It’s no secret that Nissan’s been through a rough couple of years. Despite having put out some truly exceptional cars in that time, whether it’s the smashingly futuristic Ariya or the fantastic, do-everything Juke and Qashqai, not to mention the superbly clever e-POWER hybrid powertrains, Nissan just simply couldn’t catch a break. They desperately need a win, here and now, and I think they finally have it with the arrival of the all-new Nissan Leaf.
Nissan aims to reinvent itself as the byword for electrification, and the brand-new Leaf will soon be their crowning jewel. It’s a gargantuan uplift from the old Leaf that we know and love, with a bigger, more practical SUV form factor rather than a hatchback, lots of new tech inside and out, a fully connected mobility suite that’s powered by Google, and most impressively of all, up to 375 (WLTP) miles of impressive, class-leading range.
This is clearly a huge deal for the brand, as was made clear when I had a roundtable call and catch-up with their Senior Vice President for Region Research & Development, David Moss, who was keen to get us up to speed on the new Nissan Leaf’s drivetrain and technology, as well as the Vice President of Nissan Design Europe, Giovanny Arroba, who was eager to share with me what inspired the new Leaf’s styling, and what it means for Nissan.
Turning Over A New Leaf
Since the Nissan Leaf first came into the world back in 2010, Nissan has sold more than a whopping 700,000 of them around the world. It’s come a long way, and this new, third-generation Leaf couldn’t come any sooner. See, despite the Leaf being the world’s first, hugely recognisable mass-market electric car, they rapidly lost their lead to upstart brands such as Tesla, as well as the flurry of Chinese EVs to have flooded the market in recent years.
This new Leaf, however – model code ‘ZE2’ – is Nissan’s chance to strike back with fury, and after years of sitting on the sidelines, they’re now ready and waiting to leapfrog the competition. The also-new Nissan Micra was just the opening act for Nissan’s redemption, and the Leaf is about to start things off with a bang. Even by looking at it, there’s something very distinctly Nissan about this new 3rd-generation Leaf, and it’s not just my déjà vu.
Built atop Nissan’s CMF-EV modular platform, this new Leaf technically shares an architecture with the Ariya, so it does feature a lot of the Ariya’s running gear and engineering underneath (more on that later). Nevertheless, this does mean that the new Leaf shares a somewhat uncanny silhouette and shape with the Ariya, with its eye-catching teardrop shape and sloping roofline in the rear. Personally, I quite adore how this new Leaf looks.
An Extremely Bold Redesign
With a sleek front-end and not a single hard edge in sight, the new Nissan Leaf looks aerodynamic, and it indeed is quite slippery, too, with a very meagre drag coefficient of just 0.25. Other clever bits of design to make it more aerodynamic include flush door handles, a flowing bodywork, a full underfloor cover, and a thoughtful sculpture all around to make this exceedingly handsome Leaf cut through the air like a hot knife through a slab of butter.
Those turbofan-esque wheels no doubt contribute to the new Leaf’s slipperiness, and the car itself showcases an exceptional bit of thermal management. We’ll talk more about this later, but for now, know that there is a set of hidden active shutters on your Leaf’s front grille. These shutters are otherwise kept closed and flush, which is able to better manage airflow and keeps that low drag, but if needed, they can open up to allow for better cooling.
Best of all, and a personal favourite bit of exterior styling for me, is the new Nissan Leaf’s pretty unique lighting signature, fore and aft. The front-end ought to be quite familiar if you’ve seen some of the other newer Nissans, but it has been refined a slight bit before making it onto the Leaf. Meanwhile, the rear lamps are reminiscent of the new (and old) Nissan Fairlady Z sports cars, with those beautiful clusters of rectangular LED taillights.
Fun fact, those distinctly laid out tail lamps are designed to mirror another little symbol stamped onto the Leaf’s charging port door, which is made to mimic the Japanese characters for ‘Ni’ and ‘San’. It’s a cute little touch and a really nice bit of attention to detail, which I always appreciate. Equally as gorgeous are the new Leafs’ exterior colour paint options – all seven of them – including this bold and bright Luminous Teal turquoise colourway.
The Empire Strikes Back
Undoubtedly, the biggest and most welcomed distinction from the old Leaf to this new generation model is what you’ll find underneath its metal flesh – the battery. Depending on which specific model you pick, the new Nissan Leaf could be had with a ‘Standard’ 52 kWh battery pack, offering you up to 270 miles of range (WLTP), and the ‘Extended’ 75 kWh battery pack, now allowing you to drive up to 375 miles of range (WLTP) on a single charge.
Yet, thanks to DC fast-charging up to 150 kW, assuming you could find a compatible fast charger, the new Leaf could recover up to 260 miles of range or thereabouts in just 30 minutes of charging. It’s quite a capable EV, but what sets the new Leaf apart from other electric vehicles is how Nissan has optimised the battery pack and the accompanying powertrain to be as efficient as possible in proper day-to-day driving and regular commuting.
For instance, Nissan quotes that when you’re driving at steady motorway speeds of around 130 km/h, you can get up to 205 miles of range in high-speed motoring. Then, thanks to the uber-rapid DC fast-charging, this ensures that the new Leaf could complete 500 miles of driving with relatively minimal time difference than trying this same journey in a petrol or diesel vehicle, with a quick fill-up in the middle. And, there’s more to that, too.
To make transitioning and living with an EV as easy as possible, the new Nissan Leaf features a route planner in the satnav system (it’s Google Maps, too). Hoping to overcome your range anxiety, this doesn’t just give you a great idea of where the nearest charging stations are, but the Leaf could even pre-condition the battery pack and set it at the right temperatures when approaching a fast-charging station, thus maximising your charging speeds.
Truly Going The Distance
Speaking of, the new Nissan Leaf’s battery temps are kept as well-optimised as possible with loads of options to heat it up or cool it down, and heat generated from the electric motor, where needed, would also be repurposed and used to warm up the battery. Nissan has definitely evolved massively over the old Leaf, and this new system looks and sounds way more mature and well-thought-out overall, offering you supreme effortlessness.
Other fascinating features and goodies that you might appreciate on the new and upcoming Nissan Leaf might be its inclusion of Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) functionality, thus allowing you to charge or power up external devices using the Leaf’s battery. With up to 3.6 kW of power, that should even be enough to power up a small campsite, running kettles, portable lights, or electric grills, which I do value highly as someone who loves going camping.
Additionally, the new Leaf will also come with Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G), and this compatibility means that you can, in case this ever gets added to the national electrical grid in the future, send stored energy from your new Leaf’s battery back to your local power grid. Yet, even with all these forward-thinking features and additions tacked on to the new Leaf, it’s actually smaller than the old model, as it’s shorter and smaller across all dimensions.
Even its ground clearance is slightly lower than the outgoing Leaf, so most of that SUV-ness comes mainly from its upright proportions and that very high beltline. Yet, the reduced size won’t compromise practicality, as you’ll still get a cavernous 437-litre boot. Furthermore, its huge electrochromic panoramic glass roof will electronically and quickly adjust transparency without needing a mechanical blind, which adds a bit of headroom, as well.
Driving Forward Into The Future
Ah, but you’ll be sorely mistaken to think that the upcoming Nissan Leaf is nothing more than a boring old SUV. Of course, it’s not a sports car by any means, but there’s a surprising amount of attention to detail made on the new Leaf’s underpinnings. It features a MacPherson front suspension, as well as a multi-link set-up in the rear, which, in theory, should offer you a comfortable, poised, and balanced driving experience on regular roads.
Nissan was further quick to mention that the new Nissan Leaf, which already has loads of European touches and inspiration in it, had its ride and handling tweaked and recalibrated to better fit European roads. Besides that, it comes with all the niceties that Nissan’s electrified vehicles traditionally get, including their super neat ‘e-Pedal Step’ system, which is a refined version of Nissan’s regenerative braking and one-pedal driving capability.
To add to that, Nissan promises a smooth and natural one-pedal driving feel in regular day-to-day driving, and you can now more easily adjust your brake regen levels via steering wheel paddle shifters. To make driving the new Nissan Leaf that much easier, you’ll also get Nissan’s handy ‘ProPILOT Assist’ suite of driving aids, which can now better adapt to curved sections of roads, as well as changing speed limits more dynamically on the motorway.
In addition, the 360-degree surround view camera system should give you a bird’s eye view of your Leaf for even easier manoeuvring and parking, and I must say, the camera system on the Leaf is outstanding, as a whole. Just when you thought that was it, Nissan would also bundle the upcoming Leaf with the best ADAS systems on their line-up today, including standard Intelligent Cruise Control, Lane Keep Assist, and Driver Monitoring System.
A Technological Tour De Force
This explosion of technology doesn’t stop once you step inside the new Leaf, either. The first thing most folks will no doubt notice is those dual 14.3-inch screens, which are a noteworthy upgrade over the displays that you get in today’s Nissans. Plus, they come with Google built-in, allowing you quick and easy access to Google Maps, the Google Play Store, and Google Assistant, layered atop a slick and intuitive, updated infotainment system.
With some of the upper trim levels, you’ll then get access to a Bose premium sound system, and this setup also includes integrated headrest speakers, too. Other than that, I do love me some high-tech connectivity, and this new Nissan Leaf features the NissanConnect Services app, where you could remotely preview your car’s battery status, how it’s charging, cabin temperatures, pre-conditioning the A/C, planning your journey, and more.
For extra eco-consciousness, even the construction of the upcoming Nissan Leaf is made to be very eco-friendly, using clever automation techniques and an army of robots to build each Leaf. Aside from that, given that the new Leaf will be the first new model to be produced under Nissan’s ‘EV36Zero’ initiative, this pretty highly advanced European-based EV production hub will hugely leverage renewable energy and localised supply chains.
A New Beginning For Nissan
This is a gigantic win for us Brits, too, as the all-new 3rd-generation Leaf will be put together at Nissan’s historic plant over in Sunderland, in the UK. To add even more British-ness into the mix, the new Nissan Leaf had spent a really long time being fine-tuned and tweaked over at Nissan Technical Centre Europe (NTCE), which is Nissan’s flagship, European-focused engineering and development centre over in Cranfield, in Bedfordshire.
If the new and hugely anticipated Nissan Leaf piques your interest, then you needn’t wait long, either. Orders for UK customers will begin this coming autumn, and the first deliveries are planned for next spring. Sadly, we don’t yet know what the UK pricing will look like, but rumour has it that the USA-bound Nissan Leafs are priced in the low to mid-$30,000s, so if that translates well into Pound Sterling, it sounds to me like a fantastic deal.
