Higher is better, right? The 2013 Nissan Leaf to be produced in the UK has 14% more range than the Japanese version made in 2012. That translates into 124 miles of pure electric drive versus 109 miles.
The fact that Nissan is going to cut the price of the European Leaf is no news anymore. But they’re doing it one more time: each Leaf will be sold 2,000 euros (about $2,600) less, which means that if you’ll buy it from the UK it’ll cost you about $37,000.
The new Leaf’s aerodynamics have been improved, the motor is more efficient and overall power management is more thoughtfully programmed. They even measured a coefficient of drag lower than that of the 2012 model. The difference here is only 0.01, which Nissan says is “a small but useful improvement” (imagine Carlos Ghosn saying this with his French-y accent):
Regenerative braking also got a boost in the 2013 Nissan Leaf. If the 2012 model had an 88% efficiency, the new one brags as much as 94 percent and works even at the incredibly low speed of three kilometers per hour (a normal person walks at 5 km/h).
The new Leaf also received a larger trunk, a better ride and a faster charger (probably competing with Tesla) available to European users. However, these improvements will not only come to Europe but also to Japan and the States.
The Nissan Leaf sales ranked third between the Model S and the Prius in Q4 2012. Well, you can’t really compare the Prius and the Volt with the Leaf, as they’re totally different beasts, and that makes it the best-selling pure electric car out there.
