The all-electric Nissan LEAF (2011-2018) has topped a new table of the most reliable electric cars available in the UK.
The first-generation model of the zero tailpipe emission hatchback notched up an impressive score of 98.9 per cent – an almost faultless performance!
The chart was compiled by the respected automotive title What Car? as part of its mammoth annual survey of the dependability of cars aged up to five years old, based on the experiences of nearly 25,000 owners.
Declaring its results for 2022, the magazine mentioned the dependability of the first-generation LEAF and added: ‘‘Only nine per cent of owners reported faults, and all of these were rectified for free by Nissan dealers. What’s more, all work took a day or less to complete.’’
A LEAF owner quoted as part of the published results simply explained: ‘‘My car’s been reliable and dealers are good.’’
The pioneering LEAF has been a phenomenal success for Nissan, and has now sold in excess of half a million examples globally.
As well as being a compelling proposition as a new car, LEAF is frequently recognised for its used credentials. It has become the entry point to EV driving for thousands of motorists, with earlier examples representing a very accessible route to all-electric motoring.
The annual What Car? reliability survey is nothing if not thorough. Drivers are asked whether their cars have suffered any faults in the previous two years, and categorise each issue into one of 14 areas such as battery, brakes, steering and suspension.
A true game-changer
To provide an accurate picture of the seriousness of any faults, owners are also asked to disclose how long their car was off the road for, and how much it cost to rectify the issue. Those two results are combined to create a reliability rating for each model.
A Nissan spokesperson said: ‘‘We are delighted to see that even though it was launched more than a decade ago, the first-generation LEAF is still attracting attention for all the right reasons.
‘‘It truly was a game changer for electric motoring, not just in the UK, but right around the world. And Nissan certainly hasn’t stood still in the intervening years. Our electrification journey has continued apace and just this year of course, we launched ARIYA – our next-generation crossover EV, capable of travelling up to 329 miles on a single charge.’’