Nissan Leaf practicality and boot space

06 April 2020 by Keith Adams

Parkers overall rating: 3.9 out of 5 3.9

Interior room matches most mainstream family hatchbacks
Boot space is impressive compared with PHEV rivals
Interior feels airy and is pleasant to spend time in

How big is it inside?

The Nissan Leaf is a classically-sized medium hatchback in the mould of a Volkswagen Golf or Ford Focus, and its accommodation largely mirrors these cars. Headroom is okay given how high you sit, and the interior feels reasonably airy. The rear of the cabin is helped by having a flat foor (no there's no hump between the seats where the exahust would go on a petrol or diesel car), meaning there's plenty of foot room for three across the rear seat.

There’s room for five adults, though the middle rear passenger gets a poor deal compared with those sat either side of them. Up front, there's decent leg and headroom and the seat has plenty of adjustment for even the tallest of drivers and front-seat passengers.

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How big is the luggage area?

The Nissan Leaf’s boot is very impressive, with 435 litres of space with the rear seats in place – a huge amount for an electric car. It’s also actually slightly more than the previous version (which is based on the same platform) thanks to the repositioning of some of the charging electronics, which has allowed it to be made wider.

Sadly, the need to accommodate all those batteries means you still don’t get a flat load floor when you fold the rear seats down.

Nissan Leaf safety

Full five-star rating in more rigorous Euro NCAP tests
Autonomous Emergency Braking as standard
ProPilot is fancy but not essential

When tested by Euro NCAP in 2018 under the organisation's more rigorous crash-testing regime, the Nissan Leaf scored a full five-star rating. The Nissan Leaf carries a cutting-edge image – and supports this with plenty of safety tech.

The following is all included as standard:

Six airbags
Electronic stability control (including Nissan’s Intelligent Trace Control for safer high-speed cornering)
Autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection
Hill-start assist
Lane-departure warning
Cross-traffic alert
Blindspot monitoring

The ProPilot system – which combines active cruise control with lane-keep assist – is only standard on top-spec Tekna. Designed to make driving easier on the motorway, this can deal with stop-start traffic almost autonomously, while also keeping you safely in lane.

Nissan stresses that it is only an assistance system, though, so if your hands leave the steering wheel for more than 10 seconds it will sound an alarm. Several manufacturers offer more sophisticated systems these days, but the Leaf’s ProPilot does at least seem to work consistently well.

How to charge it up safely

As with the old Leaf, Nissan has ensured that there are plenty of safety systems around its charging technology. When not charging (but plugged in), an electric relay within the vehicle turns off the power to isolate the charging port.

Although the charging port is waterproof and has a drainage structure for use in the rain, in case of a short circuit, the supply of electricity is immediately interrupted. The batteries themselves are well protected, and designed to withstand accident damage.

How many Isofix points are there?

There are two pairs of Isofix points on the rear seat.

Nissan Leaf hatchback Euro NCAP crash test video

Basic equipment

The basic equipment list includes equipment that is standard across all versions of the Nissan Leaf Hatchback.

3x3 point rear seat belts
Alarm
Driver`s airbag
Folding rear seats
Front electric windows
Height adjustable drivers seat
PAS
Passenger`s airbag
Rear electric windows
Remote locking
Side airbags
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Traction control

Equipment by trim level

To view equipment options for a specific trim level, please select from the following list:

Equipment included on some trim levels
ABS Air conditioning Alloy wheels Audio remote Body coloured bumpers Climate control Cloth seat trim Cruise control Electric driver`s seat Electric mirrors Electric passenger`s seat Front fog lights Heated seats Isofix child seat anchor points Lumbar support Metallic Paint Parking sensors Partial leather seat trim Sat Nav Steel wheels Steering wheel reach adjustment

10 standard equipment
ABS Air conditioning Alloy wheels Electric mirrors Front fog lights Heated seats Isofix child seat anchor points Metallic Paint Parking sensors Partial leather seat trim Sat Nav Steering wheel reach adjustment

10 optional equipment
Audio remote Climate control

2.Zero standard equipment
ABS Alloy wheels Audio remote Body coloured bumpers Climate control Cloth seat trim Electric driver`s seat Electric mirrors Electric passenger`s seat Front fog lights Heated seats Isofix child seat anchor points Lumbar support Metallic Paint Parking sensors Sat Nav

2.Zero optional equipment
None available

3.Zero standard equipment
ABS Air conditioning Alloy wheels Audio remote Body coloured bumpers Electric mirrors Heated seats Isofix child seat anchor points Metallic Paint Parking sensors Partial leather seat trim Sat Nav

3.Zero optional equipment
None available

Acenta standard equipment
Alloy wheels Cloth seat trim Front fog lights Parking sensors Sat Nav

Acenta optional equipment
ABS Air conditioning Audio remote Climate control Electric mirrors Isofix child seat anchor points Steering wheel reach adjustment

e+ 3.Zero standard equipment
ABS Air conditioning Alloy wheels Audio remote Body coloured bumpers Electric mirrors Heated seats Isofix child seat anchor points Parking sensors Partial leather seat trim Sat Nav

e+ 3.Zero optional equipment
None available

e+ N-Connecta standard equipment
ABS Air conditioning Alloy wheels Electric mirrors Front fog lights Heated seats Isofix child seat anchor points Parking sensors Partial leather seat trim Sat Nav Steering wheel reach adjustment

e+ N-Connecta optional equipment
None available

e+ N-TEC standard equipment
ABS Air conditioning Alloy wheels Electric mirrors Front fog lights Heated seats Isofix child seat anchor points Parking sensors Partial leather seat trim Sat Nav

e+ N-TEC optional equipment
None available

e+ Tekna standard equipment
ABS Air conditioning Alloy wheels Audio remote Electric mirrors Heated seats Isofix child seat anchor points Parking sensors Partial leather seat trim Sat Nav Steering wheel reach adjustment

e+ Tekna optional equipment
None available

N-Connecta standard equipment
ABS Air conditioning Alloy wheels Audio remote Climate control Electric mirrors Front fog lights Heated seats Isofix child seat anchor points Parking sensors Partial leather seat trim Sat Nav Steering wheel reach adjustment

N-Connecta optional equipment
None available

Tekna standard equipment
ABS Air conditioning Alloy wheels Audio remote Climate control Electric mirrors Heated seats Isofix child seat anchor points Parking sensors Partial leather seat trim Sat Nav Steering wheel reach adjustment

Tekna optional equipment
None available

Visia standard equipment
ABS Audio remote Body coloured bumpers Climate control Cloth seat trim Cruise control Isofix child seat anchor points Steel wheels

Visia optional equipment
None available

Find out more about all electric cars here

Euro NCAP Rating – 5 stars

The Nissan Leaf Hatchback was tested by Euro NCAP in 2018 and was awarded a 5 star overall rating. This overall rating is calculated from the following individual ratings:

Test 2018

Individual safety ratings
Adult Occupant:	93%
Child Occupant:	86%
Vulnerable Road Users:	71%
Safety Assist:	71%

Euro NCAP provides motoring consumers with a realistic and independent assessment of the safety performance of some of the most popular cars sold in Europe. The safety ratings are determined from a series of vehicle tests, designed and carried out by Euro NCAP. These tests represent, in a simplified way, important real life accident scenarios that could result in injured or killed car occupants or other road users.