Nissan really fumbled its electric vehicle lead. It was arguably the first automaker to launch a modern high-volume electric car in the U.S., and while the first-generation Leaf was competitive with early efforts, it seemed like Nissan rested on its laurels for more than a decade. Now though, there’s a new third-generation Leaf, and it’s ditched its hatchback form to be a properly modern-looking electric crossover.
Although the original Leaf was a pioneer, it definitely had some problems. Early battery chemistry combined with air cooling led to serious battery degradation, and when it came time to build a second-generation for the 2018 model year, Nissan didn’t substantially redevelop the concept. The base second-generation car still had an air-cooled battery pack when everyone else moved to liquid active thermal management, and all second-generation models featured a CHAdeMO DC fast charging port when pretty much every other automaker had moved on to CCS. The result was a car with seriously limited fast charging and extreme weather performance, and it’s stayed on sale for seven years with few alterations while competitors passed it by.
Well, that’s about to change. Say hello to the new Nissan Leaf, one that’s looking like a serious case of “Honey, I shrunk the Ariya.” It’s now a small electric crossover, complete with cladding, and rides on the same CMF-EV platform found underneath the larger Ariya electric crossover (CMF-EV is liquid-cooled battery native, so I’d be surprised if Nissan went with air, especially with a NACS connector that can support more than 50 kW DCFC). However, don’t be worried about bloat, because Top Gear reports that the new Leaf is actually 5.9 inches shorter than the current model, which should make it even easier to parallel park.
As for the look of the new Leaf, I reckon the rotund theme works here, as the Leaf has always been a non-threatening car. It has a history of visual honesty, and this new one is eshewing any faux off-road chops it can’t back up. The surfacing seems clean, the wheels look novel, and I’m excited to see robin’s egg blue making a comeback. Sure, I’m a bit concerned that the slope of the rear window might affect the capacity to carry bulky items, but without a clear look at the cargo area, I’ll let that sleeping dog lie for now.
While details on specifications and equipment are sparse right now, Nissan has said that the new Leaf will be available with 19-inch alloy wheels, which seem about normal for the segment, along with a panoramic moonroof. Crucially, the new car gets a NACS port instead of the old CHAdeMO DC fast charging port. This is incredibly important because although people might not want to use Tesla’s charging network for a variety of reasons, it likely means we’re about to get a Leaf that can DC fast charge at more than a piddling 50 kW.
Although we still don’t know anything about battery sizing and range for the U.S. market, expect to learn a lot more sometime in the middle of the year. With a market debut scheduled before the end of fiscal year 2025 alongside a new Rogue plug-in hybrid, a new Sentra, an updated Pathfinder, I wouldn’t be surprised if the third-generation Leaf hits showrooms sooner than we might expect.
Top graphic credit: Nissan
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I… don’t hate it? It’s fine
Why do automakers feel every electric vehicle needs a panoramic moonroof? Do they think anyone actually wants sunlight streaming down on them constantly?
This! I avoid sun roofs as much as possible. I’ve been known to put the top up on my Austin Healey Sprite on a 90 deg day and deal with the extreme heat just to avoid sun hitting my head.
It’s a generic blob. Not bad, but not exciting.
I drove a few of the first gen Leafs (Leaves) and it seemed an adequate if uninteresting small hatch. I never bought one, despite how cheap they got, because the batteries degraded so severely. I sat in but never drove the second gen Leaf, and it seemed a slight improvement (in terms of aesthetics mostly, eschewing the Renaultesque weirdness of the first gen). This potential third gen one looks better still, and hopefully, they HAVE gone to active cooling for the battery so that the car lasts longer than your average moderately successful sitcom run.
I really like that blue color (Robin’s Egg, or maybe Tiffany Box) and wish it were available on cars I’d actually consider spending money on, like crossovers from Mazda for example.
To each their own. I think Mazda’s Soul Red Crystal is one of the prettiest colors I’ve ever seen, and I NEVER liked red before.
Soul Red Crystal is fantastic (though very difficult to match properly for touch-ups or after body repair from what I gather) and it’s gone through a few different versions (w/similar names) over the decade or so it’s been around in various forms. There was even an NHK (Japanese public television) segment about it and the really old guy at Mazda who developed it and how he did it.
Of course, it’s the first thing that comes to mind when speccing any modern Mazda (if one wants to avoid black, white, grey, and silver as badly as I do) but even if you don’t worry about touch-ups/bodywork down the road, there’s still the matter of it being so common. Everything from Miatas to CX-9 are everywhere in that color (or one of its versions). That’s not a deal breaker for me, but I just wish Mazda had an equally impressive blue and green to choose from too, even if there’s an upcharge for it (as there usually is for Soul Red Crystal except on upper trim levels/more expensive models).
I never want to buy a black/white/grey/silver car again, but since I almost always buy used, and practicality forces me to consider other factors (condition, mileage, etc…) WAY before color, it seems pretty likely that my wish (to avoid monochrome) will not come true.
I was hopeful until I zoomed in on the other cars.
They all appear to be warmed over versions of existing things. Look at the second from the left… Great, you’re doing a midcycle update on the Pathfinder? Oh you’re not, you’re coming out with another vehicle that’s closer to a minivan than a 4×4? Groundbreaking stuff.
Are they supposed to not keep the Pathfinder updated? It’s easily one of Nissan’s most competent vehicles and plays in one of the most lucrative segments in the US. I’m happy to see its getting a timely update.
Obviously they’re going to update it. When you’re trying to convince people you’re not going out of business, however, putting a midcycle update on the shit-ass Pathfinder in the shade doesn’t make it somehow an amazing leap forward for Nissan. It is more of the same in a literal sense. Maybe put groundbreaking stuff in the shadows to reveal?
I see Nissan has taken the “Hyundai has nice headlight design” stance.
Woo-hoo! Finally getting with the times and adopting novelty hidden and/or c-pillar door handles. The yout’ are really gonna love this! Sooo innovative, and not at all pointless.
Pretty attractive front. Clear VW influence with the logo and light bar placement. Definitely doesn’t look like anything from the (imho ugly) V motion era.
First and second gen Leaf are not “air-cooled”, they are NOT-COOLED, and that’s the problem. Air-cooled would mean there is some air mooving inside the pack, like in a Renault ZOE by example. Here the pack is sealed. Eventually you can say it is “passive air cooling”, as if you are mooving there is some air flow outside the pack, but really this is closer to no thermal management at all.
Yep. Ever since the Leaf came out everyone says air cooled batteries are shit, because of the initial problems with the Leaf’s PASSIVELY air cooled battery pack, many of whom have done so from PASSIVELY air cooled Phones and Laptops.
Active Air Cooling is much better at cooling to the point of basically being a whole new thing effectively.
The comparison with phones is a bit misplaced for many reasons, but the biggest are the expected lifetime of a phone vs a car (and thus how much yearly degradation is acceptable), and the battery C rate, or rate of charge or discharge divided by it’s capacity (so the inverse of average run time, a c/5 rate would discharge a battery in 5 hours). A first gen leaf could empty it’s battery in about 2 hours of highway driving, so C/2, and charge up to 50 kW for about half the SOC range, dropping off at the low and high ends, so closer to C/1. This is a lot harder use that generates much more heat than your phone battery is ever likely to see. Active air cooling can help over passive, but still has nowhere near the convection coefficient or thermal mass of a decent liquid cooled system to support DCFC at average rates of 2 or 3C
Depends on how the vehicle is utilized.
I utilized public fast charging for the first time Monday with my 25 Leaf S (40kWh), first place I stopped to charge had a busted charger, second place had a functional 50kW charger, so I plugged it in and walked to the gas station a block away to get a couple bottles of water and take a piss, by the time I came back the car was already above 80% so I disconnected and continued my journey, by the time it was time for another piss break I plugged in at another 50kW charger, took a piss, and got a couple of slices of pizza from a Whole Foods which I ate in my car. By the time I had finished my pizza and taken the pizza box to the trash the car was already over 80%. I didn’t feel the need for charging faster than 50kW,
In hot climates the Leaf’s passively cooled battery pack has issues shedding heat. In cold climates it handles said cold very well. For example Out Of Spec Reviews did deep freeze testing with a First and Second Gen Leaf, and a new Tesla Model 3 where he left the vehicles out in below freezing temps overnight next to some fast chargers and went to charge them. The Tesla took 45 minutes of heating up the battery before it started charging. The Leaf? 7 minutes. The First gen one had a dead 12v battery though.
One of the two main reasons I got a Leaf over other BEVs on the market is where I’m at now I have to street park, I only have access to 120v charging at home, and it get below freezing here for half the year. The Leaf with it’s lower thermal mass for it’s battery performs better here in terms of range preservation compared to its competitors.
I’m not trying to make the case that passive or active air cooling gives better cooling performance than liquid cooling, rather there are different use cases for BEVs and for said different use cases passive and active air cooling both have their place. They won’t be the fastest charging vehicles on the market, but they have the potential to be lighter, simpler, and handle the cold much better than liquid cooled battery packs.
There’s a reason why not every smartphone, PC, console, etc. is liquid cooled, because it doesn’t make sense for the applications they are being used for.
This new Leaf is a great example of this. What does it offer over the previous gen Leaf? Better range and charging speed almost certainly, but almost certainly at a higher MSRP too, and that’s not even including dealer discounts. I got my Leaf brand new for $21,500 ($8500 off MSRP). Good luck buying any other street legal electric car brand new for that cheap. I bought it not to drive across the country, to fast charge, etc. I bought it as a grocery getter and to save me time and money going around town to do my errands and such.
Right now the New Leaf is a slightly smaller Ariya which makes it the latest entry in the oversaturated Tesla Model Y knockoff market, now it has to compete against vehicles at a higher price point with worse specs from a company that is pretty rough financial straights. Do tell me what sets the new Nissan Leaf apart from the competitors in a positive way? I can’t think of anything.
For cheaper, extreme cold weather, lighter, simpler, etc. BEVs I think air cooling has it’s merits, whether passively or actively air cooled. However there is a major difference between passive and active air cooling.
I’m glad I bought my 25 Leaf S when I did, though I’m sad that the rumors and leaks of the new Leaf ended up being founded, as in it’s just another shitty Tesla Model Y copy.
If the Second Gen Nissan Leaf had a liquid cooled battery pack I almost certainly would have bought a new Fiat 500e instead.
And Yes, Nissan Really fumbled the bag with BEVs. They had an 8 Year head start over the e-Transit with the eNV200, but didn’t think the US market was worth the investment necessary to get the eNV200 to pass regs here (would require a redesign not that different from the 2nd gen Leaf’s redesign), and would need to be made here. Instead they did nothing while the Leaf got way more competitors and became way more less competitive as prices kept going down and down.