Visually, all Type 1 Nissan Leafs look the same. But under the shell, many changes have been made. If you're going to buy a used Leaf, you need to know what's under the hood, otherwise you could end up with a worthless car.

 

Wears its age well

Several cars from the first year of production have low mileage and look like new cars both outside and inside. Used car sellers know how to exploit this. They defend the high price by pointing to the car's general condition and mileage. "Owned by old lady...", and so on. As a car buyer, you must put the electric car features before all other features. It doesn't help that the car looks pretty if it can't be used for what it was designed for.
 

Although the Nissan Leaf 1 was gradually improved, two upgrades in particular are worth noting. The first occurred in mid-2013, the second in mid-2015.

 

The 2013 upgrade

According to Nissan, as many as 100 different big and small changes were made. By making the car lighter, more aerodynamic and improving regenerative braking energy, the range could be extended from 175 to 199 km NEDC. A more modern heat pump (optional) stole less electricity. By moving the on-board charger from the boot to the engine compartment, the boot was increased from 330 liters to 370 litres. The cars were better braced and thus behaved better on the road. The warranty period on the batteries was increased from 5 to 8 years. Furthermore, the car's on-board charger could take 6,6 kW – not just 3,6 kW – and you could use Type 2 cable. Let's also take into account that you could now get a black interior and leather seats on the Tekna edition.
 
The cars for Norway were now brought in from Sunderland instead of Japan.

The 2015 upgrade

The biggest news was that customers could now choose a new and long-awaited battery pack of 30 kwh. Almost everyone chose this, but the old 24 kwh battery pack was still in production. Cars with 30 kwh batteries were given a stated range of 250 km NEDC. Other improvements were that you could order cars with DAB radio and the NissanConnect infotainment system that can display available charging stations in real time.

Range

This is the Nissan Leaf type 1's Achilles heel. This is actually the only reason why many people turn their backs on the model. Unfortunately, it is possible to be thoroughly deceived on this point. Here are the ranges you can count on:

Cars before the 2013 upgrade

Official range is given in NEDC. It is a theoretical range that is almost impossible to reproduce under normal driving conditions. According to NEDC, the range is 175 km. Based on an unofficial – but fairly reliable conversion factor, the WLTP range will be approximately 142 km. That is the maximum you and I can expect to get out of a new battery. Practical range was 120-130 km in summer and 80-90 km in winter. We say "was" because the range decreases with age and usage patterns.

Cars with 24 kwh battery after the 2013 upgrade

The NEDC range was stated at 199 km. Some dealers still state this as the only range figure. Based on a conversion factor, the corresponding WLTP range will end up at approximately 156 km. Practical range is 120-140 km in summer.

Cars with 30 kwh battery

Stated range according to the factory is 250 km. Converted to WLTP, it corresponds to approximately 196 km. Practical range in summer is 140-190 km.
 

Battery life

The Nissan Leaf is equipped with a fantastic function where you can read the state of the battery directly from the instruments. Actually, it's probably a voltmeter. It is marked as a dashed line to the left of the battery's capacity. There are 12 lines in total. Leaf owners indicate the battery's condition by telling the number of bars remaining. The cars in our selection are from 2011 to 2016. In this selection, it is quite normal for the cars to have lost one or two stripes. It is so normal that many dealers do not mention it, nor show a picture of the dashboard. If you don't know about this feature, you could be fooled. 10 dashes out of 12 on a 2013 model is perfectly normal - the dealer can't be blamed - but you might have preferred a car with 12 dashes, had you known this beforehand.
 

The range is reduced for each streak that disappears

Many owners choose to sell their cars when the battery "loses a streak". In the sales advertisement, they may write that they need better range. If you are considering buying a Leaf, you should calculate the range based on the battery having a line less than today. The first line corresponds to 15%, while subsequent lines each correspond to 7,7%. The range is reduced accordingly. Nissan's battery warranty comes into force if the car has lost more than 3 lines within 8 years. This corresponds to a remaining capacity of 61,9%. Up to 3 lines - which therefore does not trigger any warranty claim - corresponds to 69,6%. Let's go back to practical range numbers for those the very first The Leafs – all within normal capacity loss:
 
12/12 lines: 120-130 km summer, 80-90 winter.
11/12 lines: 102-110 km summer, 68-65 winter.
10/12 lines: 92-100 km summer, 61-69 winter.
9/12 lines: 83-90 km summer, 55-62 winter.
 

If you end up below 9 lines, it can be problematic to use the car in winter.

 

Import cars

Since 2012, several dealers have imported cars from the US and other European countries to meet the high demand for electric cars. Most of the imported cars are manufactured in the USA. These lack equipment that "Norwegian" cars have, including heated seats and heated steering wheel. Nor can they be connected to "Carwings", where the owner can remotely control pre-heating and more. In addition, the navigation system lacks European maps. It must be up to the individual to assess how important these features are on a nearly 10-year-old used car. The most serious thing is that the imported cars are among the worst in terms of loss of battery capacity. Some of the imported cars are sold with halved capacity, which makes the car unusable for the vast majority.
 

Check the chassis number (VIN)

You need to check the car's chassis number to determine the country of manufacture. You can find the chassis number or VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) most easily online by using the Norwegian Motor Vehicle Inspection Authority's lookup option. Enter the car's registration number on the link below and find the 17-digit number under the page marked "Registration data".
 
Vegvesen.no – Vehicle information
 
If the first character of the chassis number is "J" and character number 11 is a number, for example "0", the car is manufactured in Japan. Ordinary imports before 01.07.2013 took place from Japan. Cars produced in the USA were imported in parallel. USA-produced cars before 01.07.2013/11/1 may also have "J" as the first character in the chassis number, but character number 01.07.2013 is then "T". Then the car is manufactured in Tennessee. Cars with "XNUMX" as the first character are also produced in the USA. Cars from Sunderland, England, have "S" as the first character. This has been a normal import after XNUMX.

Few errors and problems

In general, there are few problems on the Nissan Leaf. Many report problem-free car maintenance for several years. Problems with the starter battery discharging are a common problem. Wear and tear related to wheel suspension and chassis seems to be on par with other cars, with replacements on cars that have passed well over 100. As long as the car is treated well, high km is not a big problem. A car with close to 000 on the odometer with 100/000 dashes can be just as good as a grandmother's car with extremely low km, stood for several years with a constant 12% on the batteries.
 

Prices

The prices are based on "on the route" prices from Finn.no.
 
2016 Nissan Leaf 30 kwh

• Km 0-49: NOK 999 (129 cars)
• Km 50-000: NOK 99 (999 cars)

 
2016 Nissan Leaf 24 kwh (for comparison)

• Km 0-49: NOK 999 (115 cars)
• Km 50-000: NOK 99 (999 cars)

 
2015 Nissan Leaf 24 kwh

• Km 0-49: NOK 999 (99 cars)
• Km 50-000: NOK 99 (999 cars)
• Km 100-000: NOK 149 (999 cars)

 
2014 Nissan Leaf

• Km 0-49: NOK 999 (90 cars)
• Km 50-000: NOK 99 (999 cars)
• Km 100-000: NOK 149 (999 cars)

 
2013 Nissan Leaf (both Series 1 and Series 2 cars)

• Km 50-000: NOK 99 (999 cars)
• Km 99-999: NOK 149 (999 cars)

 
2011/2012 Nissan Leaf

• Km 50-000: NOK 99 (999 cars)
• Km 100-000: NOK 149999 (49 cars)

 
Here you can see that prices fall by NOK 10 per year. 000 models with 2016 kwh batteries are understandably more expensive than equivalent cars with 30 kwh. These are undoubtedly the best in the selection and our clear choice. Here you get a lot of electric cars and simple car maintenance for the money. Our second choice is one of the cars after the 24 upgrade.