Review: Nissan Leaf 2026

The 2026 Nissan Leaf is exactly the electric car it needs to be. In 2011, the Leaf was the OG mass-market EV, launched with 73 miles of range for $33,600. Fifteen years later, it’s been reimagined as an SUV-styled tall hatch—with 300 miles of range and a price starting at $31,485.

The new Leaf competes with the Hyundai Kona Electric, the Kia Niro EV, and the upcoming and rebooted 2027 Chevrolet Bolt. All are compact hatchbacks with front-wheel drive, rated at 250 miles or more, priced at $35,000 or less. Even as national purchase incentives in the US end on September 30, these models promise to make EVs far more affordable at a time when the average US sale price of a new vehicle nears $50,000.

In early September, another reporter and I put 160 miles on a 2026 Nissan Leaf Platinum+ model through the hills in and around San Diego on a brand-hosted drive. I came away impressed. This new Leaf finally brings the model up to the modern era—and offers a compelling entry-level EV for the price.

Two Separate Charge Ports

The 2026 Leaf has little jaw-dropping technology, but several features stand out. Unusually, Nissan built in separate AC and DC charging ports. The Leaf includes both wireless and wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay phone mirroring, and Google routing services (on all but the S+ base model). Like a growing number of EVs, via a pair of 120-volt outlets—though only on the highest-end trim—you can power stereos, coolers, and other electric appliances.

The Leaf’s Level 2 AC charging uses the familiar J-1772 socket behind a door on the left-front fender, while DC fast charging is done through a Tesla-style NACS port behind its own door on the right-front fender. Nissan chose this approach, it says, to reduce confusion, since two different adapters would be required (one for AC, another for DC) if it provided only an NACS port. Also, its data suggested owners of its larger Ariya EV model did a majority of their on-road fast charging at Tesla Superchargers, even as their home charging was done via conventional Level 2 plugs.

It can fast-charge up to 150 kW, with Nissan quoting a time of 35 minutes for charging from 10 to 80 percent under ideal circumstances. Laudably, all versions of the Leaf now include the Plug & Charge protocol that lets users simply plug into a DC fast-charging station and walk away, with all validation and billing happening via software in the background—if those station support Plug & Charge. The car should flag which ones do and don’t when using in-dash Google routing.

The Leaf will also precondition its battery for charging if the nav is directed to a charging station, though you can do this manually, of course. Its onboard AC charger can operate at up to 7.2 kW, and a portable charging cord is standard equipment.

SUV-ish Stance?

Nissan may call the Leaf “SUV-like,” but it’s really a tall hatchback. It’s 3 inches shorter and fractionally lower than the last Leaf but almost an inch wider, with slab sides, a high tail, and large wheels that, if you squint, give it an SUV stance. It’s far from a classically blocky Jeep 4x4; you decide if you think it reads as a utility vehicle.

Drag coefficient (or Cd) for this tall, rather blocky vehicle is a reasonable 0.26, though Cd figures from different makers shouldn’t be compared, since measurement standards can vary. That’s a reduction on the previous Leaf’s 0.29. Drag is reduced via electrically retracting flush door handles, an active grille shutter, a full underbody shield, and cutting the drag produced by its three different 18- and 19-inch wheels. Sadly, there’s no frunk.

Inside, the interior doesn’t look particularly like that of an economy model, with gray woven fabric accents and pale upholstery on WIRED's Platinum+ test car. The dash has its oddities, though: a long horizontal area in front of the passenger is angled just enough not to serve as a shelf (unlike Hyundai’s similar design). Also, the plain black plastic panel housing square P-R-N-D buttons, a drive mode switch, and the e-Step button looks very much like an afterthought.

Adequate Acceleration, Superb Steering

When it arrives at dealers in October, all versions of the 2026 Nissan Leaf will be powered by a 75-kilowatt-hour battery pack. The base S+ model is projected to earn an EPA combined range rating of 303 miles, with better-equipped models at 288 and 259 miles for the SV+ and Platinum+ respectively.

Crucially, the battery pack is liquid-cooled. Nissan has, finally, moved away from the passive thermal conditioning that caused premature capacity loss and battery failure in early Leafs used in very hot climates. An even more basic S model with a 52-kWh battery will be offered “later,” though Nissan declined to comment on its range or price. (We’d suggest a minimum of 200 miles, but at $25,000 it could find buyers. Stay tuned.)

Nissan quotes 160 kilowatts (214 horsepower) and 252 pound-feet of torque for the single motor that drives the front wheels. Acceleration is adequate in the standard drive mode, with Sport providing a bit more boost, enough to spin an inside front wheel in turns when pressed. The Eco mode was underwhelming, and while there’s a Personal mode to tweak your own combination of settings, we’d be shocked if anyone ever uses it.

Nissan offers four levels of regenerative braking, controlled via paddle shifters on all but the S+. Then there’s the e-Step mode, which is almost one-pedal driving. The regen overall isn’t that strong against some of the competitors, but frustratingly, it drops out around 7 mph, meaning the driver must brake to a full stop. No one-pedal driving, in 2025?

Roadholding is predictable, with predictable understeer if pushed. The standout characteristic turns out to be the Leaf’s steering. In general, steering feel and response is more noticeable in EVs than gasoline cars, because the powertrain is smoother, and the weight of the battery is at the bottom of the vehicle, lowering the center of gravity and reducing body roll. In 2010, the steering of the 2011 Leaf could only be described as “numb.” Thankfully, times have changed.

The latest Nissan design for electric power steering (EPS) isn’t unique to the Leaf, but it may be shown to best advantage in the small EV. Engineers moved the motor from the steering column to the rack itself, giving them greater flexibility in tailoring steering feel to different models and customer desires—as measured by factors like the rise in steering effort, linearity, and through-the-wheel response feel against its own criteria.

The result is some of the sweetest and most direct EPS we’ve driven. It’s better than its Korean competitors, though we can’t speak to the 2027 Bolt yet. Is it as good as a Porsche Taycan? Nah. But it’s damn good for a car in this price range.

Comfortable Seats, Legroom Trade-Offs

Nissan notes the cabin of the new Leaf is longer, by virtue of its shorter nose, than the outgoing model. The front seats, based on the company’s latest Zero Gravity design for spinal support, are indeed comfortable and supportive—but four 6-foot adults may still have to trade a bit of front seat adjustment to get enough rear legroom.

The most striking impression I took away in 160 miles was the remarkably quiet cabin. Tire noise and road rumble was pretty much all that could be heard; virtually no wind noise or electronics whine was discernible. It’s an impressive level of refinement for a $30K car, and some competitors would do well to figure out what sorcery Nissan employed—and replicate it.

The new Leaf uses a heat pump for cabin heating and cooling, replacing more power-hungry resistance heating. The AC worked fine, though we had no opportunity to test cabin heat. The all-new dedicated EV platform used for the Leaf and also the larger Ariya does quite a lot of thermal management. As one exec said, the system “manages, uses, or sheds” any battery heat.

We saw varying degrees of energy efficiency: just 2.6 mi/kWh on our 78.6-mile journey up into the hills, but then 4.3 mi/kWh on the 80.3 miles coming back down to sea level. That works out to an average of 3.25 mi/kWh, which isn’t bad for two reporters doing occasionally spirited testing.

A Trio of Trim Levels

For North America, all Leaf models at launch will have the larger 75-kWh battery. A battery heater for the coldest climates is a $300 accessory on all trim levels. The base S+ model starts at $31,485, with the SV+ trim (likely to be the most popular) at $35,725. That upgrade adds heated front seats, wireless phone charging, 18-inch alloy wheels, dual 14.3-inch displays (up from 12.3-inch units), and built-in Google assistant, route planning, and more.

The top-spec Platinum+ starts at $40,485. It gets 19-inch alloy wheels, an electrically dimming glass panoramic roof, a 10-speaker Bose audio system, hands-free power liftgate, and vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability. All prices include a mandatory $1,495 destination and handling fee.