Nissan LEAF vs Toyota Yaris

What's the difference?

If you’ve never driven an electric car before, the Nissan Leaf e+ is the perfect starting point.

It looks and feels for the most part like a conventional car, and it doesn’t throw any of its tech in your face.

It might sound like a criticism, but the Leaf e+ is easy-to-use and unintimidating, which is refreshing in a world dominated by TikToks, smart watches and cryptocurrency.

With a boosted driving range and a bit better performance, the Nissan Leaf e+ certainly puts a strong case forward as your next – or first – EV.

The Yaris ZR hybrid is a very impressive little hatch. Small, agile, fuel efficient, nice-to-drive and safe, it's certainly set the bar to beat in the small car segment. The trouble is, all of this costs money, placing this particular version outside the budgets of many would-be small car buyers.

If you were expecting all electric cars to look like something out of Star Wars or Blade Runner, you might want to lower your expectations a tiny bit with the Nissan Leaf.

From the outside, the Leaf looks just… fine?

You can tell it’s an electric car because there aren’t big gaps in the front grille to let in air, and the sharp, angular styling helps the Leaf better cut through the air to maximise its driving range.

Step to the side and you’ll see a silhouette of a small hatchback, but spruced up with ‘Zero emissions’ badges and 17-inch wheels with low-rolling-resistance tyres.

The blacked-out C-pillar is kind of cool, and pinches the rear end a bit for a more stylish and even coupe-like roofline.

That roof is finished off with a subtle spoiler that carries down into the half-blacked-out tailgate and sharp tail-lights. There’s also a little diffuser down there and, being an electric car, there are no exhaust outlets to ruin the plastic.

Inside, once again, the Leaf looks just fine.

The biggest thing that really stands the Leaf e+’s cabin apart from a conventional small hatchback is the shifter, which is now a small puck-like thing.

It still functions the same, you pull it towards you and down to chuck the Leaf in drive, it’s just not a gear stick, and is one of the only giveaways that the Leaf is an EV from the inside.

The 8.0-inch touchscreen dominates the centre stack, and it's great to see that, despite the Leaf’s futuristic feel, there are still buttons and switches for the climate controls, rather than being an all-touchscreen affair.

It might sound like I'm a fan of the way the Leaf e+ looks, but it doesn’t really break the mould in terms of styling.

Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing is completely up to you, as some would rather a more traditional looking vehicle, but I’d prefer a bit more zing in the style department.

It's instantly identifiable as a Yaris, despite getting a significant design overhaul with the last generation. Toyotas don't have a unifying design language, but they do have key elements which tie them together, allowing each model to stand apart, but be recognisable as part of the greater Toyota portfolio, regardless.

This Yaris is much better looking than the generation which came before it, with lots of little detail points which make it an attractive small car to look at.

From the outside this includes curvy panel work which works its way from the button-nose and Toyota logo, all the way down the side of the car and to the boot lid in the rear.

There's big attention to detail in even the plastic fill panels, which carry a patterned texture to stop them from looking boring up-close, and our ZR is finished with a healthy serve of contrast black across its roof, in its alloy wheels, and on the integrated spoiler it wears on its tailgate.

It's a cool little car, a little bit cute, and a little bit sporty. It certainly needs to be at the asking price.

Inside sports Toyota's typical approach to interior design with some interesting touches. The Yaris gets some common themes, like the little cut-outs in the dash, the multimedia screen perched atop, and thankfully physical controls for the climate functions.

The seats follow the bucket-like theme of other ZRs, although, in this case they are finished in a light-patterned premium cloth trim, as opposed to the suede and leather ones in its larger Corolla sibling.

The three-spoke steering wheel is cool, as are the funky dot-matrix style dash elements, but the strange felt-like door trim, which also lacks padding for your elbow, is a bit odd. Still, it's an upgrade on the rough scratchy material used in lesser variants.

In typical Toyota fashion, there are quite a few hard plastic materials mixed in with the inclusion of a soft dash-topper, but the Yaris is a supposedly affordable small car after all.

Measuring 4490mm long, 1788mm wide, 1540mm tall and with a 2700mm wheelbase, the Nissan Leaf e+ sizes up nicely against small hatchbacks like the Toyota Corolla, Mazda3 and Hyundai i30.

Up front, there’s no denying the Leaf’s practicality, and the cabin feels light and airy thanks to big and generous windows, even if the A-pillars are a little on the thick side.

However, the seats are positioned a little too high – at least for our tastes – and without a telescoping function on the steering wheel, it can take a bit of time before you find the most comfortable driving position.

Storage options in the front seats include door pockets that will take a big water bottle, two cupholders between the seats, a deep storage cubby under the armrest and a tiny little recess that will fit your wallet and smaller phones.

In the rear seats, space does get a bit tighter, at least for my six-foot-tall frame, but there is still sufficient head and leg-room in the two outboard seats.

The middle position is pretty compromised, however, because of the lithium-ion battery underneath and all the components needed to get juice up to the front wheels, which eats away significantly at the footwell.

In the back, storage options extend to a bottle holder in the doors and map pockets behind the two front seats.

Opening the boot reveals a cavity that will accommodate 405 litres officially, but you might want to be careful not to load the Leaf to the brim.

There’s a Bose sound system device positioned right behind the back seats, which emits a beeping sound when reversing to warn pedestrians you are there, so you’ll have to be careful not to damage it with anything big and heavy.

It’s a bit disappointing to see there are no bag hooks or luggage tie-down points in there, but at least there are storage nets where you can put your charging cables.

Fold the rear-seats down and available volume swells to 1176L, but the seats do not fold flat, making it trickier to transport longer items.

The Yaris is small on the outside and small on the inside, too.

This means two things: Firstly this car is a breeze to park and it fits in lots of places, making it ideal to drive around the confines of a city.

On the other hand, there's been a clear design choice here to make the Yaris far from as boxy as it could be, focusing on the curvy looks at the cost of interior volume.

The Kia Rio, for example, does a great job of hitting both tight exterior dimensions with big interior ones, making it perhaps a better choice for those with families, although the Rio is set for the great scrapyard in the sky before long.

The inside of the Yaris adds up to a space which is clearly primarily constructed for the space and comfort of front occupants.

Adjustability is good, with telescopic and height adjust for the steering, relatively large comfortable seats, and a set of two surprisingly decent bottle holders in the doors with two more running down the centre console.

There's no armrest box, as it would impede the function of the centre airbag, so there's nowhere to rest your elbow, and the rare inclusion of a manual handbrake lever precludes the addition of further storage between the seats.

The dial-based climate control panel is welcome, and there's a small bay underneath for the storage of your phone, although, like every other storage nook in the cabin, the base is not rubberised, so objects will simply slide around when you're cornering.

The back seat feels very closed-in, especially in the ZR grade, which makes things worse with its dark headlining and heavy window tint, and while I still like the seat trim and large bottle holders in the doors, it's not hard to feel forgotten.

My knees have just a tiny amount of room from the driver's seat set to my own driving position (I'm 182cm tall), and even the so-so door trim is instead replaced by a plain plastic panel. There is also no centre drop-down armrest, nor is there a power outlet.

A caution for those with kids: The rear door doesn't even open very far, so it strikes me as being difficult to work with for the placement of child seats.

The boot also offers a tiny 270 litres, just big enough for our largest CarsGuide demo case but not the other two in the set, which is actually only 124 litres once you include the thickness of the case itself and the wheels.

The ZR Hybrid version we're reviewing here is the ultimate version of the standard Yaris range - excluding the unhinged, rally-bred GR Yaris which only shares a handful of body panels with this car, anyway.

Costing from a frankly wild $33,100, before on-road costs, it's a far cry from the once sub-$20K car the Yaris used to be. It wasn't even that long ago (2020) you could pick up the previous-generation Yaris SX in automatic guise for just $19,610, before on-roads.

This new Yaris is truly 'new' though, built entirely from the ground up to suit Toyota's TNGA platform philosophy, and it's also the first time you can buy a hybrid one.

The result is one of the most recently engineered small cars you can buy in Australia, a far cry from the ancient MG3 or ageing Mazda2.

Is this worth a lot of extra money? To many buyers in this small car segment the answer is probably not, judging by the fact the MG3 is now outselling the Yaris at an insane ratio of 8:1. But standard equipment is impressive regardless, especially at this ZR grade.

Included are 16-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, a 7.0-inch multimedia touchscreen with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, built-in sat-nav, a 4.2-inch multifunction display and dot-matrix-style dash cluster elements, a head-up display, a leather-accented steering wheel, sports seats with cloth upholstery, single-zone climate control, alongside one of the most comprehensive safety suites in the small car segment.

The unique selling point is the hybrid system, though. It makes the Yaris one of the most fuel efficient cars without a plug in Australia - but perhaps by far the biggest issue facing this car is an equivalent ZR Hybrid Corolla costs just $5020 more.

Under the bonnet of the 2021 Nissan Leaf e+, you will find the electric motor and inverter, which drives the front wheels via a single-speed automatic transmission.

The Leaf e+’s electric motor produces 160kW of power and 340Nm of torque, which is a noticeable step up over the standard Leaf’s 110kW/320Nm output.

As a result, the Leaf e+ is quicker in the 0-100km/h sprint, needing just 6.9 seconds, compared to the Leaf’s 7.9s time.

The Yaris ZR hybrid pairs a 1.5-litre three-cylinder Atkinson-cycle petrol engine with an electric motor set-p on the front axle.

The engine on its own produces 67kW/120Nm, but is assisted by an additional 59kW/141Nm from the motor.

Combined, they are capable of producing a peak 85kW. It's about right for the segment the Yaris plays in, and of course there are advantages of the electrified set-up when it comes to acceleration, smoothness and fuel consumption.

The forces of both drive the front wheels via a silky smooth continuously variable transmission, which makes the switch between the two power sources seamless to the driver.

Officially, the Nissan Leaf e+ consumes 18kWh per 100km … which we’re betting means absolutely nothing to you.

Translating this into real-world terms, the Leaf e+ will travel about 385km with a full charge.

This is much higher than the 270km afforded in the standard Leaf because the e+ has a much larger 62kWh battery, which is part of the reason it costs so much more.

However, with things like regenerative braking and careful use of the air-conditioning, your mileage can greatly vary.

In our week with the car, I actually managed an average consumption rating of 17.3kWh/100km, bettering the official figure.

Regardless, using a standard household socket will get the Leaf e+ from 30 per cent battery to full in about 11.5 hours, and using a DC fast-charger will cut the 20-80 per cent charge to just 45 minutes.

Do note that the Leaf e+ features the CHAdeMO DC fast-charging ports, which are a little harder to find than the CCS varieties.

The Leaf e+, as well as the Leaf, also now support bi-directional charging, so you can use your car to power your home to charge things like your phone and Nintendo.

Fuel consumption sits at 3.3L/100km for the ADR combined cycle, which is one of the best fuel consumption figures for any car without a plug.

This figure will depend a bit on how you drive it, though, with my consumption for the week hitting a more reasonable 3.8L/100km in largely urban testing, which are ideal conditions for this configuration.

I am curious to know what conditions make the 3.3L/100km achievable (it certainly seems achievable), but the figure I scored is immensely impressive regardless.

You can even fill the Yaris with entry-level 91RON unleaded, and the 36-litre fuel tank makes for over 1000km of range if you can score closer to the official fuel consumption.

If you’ve never driven an electric car before, there is a bit of a learning curve. For starters, the torque is available instantaneously, and there isn’t any exhaust or engine noise to contend with.

But don’t worry, because Nissan has made it really easy to just get into the Leaf e+ and go.

Firstly, there is nothing intimidating about the cabin. The layout for all the controls and switches is well thought out, and everything is just where it should be and does what it's meant to do.

This means that, despite having an electric drivetrain, the Leaf e+ feels familiar – and that’s important to some.

Turn the car on, put it in Drive and – just like a regular car – push on the throttle to move. But even though torque is available right away, the Leaf e+ never shoots forward at a mind-blending or uncontrollable pace.

Can you tell the Leaf e+ has a peppier engine than the base offering? It’s hard to say without driving the Leaf and Leaf e+ back-to-back, but Nissan’s new electric hatchback offers spritely enough performance.

What is noticeable is the boost to driving range.

While an extra 110 or so kilometres might not seem like that much in the grand scheme of things, it means you don’t have to worry about plugging in and recharging as often, and it's always nice to look down at the range-remaining display and see a three-digit figure.

In our week with the car, we only charged up once, and there was never a moment where we stressed about running out of juice before getting the car back to base.

And if you really are worried about your range, or are into hypermiling, there is always the Eco mode, or Nissan’s e-Pedal, to play around with.

The former will just dial back performance to add about 15km to the overall range, while the latter allows the Leaf e+ to be operated with just the throttle pedal.

Lift off the right foot, and the Leaf e+’s aggressive regenerative braking will kick in to recoup energy and slow down the car, forcing you to think about and be careful with your inputs.

It might sound like a marketing gimmick, but it really is the best way to drive the Leaf e+ if range is a concern.

The Nissan Leaf e+ isn’t the last word on dynamics by any stretch, turn the wheel and the car will travel where you direct it, but it does so without any great flair or panache.

No, the 2021 Nissan Leaf e+ is a not dynamic wunderkind, but it absolutely nails being a comfortable, familiar and unintimidating step into the world of electric cars.

The Yaris shines when you hop behind the wheel. This car is not just great to drive, it is benchmark setting for the whole segment.

Toyota's TNGA chassis philosophy is on full show, with the components here combining for a nice ride, gentle but meaningful steering feel, and smooth, quiet acceleration.

It feels like a car with the ride and feedback characteristics of something much more expensive, which speaks to its new-from-the-ground-up formula.

Older cars in the segment can't hold a torch, while even the better-to-drive examples like the Suzuki Swift and Kia Rio lack the poise or polish of the Yaris, not to mention the hybrid system.

The system itself makes the fuel sipping tech addictive to use, with the drive indicator dial in the dash cluster making it obvious where the engine will turn on.

This helps you tailor your driving style to maximise your time using the electric motor only, boosting fuel efficiency.

Even the execution of this system is at its best here in the Yaris, which is light enough that significant amounts of acceleration time can be spent in pure EV mode.

It's not rapid, however. Yes, there's sufficient go from the combined 85kW to get the Yaris moving off the lights, but this drivetrain isn't engaging, making it tough to match the great handling characteristics on offer here.

The Yaris eats up corners in its stride, but really misses the turbo surge or engaging gear shifts of some of its rivals.

Like all hybrid Toyotas, this particular combination is a little unpleasant to drive more aggressively, as the little three-cylinder Atkinson-cycle unit gruffly revs its heart out, breaking the EV-veneer and eating into the otherwise impressive cabin ambiance.

If you're looking for a safe small car, the Yaris, particularly in ZR spec, is about as good as it gets.

While it also accounts for the high cost-of-entry for this model, you could argue the inclusion of comparatively high-end features like freeway-speed auto emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, and even eight airbags, including a centre airbag, is worth it.

The Yaris range (excluding the GR version) scored a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2020, a particular achievement, as it is to a much more difficult rating criteria compared to the Swift and Rio which were both rated five stars in 2017.

Like all new Nissan models sold in Australia in 2021, the Leaf e+ comes with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, along with five years of roadside assist.

The battery is covered by an eight-year/160,000km assurance period, which ensures three quarters of capacity after that time.

Scheduled service intervals are every 12 months or 20,000km, whichever occurs first, matching the industry standard.

With Nissan’s capped-price-servicing schedule, the Leaf e+ will cost around $1742 to maintain over five years, averaging out to be about $290 per year.

Without the need to change things like oil and sparkplugs, the all-electric Leaf e+ is much cheaper to keep on the road than petrol-powered competitors.

Like all Toyotas you can expect a five year, unlimited kilometre warranty with the Yaris, which is extendable to seven years if you stick to the official service schedule.

We recommend you do, not just because you keep your warranty, but because it's so affordable, you might as well.

The first five years of servicing for the Yaris hybrid is capped to just $245 a year. It needs to see the workshop once every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.

Combine this with the low fuel consumption, and the total cost of ownership here is impressive.