Nissan’s new crossover-shaped Leaf, which launches in Australia next year, will get a range that’s dramatically longer than its hatchback predecessor’s.
The second-generation Leaf hatch had a range of only 385km on the WLTP cycle from its biggest 62kWh battery. The new Leaf will stretch that to an impressive 604km.
That’s thanks to a new 75kWh battery which uses revamped chemistry and battery conditioning technology over that of the old model, whose basic battery design dated back to 2010 and the original Leaf.
The third-generation Leaf also drops the awkward CHAdeMO charging socket and embraces CCS charging, giving it a maximum charging speed of 150kW on a high-power DC connection. Nissan says that this allows the new Leaf to add up to 417km of extra range in just 30 minutes of charging.
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That big-battery Leaf will doubtless be considerably more expensive than the outgoing hatchback model, but there will also be a more affordable entry-level version, featuring a 52kWh battery, a still-impressive 436km range and 105kW fast charging.
The battery heating and cooling system — and it’s now liquid-cooled, rather than the air cooling of the old Leaf — is fully integrated into the car’s cabin heating and air conditioning, meaning that heat can be shuffled around to where it’s needed most.
There’s also a standard heat pump for the big battery model to further improve efficiency (it’s optional with the smaller battery).
The new Leaf’s extra range isn’t just down to its battery. There has also been a focus on improving the car’s aerodynamics. That’s in spite of the fact this new Leaf is a crossover rather than a hatchback.
It’s 10mm taller now, but actually slightly shorter overall, and features a very sleek roof and a cut-off Kamm-style tail.
There are pop-out flush-fit door handles for the front doors, and hidden handles in the C-pillar for the rear doors, as well as an active air intake at the front and an almost fully enclosed underbody.
That all makes for a drag coefficient of just 0.25. It allows Nissan to claim that at highway speeds of 130km/h, the big-battery Leaf can keep going for up to 330km, leaving it with a 25km reserve to find a charging point.
It’s part of Nissan’s mission to turn the new Leaf into “a compelling alternative for internal combustion engine (ICE) buyers.”
There’s a choice of power outputs including a 160kW motor for the big-battery Leaf, and a 130kW motor (actually the same motor with different software) for the 52kWh version. However, performance has actually suffered a bit, and the fastest new Leaf is fractionally slower than the outgoing model, taking 7.4 seconds to reach 100km/h from rest.
The car’s styling has, obviously, changed quite dramatically from the previous Leaf, led by Nissan’s vice president of design for Europe, Giovanny Arroba.
The Leaf is now ultra-clean on the outside, with a focus on smooth radius corners for all sections. To add some distinctive character, Mr Arroba turned to Japanese numbers. Helpfully, the Japanese versions of ‘two’ and ‘three’ are pronounced ‘Ni’ and ‘San’ and the pictographs form a neat combination of two-bar and three-bar symbols.
These conjoined symbols have been liberally sprinkled around the Leaf, both inside and outside, but they’re seen to their best effect in the 3D-effect brake lights.
At the front, the Leaf uses a full-width light bar, which blends into LED running lights and headlights either side of a blank grille, with a light-up Nissan logo in the centre.
At the rear, as is the current trend, the word Nissan is simply picked out in white lettering.
There are 18-inch alloy wheels as standard, with 19-inch rims as an option.
Inside, the new Leaf takes clear inspiration from the current Ariya crossover, with very clean surfacing and a distinct leap in quality compared to the previous model.
Thankfully, Nissan has kept some physical buttons, including a proper stereo volume knob, and push-button selectors for the gears.
There are also physical buttons on the two-spoke steering wheel, and a handy roller-ball selector that allows you to modify the layout of the driver’s digital instrument panel. That panel is 14.3 inches across, making it one of the largest in the segment, and it has a twin to the side, which is of course the main infotainment screen.
This screen uses Google Automotive software as its base — a first for Nissan — and that means full integration for Google Maps, Google Assistant and the Google Play Store. From the Store, you can currently download more than 70 apps to the Leaf’s screen, including Audible, Spotify, Waze and YouTube.
Games such as Angry Birds can also be found there, designed to keep the car’s passengers entertained when charging – and Nissan is working on adding wireless connections to turn phones into game controllers.
Google Maps is also integrated into the Leaf’s battery systems and it automatically works out the best charging stops when you enter a destination, as well as pre-conditioning the battery for the best possible charging speeds.
There’s also the option of a high-end Bose stereo, which includes a speaker built into the driver’s headrest, allowing them to take calls and hear navigation instructions while everyone else keeps listening to music or podcasts, uninterrupted.
In spite of the new Leaf being slightly shorter than the old one, space in the cabin has actually been improved, thanks to the greater packaging efficiencies of the electric-focused CMF-EV platform – shared with the Nissan Ariya as well as the Renault Megane E-Tech and Scenic E-Tech.
There’s an extra 80mm of rear legroom, plus 40mm of extra shoulder room. There’s even, in spite of the sleek roof, 30mm more headroom.
This is in part thanks to the clever electrochromatic glass roof, which dims at the touch of a button, and does so in segments so you can pick and choose the levels of light coming into the cabin.
The glass roof is also infra-red absorbing, so there’s no need for a sun blind, and this has allowed Nissan to lower the roof by 12mm without impacting rear headroom, which further helps the Leaf’s aerodynamics.
The boot is also bigger at 427 litres, and there’s a handy adjustable boot floor, borrowed from the Qashqai. There’s space under the boot floor for charging cables (just as well as there’s no ‘frunk’ in the nose) and the rigid parcel shelf also fits under the adjustable floor for when you want to tumble the back seats.
There are two ISOFIX points in those back seats, but there isn’t a third in the front passenger seat.
Prices haven’t yet been set, and sales won’t start until well into 2026 anyway. The new Leaf will likely be much more expensive than the old model, although Nissan says that it’s going to try to entice existing Leaf owners — 700,000 of them worldwide — with pricing and specification to suit their pockets.