Should you buy a Nissan Leaf Mk1?

Mike says:
‘Overall, the Leaf is a well made and generally reliable car, only the limited driving range counts against it. If you are purely looking at a car to get you around town or for inter-urban commutes to nearby places then the Leaf could be the right choice for you. The pleasant interior, good levels of comfort, and cheap overnight domestic charging are major plus points.

‘From the word go, the Leaf has been a popular car so there are oodles to choose from and owners have tended to take good care of them. Obviously, avoid anything that’s had more owners than is acceptable and steer well away away from tatty and tired looking models too. Servicing is cheap and dealer support remains good, while a myriad of independent specialists can drive down running costs even further.’

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Kia Soul EV (2014-2019)

Despite its questionable looks, the Kia offers a good all round value package but lacks the ‘perceived brand image’ and build quality of the Nissan. It feels a little cheap inside and is a generation behind the current batch of Kia models – they now build a really good car with few vices.

Buy a nice clean example and avoid anything bargain basement – many owners bought them purely on price and cared not one jot about them. A worn out Kia is like yesterday’s newspaper – worthless. A good one drives well, is cheap to insure and tends to be very reliable.

To find out more, read our full Kia Soul EV review

Hyundai Ioniq (2016-2022)

Available in hybrid or EV flavour, the Ioniq brought in new levels of quality to Hyundai. They really feel well built inside and the average minicab drivers state they are comfortable to spend the whole day in. They are generally well equipped too and pleasant to drive.

Stick to the hybrid version and the pure EV models seem to suffer from a range of silly electrical gremlins and foibles that puts the car off the road for longer than should be expected. Later cars have seen reliability improve by leaps and bounds.

To find out more, read the full Hyundai Ioniq review