Consumers in the U.K. have only just been given the chance to place deposits on the 2011 Nissan Leaf but that hasn't stopped Nissan considering a few subtle tweaks before the car goes on sale, according to Autocar magazine.

Changes are likely to include subtle body alterations and interior changes for the European market. By the time production commences, Nissan will have had chance to listen to customer feedback which should influence the changes.

The U.K. is home to one of the factories that'll produce the Leaf. The Washington plant in the North of England will no longer be building the Micra subcompact, production of which has moved to the Far East for the new model. The U.K. factory will build all the European-market Leafs, in both right- and left-hand drive.

Nissan began taking orders in the U.K. on September 1st via the Nissan website. The company claims they have taken as many as 19,000 pre-orders worldwide for the Leaf, significantly more than the 10,000 cars that will be produced in the first year.

Pricing in Europe will vary between $40,000 and $44,000 before local incentives, in contrast to the pre-incentive $32,780 the Leaf will cost buyers in the U.S. Buyers in the States will also be able to lease their Leaf at a cost of just $349 a month. All markets will benefit from the 8-year, 100,000 mile warranty.

Consumers in the U.K. will be given the opportunity to test drive the Leaf before December this year before confirming their order. And for those of us in the States, some rental chains will let you get behind the wheel from early 2011. Hertz wants to rent you a Leaf, and Enterprise also plan to have a Leaf in their fleets.

For a greater fix of Leaf information, why not head over to our Ultimate Reference Guide?

[Autocar]