Kia Niro vs Nissan Leaf: which is the better used buy?

The Kia Niro. Measured against cars of the same age, it comes out 3.8 percentage points ahead of the Nissan Leaf on first-time MOT passes, across 16,114 DVSA-recorded tests covering every generation on the road. A pass with rectification at the station counts as a pass here, and as a failure in DVSA's own initial-test measure.

91.0% of Kia Niros pass their MOT first time (10,881 tests in DVSA's records) and 82.9% of Nissan Leafs pass their MOT first time (5,233 tests). The national first-time rate is 77.3%, but cars of the Kia Niro's age average 89.1% and cars of the Nissan Leaf's age 84.8% — so the Kia Niro runs 1.9 points better than its age group and the Nissan Leaf runs 1.9 points worse than its own. A pass with rectification at the station counts as a pass here, and as a failure in DVSA's own initial-test measure.

Kia Niro: No year is named. Hybrid Niros built from 1 November 2016 to September 2017 are inside three DVSA recalls on the hydraulic clutch actuator and main power relay (R/2018/207, R/2019/167 and R/2025/059) where later hybrids are inside one, but each is a free dealer visit, 2017 registrations are level with all cars registered that year on the MOT table, and the table has no 2016 row. Ask for the dealer record for each recall on an early hybrid. Nissan Leaf: DVSA’s MOT table rates 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 registrations below all cars registered those years (by 6.1, 6.6, 9.7 and 3.9 points). Those are original 24 kWh and 30 kWh cars, whose battery guarantee on Nissan UK’s current terms is the 5 years or 60,000 miles that applies before model year 2022, long since over. Autocar and What Car? both point buyers of these cars to the battery condition and the heater, and the steering-column recall R/2014/171 covers cars built to 16 October 2014.

On fuel it depends on the engine, and for a plug-in or electric version on whether you can charge at home. Kia Niro: What Car? recorded 253 miles of real-world range from the 64 kWh e-Niro (its September 2024 update) and lists the ordinary hybrid’s efficiency as a drawback; it gives no real-world mpg for the hybrid, so we print none. Nissan Leaf: Real-world range depends on the battery and its age, and is lower in the cold: What Car?'s winter test, at 10 to 11 degrees C with climate control set to 21 degrees C and 8 of its 15 miles at a constant 70mph, found 12 electric cars 21.0% to 37.9% short of their official range, and three cars tested in both seasons went on average 18% less far in the winter test than in the summer one. Read the range the car shows after a full charge. For cars registered from April 2017, vehicle tax differs: the Nissan Leaf is electric and pays the same £200/year standard rate since 1 April 2025 (electric cars were exempt before then), with the £440/year Expensive Car Supplement in years 2–6 only on one first registered from 1 April 2025 that listed at over £50,000 new, and the Kia Niro pays the £200/year standard rate from the second year, hybrids included, plus the £440/year Expensive Car Supplement in years 2–6 on a car that listed at over £40,000 new — the price when new, not what you pay for it used. The electric versions (e-Niro and Niro EV) pay the same as the Nissan Leaf. Any Kia Niro registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 pays a CO2 band instead, roughly £20–£790/year (2026/27 rates). Insurance differs mainly by driver and postcode rather than by model, so treat any model-level insurance figure with caution.