2011 Nissan Leaf
small car / 4-door hatchback
Moderate overlap front: original test
Rating applies to 2011-12 models
Tested vehicle: 2011 Nissan Leaf SV 4-door
The Nissan Leaf was introduced in the 2011 model year. The car is a plug-in battery-electric vehicle with no gasoline or diesel engine to help power the car. It has an average range of 73 miles according to the EPA, beyond which the battery must be recharged.
| Overall evaluation | |
|---|---|
| Structure and safety cage | |
| Driver injury measures | |
| Head/neck | |
| Chest | |
| Leg/foot, left | |
| Leg/foot, right | |
| Driver restraints and dummy kinematics |
Action shot taken during the frontal offset crash test.
The dummy's position in relation to the steering wheel and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained very well.
Smeared greasepaint indicates where the dummy's head contacted the side curtain airbag during rebound.
Intrusion into the driver's space was minimal, and all leg and foot injury measures were low.
Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side
| Test ID | CEF1104 |
|---|---|
| Footwell intrusion | |
| Footrest (cm) | 8 |
| Left (cm) | 9 |
| Center (cm) | 8 |
| Right (cm) | 6 |
| Brake pedal (cm) | 4 |
| Instrument panel rearward movement | |
| Left (cm) | 2 |
| Right (cm) | 2 |
| Steering column movement | |
| Upward (cm) | 5 |
| Rearward (cm) | 1 |
| A-pillar rearward movement (cm) | 1 |
Driver injury measures
| Test ID | CEF1104 |
|---|---|
| Head | |
| HIC-15 | 223 |
| Peak gs at hard contact | no contact |
| Neck | |
| Tension (kN) | 1.2 |
| Extension bending moment (Nm) | 16 |
| Maximum Nij | 0.22 |
| Chest maximum compression (mm) | 27 |
| Legs | |
| Femur force - left (kN) | 0.3 |
| Femur force - right (kN) | 1.2 |
| Knee displacement - left (mm) | 0 |
| Knee displacement - right (mm) | 2 |
| Maximum tibia index - left | 0.36 |
| Maximum tibia index - right | 0.58 |
| Tibia axial force - left (kN) | 1.3 |
| Tibia axial force - right (kN) | 1.5 |
| Foot acceleration (g) | |
| Left | 69 |
| Right | 40 |
Side: original test
Rating applies to 2011-12 models
Tested vehicle: 2011 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. The car is a plug-in battery-electric vehicle with no gasoline or diesel engine to help power the car. It has an average range of 73 miles according to the EPA, beyond which the battery must be recharged.
| 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 | |
View of the vehicle and barrier just after the crash test.
View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment.
Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side curtain airbag.
Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbag.
Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side
| Test ID | CES1108 |
|---|---|
| B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) | -13.0 |
| Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline. | |
Driver injury measures
| Test ID | CES1108 |
|---|---|
| Head HIC-15 | 159 |
| Neck | |
| Tension (kN) | 0.6 |
| Compression (kN) | 0.2 |
| Shoulder | |
| Lateral deflection (mm) | 27 |
| Lateral force (kN) | 1.7 |
| Torso | |
| Maximum deflection (mm) | 27 |
| Average deflection (mm) | 21 |
| Maximum deflection rate (m/s) | 2.85 |
| Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) | 0.34 |
| Pelvis | |
| Iliac force (kN) | 1.3 |
| Acetabulum force (kN) | 1.0 |
| Combined force (kN) | 2.0 |
| Left femur | |
| L-M force (kN) | 0.8 |
| L-M moment (Nm) | 110 |
| A-P moment (Nm) | 51 |
Passenger injury measures
| Test ID | CES1108 |
|---|---|
| Head HIC-15 | 123 |
| Neck | |
| Tension (kN) | 0.2 |
| Compression (kN) | 0.5 |
| Shoulder | |
| Lateral deflection (mm) | 41 |
| Lateral force (kN) | 1.5 |
| Torso | |
| Maximum deflection (mm) | 36 |
| Average deflection (mm) | 21 |
| Maximum deflection rate (m/s) | 2.95 |
| Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) | 0.50 |
| Pelvis | |
| Iliac force (kN) | 0.5 |
| Acetabulum force (kN) | 2.6 |
| Combined force (kN) | 2.8 |
| Left femur | |
| L-M force (kN) | 0.5 |
| L-M moment (Nm) | 111 |
| A-P moment (Nm) | 21 |
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 |
Head restraints & seats
Seat type: Manual cloth seats
| Overall evaluation | |
|---|---|
| Dynamic rating | |
| Seat/head restraint geometry |
| Seat type | Manual cloth seats |
|---|---|
| Geometry | |
| Backset (mm) | 35 |
| Distance below top of head (mm) | 24 |
| Seat design parameters | |
| Pass/fail | Pass |
| Max T1 acceleration (g) | 11.3 |
| Head contact time (ms) | 49 |
| Force rating | 1 |
| Neck forces | |
| Max neck shear force (N) | 0 |
| Max neck tension (N) | 449 |
About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.