24 kWh Leaf

When the Leaf was first produced, the battery size was 24kWh as standard. In optimal driving conditions, this translates to roughly 70-80 miles of travelling range on a single charge. 

This may not sound as impressive as the standard range of conventional ICE cars which reaches 200 miles on a full tank. However, take into consideration that a single charge is roughly 3.5 hours with a 7kW charger (with a 6.6 onboard charger), and the price of which is a mere £3.12 (calculated using the average UK price for electricity, the accurate cost will differ with region and provider). 

Considering the average size of a UK/Euro hatchback vehicle is roughly 50-60 litres, with petrol averaging at £1.20/litre, the price of a full tank is at least an eye-watering £60, the same cost can power a Nissan Leaf for at least 1,300 miles compared to roughly 600 mile range of a conventional ICE car. 

The real-life mileage range of a Nissan Leaf differs according to the weather, driving conditions and driving style of the individual driver. The activation of features such as heating will increase the power usage and reduce the range of the vehicle. It's also known that cold weather driving will use the battery at an increased rate.

If you conduct some research into electric vehicles, you will come across the phrase "range anxiety" sooner or later. As the name suggests, it's descriptive of the general sense of anxiety which electric vehicle drivers experience when the remaining range of the car decrease sooner than expected with few or no charging stations nearby. The owners of the first generation of Nissan Leafs were often admired for their bravery, as the Leaf was the first ever mass-produced electric car when the network of EV charging points in the UK was still in its embryonic stages.