Nissan Leaf review

Good News! The Leaf qualifies for the UK government Electric Car Grant. As you'd hope for something British built, we suppose. Apply the £3,750 discount and you're looking at a starting price of £28,849 for the 52kWh version, while the 75kWh one that you really want is £32,249.

The range stepladder begins at Engage, the most efficient because of its 195/60 18in tyres. Standard kit includes LED headlights and daytime running lights, the dual 12.3in screens, 11kW AC charging (the kind you get at home), intelligent cruise control, faux leather steering wheel, rain sensing wipers, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, USB-C sockets front and rear, plus bluetooth audio.

Then Engage+ (£33,149, 75kWh only) adds more advanced ADAS and the Google connectivity, both of which are calming if you make long trips. Not to mention heated front seats and steering wheel, 15W wireless smartphone charging, and a heat pump for the battery.

Advance (£34,249, or £30,849 for the 52kWh Leaf) is to a degree a cosmetics pack with the option of the light interior, and range-sucking 235/45 19in tyres. You'll find a head-up display and a trick dimmable panoramic sunroof here too.

Evolve (£36,249) is the top step, adding the Bose nine-speaker audio system and a massage seat for the driver.

You can take power to an external device (V2L), and vehicle to grid (V2G) is also specced. That's a bit of a holy grail, with lots of manufacturers talking about it and few-to-none doing it. But Nissan does have a V2G home charger certified for the Ariya, so it's ready to go.

That could save you big money: charge at cheap overnight rates and sell to the grid at higher daytime prices. Electricity suppliers like Octopus have tariffs for that.

The whole car is warranted for three years and 60,000 miles, extendable if you pay. The battery gets eight/100k.

Which one's best?

We reckon the 75kWh Engage+ has enough on it to keep you happy, although the Advance isn't much more and that electrochromic roof will keep kids (and adults) entertained for hours.

Stump up three-ish grand for the Engage+ and monthly repayments amount to £414 over four years allowing 10,000 miles annually. Interest is 5.49 per cent APR. The usual caveats apply: Nissan has a finance calculator for you to play around with, and independent providers might fix you up with a better deal.

And while it's cheap for a cash buyer, Nissan's PCP works out more expensive than those for the Skoda Elroq and Toyota C-HR+. A Kia EV3 is more, but not by much. Food for thought.