Nissan Leaf revealed for 2018 | More power, range, features — for less money

7 years, 2 months ago - 7 September 2017, Autoblog

Nissan has just unveiled its next generation of the Leaf, the world's best-selling electric vehicle. We've had the opportunity to drive the car in Japan, and you can read about that experience in our review. As for the nuts and bolts of the 2018 Nissan Leaf, here are the things you need to know.

POWER

The 2018 Leaf is more powerful than the outgoing model, providing 147 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque. That's an increase of 40 horsepower and 49 pound-feet compared to the current model.

RANGE

The 2018 Nissan Leaf uses a 40-kWh battery pack good for 150 miles of driving range on a single charge (up from the current 30 kWh and 107 miles of range). For the 2019 model year, Nissan will release an "e-Plus" version of the Leaf with more power and a higher battery capacity, expected to provide more than 225 miles of driving range.

TECH

The new Leaf features ProPilot Assist and e-Pedal technology. ProPilot Assist is a hands-on, single-lane semi-autonomous driving system that basically combines stop-and-go dynamic cruise control with lane-keeping technology that does most of the acceleration, braking and steering work for you. E-Pedal is a system that allows you to turn on one-pedal driving. It greatly increases the regenerative braking, and will even hold the car on a steep incline, so you almost never need to touch the brake with e-Pedal turned on.

Nissan will introduce ProPilot Park, an autonomous parking system, on the Leaf at a later date.

PRICING

The 2018 leaf is $690 cheaper than before, with a starting MSRP of $30,875 (including destination charges). That's before the federal tax rebate of $7,500, plus any local incentives. That tax perk won't last forever, though. Nissan has already sold over 112,000 EVs in the U.S., and beginning at 200,000 rebates per automaker, rebates begin stepping down every six months until they're gone.