[JasH]

I had a test drive in a Nissan Leaf.

Initial impressions were very positive. The car looked "cute", especially its light pastel blue paint. Not a car for me, but good for my wife.

Most importantly, the boot was very big and appeared to be double the size of the i3's boot! We already have concerns about the i3's boot space, but the Leaf would have no issues whatsoever. Having 3 rear sets was also a big plus point for the Leaf.

The interior however is nowhere the quality of the BMW, and could fairly be described as cheap and tacky.

The next big positive was the price and availability. Available 4 weeks from ordering, and without even asking, the salesman said Nissan would give a £4,000 discount from list price.

In a similar spec to the basic i3 (Leaf Acenta - the third of 4 specs), the Leaf would cost £19,500 on the road versus the i3 at £25,000 on a like for like basis. That is a huge saving and explains why the Leaf is the market leader for small electric cars.

So, we set off on the test drive with a very positive view of the Leaf.

For a modern electric car, the foot operated parking brake appeared an odd anomaly. The dash was slightly obscured by the wheel, but not fatally so. More annoying was the pointless gimmicky information displayed on the dash. A huge portion of the dash is used to show a battery temperature gauge. Why? The car should monitor and manage that aspect itself, and I believe it is because the Leaf has no active cooling of the batteries - unlike the i3. Similarly, there is a gimmicky tree that grows as you save CO2

Driving it was an experience.

I could feel every kilogram of the Leaf's lardy body. It is 1,493 kg compared with the i3's 1,195kg but the difference feels much greater.

The chassis is utterly inert and rolls around slowly as you corner. Acceleration is terrible, other than perhaps 0-30. It is utterly and completely horrible to drive, and was so unenjoyable that if I had driven the Leaf first, I would never have even looked at another electric car. I hated driving the thing. Driving a Leaf might well help save the planet, but I felt my suffering would be too high a price to pay

Steering is poor. Not only is there no feedback (like most modern cars), but the gearing is so low that it takes so many turns that you feel you could be driving a lorry. The lorry might well be nippier though

The rear feels claustrophobic despite having plenty of leg and headroom. The ride was jarring and unpleasant over poor roads.

I would never buy the Leaf, despite its clear financial benefits. My wife did not dislike how it drove at all. But even as a car for her, I would sometimes have to drive the thing...and I hated it. It was the worst car I have driven in many years.

It is pity that the leaf is the market leader for small electric cars, as this means the majority of such drivers will think this is what electric cars are like. The bar has been set low...very low indeed.

It is no surprise customers can receive a Leaf just 4 weeks after ordering, and that Nissan are throwing £4,000 at customers to take these cars off their hands.

Other than being electric, there is simply no common ground between the i3 and Leaf. I could happily drive an i3 as my daily car - it was so enjoyable. The Leaf however is a car I never want to drive or ride in again.