Kia EV6 (2021-2024) vs Nissan LEAF

The Kia EV6 costs £4,896 more than the Nissan LEAF. For that premium it adds 89 kW faster peak rapid charging and 53 litres more boot space. The Nissan LEAF is not just cheaper - it also offers 47 miles more WLTP range. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Nissan LEAF comes out ahead overall.

The Nissan LEAF is £4,896 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £136 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Nissan LEAF comes out roughly £5,016 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 273 miles for the Kia EV6 and 313 miles for the Nissan LEAF - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Nissan LEAF goes roughly 39 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 18 minutes in the Kia EV6 and 30 in the Nissan LEAF, so the Kia EV6 loses less time at each stop. So the Nissan LEAF stops less often while the Kia EV6 stops for less time - pick on which you would rather do.

The Nissan LEAF is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 70 mm narrower than the Kia EV6. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 590 mm of total clearance for the Nissan LEAF and about 520 mm of total clearance for the Kia EV6. The Nissan LEAF also turns in a 0.8 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 89% battery health for the Kia EV6 and 84% for the Nissan LEAF. That gives the Kia EV6 a modest edge in retained real-world range. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation.