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Car #1
Make
Model
Variant
Engine
Car #2
Make
Model
Variant
Engine

compare selected cars
2012. - 2016.
C - Small family car
hatchback, 5 door
front
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2011. - 2017.
C - Small family car
hatchback, 5 door
front

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

4255 mm
1799 mm
1452 mm
380 liters
1270 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
4445 mm
1770 mm
1550 mm
355 liters
720 liters
2012 Volkswagen Golf
2011 Nissan Leaf

Engine

Volkswagen
VW EAQ270 115
Electric
PMSM Electric unit in formation 1 / 0
PMSM
1 motor
-
115 hp
270 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
El. motor type
Front axle
Rear axle
Power
Torque
Electric
PMSM Electric unit in formation 1 / 0
PMSM
1 motor
-
109 hp
280 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

 
kg
s
km/h
kWh
km
h
0 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Battery capacity
Range
Charge time (80%)
CO2 emissions
 
kg
s
km/h
kWh
km
h
0 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

automatic - 1 gears
1585 kg
10.4 s
140 km/h
24.0 kWh
190 km
8.0 h
0 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Battery capacity
Range
Charge time (80%)
CO2 emissions
automatic - 1 gears
1505 kg
11.5 s
144 km/h
24.0 kWh
200 km
7.0 h
0 g/km

Expenses

7300 EUR
Price from
7700 EUR

Virtual Adviser's™ opinion

Overview

Well, these are two pretty similar cars we have here! It's only details that could potentially make the difference. Considering they both belong to the small family car segment and utilize the same 5-door hatchback body style and the front wheel drive system, it all comes up to the specific electric engine choice they offer. The first one has a Volkswagen-engineered powertrain under the hood, a PMSM Electric unit in formation 1 / 0 with 115hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a PMSM Electric unit in formation 1 / 0 with 109hp engine designed by Nissan.

Safety

A starting point here would be to take a look at the results from European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) tests which were performed on both of the cars, with the same number of safety stars gained in the process. Moving further on, let's take a closer look at some additional safety-related facts. Both vehicles belong to the small family car segment, which is generally classifying them somewhere in the middle safety-wise, still it doesn't help us solve our dilemma, does it? Furthermore, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, the German car offers a marginal difference of 5% more metal.

Reliability

Manufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that Nissan does have a slight advantage, when all the models are taken into account. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of Volkswagen with an average rating of 4.2, and models under the Nissan badge with 4.3 out of 5. Unfortunatelly, I don't have enough insight that would allow me to comment in more details on the specific models level. That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as the German car rank it on average as 3.0 out of 5, exactly the same as the other one.

Performance & Fuel economy

Volkswagen is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 1.1 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 140 kilometers per hour, 4km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, especially if you take into account all the free charging points provided by the manufacturer and/or the local government's environmental programs. One of the essential things to consider when it comes to this type of vehicles would be range, although here it's more or less the same, orbiting around 190 kilometers on a single charge.


Verdict

Nissan appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, the German car offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. It all continues in the same direction, with Volkswagen being considerably quicker, thus putting more smile on driver's face. The Japanese car offers somewhat better range. No mistake, whatever you decide here, but I'd still go for the Volkswagen. Nevertheless, let's not forget that people have different preferences and needs, so what really counts is your personal feel. I'm only here to help. In case you have two minutes to spare I invite you to define your needs, desires and budget and see which car would be chosen by the virtual adviser, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.

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