New Nissan Leaf delivers 500 km of range in independent test

The 2026 Nissan Leaf is already on the market, and it's making some serious waves, and not just for its new design or low price, but for its impressive driving range. A recent independent test shows the new Leaf, one of America's cheapest electric cars, can travel much farther than the government says it can. This is big news for anyone thinking about buying an EV.

Testing firm Edmunds took a 2026 Nissan Leaf Platinum+ for a long drive. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gives this specific model an official range of 259 miles on a full charge. But the Edmunds team kept driving. They drove through cities and on highways until the battery was empty. The final distance? A surprising 310 miles.

That result is 20 percent better than the official EPA sticker number. It suggests that owners of the new Nissan Leaf might be pleasantly surprised by how far they can go. The test also measured the Leaf's efficiency. It used energy at a rate of 3.6 miles per kWh. This works out at about 17.26 kWh per 62 miles, a solid efficiency figure.

The big difference between the official number and the new test comes down to how they test. The EPA's formula uses a mix of 55 percent city driving and 45 percent highway driving. Edmunds says its test is more like how people really drive. Their test uses 60 percent city driving and 40 percent highway driving, and electric cars are more efficient in stop-and-go city traffic. This different test mix likely helped the Nissan Leaf beat its score.

The tested model was the top-of-the-line Platinum+ version. It has the most features and costs just over $40,000. But here's the interesting part: the source calls it the "lowest-range variant." This means the fancy features might add weight or use more power, cutting its range compared to the simpler, cheaper model, making the test result even more impressive.

The real star of the 2026 Nissan Leaf lineup might be the base model, called the S+. This version is getting a lot of attention because it costs a little over $31,000. But its low price doesn't mean low range. The S+ has an official EPA-estimated range of 303 miles. That's almost 100 miles more than the best range offered on the previous Leaf.

This brings up an exciting possibility. If the "lowest-range" Platinum+ model can beat its EPA estimate by 20 percent, what can the base S+ model do? The S+ already starts with a 303-mile rating, and a similar 20 percent boost would push its real-world range to over 360 miles. This is just speculation, but it's based on the results from the Platinum+ test.

This is a big deal for the EV market. High prices and "range anxiety" are two of the main reasons people hesitate to buy electric cars. The 2026 Nissan Leaf seems to tackle both problems. It offers a very low starting price and a potential real-world range that beats many electric cars costing thousands more.

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