The Car Connection Expert Review
Likes
- Great price
- Good around-town performance
- User-friendly infotainment
- Still looks good
Dislikes
- No AWD version
- Somewhat short range
- Not a great highway cruiser
- Base version not as well-outfitted as it once was
Buying tip
features & specs
The 2025 Nissan Leaf is a good overall EV for shoppers looking for a commuter car value.
What kind of vehicle is the 2025 Nissan Leaf? What does it compare to?
The Leaf is a small, entry-level electric car. Shop it against the Hyundai Kona EV and Kia Niro EV.
Is the 2025 Nissan Leaf a good car?
It trades heavily on its value, but the 2025 Nissan Leaf can be an overall good buy. It is comfy, quick, and refined, earning it a 7.2 on the TCC scale. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
What's new for the 2025 Nissan Leaf?
The 2025 Nissan Leaf is a carryover model from last year. Its days are likely numbered as Nissan looks to focus its efforts on the more stylish Ariya.
That’s not to say that the Leaf is a bad choice, though. This small hatchback has attractive styling with plenty of nice details, and it has a practical cargo area.
The base S version is estimated at 149 miles of range on a full charge, and it can be topped off quite quickly. With 147 hp on tap, it delivers good around-town acceleration but is light on highway-speed punch. Quicker and with more range, the SV Plus can go up to 212 miles on a full charge. But it’s also slower to charge up.
The Leaf has a comfortable ride with good impact absorption and its steering is light but accurate. It’s no corner carver, but it can be almost entertaining — especially for EV newcomers not used to this type of powertrain’s instant torque.
Inside, the Leaf has a well thought-out cabin with good storage and comfy seats. It’ll accommodate four average-size adults with ease, and it has a fairly large cargo area. While it’s nicely outfitted for the money, it’s far from luxurious, though. And high-end features Nissan once offered like branded audio and leather seats are no longer available.
All 2025 Nissan Leaf electric cars come with automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitors, and active lane control. The SV Plus adds Nissan’s excellent ProPilot Assist system that combines adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go and various lane-centering features to reduce driver fatigue. It’s a great system for drivers with a long, traffic-filled commute.
How much does the 2025 Nissan Leaf cost?
The 2025 Nissan Leaf starts at $29,280 for the base S version with its 149-mile range and decent level of features like an 8.0-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, active safety tech, and automatic climate control.
The SV Plus has more range but costs $8,050 more, so consider just how much you really plan to drive before spending up.
Where is the 2025 Nissan Leaf made?
In Japan.
2025 Nissan Leaf Styling
The Leaf has pleasant styling with some playful details.
Is the Nissan Leaf a good-looking car?
It’s not particularly interesting, but the 2025 Nissan Leaf has a clean hatchback shape and some stylish details that help make it an appealing overall vehicle.
What the Leaf doesn’t do is shout about its EV credentials. It looks more like a sporty hatchback than it does a small eco car. Up front, it has angular headlights and a low, dark-finish grille-like insert. From the side, the rocker panel trim gives the Leaf a planted look. The blacked-out finish continues first with some pillar trim that gives the roof a floating effect, and then at the rear where a large panel between the taillights manages to make the rear window look enormous. Intricate wheels round out the Leaf’s exterior package.
Inside, it’s contemporary and somewhat unadorned, with a few standout features like a mushroom-like shift knob and fun upholstery patterns.
2025 Nissan Leaf Performance
The 2025 NIssan Leaf is a quick around-town runabout.
While not quite entertaing, the 2025 Nissan Leaf provides quick acceleration in both base S and uplevel SV Plus trim levels. That scoot gives them a 6 out of 10 score on the TCC scale.
Is the Nissan Leaf 4WD?
No, this is a front-wheel-drive car.
How fast is the Nissan Leaf?
It’s peppier than its horsepower ratings and 0-60 mph times suggest. The base Leaf S has a 40-kwh battery and an electric motor that combine for 147 hp and 187 lb-ft of torque, which is enough to zip it to 60 mph in around eight seconds. The SV Plus features a 60-kwh battery pack that ups the ante to a hearty 214 hp and 250 lb-ft of torque. It’s around a second quicker to 60 mph.
But the rearl story is in just how quickly the Leaf builds power from a stop. It can feel downright zippy, though it starts to run out of steam — or electrons — at highway speeds.
The Leaf has a true one-pedal drive mode that makes urban cruising even more relaxing.
While a bit too heavy to be agile, the Leaf is stable and balanced in cornering. Its low-resistance tires grip the road reasonably well and help endow it with a comfortable enough ride over pockmarked pavement. The SV Plus has 17-inch wheels that deliver a slightly firmer ride and make its turning radius a bit wider.
2025 Nissan Leaf Comfort & Quality
Nissan’s Leaf is a quiet cruiser with decent passenger space.
The 2025 Nissan Leaf is more roomy than you might expect. It can reasonably accommodate four taller adults, but it earns a point above average here thanks to its spacious cargo area. The 2025 Leaf is a 6 on the TCC scale.
The front seats have good support and a reasonable amount of adjustment. Base S models have a six-way manual driver’s seat, while SV Plus Leafs swap in a power driver’s seat. Rear-seat riders have an acceptable 33.5 inches of legroom plus plenty of headroom. The rear middle seat is a tight fit, though.
Behind the rear seats, the cargo area can swallow 23.6 cubic feet of space, which only opens up to 30.0 cubes with the rear seatbacks down.
The Leaf’s interior trim is a cut above what we expect for its price point, though it’s far from luxurious.
2025 Nissan Leaf Safety
Nissan packs a lot of safety tech into its cheapest EV.
How safe is the Nissan Leaf?
It has done well in crash-testing and it has lots of collision-avoidance tech, though the 2025 Nissan Leaf scores just 7 out of 10 since the IIHS has yet to evaluate it.
The NHTSA awarded it five stars overall, which nets a point. We grant it another thanks to a good array of standard features including forward automatic emergency braking, active lane control, and blind-spot monitors. The top Leaf SV Plus adds adaptive cruise control and the automaker’s ProPilot Assist tech that can center the car at highway speeds and handle stop-and-go traffic. It’s a great system, though it sounds far too many alert chimes for our liking.
2025 Nissan Leaf Features
The 2025 Nissan Leaf is well-equipped for the money.
Starting at a mere $29,280, the 2025 Nissan Leaf is a fairly inexpensive new car. But it’s no slouch in the feature department. We score it at 8 out of 10 thanks to its overall value, its decent infotainment system, and its plentiful standard features.
Its 3-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty and 8-year/100,000-mile battery coverage are average for a new car.
The base Leaf S comes with an 8.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, cruise control, automatic climate control, and a good array of driver-assistance and crash-avoidance features. It also includes DC fast-charging.
Which Nissan Leaf should I buy?
The base Leaf S is adequate as an around-town car. While the SV Plus adds a few worthwhile features, its biggest allure is its extra 63 miles of range on a full charge.
How much is a fully loaded Nissan Leaf?
At $37,330, the SV Plus is a hefty $8,000 more than the base model. It has a power-adjustable driver’s seat, heated front seats, a better audio system, and adaptive cruise control, plus a few other nice features. It’s also available with two-tone paint for $425 to $725, depending on the hue you select.
2025 Nissan Leaf Fuel Economy
The 2025 Nissan Leaf is a downright efficient choice.
How many miles of range does the Nissan Leaf have?
It’s not tops when it comes to range, but the Leaf charges quickly. It’s a 10 on the TCC scale.
The base S version is estimated at 149 miles on a full charge, while the SV Plus checks in at 212 miles. Note that your range may drop by around 10% in winter, though.
Using a 240-volt Level 2 charger, the SV Plus can go from a nearly depleted battery to a full one in less than 12 hours, while the S model is even quicker.
The Leaf can be charged at Level 3 stations, where it can go to 80% in as few as 40 minutes for the S or 60 minutes for the SV Plus.
