The Leaf holds more than double the number of bodies in its boot
The Kia Niro EV is a pretty amazing EV and has drawn great reviews from just about everyone, including us. With those reviews have come some over-the-top claims of the superiority of the Niro versus the Nissan Leaf Plus (which we like, too), some of which just don’t stand up to scrutiny.
Granted, the Niro EV is the current range champion for mid-priced BEVs, and is a first-class EV that is tops in many respects, but the claim that the Niro has superior interior room over the Leaf Plus isn’t true. The Niro EV’s rear trunk (or boot in Europe) is significantly smaller than the Leaf’s, and isn’t all that efficient.
In fact, despite the fact that they share the same 106.3-inch wheelbase, the Leaf Plus is superior to the Niro EV not only in length (176.4 inches vs. 172.3 inches), trunk capacity (23.6 cu. ft. vs. 18.5 cu. ft.), and total interior volume (116.0 cu. ft. vs. 100.9 cu. ft.), but in the very important category of how many bodies can be stuffed in the trunk.
The Proof Is in the Trunk
A recent YouTube video from the Scottish website Electric Vehicle Man shows that the Niro EV can hold one normal-sized European male body in the boot. But nowhere does the video admit that the Niro EV boot has less than 50 percent of body-carrying capacity of the 2019 Leaf Plus.
To prove that the Leaf Plus is larger than the Niro EV, we took a 2019 Leaf Plus and were able to stuff two normal-sized American bodies in the trunk, with space for at least one or two more small child-sized bodies. Both the author’s 5-foot 9-inch and his wife’s 5-foot 5-inch bodies fit just fine, with extra space for whatever else might be tucked into the trunk. Even with the rear hatch closed, we still had room to maneuver around back there.
So, despite the fact that the Leaf Plus and Niro EV share the same wheelbase, the Leaf Plus is bigger on the inside, quieter than the Niro EV and holds more bodies or anything else that you might want in your trunk. Lastly, the Leaf Plus is available today everywhere in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
Please note that Clean Fleet Report does not recommend or condone stuffing bodies in any trunk or boot!
Road Trip: 2019 Nissan Leaf Plus
Tech: Specs for 2019 Nissan Leaf Plus
Road Test: 2019 Kia Niro EV (Steve’s view)
Road Test: 2019 Kia Niro EV (John’s view)
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