Page 46 - Motor Trend (April 2020)

The Leaf’s more powerful motor compensates for added weight and
benefits higher-speed acceleration. The rear seats are nicely appointed.

3rd Place: 2020 Nissan Leaf Plus
First mover, now trailing
The Leaf Plus’ easy-driving likability and
admirable over-delivering on interior
quality make for a melancholy realization
that the EV world Nissan once rabbited
ahead of has now swept past it.
Sure, there are still attributes that
trigger approving second glances—
ProPilot Assist is equal to a blood pres-
sure pill in de-stressing the rush-hour
madhouse. Its lane centering accuracy is feel”). And its cargo space is the best of pedal feel. Its steering isn’t light, but it
the best we’ve seen from a single-camera the bunch. has no feel whatsoever. With traction
system (though it still requires periodic But there are elephants in the control off, I managed to spin one of the
corrections). Its one-foot-driving e-Pedal room. Nissan is still clinging to its tires on each of the skidpad exits.”
mode sometimes lets you regen to a stop CHAdeMO-type plug, which is now a real As car enthusiasts, we want to know the
without touching the brake at all, though disadvantage (and complicates the lives personality of any car’s performance at its
selecting B mode (heavier regen) requires of other EV drivers) as CCS plugs have limit. But the Leaf Plus is bred for those
you to toggle the selector twice. won this war. And its battery is cooled by who don’t care about such things, who
The car’s brake-by-wire system is smart stirred air, which is today’s equivalent of are indifferent to handling nuances and
enough to compensate for the temporary drum brakes or a three-speed automatic. only care about getting to point B. Sadly,
absence of regen when the battery is During our day of track testing, road the Nissan’s 215-mile range is a Band-Aid
full, by increasing the grip of the friction test editor Chris Walton wrote about two sizes too small. One day, I needed to
brakes (though after its emergency the Leaf Plus’ figure-eight performance: make a round trip to Palm Springs and
braking tests, associate road test editor “Its ABS can trigger emergency braking minimize my recharging time in order to
Erick Ayapana jotted, “Lots of dive, long (where it remains on, even after my foot hurry back. I was happy I was in the Niro
pedal travel, and typically numb brake is not). It’s hard to get it right with so little and not the Leaf Plus.

THE NISSAN LEAF IS BRED FOR THOSE WHO DON’T CARE

ABOUT LIMIT PERFORMANCE OR HANDLING NUANCES.

46 MOTORTREND.COM APRIL 2020