Top Safety Pick

2013 Nissan Leaf

small car / 4-door hatchback

Fully electric

2013 Nissan Leaf 4-door hatchback — 2011 Nissan Leaf shown

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria	Rating
Small overlap front: driver-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle	Not available

Key

G
Good
A
Acceptable
M
Marginal
P
Poor

Superior
Advanced
Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2013-17 models

Tested vehicle: 2014 Nissan Leaf S 4-door

Evaluation criteria	Rating

Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics The dummy’s head barely contacted the frontal airbag before sliding off the left side as the steering column moved 23 cm to the right, leaving the head vulnerable to contact with forward side structure and allowing little airbag cushioning for the chest. The side curtain airbag deployed but does not have sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with forward side structure and outside objects. The side torso airbag deployed.

Action shot taken during the small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was not maintained well.

During the crash, the dummy's head and torso barely contacted the airbag before sliding off to the left as the steering column moved to the right. The side curtain airbag did not extend far enough forward toward the A-pillar.

Door hinge pillar and instrument panel intrusion was extensive and contributed to a high risk of injuries to the left knee and left lower leg and a significant risk to the left thigh.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEN1426
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm)	40
Footrest (cm)	21
Left toepan (cm)	10
Brake pedal (cm)	4
Parking brake (cm)	31
Rocker panel lateral average (cm)	14
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column	9
Upper hinge pillar max (cm)	35
Upper dash (cm)	36
Lower instrument panel (cm)	30

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEN1426
Head
HIC-15	96
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.8
Extension bending moment (Nm)	27
Maximum Nij	0.42
Chest maximum compression (mm)	21
Femur (kN)
Left	8.6
Right	2.2
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	23
Right	1
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	22
Right	0
Maximum tibia index
Left	1.73
Right	0.49
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	1.7
Right	1.1
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	86
Right	64

About the small overlap front test

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2013-17 models

Tested vehicle: 2013 Nissan Leaf SL 4-door

The Nissan Leaf was introduced in the 2011 model year and re-engineered beginning with 2013 models. The car is a plug-in battery-electric vehicle with no gasoline or diesel engine to help power the car. Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Nissan.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF1302
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm)	5
Left (cm)	8
Center (cm)	5
Right (cm)	5
Brake pedal (cm)	5
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm)	1
Right (cm)	2
Steering column movement
Upward (cm)	0
Rearward (cm)	-2
A-pillar rearward movement (cm)	0

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF1302
Head
HIC-15	165
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.3
Extension bending moment (Nm)	13
Maximum Nij	0.28
Chest maximum compression (mm)	20
Legs
Femur force - left (kN)	0.8
Femur force - right (kN)	1.4
Knee displacement - left (mm)	0
Knee displacement - right (mm)	5
Maximum tibia index - left	0.23
Maximum tibia index - right	0.50
Tibia axial force - left (kN)	0.9
Tibia axial force - right (kN)	1.2
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	57
Right	80

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2013-17 models

Tested vehicle: 2013 Nissan Leaf SV 4-door with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Nissan Leaf was introduced in the 2011 model year and re-engineered beginning with 2013 models. The car is a plug-in battery-electric vehicle with no gasoline or diesel engine to help power the car. Side ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Nissan.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

Technical measurements for this test

Test ID	VTS1301
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	-13.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS1301
Head HIC-15	161
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.5
Compression (kN)	0.2
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	28
Lateral force (kN)	1.2
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	25
Average deflection (mm)	23
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	3.90
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.40
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	1.1
Acetabulum force (kN)	2.6
Combined force (kN)	3.4
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	1.1
L-M moment (Nm)	134
A-P moment (Nm)	29

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS1301
Head HIC-15	125
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.2
Compression (kN)	0.2
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	35
Lateral force (kN)	1.5
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	31
Average deflection (mm)	24
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	3.00
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.40
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	0.3
Acetabulum force (kN)	2.4
Combined force (kN)	2.5
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.6
L-M moment (Nm)	102
A-P moment (Nm)	-40

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2011-17 models

Tested vehicle: 2011 Nissan Leaf SV 4-door

Overall evaluation
Curb weight	3,339 lbs
Peak force	18,316 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio	5.49

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual cloth seats

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

Seat type	Manual cloth seats
Geometry
Backset (mm)	18
Distance below top of head (mm)	24
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail	Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g)	12.3
Head contact time (ms)	53
Force rating	1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N)	0
Max neck tension (N)	213

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.