Nissan Leaf Nismo Revealed To The Delight Of Everyone Waiting To Buy An Affordable EV Until They Got Fun To Drive

A few years ago, the idea of a Nissan Leaf wearing a Nismo badge would have been hard to imagine. Today, even though Nissan refused to move the motor to the rear when it redesigned the Leaf, I’m a lot more open to hearing them out. In fact, I bet the Nismo-tuned Leaf is actually pretty fun to drive. In photos, the new Leaf looks bigger than it actually is. And while the regular Leaf’s power delivery is too first-time-EV-owner-friendly for truly spirited driving, it’s at least plausible that Nismo’s tuning will really let you use that 262 lb-ft of torque. 

We’re talking about a $30,000 front-wheel-drive EV here, not a purpose-built sports car, but it was clear on my drive of the manual Nismo Z that those folks know their suspensions. More power is always great, but if you want to make a car fun, handling is far more important. Don’t forget, Nissan already sells a Nismo version of its Ariya crossover in Japan, too. We haven’t driven the Ariya Nismo (yet?), but our friends over at MotorTrend have, and they concluded that “[w]ith more grip, stiffer suspension, and more willing software, the Ariya NISMO is genuinely a more engaging car to drive.” The same team working on a sportier Leaf sounds promising.

Nissan

Sporty, engaging EVs already exist, even in the U.S., but the ones we have here are pretty expensive. If Nissan could somehow keep the Leaf Nismo affordable (at least by new car standards), a relatively inexpensive, truly fun-to-drive EV has a lot of potential. Over in Japan, the Leaf with the motor we get here starts at 5,188,700 yen, while you’re looking at 6,952,000 yen for the Nismo version and 7,227,000 for the Recaro version. With destination, the U.S. Leaf starts at $31,535, and if I did my math correctly, a proportional price bump would bring the Leaf Nismo to $42,251. 

That’s not quite the bargain the base Leaf offers, but we also don’t have to worry about pricing unless Nissan announces plans to sell the Leaf Nismo outside of Japan. Since that hasn’t happened yet, it’s just nice to see an automaker attempt to inject some actual sporty driving dynamics into a fairly affordable, economical EV.