Nissan Leaf vs rivals: is the reinvented EV the crossover king?

The EV4 and the Leaf have their work cut out, then, but they’re off to a good start, given that both improve on the Elroq 85’s official range of 349 miles. The EV4 manages up to 362 miles, according to the WLTP test cycle, while at 375 miles the Leaf has the longest range of the three, despite having the smallest usable battery capacity.

We should mention that this is an unusual test, given that it is being conducted in Denmark during Car of the Year longlist judging. As such, the Skoda test car is non-UK specification.

At the time of our test, UK pricing and specifications had yet to be announced for the Leaf, but it has since been confirmed to receive a full £3750 discount from the government's Electric Car Grant. That means it starts at £32,249, substantially cheaper than the £37k Elroq (that price including a £1500 grant) and the £39k EV4 (which doesn't recevie a discount).

The immediate relief here is that the Nissan doesn’t just feel like a rehashed Renault Megane. Even with the same CMF-EV platform beneath it, the Leaf looks and feels every bit a ‘proper’ Nissan. I mean, is that a hint of 300ZX in the contrasting black panel at the back of the car?

As for how it drives, the Leaf has got a lovely, long-legged attitude as it soaks up the road surface, with the slim-rimmed two-spoke steering wheel allowing some of the road’s texture to reach your fingertips.

There’s no confusing this for something with hot hatch ambitions; it’s the friskier Megane or Cupra Born that you want. Instead, the Nissan eases down the road, feeling supple and controlled over bigger bumps. There is a bit of patter and suspension boom over eroded surfaces, but it’s still tidy and pliant.

Having said all of that, you will probably want to avoid Eco mode, which neuters the throttle response and 214bhp front-mounted electric motor to the point of it feeling like it has just shrugged and given up. Not accelerating at all would, after all, be quite efficient. But it can also result in some buttock clenching if you have assumed a modicum of accelerative response when exiting a junction.

Punch in Standard or Sport modes and the Nissan livens up and flows nicely, tilting keenly into corners so that it feels satisfying if still more comfort-oriented than some others in the class. After all, you do notice its weight moving around; none of these cars are lightweight, of course.

But the Nissan’s suspension travel is progressive and well controlled, without any jarring bump stops. It’s just a very precise and confident car to drive, if a way off outright fun, which matches the airy, tech- and comfort-first attitude of the interior, too. But before we delve into the cabin stuff, let’s talk about the EV4.

Blimey, Kia is on a roll, isn’t it? If the Elroq is the one to beat in this class, the marginally smaller EV4 isn’t far behind it for resounding capability. Let’s just say it: if anything makes you wonder what Nissan has been doing for the past 15 years, it’s Kia’s stratospheric rate of progress.

Do you know what Kia launched in 2010, while Nissan was pioneering the mainstream EV? The Optima. Yup: a bastion of mediocrity, if ever there was one. Yet here we are in 2025 wondering if Nissan (which has launched only one all-electric model since the Leaf, the Ariya mid-sized SUV of 2022) can compete with Kia (which is launching its fourth and fifth EVs in the next few months).

The good news for Nissan is that the Leaf absolutely can compete with the EV4. If anything, the Kia feels even more comfort-focused. If you can learn to love or at least live with the EV4’s droopy nose and blocky surfacing, it’s just as cushy and serene as the Leaf.

In fact, the suspension feels a touch slacker, for a loping stride over most road surfaces. It wallows a bit, but the ease with which it sponges over broken road surfaces – even the cobbles that feature in some of the Danish towns we pass through – is a delight in its own right. The general attitude of capable-yet-comfortable will be spot on for a lot of those considering a new family EV. 

Mind you, for all of the EV4’s determined attempts to show its hatchback-ness, the driving position is still fairly high – not at all far off what you get in the crossover-ish Leaf. Both also have similarly narrow rear visibility and will probably make you want a glass roof to lighten things up for anyone sat in the back.

The EV4’s steering is a touch more remote than the Nissan’s. It’s still weighted well enough to be predictable, and with an appropriate wieldiness, but the EV4 always feels like a car that really doesn’t care to be driven briskly at all. It whirs up the road with cheerful eagerness, though, and Kia’s multi-level regenerative braking – which can be tweaked via steering wheel paddles with or without its adaptive function active – remains a benchmark. It’s all absolutely fit for purpose, and you can’t argue with that.

But Autocar has spent the past 130 years talking about how cars can be both comfortable and fun, and the rear-wheel-drive Elroq 85 proves that even your everyday family SUV can still do both.

Despite being the only car of our trio with a kerb weight in excess of two tonnes, the Skoda feels lighter on its feet than the other two. Its greater power and gutsier 6.5sec 0-62mph time are part of that, but it’s more about the better control weights, pleasantly tuned steering and rather brilliantly controlled suspension, all of which combine to make the Skoda feel slightly more on its toes than the others here.

Yes, I said it, and I’m not the only tester out here to think so: the closest thing to an SUV in this test is the nicest car to drive. Sorry about that.

Perhaps a less gaspingly scandalous statement is that the Skoda is also the more practical, if not by a huge margin. Chiefly, it’s the fact that the Elroq offers a surprisingly low load lip and a spacious 470-litre boot, not to mention the best head room here for rear passengers.

The Kia and Nissan get a very serviceable 435 and 437 litres respectively, but both have surprisingly high load lips – particularly annoying given that you would assume the hatchback status would mean a lower one. Clearly the design departments won that argument… At least the Nissan gets a clever two-part, split boot floor that can be used to conceal your cable, as well as to separate the space and better secure the groceries after the big shop.

Less impressive is the Nissan’s rear passenger space. Slide into the back of the Kia and Skoda and you will find masses of leg and head room. By contrast, the Nissan’s roofline tapers enough to make taller adults feel a bit hemmed in, and leg room is also tighter than in the others. It will still be a very fine family car, but there’s no doubt that the Nissan is the least roomy compared with the high standards set by the other two EVs here.

Up front, the Nissan does stand out with its textured white cloth inserts and purple leatherette dash. Yes, that’s right: purple. Don’t get me wrong, your Leaf interior isn’t going to make you think of Cadbury’s chocolate or Prince songs, but it’s still definitely a dark purple.  

Overall, it’s a refreshingly bright, interesting blend of finishes, although I can see why some might prefer the more understated greys and monotones of the Kia – and especially the Skoda with its lovely, tactile textiles.

Sticking with the Nissan, the infotainment is good, not least as the shelf beneath the touchscreen makes the perfect wrist rest for more accurate prodding. Touch-sensitive shortcut buttons are an easy way of changing the temperature as well.

The EV4’s infotainment system is much the same as what we have seen in other Kias, and that’s no bad thing. It’s the most intuitive of all of these systems, although the weird air-con screen that’s hidden by the steering wheel is unnecessary.

Even so, all of the infotainment systems here are reasonably easy to use with a bit of familiarity, and all offer configurable shortcuts. Just mind out for that touch-sensitive volume bar that lurks at the bottom of the Skoda’s screen, ready to wake the baby up when you accidentally hit max volume when all you wanted was the air to be a degree cooler…

Other than that, all these high-spec test cars have the essential features, including navigation with a charger search function, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and over-the-air software updates.

The Nissan comes out of this test very well. It’s peachy to drive, with a bit more delicacy and involvement than the Kia, yet delivers a similar level of serenity and comfort. Its weakness chiefly concerns the more restricted passenger space, but otherwise it’s an oddly charming car.

It deserves to do well, not only because of its British-built status but also because it is a genuinely well-rounded and very capable electric crossover that has flashes of the ingenuity and creativity that Nissan is well known for. Is it the best here? Probably not.