At long last, Nissan has finally revealed the new Leaf, three months after showing the first images of the front end. The company’s pioneering electric vehicle will have a lot to do to bring the embattled Japanese carmaker back to the forefront of the segment, having underperformed for years.
To that end, the car has ditched the twee hatchback body style, becoming yet another SUV. Slotting below the Ariya, it rides on the same electric Common Module Family (CMF-EV) architecture and adopts a sleek and in-vogue fastback profile.
As mentioned, we’ve already seen parts of the styling – incorporating Nissan’s Timeless Japanese Futurism design language, the new Leaf appears to be inspired by the Chill-Out concept from 2021, with a revised V-motion front fascia featuring a full-width front light bar and a cascading series of illuminated rectangles. In certain regions, the Nissan badge is lit up here.
We’ve also seen the sides of the car, which comes with a sweeping black roof, an upswept window line and hidden rear door handles to mimic a coupé, while the sculpted rear fenders provide a hint of added muscle. Thanks to flush pop-out door handles and a full underbody cover, the Leaf delivers a decent drag coefficient of 0.26, with European models gaining sleeker door mirrors and unique wheel designs to drop this figure even further, to 0.25.
Shown for the first time is the rear end, which again echoes the Chill-Out by featuring a black tailgate panel incorporating two horizontal and three vertical 3D holographic taillight clusters. These spell out the Japanese characters for two and three, which are pronounced Ni-San, phonetically creating the brand’s name. This motif is echoed in the largest available 19-inch criss-cross wheel option and the charge port door.
Despite the change in body style, the Leaf remains comparably compact, measuring 4,350 mm long, 1,810 mm wide and 1,550 mm tall, putting it firmly in the B-segment category – in fact, it’s shorter than the outgoing model. Its dimensions are comparable to the Honda e:N1, itself an electric version of the HR-V.
Inside, the Leaf carries over the general theme set by the Ariya, with a horizontal dashboard, an island-style centre console and an almost completely flat floor enabled by the CMF-EV platform. The widescreen display panel can be outfitted with either 12.3- or 14.3-inch screens for instrumentation and infotainment, and thankfully physical air-con controls remain.
The infotainment system features Google services such as Maps, Assistant and Play Store built-in, enabling users to control navigation, climate and media through voice via the Google Assistant. There’s also a NissanConnect Services app that will allow users to check their battery status, charging, cabin temperature pre-conditioning, journey planning and more while on the go.
Other features include an optional Bose Personal Plus sound system with headrest speakers, along with an electrochromic panoramic glass roof that can be “opened” and “closed” in stages and, in its half-transparent mode, displays the Leaf script. Ditching the physical sunshade has allowed the roof to be made lower to improve aerodynamics without compromising headroom. Boot space is largely the same as before at 437 litres, and there’s now an optional powered tailgate.
All this is well and good, but it’s the mechanicals that were sorely lacking in the previous Leaf, and Nissan has taken a decisive step forwards in this area. Even the base model produces significantly higher outputs of 177 PS (130 kW) and 345 Nm of torque, with higher-end variants pushing out 218 PS (160 kW) and 355 Nm. That’s a jump of 68 PS (50 kW) and 35 Nm over its predecessor.
But the biggest quantum leap is in range, with even the entry-level version having a WLTP range of 436 km (up from 385 km on even the previous long-range e+ model), despite having a smaller 52 kWh battery. The more powerful version steps up to a 75 kWh pack for a genuinely impressive 604 km. Efficiency at higher speeds was a key focus, with Nissan claiming 330 km of range at a cruising speed of 130 km/h throughout.
Fast charging speeds using a DC charger is another area where the Leaf has seen a massive improvement, up from a piddly 50 kW to a much more competitive 150 kW; so equipped, it can be topped up from 10 to 80% charge in 35 minutes. Autocar reports that the car has finally ditched the CHAdeMO charging port that has been the bane of the existence of current Leaf owners, switching to the more widely-used CCS2 port.
The Leaf also features vehicle-to-load (V2L) functionality at up to 3.6 kW and supports vehicle-to-grid (V2G), helping to reduce household energy costs. Elsewhere, the car now uses a multi-link rear suspension for improved ride and handling and comes with e-Pedal Step one-pedal driving, adjustable regenerative braking (including an adaptive setting that uses the front radar to judge the distance to the car ahead) and a 360-degree camera with 3D and “transparent bonnet” functions.
Safety-wise, the Leaf comes as standard in Europe with autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist and a driver attention monitor. The car can also be specced with ProPilot Assist Level 2 semi-autonomous driving functionality, equipped with Navi-link intelligent speed limit assist.
The new Nissan Leaf will be built in Tochigi, Japan and in Sunderland in the UK. The car will be launched in North America first, entering dealers this autumn – during which Europeans will also be able to order the Leaf, with first deliveries in the spring. Meanwhile, Oceania (and presumably the rest of Asia) will receive the car starting in the financial year 2026.
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