Is the Nissan Leaf reliable?

The Nissan Leaf scores 82/100 on Forecourt's MOT-based reliability measure, ahead of 59% of the cars we track. That is computed from 346,659 real DVSA MOT test results.

How much does a used Nissan Leaf cost?

A 2023 Nissan Leaf with around 23,418 miles is worth roughly £11,650 today (typical range £10,500–£12,750). Dealer forecourt prices sit higher and part-exchange offers lower; newer or lower-mileage examples cost more.

How quickly does the Nissan Leaf depreciate?

A new Nissan Leaf typically loses about 62% of its value over the first three years, then depreciates more slowly. Buying at three to five years old avoids the steepest part of the curve.

What insurance group is the Nissan Leaf?

The Nissan Leaf sits in insurance group 16 of 50 — the middle of the scale. Exact premiums depend on the trim (some versions sit a few groups higher or lower), your age, postcode and no-claims history.

What goes wrong on a used Nissan Leaf?

The most common age-related issues we track for the Nissan Leaf are: suspension (typically around over 100k miles, £150-£450 to put right); tyres & wheels (typically around over 100k miles, £80-£500 to put right); brakes (typically around over 100k miles, £150-£500 to put right). A full service history and a recent MOT with no advisories are the best protection.

What does the Nissan Leaf cost to run?

Expect around 3.6 miles per kWh on the Leaf 40 kWh, £200 a year in road tax, about £185 for a standard annual service. The full cost-of-ownership table above breaks this down per year and per mile for the exact year and mileage you choose.

Is the Nissan Leaf ULEZ compliant?

The Nissan Leaf is pure-electric, so it is exempt from the London ULEZ charge and every other UK clean-air zone, whatever the registration year.

How many Nissan Leafs are on UK roads?

About 60,916 Nissan Leafs are currently taxed and on the road in the UK, from DfT vehicle-licensing data.

Ranked #270 car in the UK · Hatchback (EV) · 19 units sold last year

Nissan Leaf

The Nissan Leaf took electric motoring mainstream, and the used market is dominated by the first generation (2011-2017) air-cooled hatchback and the second generation (2017-2024) car with bigger 40kWh and 62kWh (e+) batteries. A third-generation Leaf arrived in 2025 as a liquid-cooled crossover on the Ariya's platform, but those are only just reaching used forecourts. Cross-shop the Renault Zoe, VW ID.3, MG4 and Vauxhall Corsa Electric.

How these figures are sourced — the valuation is anchored to a researched used-market price for this model (AutoTrader median, 2023 at 30k miles). Reliability, mileage and variant data are real DVSA MOT records. Dimensions, tyre sizes and costs, servicing figures and the insurance group are segment-level estimates rather than sourced per car, and are being replaced model by model.

Body: Hatchback (EV)
Years: 2018–2026
Fuel: Electric
Efficiency: 3.6 mi/kWh
Insurance: Group 16

The short version

35/100

Forecourt score

Value 1 · Reliability 69 · catalogue percentiles

The Nissan Leaf loses value faster than most cars. Its MOT-based reliability is excellent — an MOT score of 82/100, ahead of 59% of the cars we track. On three-year value retention it ranks better than 1% of models.

The Forecourt score blends how this car ranks against the catalogue on value retention, reliability and insurance cost (weighted 40/40/20) — the from-new ownership picture. Higher is better; running cost is not yet folded in.

Flip side for used buyers: heavy depreciation is the first owner’s loss and the used buyer’s discount — a reliable car with a low score here can be a strong used purchase at today’s prices.

Eligible for £3,750 off — UK Electric Car GrantBand 1

Applied at point of sale by the dealer — no application needed. Details on gov.uk.

Pick your version

Estimates are tuned to the version you choose.

Fuel

Electric

Power

150 ps

Drivetrain

FWD

Efficiency

3.6 mi/kWh

Mk2 Leaf 40 kWh (2018-2024) - ~168 mi WLTP. The used-market volume EV: cheap, simple, proven. Note: uses CHAdeMO DC charging, increasingly rare on UK rapid chargers.

Tell us about the one you're looking at

Year of registration2023

20182026

Mileage on the clock23,418 mi

0Expected: 23,418180k

Conditiongood

PoorFairGoodExcellent

Tidy and well looked-after for its age — the typical car.

Region

Remembered as you browse other cars.

Know the registration?

Optional — fills in the exact year and ULEZ status for your specific car. The registration isn’t stored.

Estimated market value

£11,650

Range £9,800 – £13,650

medium confidence

When new (2023)circa £30,000Age-based value£11,307Mileage adjustment+£0Condition & region+£17Market calibration+£1,126Forecourt price£12,450Private sale£10,850Part-exchange£9,550

Holdthis 3-year-old

Fair value — the 4-year mark is the sweet spot.

At 23,418 miles it’s about the ~24,878 typical for a 3-year-old.

Seen one for sale?

A data-led guide from the depreciation curve, UK parc trend and reliability — not financial advice.

The depreciation curve

How a 2023-registration Nissan Leaf loses value over time.

Marker = your selection
Dashed = mileage either side

What it costs to own

Over

Based on the 2023 car with 23,418 miles you entered above — worth about £11,650 today — here is the cost of owning it for the next 5 years, at roughly 7,806 miles a year.

5-year total

£12,051

Per year

£2,410

All-in per mile

£0.31

Fuel per mile

8.7p

If a company carAround £43/mo Benefit-in-Kind tax at the 40% rate (£21/mo at 20%) — 4% band (EV)

Depreciation£2,792

Fuel / energy£3,399

Servicing£1,765

Road tax£1,000

Insurance£3,095

If you're a company-car driver

At 4% BIK, this would cost a 40% taxpayer about £43/month in company-car tax (£21/month at 20%) — one of the strongest cases for choosing an EV via salary sacrifice. Full BIK table below for context.

Best age to buy — around 2 years

A 2-year-old example loses roughly £1,400 a year — 91% less than the £14,950 a one-year-old sheds. The steepest drop is behind it.

Uses current UK pump and home-charging prices (DESNZ weekly), typical-driver insurance and manufacturer service intervals. "Fuel per mile" is just the energy input — so an EV at ~9p and a diesel at ~22p make running-cost comparison direct. A guide; your own costs will vary.

How it compares

Where this car ranks against the 340 vehicles in our index — higher is better.

Holds its valuebetter than 1%

Reliabilitybetter than 69%

Percentile rank across our full index. A measure is shown only where the data spreads meaningfully across the index.

Petrol, diesel, hybrid or EV?

How the available versions compare on price, running cost, and the headaches each tends to develop.

40 / e+ 62

Pioneer EV hatchback. UK-built at Sunderland. CHAdeMO caveat means rapid-charge access shrinking — used market values reflect. Cross-shop MG4, Vauxhall Corsa Electric, Renault 5 E-Tech. The Mk3 (2026) will be SUV-styled with CCS standard.

New price: circa £32,000
Annual fuel / energy: £750
3-yr depreciation: 55%

Watch for

·🔔 CHAdeMO charging port limits to 50kW DC — most UK rapid chargers now favour CCS
·Air-cooled battery (no liquid cooling) — degradation faster than rivals
·12V battery drain when unused
·Mk3 Leaf (2026, SUV body) will adopt CCS

Fuel/energy costs based on this week’s UK averages (w/c 03/08/2026) · Petrol 159.9p/L, Diesel 179.2p/L, Electricity 27.0p/kWh · DESNZ

Estimated insurance

Group 16 of 50 (mid — around the UK average) · Comprehensive · 3 years NCB

Indicative annual comprehensive premiums for this car, by driver age band and risk profile. Pick the combination closest to your circumstances.

No-claims bonus3 years

0 yearsBaseline: 3 years15+

Risk profile:

Estimated annual premium · typical, age 33-39

£619/ year

Roughly £52 per month

Typical

Average UK driver — 3 years NCB, average postcode, no recent claims.

Age band	Lower risk	Typical	Higher risk
Age 17-25	£1,410	£1,763	£2,292
Age 26-32	£736	£866	£1,056
Age 33-39Selected	£544	£619	£730
Age 40-49	£462	£513	£595
Age 50+	£412	£458	£540

How we estimate this

Indicative annual comprehensive premium estimates. The 'Typical' figure represents an average UK driver in each age band; Lower and Higher risk show the realistic spread driven by factors UK insurers legitimately price on (postcode, occupation, claims history, NCB, voluntary excess, modifications). Based on 10,000 miles/yr, £250 voluntary excess, and the no-claims bonus selected above. Always get individual quotes before buying.

Expected annual costs

Adjust the annual mileage to match how you'll actually use the car. Insurance is what you selected above (age 33-39, typical risk, 3 yrs NCB).

Annual mileage7,806 mi/yr

2,000UK avg for this model: 7,80630,000

Routine service

£185

Annual main-dealer service

Major service

£210

Every 2 years, annualised

Road tax

£200

Standard rate, post year-one

Electricity

£585

3.6 mi/kWh, 27p blended

Insurance

£619

Age 33-39, group 16

Clean-air zones

✓ ULEZ compliant

Electric variants are compliant with London ULEZ and all UK clean-air zones.

Based on London ULEZ standards — Birmingham, Bath, Bristol, Sheffield, Glasgow and other UK clean-air zones generally follow the same rules.

Total expected£1,799 / year

Excludes depreciation and unscheduled repairs (see next section).

Unexpected costs

What out-of-warranty repairs typically run, by mileage band. Your selected mileage is highlighted.

0-30k miles

£80

per year · low risk

30-60k miles

£240

per year · low risk

60-100k miles

£520

per year · medium risk

100k+ miles

£900

per year · high risk

Tyres

195/65 R15 · 205/55 R16 · 215/45 R17

What a full set of four will cost you (including fit and balance), and which brand each tier of buyer should pick. A typical set lasts about 24,000 miles.

Budget

£300

set of 4, fitted · £60 per tyre

Mid-range

£440

set of 4, fitted · £95 per tyre

Premium

£620

set of 4, fitted · £140 per tyre

What to fit

Optional extras worth paying for

Factory options ranked by how much of their original cost they recover at resale. Anything above 70% return tends to make money back; below 40% is paying for your own enjoyment.

Option	New cost	Added used value	Return
Tow bar (factory-fit) Niche, but the buyers who want one will pay for it.	£650	£450	69%
Parking sensors & reversing camera Near-expected now — its absence costs more than its presence returns.	£500	£300	60%
Heat pump Genuinely useful in winter; buyers increasingly look for it.	£1,000	£450	45%
Heated seats / cold-weather pack	£450	£200	44%
Faster on-board AC charger	£800	£300	38%
Metallic or premium paint Almost universal — an unusual colour is the bigger resale risk.	£600	£200	33%
Panoramic / opening roof	£1,100	£350	32%
Larger alloy wheels	£700	£200	29%

Parts most likely to fail

Drawn from owner reports and warranty data. Filtered for relevance to 23,418 miles.

Watch now

Failure typically happens around your current mileage.

Upcoming

A known weak point — but you haven't reached its usual mileage yet.

Already due

Past its usual failure mileage. Either already fixed, or about to.

SuspensionUpcoming

Typical at over 100k milesCost £150-£450medium severityParts high

Recorded in 13.5% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 333,255 DVSA MOT tests analysed.

Tyres & wheelsUpcoming

Typical at over 100k milesCost £80-£500medium severityParts high

Recorded in 7.0% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 333,255 DVSA MOT tests analysed.

BrakesUpcoming

Typical at over 100k milesCost £150-£500medium severityParts high

Recorded in 7.8% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 333,255 DVSA MOT tests analysed.

Lighting & signallingUpcoming

Typical at over 100k milesCost £15-£120low severityParts high

Recorded in 4.7% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 333,255 DVSA MOT tests analysed.

Driver's viewUpcoming

Typical at over 100k milesCost £60-£300low severityParts high

Recorded in 2.6% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 333,255 DVSA MOT tests analysed.

Identification & otherUpcoming

Typical at over 100k milesCost £20-£150low severityParts high

Recorded in 1.4% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 333,255 DVSA MOT tests analysed.

"Parts low/medium/high" indicates how easy the replacement part is to source — discontinued or specialist parts mean longer workshop time and bigger bills.

Safety rating

Euro NCAP's independent crash-test rating for the Nissan Leaf, from its 2018 assessment.

5/5

TEST YEAR2018

Rating lapsed after 2024 · protocol superseded

The passenger compartment of the LEAF remained stable in the frontal offset test.

Independent crash-test data from Euro NCAP. Star ratings reflect the test protocol of the year shown — newer protocols are stricter, so a 5-star from 2024 represents a higher bar than a 5-star from 2014. Euro NCAP ratings run for six years from publication; a lapsed rating means the protocol has moved on, not that the car performs any worse than it did on test.

MOT outlook

How this model fares at its MOT as it ages — from 346,659 real DVSA test records.

MOT pass rate by age

90.9% at 3yr → 75.1% at 15yr

A 3-year-old Leaf passes its MOT 90.9% of the time; by 15 years that has slipped to 75.1%. The y-axis is zoomed to this model’s range so the trend is readable.

Longevity

89%of 8-year-old examples are still taxed and on the road — a useful read on how well the model lasts.

From 5,403 vehicles registered in 2018.

Survival by registration year

89% of 2018 cars still on the road

Each point is one registration cohort. Older cars on the left, newer on the right. A flatter line means the model holds up over time; a steep drop means cohorts disappear from UK roads faster.

What fails at the first MOT

The defect categories a Leaf registered 2020–2023 fails on at its first MOT, from 29,303 first tests. Every car here is the same age and the same generation, so these are the faults that show up first - not the wear a high-mileage older example collects.

Tyres & wheels4.2%
Driver's view1.1%
Brakes0.8%
Lighting & signalling0.4%
Suspension0.3%
Identification & other0.1%

Share of first MOT tests recording at least one defect in that category. DVSA test-item categories, not parts: “Driver’s view” covers mirrors, wipers and glass.

Typical mileage by age

The average odometer reading for a Leaf at MOT, by age — measured from the same DVSA records, not assumed. A useful yardstick for whether a given car has done more or fewer miles than its age suggests.

3 yr24,878
4 yr32,428
5 yr39,934
6 yr46,706
7 yr52,375
8 yr57,035
9 yr61,021
10 yr65,053
11 yr68,145
12 yr71,165
13 yr67,624
14 yr65,061

Mean recorded mileage at MOT by vehicle age, from DVSA test records. Ages below three are not shown: the first MOT is due at three years, so the few cars tested earlier are a self-selected minority rather than a representative sample. Ages with at least 10 tests shown.

Reliability

82/ 100

Excellent

First-MOT pass rate and defect rate for cars registered 2020 onward (29,303 first tests), with cohort survival — high confidence.

MOT outlook · age 5 years

87%first-time pass rate

59th percentile — About catalogue average

Based on 47,265 MOT tests · ranked against 248 catalogue models with comparable data

Where this car sits in the catalogue

Pass-rate distribution across 248 catalogue models

Things owners say

01Battery health is everything on a used Leaf - the early air-cooled packs (especially first-gen) can degrade faster, so check the dashboard capacity bars and history.
02Older Leafs use the CHAdeMO rapid-charging standard, which is being phased out at public chargers - a real consideration for longer trips.
03First-gen cars can suffer 'rapidgate' (rapid-charge speed dropping when the battery is warm) on consecutive fast charges - fine for home-charged commuting, less so for long-distance use.

Safety recalls

Manufacturers occasionally issue safety recalls to fix a fault free of charge. You can check whether the Nissan Leaf, or your exact vehicle, has any outstanding recalls on the official DVSA service.

Check on GOV.UK

Opens the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency recall checker. Choose the make, model and year of manufacture — no registration needed.

Theft risk

A general indicator from UK 2025 theft data and this car’s characteristics — not a prediction for any one vehicle.

Whole-car theft

Around average

Theft risk is around the UK average. Like most modern cars it has keyless entry, so relay theft is the method to guard against.

Parts theft

Lower

As an electric car it has no catalytic converter, so the most common parts-theft vector doesn't apply.

Worth doing

Keep keys in a Faraday pouch and away from the front door to block relay attacks.
Park in well-lit, busy areas, and consider a tracker for faster recovery.

Clean-air zones

Whether driving a Nissan Leaf into a UK clean-air zone will cost you anything. Rules use the same Euro standard across most zones — petrol from 2006 and diesel from 2015 onwards are exempt; pure electric is always exempt.

Charging zones for cars

City	Area	Daily charge	Likely outcome
London	All of Greater London (within the M25)	£12.50	Likely exempt Battery-electric — exempt everywhere.
Birmingham	Inside the A4540 Middleway	£8.00	Likely exempt Battery-electric — exempt everywhere.
Bristol	City centre and part of the Portway	£9.00	Likely exempt Battery-electric — exempt everywhere.
Glasgow	City centre	—	Likely exempt Battery-electric — exempt everywhere.
Edinburgh	City centre	—	Likely exempt Battery-electric — exempt everywhere.
Aberdeen	City centre	—	Likely exempt Battery-electric — exempt everywhere.
Dundee	City centre	—	Likely exempt Battery-electric — exempt everywhere.

Zones that don't charge private cars

Bath — City centre (Private cars and motorbikes are not charged).
Bradford — Outer ring road and the Aire Valley (Private cars are not charged).
Sheffield — Inside the A61 inner ring road (Private cars are not charged).
Newcastle & Gateshead — City centres and the Tyne, Swing, High Level and Redheugh bridges (Private cars are not charged).
Portsmouth — Part of the city centre (Applies to taxis, PHVs, buses, coaches and HGVs only).

Model-level guidance only. To check a specific registration, use the official gov.uk clean-air zone checker. Zone charges and boundaries are set by local councils and change over time.

EV reality check

64 kWh

Winter range

120 mi

Cold-weather realistic

DC charge 10–80%

45 min

Slower than rivals

Heat pump

None

Not available — winter range hit harder

Battery chemistry

NMC

Higher energy density, faster charging, charge to 80% daily

Cost to charge

~£17

full charge · ~£7.50/100mi

Winter range estimates assume ~5°C ambient with cabin heating; figures from manufacturer cold-weather testing where available, otherwise derived as a fraction of WLTP. DC times are manufacturer-claimed 10–80% on the headline charger; real-world sessions on UK rapids can be slower. Charging cost is a full battery at the home/blended electricity rate; public rapid charging costs more.

UK charging network

119,080 public chargers across the UK

As of 2026-04-01, the UK has 119,080 publicly available EV chargers, up 12.6% on the prior year (13,281 added in 2025). 23% of those are rapid (50 kW+) or ultra-rapid (150 kW+), so the network can support both home and on-route charging.

3-8 kW

50%

Standard

8-50 kW

27%

Standard plus

50-150 kW

12%

Rapid

150 kW+

11%

Ultra-rapid

Source: Department for Transport / Zapmap · Released 2026-05-21 · DfT statistics

Company car tax

What HMRC's Benefit-in-Kind charge looks like if you ran this Nissan Leaf as a company car, by tax year and income-tax band. Calculated from a CO₂ of 0 g/km, using £32,000 as the P11D value.

EVs sit at the bottom BIK band — currently 4% — so this is one of the cheapest ways to take a company car.

Tax year	BIK %	Tax @ 20%	Tax @ 40%	Monthly @ 20%	Monthly @ 40%
2025-26	3%	£192	£384	£16	£32
2026-27	4%	£256	£512	£21	£43
2027-28	5%	£320	£640	£27	£53
2028-29	7%	£448	£896	£37	£75
2029-30	9%	£576	£1,152	£48	£96

P11D value is approximated from the latest new price; the exact figure on your tax code will depend on options fitted. The 4% diesel surcharge applies only to non-RDE2 (pre-2021) diesels — we assume RDE2 compliance for current models. Bands and rates from HMRC's Autumn Budget 2024 confirmation through 2029/30.

Servicing & the dealer network

How well-supported Nissan is across the UK — a practical read on how easy servicing, parts and warranty work will be to find.

Franchised UK dealers

~160

Large network

Mass-market

Network size relative to the UK's largest (Nissan is 3.6% of all franchised outlets)

Servicing, parts and warranty work are easy to find UK-wide, and most independent garages know the brand well — which keeps maintenance competitive.

For context, the UK has roughly 4,500 franchised car-dealer outlets in total, plus about 15,500 independent garages.

Approximate figures, curated from public UK industry sources (NFDA, Car Dealer Magazine). Franchised networks shrink year on year — these indicate network size, not an exact count.

Dimensions & weight

These are segment estimates, not manufacturer figures. 296 of 325 catalogued cars share one of 14 identical dimension sets, so they describe a class rather than this particular car. Sourced figures replace them model by model.

Length

4,300 mm

Width

1,790 mm

Height

1,460 mm

Kerb weight

1,700 kg

Boot

380–1,250 L

Battery

64 kWh

How many are still out there

How the UK Nissan Leaf fleet splits: taxed and on the road, parked off the road on a SORN, and gone from the register where that figure is available.

Total ever registered

63,490

Currently taxed & on road

60,916

96% of all registered

SORN (off road)

1,758

3% of all registered

Scrapped or exported

816

UK fleet trend — 2014 to 2025

-1.9% vs 2024

6,83860,916

Source: DfT VEH0124 vehicle licensing statistics (year-end 2025) · Updated 29 Jul 2026

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Common questions

Nissan Leaf, answered from the data

Is the Nissan Leaf reliable?: The Nissan Leaf scores 82/100 on Forecourt's MOT-based reliability measure, ahead of 59% of the cars we track. That is computed from 346,659 real DVSA MOT test results.
How much does a used Nissan Leaf cost?: A 2023 Nissan Leaf with around 23,418 miles is worth roughly £11,650 today (typical range £10,500–£12,750). Dealer forecourt prices sit higher and part-exchange offers lower; newer or lower-mileage examples cost more.
How quickly does the Nissan Leaf depreciate?: A new Nissan Leaf typically loses about 62% of its value over the first three years, then depreciates more slowly. Buying at three to five years old avoids the steepest part of the curve.
What insurance group is the Nissan Leaf?: The Nissan Leaf sits in insurance group 16 of 50 — the middle of the scale. Exact premiums depend on the trim (some versions sit a few groups higher or lower), your age, postcode and no-claims history.
What goes wrong on a used Nissan Leaf?: The most common age-related issues we track for the Nissan Leaf are: suspension (typically around over 100k miles, £150-£450 to put right); tyres & wheels (typically around over 100k miles, £80-£500 to put right); brakes (typically around over 100k miles, £150-£500 to put right). A full service history and a recent MOT with no advisories are the best protection.
What does the Nissan Leaf cost to run?: Expect around 3.6 miles per kWh on the Leaf 40 kWh, £200 a year in road tax, about £185 for a standard annual service. The full cost-of-ownership table above breaks this down per year and per mile for the exact year and mileage you choose.
Is the Nissan Leaf ULEZ compliant?: The Nissan Leaf is pure-electric, so it is exempt from the London ULEZ charge and every other UK clean-air zone, whatever the registration year.
How many Nissan Leafs are on UK roads?: About 60,916 Nissan Leafs are currently taxed and on the road in the UK, from DfT vehicle-licensing data.

Answers are generated from this car's Forecourt data — DVSA MOT records, DfT licensing statistics and our valuation model — and update with the weekly data refresh.