The Mk2 Nissan Leaf has a range of 235 miles – with a 310-mile model to follow – and advanced autonomous systems

Nissan has launched the second-generation Leaf at its Nissan Futures show in Oslo, Norway today, with a special launch edition of the new Leaf being available from the beginning of 2018 from £26,490. 

The Leaf 2.Zero is the next generation in a line of mass-produced all electric zero-emissions cars from the Japanese manufactrer, who have increased the Leaf’s range to 235 miles on a single charge. New 7.5Kw domestic charging points are available giving the owner the ability to fully charge their new Leaf in 5.5 hours. The 50kW charging points for inner city businesses charge the Leaf from alert to 80 per cent in just 40 minutes.

The second-gen Leaf has been developed under Nissan’s Intelligent Mobility programme which has three pillars; Intelligent Power, Intelligent Driving and Intelligent Integration.

First up is Intelligent Driving; By far the biggest advance for the Leaf comes in the form of Nissan’s e-Pedal. This switchable system increases the regenerative braking when you lift off the accelerator to 0.2g, or around four times more than regular engine braking in a petrol or diesel car. It means you can deal with 90 per cent of driving using just the accelerator, Nissan claims.

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Nissan’s ProPilot autonomous system is also part of the Intelligent Driving technology fitted to the car, being the first Nissan sold in Europe to feature the technology as standard.

Nissan’s second pillar of innovation – called Intelligent Power – covers the car’s battery pack and electric motor. As with its predecessor, the new Leaf will be offered with a choice of two battery packs.

The standard version uses a new 40kWh lithium-ion battery, up from the 30kWh of the outgoing model. The battery pack is the same physical size as the unit in the original Leaf but is more energy-dense, improving range to 235 miles in a single journey.

There will be a higher-capacity battery available in a more powerful variant, too. Nissan tells us this will be offered a year to 18 months after the new Leaf’s launch, and that it will give the car a range of more than 310 miles when it arrives.

For the first time, this higher-capacity, physically larger battery will also be teamed with a more powerful electric motor, although Nissan has yet to reveal exactly how much extra power this version will have over the standard car.

Nissan claims the Mk2 feels more natural to drive than the first-generation car, and you can read our first impressions from behind the wheel here.

The final pillar is Intelligent Integration. With the new Leaf, Nissan is pushing the connected aspects of the car, and while this means new vehicle-to-home facilities to help distribute electricity back to the grid when it’s needed, the bigger benefit to most owners will be the connectivity inside.

Read more: AutoExpress