As for how it drives, the Leaf has got a lovely, long-legged attitude as it soaks up the road surface, with the slim-rimmed two-spoke steering wheel allowing some of the road’s texture to reach your fingertips.
There’s no confusing this for something with hot hatch ambitions; it’s the friskier Megane or Cupra Born that you want. Instead, the Nissan eases down the road, feeling supple and controlled over bigger bumps. There is a bit of patter and suspension boom over eroded surfaces, but it’s still tidy and pliant.
Having said all of that, you will probably want to avoid Eco mode, which neuters the throttle response and 214bhp front-mounted electric motor to the point of it feeling like it has just shrugged and given up. Not accelerating at all would, after all, be quite efficient. But it can also result in some buttock clenching if you have assumed a modicum of accelerative response when exiting a junction.
Punch in Standard or Sport modes and the Nissan livens up and flows nicely, tilting keenly into corners so that it feels satisfying if still more comfort-oriented than some others in the class. After all, you do notice its weight moving around; none of these cars are lightweight, of course.
But the Nissan’s suspension travel is progressive and well controlled, without any jarring bump stops. It’s just a very precise and confident car to drive, if a way off outright fun, which matches the airy, tech- and comfort-first attitude of the interior, too. But before we delve into the cabin stuff, let’s talk about the EV4.
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