Nissan Leaf Preview 2025: Price, specs & boot space

If you're after an EV that's practical without being too large, absolutely. The only problem for the Leaf is that the same can be said of the Kia EV3, Skoda Elroq, Volvo EX30 and many, many more similarly sized options. We'll have to wait and see how the Leaf shapes up in terms of pricing and specs to see if it shines through in a busy area of the market.

As far as the battery goes, that all comes down to how often you'll be undertaking longer journeys. The range of the standard pack should be more than enough for most drivers, so if you can avoid having to pay more of the Extended battery, it's worth doing so. We can't comment on which trim to go for just yet, as these haven't been confirmed for the UK at the time of writing.

While the old Leaf was a little difficult to pigeonhole, the new one sits in one of the most hotly contested corners of the market, so it'll have no shortage of rivals. Cars like the Skoda Elroq and Kia EV3 offer similar range figures and are around where we expect the Leaf to be in terms of price. Although it's a hatchback rather than an SUV, the Volkswagen ID.3 is also a car the Leaf could be cross-shopped with.

We won't know for sure until we've had a poke around the new Leaf's cabin ourselves, but given the relationship with the Ariya, we've reason to be hopeful for a high-quality, well-finished cabin. The Ariya was a noticeable step forward compared to the Nissan cabins we'd gotten used to in terms of its premium feel and the quality of the materials used. 

The Leaf gets a sizeable 14.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system running Google software, which makes a great deal of sense. Why bother persevering with your own navigation system, which many users will simply ditch in favour of connecting their phones via Android Auto or Apple CarPlay and using Google Maps? 

Setups like the Leaf's and other Google-based infotainment systems (those of Polestar, for instance) effectively cut out the 'middle' man. They come pre-installed with various apps, with further compatible apps available from the Google Play Store as well, including YouTube (to use when stationary, of course).

A Bose sound system has been developed for the car, including a headrest speaker reserved for navigation and phone announcements, so others in the car won't have their favourite track interrupted by a loud voice harping on about turning left onto the A34. It's unclear if this will be an optional extra and/or reserved for the higher trim levels.

Despite shrinking in terms of length, the Leaf has more load space than its predecessor at 437 litres. That's a little way off a Kia EV3, but a bit better than what's offered in a Volvo EX30. 

There's a moveable boot floor and a 60/40 folding rear seat bench, although a figure for the total load space with it folded isn't available just yet. For the first time, the Leaf is available with a powered tailgate. Roof rails will also be available should you wish to build on the boot space with a top box, or carry some bicycles. 

Keeping things relatively straightforward, your chosen size of Leaf battery also determines the motor output. The 52kWh battery has a 177PS, 345Nm motor, while the 75kWh 'Extended' battery has a unit outputting 218PS and 355Nm of torque. In each case, the motor is fitted to the front axle. 

There's no word on performance figures, but we'd expect the 0-62mph time of each to dip under 10 seconds, if not drastically so. Expect effortless and brisk acceleration rather than anything you'd describe as 'fast'. It'll be a pleasant car to drive around town, with Nissan's 'e-Pedal' one-pedal driving system included. Levels of regeneration can be adjusted via steering wheel-mounted paddles.

The Ariya is available with a dual motor setup to give all-wheel drive, and although it's not clear whether or not the Leaf will get the same treatment, it's not something we're expecting.

The new Nissan Leaf hasn't yet been tested by Euro NCAP, but the Ariya, which sits on the same platform, achieved the full five stars when assessed by the safety body in 2022. Time will tell if it's the same case for the Leaf, but that shows cause for optimism. 

Standard-fit safety equipment includes lane-keeping assistance and a driver attention monitoring system. There's also Nissan's ProPilot Assist system, a clever cruise control that can adapt your speed for bends and changing speed limits as necessary. 

Potentially helping avoid low-speed knocks is something called 'Invisible Hood View', which uses the front-mounted camera and the two screens to allow the driver to look 'through' the bonnet at obstacles. Front Wide View, meanwhile, uses a 180-degree camera to help you see past parked cars.

The WLTP figures for the Leaf (still pending homologation) are 270 miles for the standard battery and 375 miles for the Extended pack. This compares favourably for the Skoda Elroq, which manages 232 miles, 260 miles or 360 miles depending on which of its three available battery packs you choose.

One of the big factors that make official WLTP range figures so difficult to achieve away from the lab in which they were obtained is that EVs struggle for efficiency at dual carriageway/motorway speeds, where UK drivers tend to clock a lot of their miles. To give a clearer picture of how the car might fare in such situations, Nissan has taken the unusual step of publishing figures from a test involving a Leaf blatting around a track at a sustained 80mph, in which case the battery was all of ideas in just over 200 miles.

As a brand-new car, it'll be a while before we get a clear picture of how reliable the third-generation Nissan Leaf is. Nissan ranks in the lower third of brand reliability part of the HonestJohn.co.uk Satisfaction Index survey, but few issues for the previous-generation Leaf have been reported by readers. The CMF-EV platform used by the Leaf is well proven by this point, and as an EV, it has fewer moving parts than a petrol, diesel or hybrid-powered car, meaning there's less to go wrong.

Nissan's warranty is nothing ground-breaking, lasting for 60,000 miles or three years, whichever comes first. Like most EVs, the battery of the Leaf has separate eight-year/100,000-mile coverage. 

As is now the case with all EVs, the Leaf won't be exempt from paying Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) or car tax. The annual rate from year two onwards will be the same as petrol, diesel and hybrid-powered cars, which is currently £195. EVs also now have to pay the government's premium car tax supplement of £425 annually from years two to six, but we're hoping that most versions of the Leaf will sneak under the £40,000 threshold. 

Along with pricing, the Leaf's trim structure and specs hadn't been confirmed at the time of writing. For now, we at least know that there will be seven "expressive" colour options, including the rather lovely 'Luminous Teal' seen daubed on the car in these photos.