New Nissan LEAF Adds Range & Features, For Under $30,000 – CleanTechnica

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Last Updated on: 19th August 2025, 07:09 pm

The Nissan LEAF is now one of the classics of the electric vehicle market. But it’s not done and collecting dust in the history books. Nissan is now launching the 3rd-generation LEAF, and it just keeps getting better.

What is stunning — and this is perhaps the best portrayal of how much the EV market has evolved and improved in the past 15 years — is that the LEAF has improved tremendously while the cost of the car has actually come down. The starting MSRP of the new 3rd-generation LEAF is lower than the starting MSRP of the original 2011 LEAF. And that’s without accounting for inflation!

The starting MSRP of the 2026 Nissan LEAF is $29,990, and this is also the lowest MSRP of any new EV in the United States. So, Nissan continues to lead the way in the EV market.

The 2011 Nissan LEAF had a starting MSRP of $32,780. “Additionally, the 2026 SV+ grade has an MSRP of $34,230, undercutting the 2025 LEAF SV PLUS by $1,960 despite offering dramatically more standard features and an increased driving range,” Nissan writes.

Here are some other new improvements and features:

• 303 miles of range!
• Plug&Charge capability
• Built-in North American Charging Standard (NACS) compatibility and access to more than 20,000 Tesla Superchargers
• Motorized flush door handles (first Nissan to have these)
• Dimming panoramic roof (the first in this vehicle segment) — can change from transparent to opaque with the push of a button.

For sure, the LEAF needs to pick up in sales again to try to become a significant force in the market, and maybe it can with this new generation. But either way, it’s impressive how the LEAF keeps improving and being a leader in the market. “The LEAF really kicked off the mainstream EV market when it launched 15 years ago, and Nissan’s still committed to making electric driving accessible to all,” said Vinay Shahani, senior vice president of U.S. Marketing and Sales at Nissan. “We’ve stuck to our mission of engineering EVs that are affordable but packed with value. That’s how we’ve kept the LEAF’s price steady over three generations — all while giving owners more style, more technology, more features and a vastly improved driving range over the original 2011 model.”

The new LEAF definitely looks appealing, and it has the extremely popular crossover body. Stay tuned for more on the vehicle, as we will be providing an in-depth early review of the 2026 LEAF in coming weeks.

In the meantime, here’s a little more on the trim pricing: