Nissan’s fully electric LEAF has been awarded 2011 European Car of the Year, the first time the award has been given to an electric car.
The world’s first mass-marketed, affordable, zero-emission vehicle for the global market beat 40 contenders to win one of motoring’s most important accolades. Nissan LEAF’s rivals included vehicles from brands such as Alfa Romeo, Citroen, Dacia, Ford, Opel/Vauxhall and Volvo. The jury included 57 leading motoring journalists from 23 European countries.
The Japanese hatchback scored 257 points, despite splitting opinion to the point where several jurors placed it in last place. Its total was just nine points clear of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta (248 points) and 13 clear of the third-placed Vauxhall Meriva (244).
The remaining finalists were the Ford C-Max/Grand C-Max (224 points), the Citroën C3/DS3 (175), the Volvo S60 and V60 (145) and the Dacia Duster (132).
“The jury acknowledged today that the Nissan LEAF is a breakthrough for electric cars. Nissan LEAF is the first EV that can match conventional cars in many respects,” said Håkan Matson, president of the jury, Car of the Year.
Nissan president and CEO Carlos Ghosn said the the award recognised the pioneering zero-emission Nissan LEAF as competitive to conventional cars in terms of safety, performance, spaciousness and handling. "With three other electric vehicles in the pipeline from Nissan – and with the imminent market introduction of four additional electric vehicles from our Alliance partner Renault – Nissan LEAF represents a significant first step toward a zero-emission future,” he added.
“The Nissan Leaf was my own winner this year,” said Steve Cropley, Autocar, “So I’m delighted to see it win. It does more than any rival to “normalise” electric cars.
“I’m disappointed for the Dacia Duster, my number two, though. I know it does relatively little to further the art of the motor car, but it does offer a lot of style and utility for amazingly little money. It undercuts SUVs like the VW Tiguan and Ford Kuga by up to £10,000: an amazing achievement. Still, it’s good to see the Alfa Giulietta, the best car from them for many years, to be so well supported.”
Nissan LEAF is powered by a compact electric motor in the front of the car, which drives the front wheels. The AC motor develops a power output of 109PS and 280Nm of torque, enough for a maximum speed of 90mph. The electric motor is powered by a Nissan-developed laminated lithium-ion battery with an output of more than 90kW. The car has a range of more than 100 miles between charges making it a practical proposition for many urban drivers.
The vehicle boasts features such as regenerative braking, air conditioning, satellite navigation, parking camera and advanced on-board IT and telematics systems. Innovative connectivity will allow an owner to set charging functions to monitor the car’s current state of charge and the remaining battery capacity, as well as to heat or cool the interior of the car remotely via mobile phone or computer. The Nissan LEAF will be available in five colours in Europe – blue metallic and pearl, white pearl, silver metallic, black solid and red pearl. The single option is a solar panel mounted in the rear spoiler that supports charging of the car’s 12V battery used for powering accessories.
The UK’s first LEAF customers are set to get theirs in March and will be built in Sunderland from 2013.
