Nissan Leaf starts at $29,990 in the US

The one thing people care about the most, the charging speed, is not mentioned in the article. I fucking hate that I had to look it up after searching the shit article.

"Charging Speed: DC fast charging upgraded from around 50 kW (with longer charge times) in 2011 to up to 150 kW in 2026, enabling a 10–80% charge in just 35 minutes at compatible chargers."

Here's a better article:

https://cleantechnica.com/2025/08/21/new-2026-nissan-leaf-shows-how-far-electric-vehicles-have-come-in-15-years/

Do most people care about it? I'm currently shopping for an EV, and all current models I've looked at seem to have fast charging times of about 30 - 35 minutes, give or take a few. It doesn't seem like there's a noticeable difference there to be a comparison point
- I recently got a 2025 Kia Niro Wind and it's top charging speed is 85kW. Nowhere near top speeds, but it was more then enough during a recent road trip. I hadn't factored the speed in my research (was still learning at the time), but honestly now that I know more it still wouldn't be something I consider.
- If you were told it would take 2 hours to charge from 10%-80% at the fastest speed, would you care about it?

Its still damn expensive. Where's the $15k EVz?

Used Chevy Bolt?
- Chevy nuts and bolt

I wish there was a trim that doesn’t have the glass sunroof. I bet they could shave off 1k more if they made the base model have a regular roof instead. Summers are brutal where I live so the last thing I want is more sunlight and less insulation. A regular roof also won’t shatter in hailstorms.

I have the same challenges. Can anyone chime in that has experience with these full glass roofs on cars in the desert?
- I'm in Florida and have one. It does get hotter then the car without. I coated the roof with a UV reflective material. It helps a lot but still not as good as a normal roof.
- I have a glass roof but live in Los Angeles, though I’ve spent time in the Arizona desert. Honestly, I never thought about it.
You might be in luck. Nissan is apparently going to release a base model called the S sometime soonish. This is the mid model release, like what Nvidia does with their GPU launches.
I also dislike the whole roof sunroofs because they tend to be terribly echo-y in every Uber I've been in. Feels like I'm in a McDonald's tube slide.

Why does it have to be so high off the ground and have such huge wheels with thin tires? I get that EVs need the battery pack under the floor, necessitating a higher seating position and roofline, but why such big ground clearance?

Edit: The more I think about it the more I feel the thin tires are the worst part. EVs weigh more than other cars, and those rubber-band looking tires mean those fancy wheels are gonna get shattered at the first pothole.

I think that’s an intentional optical illusion. The black trim on the bottom goes pretty high up, and the trunk curls up from the ground quite a bit, and there is a higher up protrusion on the front bumper that makes the the bumper look higher than it is. The combination of those three things make the eye follow a base line that’s higher than what actually exists.
My guess is that they waned smaller wheels and a lower ride, but they know Americans like crossovers and big wheels, so they did some magic tricks with the trim.
IMHO, it kind of works. It fooled me until I really started scrutinizing it.
- As an American who doesn’t want a crossover and big wheels: I hate it here.
I actually prefer higher ground clearance because of the shitty roads in my city. Potholes and random deep dips on intersections can easily mess up the undercarriage of the car, let alone an EV with batteries there. The thinner tires I agree are not good.
- I have shitty roads, too, so I get that.
  But high ground clearance with rubber band tires and fragile alloy rims doesn’t make sense.
  Though I’ve seen plenty of giant SUVs with the same setup so maybe I’m just weird.
  No, I am weird.
Thin wheels are favoured for EVs as the Scrooge sacrifice rolling resistance for greater range but take away from dynamic grip

The exterior design introduces flush motorised door handles, a first for a Nissan production vehicle

I really don't like these handles! I do like the overall look though.

Looks like a fun little nugget and would absolutely be a contender for me but the last thing I want is Nissan reliability on the door handles.
Nissan is only beaten out by Hyundai in "Number of cars I've seen with missing door handles."