View exterior photosJames Lipman|Car and DriverNissan faced all sorts of first-mover challenges and learned a lot of lessons with its original Leaf. It launched a mass-market electric car with just 73 miles of range at a time when public EV charging was nearly nonexistent. And it underestimated how severely driving range (and its air-cooled battery pack) could be impacted by temperature extremes. It tried to lead with the CHAdeMO port and its bidirectional charging, but (most) of the industry didn’t follow. And it went out on a limb with styling. Yes, Nissan improved the Leaf incrementally over the years, but the 2026 Nissan Leaf is the clean-sheet reset that incorporates the multitude of lessons learned.view exterior photosJames Lipman|Car and DriverNew BoastsThe new Leaf’s headline features: over 300 miles of electric range, a NACS port ready for Tesla Superchargers without an adapter, and a price starting at $26,855. That’s the tantalizing combination Nissan is touting with the 2026 Leaf. As we experienced in a top-of-the-line Platinum+ ($40,485 to start), the 2026 Nissan Leaf maintains the kind of ease and simplicity it has had all along—only now with numbers that make sense for a mainstream audience. Although it looks more substantial and SUV-like than its amorphic predecessor, the 2026 Leaf is three inches shorter in length than before and fractionally lower; it is 0.8 inch wider, however. view interior PhotosJames Lipman|Car and DriverNissan says that it amounts to more passenger space than the previous Leaf—especially legroom—but this tall driver found rear leg- and kneeroom especially tight, perhaps partly because the front-seat design no longer allows foot space underneath. There’s no frunk, or even a front storage compartment, although the liftgate opens wide in back and the seatbacks almost fold flat, expanding the vehicle’s 20 cubic feet up to 56. The driving position is slightly elevated versus a car, with visibility aided by an excellent surround-view camera system. Screens top the shelf-like instrument panel and dash, leaving dedicated climate control buttons. Nissan follows the lead of the Ariya’s excellent interior with distinct bins placed just right and an inductive phone charger tucked just beneath and ahead of the center armrest. view interior PhotosBengt Halvorson|Car and DriverThe Leaf remains front-wheel drive only, with the single electric motor making 214 horsepower and 261 pound-feet of torque in all but the base Leaf S (that model has 174 horses and 254 pound-feet). It rides on a shortened version of the Ariya’s platform. Most U.S. Leafs, with the “+” in the nomenclature—S+, SV+, Platinum+—get a 75-kWh battery pack, while base Leaf S versions set to arrive late in the model year get a 52-kWh pack and a price even lower than the S+’s $31,485 starting figure. Both packs use more energy-dense lithium-ion cells.HIGHS: Bargain price tag, improved range, baked-in Supercharger port.It has the requisite active grille shutters and flush door handles to achieve a coefficient of drag of just 0.26 (lower than the previous model’s 0.29). That helps it achieve some impressive range numbers. The S+ is good for 303 miles, while the SV+ sees a 288-mile rating, and the Platinum+—with its 19-inch wheels and lengthy feature set—earns an official 259 miles of EPA range. We saw a lot less on our rapid freeway and mountain drive, but that’s not surprising.
view interior PhotosBengt Halvorson|Car and Driverview interior PhotosJames Lipman|Car and Driver Some of the weight in the top Platinum+ model is owing to its long list of equipment, including a dimmable electrochromic glass roof, a hands-free power liftgate, and 10-speaker Bose audio. The Platinum+ also adds V2L interior AC outlets for a combined 3.5 kilowatts (think two 15-amp circuits). A $280 Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) accessory is needed to tap into half that amount on any of the trim levels, outputting 120V AC to power items on the go (for camping or e-bikes, for instance). Borrowing from the AriyaThe top-spec Leaf delivers a 60-mph dash of 6.9 seconds, with perky sprints up to lower freeway speeds, though passing is less impressive, as evidenced by our 3.8-second time from 50 to 70 mph. Shifting is done via buttons on the dash, while the Leaf includes paddle shifters that access four levels of brake regeneration. An e-Step button cranks up the regen with one button press, but it’s still not at a rate that allows one-pedal driving. There are Normal, Sport, and Eco modes, as well as a Personal mode for a preferred combo for accelerator, steering, and regen.view exterior photosJames Lipman|Car and DriverThe Leaf does get a version of the Ariya’s multilink independent rear suspension, which Nissan says allows better tuning of ride and handling than the previous Leaf’s torsion-beam setup. But the direction Nissan has gone with tuning feels decidedly soft and less tamped-down than the Ariya. The Leaf exhibited lots of secondary motions over freeway heaves and then on a back-road loop quickly communicated that it wasn’t up for the sort of rapid driving that one could enjoy in a Hyundai Ioniq 5 or Tesla Model Y. Quick esses? No thanks, protested its Bridgestone Alenza Sport A/S tires. On our skidpad we averaged a modest 0.83 g, an improvement of 0.05 g compared to the 2021 Leaf Plus we tested.More on the Leaf
- 2026 Nissan Leaf Details, Pricing, and Specs
- Nissan Leaf Remains Affordable, Starts at $31,485
- We Compare the New Nissan Leaf with the Old One
The Leaf is carrying around hundreds of pounds more than its predecessor—4367 for the Platinum+. That puts the 75-kWh Leaf 434 pounds heavier than the previous top-spec Leaf (3933). It’s also significantly heavier than the Kia Niro EV or Hyundai Kona EV, which Nissan sees as the most direct market rivals at the moment. LOWS: Squishy handling, no one-pedal regen mode, all-wheel drive not on the menu.In real-world driving, it amounts to a decent ride, and Nissan has clearly put a lot of NVH attention into the Leaf, as the cabin doesn’t rely on acoustic glass, active noise cancellation, or noise fakery added in. It’s a quiet cruiser at 75 mph.
view interior PhotosJames Lipman|Car and DriverBetter Set for Fast-Charging, Extreme Temps The liquid-cooled battery is part of an “evolved” thermal management system that loops in the motor, onboard charger, and climate control system. A heat pump is included in all versions of the Leaf, which should help reduce the amount of range drivers lose in cold weather. ➡️ Skip the lot. Let Car and Driver help you find your next car.Shop New Cars Shop Used CarsThe Leaf will charge at up to 150 kilowatts, according to Nissan, and get from 10–80 percent in as little as 35 minutes; it also includes a 7.2-kW onboard charger that should be fine for overnight charges. Like the Porsche Taycan and just a few other EVs, the Leaf has a charge port on each side of the vehicle. The front-right location is an NACS (J3400) port limited to NACS only, while the front-left port is a J1772 AC port that Nissan is confident will work with a much wider range of home or workplace chargers without needing an adapter or new hardware. The DC port, Nissan says, is bidirectional-charging ready, although the hardware doesn’t yet exist for it.view interior PhotosBengt Halvorson|Car and Driverview interior PhotosBengt Halvorson|Car and DriverAlthough the S+ comes with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, the SV+ and Platinum+ versions add the dual screens with Google built-in, with the Google Assistant and Google Maps route planning that will automatically precondition for waypoints, Nissan says (although you can manually activate preconditioning too). That requires a $300 battery heater, allowing for the Leaf’s peak DC fast-charging rate in a wider range of temperatures. Keeping the native Google-based EV charging route planning beyond a year also requires a $16.99-a-month data subscription.All U.S.-bound Leafs will come from Tochigi, Japan, as part of a decision that Nissan notes came well before the recent tariff roller-coaster. It’s also made in Sunderland, U.K. view interior PhotosBengt Halvorson|Car and DriverNissan says a lot of Leaf buyers are new to EVs, and it expects that about 30 percent of those who go for the new Leaf will be coming from another Nissan vehicle, while half the buyers for the new car will be former Leaf drivers. Nissan anticipates that just 10 percent will choose the version with the smaller battery. That the base price of the 2026 Leaf is LESS than the original 73-mile Nissan Leaf’s back in 2011 ($33,500)—that’s not counting inflation—is a stunning achievement. It speaks to the fact that, for all the new model’s improvement, the Leaf remains focused on affordability for the mass market.VERDICT: The Leaf was never expensive, but now it’s a much better deal.view exterior photosJames Lipman|Car and DriverSpecificationsSpecifications
2026 Nissan Leaf Platinum+
Vehicle Type: front-motor, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchback
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $40,485/$41,930
Options: Premium two-tone paint, $800; Floor Mat package, $345; battery heater, $300
POWERTRAIN
Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous AC
Power: 214 hp
Torque: 261 lb-ft
Battery Pack: liquid-cooled lithium-ion, 75 kWh
Peak Charge Rate, AC/DC: 7.2/150 kW
Transmission: direct-drive
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: struts/multilink
Tires: Bridgestone Alenza Sport A/S
235/45R-19 95V M+S
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 105.9 in
Length: 173.4 in
Width: 71.3 in
Height: 61.3 in
Passenger Volume, F/R: 55/37 ft3
Cargo Volume, Behind F/R: 56/20 ft3
Curb Weight: 4367 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 6.9 sec
1/4-Mile: 15.4 sec @ 93 mph
100 mph: 18.0 sec
Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.
Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 6.9 sec
Top Gear, 30–50 mph: 2.7 sec
Top Gear, 50–70 mph: 3.8 sec
Top Speed (gov ltd): 102 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 184 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.83 g
Interior Sound
Idle: 30 dBA/1 sone
Full Throttle: 70 dBA
70-mph Cruising: 68 dBA/23 sone
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 103/110/96 MPGe
Range: 259 mi
C/D TESTING EXPLAINED
Source: caranddriver.com
