Compare the2022 Nissan LeafVS 2021 BMW i3

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Leaf have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The BMW i3 doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Leaf are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The BMW i3 doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Leaf are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The i3 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Nissan Leaf has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The i3 doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Leaf has standard Active Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Head Restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The i3 doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Leaf has standard Rear Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The i3 doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Leaf’s lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. The i3 doesn’t offer a lane departure warning system.

The Leaf (except S) offers an optional Around View® Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The i3 only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Leaf’s standard rear cross-path warning system uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. The i3 doesn’t offer a cross-path warning system.

The Leaf (except S)’s optional driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The i3 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Leaf and the i3 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, rearview cameras and available daytime running lights.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rates the general design of front seat head restraints for their ability to protect front seat occupants from whiplash injuries. The IIHS also performs a dynamic test on those seats with “good” or “acceptable” geometry. In these ratings, the Leaf is safer than the i3:

	Leaf	i3
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Head Restraint Design	GOOD	GOOD
Dynamic Test Rating	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Seat Design	Pass	Fail
Torso Acceleration	10.7 g’s	13.3 g’s
Max Neck Shearing Force	0	5
Max Neck Tension	313	561

(Lower numerical results are better in all tests.)

Warranty

Nissan’s powertrain warranty covers the Leaf 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than BMW covers the i3. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the i3 ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 3 times as many Nissan dealers as there are BMW dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Leaf’s warranty.

Reliability

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Leaf’s reliability 27 points higher than the i3.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than BMW vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan fifth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 20 more problems per 100 vehicles, BMW is ranked 20th, below the industry average.

Engine

The Leaf’s standard electric motor produces 52 lbs.-ft. more torque (236 vs. 184) than the i3 REx’s standard 0.6 2-cylinder hybrid. The Leaf’s electric motor produces 37 lbs.-ft. more torque (236 vs. 199) than the i3s’ standard electric motor. The Leaf PLUS’ standard electric motor produces 33 more horsepower (214 vs. 181) and 51 lbs.-ft. more torque (250 vs. 199) than the i3s’ standard electric motor.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Leaf gets better mileage than the i3 running on electricity:

		MPGe
Leaf
	Electric Motor	123 city/99 hwy
	S Electric Motor	118 city/97 hwy
	SV/SL Electric Motor	114 city/94 hwy
i3
	REx Electric Motor	107 city/93 hwy
	REx Electric Motor	107 city/93 hwy

The Leaf PLUS’ maximum EPA estimated driving range is 226 miles on a full charge, 48% further than the i3 REx’s 153-mile range. The i3 REx can only travel about 126 miles before it has to start its internal combustion engine.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Nissan Leaf higher (10 out of 10) than the BMW i3 (7 to 10). This means the Leaf produces up to 11.8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the i3 every 15,000 miles.

The EPA certifies the Nissan Leaf as a “Zero Emissions Vehicle” (ZEV). The BMW i3 is only certified to “Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle” (PZEV) standards.

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Leaf has larger standard tires than the i3 (205/55R16 vs. 155/70R19). The Leaf SV/SL’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the i3 (215/50R17 vs. 175/55R20).

The Leaf S’ standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the i3’s standard 70 series front and 60 series rear tires. The Leaf SV/SL’s tires have a lower 50 series profile than the i3s’ 55 series front tires.

The Leaf has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The i3 doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

The Leaf has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Leaf flat and controlled during cornering. The i3’s suspension doesn’t offer stabilizer bars.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Leaf’s wheelbase is 5.1 inches longer than on the i3 (106.3 inches vs. 101.2 inches).

The Leaf SV handles at .79 G’s, while the i3 pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

Chassis

The design of the Nissan Leaf amounts to more than styling. The Leaf has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .28 Cd. That is lower than the i3 (.29 to .33) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Leaf get better fuel mileage.

Passenger Space

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Leaf a Mid-size car, while the i3 is rated a Subcompact.

The Leaf has standard seating for 5 passengers; the i3 can only carry 4.

The Leaf has 8.8 cubic feet more passenger volume than the i3 (92.4 vs. 83.6).

The Leaf has 1.6 inches more front headroom, 1.6 inches more front legroom, .7 inches more front shoulder room, .1 inches more rear headroom, 1.6 inches more rear legroom and 3.3 inches more rear shoulder room than the i3.

Ergonomics

The Leaf SV/SL has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The i3 doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The Leaf’s standard power windows have a locking feature to keep children from operating them. BMW does not offer a locking feature on the i3’s standard power windows.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Leaf has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the i3 only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

While driving with high beams on, sensitive light sensors standard on the Leaf detect other vehicles which could be blinded and automatically switch to low beams. The i3 doesn’t offer automatic dimming high beams.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Leaf has standard extendable sun visors. The i3 doesn’t offer extendable visors.

On extremely cold winter days, the Leaf SV/SL’s standard heated steering wheel provides comfort, allowing the driver to steer safely and comfortably before the car heater warms up. The i3 doesn’t offer a heated steering wheel.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Leaf owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Leaf will cost $1575 to $3800 less than the i3 over a five-year period.

The Leaf will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Leaf will retain 30.45% to 30.6% of its original price after five years, while the i3 only retains 23.25% to 28.45%.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Leaf is less expensive to operate than the i3 because it costs $336 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Leaf than the i3, including $215 less for a water pump, $5 less for front brake pads and $104 less for a power steering pump.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Nissan Leaf will be $11340 to $18135 less than for the BMW i3.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Nissan Leaf, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Nissan Leaf outsold the BMW i3 by almost 8 to one during the 2021 model year.