Nissan adds more power to the Leaf Mk2's electric motor and enlarges its battery pack while it's at it, resulting in a long-range Leaf that'll perform a little bit like a hot hatch. Will this become the default choice in the Nissan Leaf line-up to take on its Korean rivals? There is precious little to visually differentiate the new long-range Nissan Leaf from its 40kWh siblings. Other than that, it's standard Nissan Leaf Mk2 fare: more conventional than its predecessor thanks to styling that makes it look like a regular hatchback, with an interior that's several notches up in terms of quality from the old Leaf. So, visually you'll struggle to tell the Leaf 62kWh apart from the Leaf 40kWh. But you shouldn't struggle from behind the wheel. This car has been subjected to some notable upgrades. Anyway, whatever the merits of the drivetrain enhancements, this is the best Leaf yet for those looking for the least alienating driving experience from an EV that's supposed to be a direct replacement for a turbodiesel hatchback. Next to the Eco button is the e-Pedal switch, which allows for 'one-pedal' driving in most circumstances. Such is the strength of the Leaf's regenerative braking power that you can simply lift off the throttle in town driving and drop from 50km/h to rest in a matter of a few car lengths. It takes some attuning to and is a little trickier to gauge if you're trying to judge the stopping time needed from higher speeds (like 80km/h), but you'll get there in the end and enjoy the Leaf's tremendous steer-and-go ease-of-use. Another area where Nissan's mega-popular EV (more than 130,000 units sold in Europe so far and more than 400,000 Leafs worldwide) scores highly is on refinement. We're still awaiting confirmation of Irish prices for the 62kWh model. This is the Nissan Leaf in its most convincing all-round package yet.
Well, that explains it! I used every club in the bag here except my 7-iron so that's a huge plus. However, the wide-open nature of the course allows you to be relatively wild off the tee and you aren't really forced to shape shots out here. Higher handicappers will benefit from this and it truly makes the course playable for all skill levels. 11) was the highest in the group. We all played pretty darned well and hit some great irons but I don't think the course is quite as difficult as the slope and rating suggests. You can definitely score out here. Obviously Garl has a lot of influences to work from on this design and he borrows liberally from Pine Valley especially. Wooden Sticks is quite a memorable course, since you're playing famous holes that you've seen on television time and time again. Every hole brings a new form of excitement.
The land moves a lot more than I expected and is visually appealing for the most part. Extremely pristine from a conditioning standpoint and surprisingly so for a course that likely gets a lot of public play. I doubt many play the tips out there and I can honestly say that the tee boxes were as lush as velvet. The greens rolled true all day and I certainly can't blame them for my putting woes. Ambience takes a hit due to the fact it was a mind-numbing six-hour round. There were always two groups on every tee and we got a little fed up with the group behind us, as they continually showed no respect for others by roaring up in their carts while we were hitting. Cart only out here. It would be pretty impossible to walk due to the very long drives between holes. The staff is great and the fact we were fed both before and after the round was a nice bonus. But the most important thing is that this is a hell of a fun golf course to play. We knew we were in for a treat pretty much right away and were talking about coming back only two holes in.
And because it’s about an inch lower, the Golf loses some headroom compared with the outgoing model: about an inch in front, and about a half-inch in the rear. Still, the Golf’s boxy shape makes it plenty roomy, and we got no complaints in that department even from our very tall driving companion, who fit fine behind the (much shorter) driver. Outward visibility is excellent, unimpeded except for the large C-pillars (the rearmost roof supports). Storage space is plentiful in the Golf, with twin cupholders in the center console, and wide, deep front door pockets that can hold giant water bottles and coffee mugs. Rear passengers get a fold-down center console, when a fifth passenger isn’t in the center seat. Cargo space measures 22.8 cubic feet in all models. This is especially significant in the TDI model, which previously could carry only 15.2 cubic feet (due to the position of the diesel system’s urea tank in the rear of the car).
