16 May 2016
Will it drift?

We’ve got an answer to a question none of you asked for: can the Nissan Leaf be made to drift?

With its front-wheel-drive layout and all-electric powertrain, it's fair to say the Leaf is an unlikely candidate for going sideways.

But that doesn’t stop Autocar’s Matt Prior trying his hardest to maintain a proper slide on track. The results are surprisingly impressive…

Nissan Leaf long-term test review: bigger battery, better car?

Matt Prior

Matt Prior
Title: Editor-at-large

Matt is Autocar’s lead features writer and presenter, is the main face of Autocar’s YouTube channel, presents the My Week In Cars podcast and has written his weekly column, Tester’s Notes, since 2013.

Matt is an automotive engineer who has been writing and talking about cars since 1997. He joined Autocar in 2005 as deputy road test editor, prior to which he was road test editor and world rally editor for Channel 4’s automotive website, 4Car. 

Into all things engineering and automotive from any era, Matt is as comfortable regularly contributing to sibling titles Move Electric and Classic & Sports Car as he is writing for Autocar. He has a racing licence, and some malfunctioning classic cars and motorbikes. 

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david RS 17 May 2016

What interest ?

What interest ?
LP in Brighton 16 May 2016

But would you want to?

Surely the Nissan Leaf is all about driving efficiently, quietly, sensibly. Who cares whether it will go sideways or not?
But not Autocar, who's main concern seems to be how much noise and attention you can create, how much fuel, tyres and brake pads you can consume, and whether your chosen wheels can excite. Surely it's horses for courses, and I'd rather know whether the Leaf is actually a useful mode of transport rather than a good source of entertainment for a joyrider.
Mondeal 16 May 2016

LP Sorry, I have to disagree.

LP Sorry, I have to disagree.

Both this and the article last year of Steve Cropley entering the Renault Zoe into a hill climb are clearly not the respective cars raison d'etre , but it is great PR to show they are not just dull boring cars.

Scratch 16 May 2016

Plastic tyres

No, @LP, in the real world, you wouldn't want to. Neither would you a herse, taxi, or any other thing that Autocar have drifted in the past. Anyway, the Leaf had plastic rear tyres specifically for the occasion, to make it unstable. What a great bit of low speed fun. Have a test drive in a Leaf, for first hand experience of real world, perhaps let us know how you got on in a forum post.