Nissan hasn’t announced pricing for the 2023 Leaf. But for an idea, the 2022 model is America’s least-expensive EV, starting at $27,400 (plus a $1,025 delivery fee). The 2022 Leaf is still eligible for the full $7,500 federal EV tax credit, bringing the price a hair under $20,000.
In ominous news for the original electric, though, it will also get a slimmed-down trim structure. Americans get just two Leaves (yes, officially, it’s Leafs, but we’re editors, and that’s wrong) to choose from.
While the 2023 Leaf retains its classic hatchback shape, it gets a new nose that lends it an almost mini-minivan character. The false grille (EVs don’t actually need grilles) is more pinched than before and flanked by sharply angled headlights. It’s crowned by a Nissan logo that lights up – every EV designer seems to have decided to use lots of lights to prove their car is electric this year.
Perhaps the coolest new feature, though, is a set of 17-inch wheels out of an idea sketchbook from a 1980s sci-fi movie. They’re not just cool. They’re slightly more aerodynamic than the set they replace. A new rear diffuser and reshaped spoiler complete the aero enhancements. Nissan hasn’t revealed whether the aero updates make the Leaf more efficient in any measurable way.
Nissan says the 2023 models’ range will “be similar to 2022 models.”
Shoppers can choose from just two trim levels this year. The base S gets a 40-kilowatt-hour battery pack and 147 horsepower. The range-topping SV-Plus gets a 60 kWh pack and 214 hp. 2022 versions of those models have a range of 149 miles and 226 miles, respectively.
Reducing trim levels to streamline manufacturing is a step we often see an automaker take as they prepare to cut a car from their lineup. And waiting around the corner is the 2023 Nissan Ariya electric SUV.
