People are warming up more to electric cars, and the Nissan LEAF might be a good way to get into this trend. It’s far more affordable than most other options, plus it drives in a straightforward manner. You won’t be winning many drag races, but the LEAF is overall pretty practical, especially if you use it in the city. Top competitors are the Chevrolet Bolt, BMW i3, and Ford C-Max.

You can get the LEAF in one of three available trims: S, SV, and SL. A fair number of features come standard on the S. Among them are 16-inch steel wheels with covers, automatic halogen headlights, a rear spoiler, power-adjustable side mirrors, solar glass, and an illuminated charging port. Nissan outfits the interior with niceties like a 7-inch infotainment digital display, a secondary 5-inch color information screen, Bluetooth, a text messaging assistant, Rearview Monitor, cruise control, automatic temperature control, Nissan Intelligent Key, a push-button ignition, a 12-volt power outlet, power locks, power windows, tilt adjustment for the steering column, two cupholders, four bottle holders, cloth upholstery, a 60/40 split-folding backseat, four audio speakers, SiriusXM satellite radio, a USB port, and an auxiliary audio input jack. The car also has automatic emergency braking and tire pressure monitoring standard. The LEAF SV adds to the list of equipment with 17-inch alloy wheels, fog lights, a 7-inch multi-touch infotainment screen, navigation, NissanConnect EV & Services, voice recognition, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, SiriusXM Traffic and Travel Link, intelligent cruise control, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, six audio speakers, and HD radio. Among the upgrades for the top-tier SL trim are full LED headlights, LED daytime running lights, heated side mirrors with integrated LED turn signal lights, Intelligent Around View Monitor, Intelligent Driver Alertness, heat ducts under the rear seats, an auto-dimming rearview mirror with HomeLink controller, a cargo cover, power-adjustable driver’s seat, leather upholstery, heated front seats and steering wheel, Bose sound system with seven speakers, blind spot warning, and rear cross-traffic alert. You can add to that with an emergency braking system that features pedestrian detection, available for the SV and SL trims only. Those two can also be outfitted with optional ProPilot Assist and High Beam Assist. A LEAF comes with a factory invoice of about $30,000 for an S model and an MSRP of about $32,000. The SV trim adds about $3,000 to the vehicle’s MSRP, and the SL increases it by about another $3,000. When you visit a Certified Dealer and are a member, you don’t need to deal with the usual runaround. Instead, you get upfront pricing and a savings on the whole transaction.

No matter the trim, all Nissan LEAFs use a 110 kW AC synchronous electric motor. It produces a peak 147 horsepower and 236 lb.-ft. of torque. Attached to that is a 40-kWh lithium-ion battery. To replenish the battery, a 6.6 kw onboard charger is also included. Or, a 120-volt trickle-charge cable is available. SL models come with a cable to plug into a 240-volt wall outlet, but you can add it to the other two trims as an option. A Quick Charge port is standard on SV and SL trims, and is an option for the S. Nissan uses a single-speed reduction gear setup for the LEAF. Front-wheel drive is standard throughout the lineup.

You can get the Nissan LEAF with either an all-black interior color scheme, or with light grey seats and accents on the dash, center console, and door panels. Silver and blue accents are also included. Interior materials are of decent quality, although you won’t ever mistake this for a luxury vehicle. Road noise is rather pronounced, but you won’t also be dealing with the roar of an engine. Nissan keeps the physical controls on the dash in low numbers. Most are large enough that you can find and press them without issue, although some that flank the infotainment screen on either side are far smaller and thus more difficult to use. The infotainment screen itself is so small it can be difficult to read, and the system can be slow to respond to commands. The front seats are fairly contoured and should be more than enough to make you comfortable during any drive. The rear seatbacks and bottom cushions are rather flat, so they’re not nearly as comfortable. As is the case with most electric cars, front and rear legroom are excellent. The same can be said for front and rear headroom. As for the cargo area, it’s quite ample for anything from grocery shopping to long trips.