electric car to $27,400 this year. After a $7,500 federal tax credit, that makes it one of the few cars available this year under the $20,000 mark.
Granted, my tester was the PLUS version, not the base model. Higher battery capacity and a bigger electric motor come at a $5,000 premium.
The base S model makes 147 horsepower and has a range of 149 miles. The PLUS makes 214 horses and bumps the range up to 226 miles.
In old-fashioned gasoline terms, the PLUS is like upgrading to a V6 with a bigger gas tank. I think it’s worth the price, but a lot of drivers would be happy with the base S trim for everyday trips.
I’m discovering that as electric cars sell in bigger numbers and charging stations proliferate, living with them is getting easier in some ways and harder in others.
Fast charging stations are easy to find in urban areas. That helps remove range anxiety for long trips. At the same time, having more EVs on the road means there are more cars competing to use those plugs.
Keeping the my LEAF tester charged for hundreds of miles of regional driving took a lot of time parked at DC fast chargers and occasionally having to wait for a plug to become available.
Part of that issue is because the LEAF continues to use the CHAdeMO plug for fast charging, which in my driving in North Texas was much harder to find than CCS plugs. Most of the newer EVs, including Nissan’s own ARIYA, are switching to the CCS format.
The LEAF’s interior puts technology front and center, fitting in a futuristic electric vehicle.
The overall driving experience in the LEAF is pleasant, bordering on luxurious. It feels solid and well-built. Several of my passengers remarked about how quiet it is to drive, which isn’t just from the lack of engine clangor but also thanks to good sound insulation from wind and road noise.
When you don’t have a noisy engine to hide those things, good sound isolation is critical. The LEAF does a better job than a lot of competitors and is a dramatic improvement over earlier EVs.
Not counting any tax credits, the LEAF with the smaller engine and battery capacity is available in two trim levels: S ($27,400) and SV ($28,800).
The PLUS version is priced at $32,400 for the S, $35,400 for the SV and $37,400 for the SL with a lot of content upgrades, including a nice Bose sound system.
At A Glance
What was tested? 2022 Nissan LEAF SL PLUS ($37,400). Options: Splash guards ($200), premium paint ($395), carpeted floor and cargo mats ($190), rear cup holders ($95). Price as tested (including $975 destination charge): $39,255
Wheelbase: 106.3 in.
Length: 176.4 in.
Width: 70.5 in.
Height: 61.6 in.
Motor: 160 kW (214 hp)
Range: 249 miles
RATINGS
Style: 8
Performance: 8
Price: 10
Handling: 7
Ride: 7
Comfort: 7
Quality: 7
Overall: 8
Why buy it?
A price improvement makes the LEAF even more appealing as electric vehicles gain popularity. The PLUS version impresses with its power and range.