2026 Nissan Leaf SV+

[Blueprint]

What I'm driving this week, just in time for gas prices shooting up.

Early impressions: really smooth traction motor / regen, noisy heat pump, cramped interior. This is the only car since the GR86 where I can't "sit behind myself".

[Tortoise]

I'm surprised by the cramped interior, mostly because I don't see the reason why. It's not like it's a sports car.

[GreatBigAbyss]

Why do some manufacturers feel the need to make EV's look like 'EV's? 

IMO, the previous couple of gens of Leaf were awesome, because they could easily pass for regular Nissan Versa's, especially to the layperson. 

It was also unapologetically a car.  The Nissan website calls this a subcompact SUV.  It doesn't even have available awd.  It's a car with awkward proportions!

For reference, this is the previous gen:

[Blueprint]

I'm surprised by the cramped interior, mostly because I don't see the reason why. It's not like it's a sports car.

While the new car is shorter and same height as the old one, despite being wider I'm sure it has less interior volume to create this wind-cheating profile (cx is 0,26). I will check the stats for the review. Proportions are just odd. When I check my left blind spot, I'm facing the B-pillar...

[dkazzed]

It does look very small. I haven't sat in the second gen but the first gen is huge. I wouldn't call the first gen conventional looking though.

[Blueprint]

It does look very small. I haven't sat in the second gen but the first gen is huge. I wouldn't call the first gen conventional looking though.

Both 1st and 2nd gens had big back seats and huge trunks. This has a very cramped back seat and shallow trunk - the bigger battery had to go somewhere!

[Blueprint]

This thing drives really nice, super smooth and no weird noises, unlike our CX-90 when running on e-juice. I got 17.3 kWh/100 km on the way back from the office.

[Blueprint]

We spent two days in the Leaf hitting appliance and furniture stores all around the region with the kiddo. Did a full charge overnight on my Level 2 and the car predicted 406 km of range. Now standing at a 21.5 kWh/100 km avg for the week so far.