We Shouldn’t Mourn The Bargain-Basement LEAF S

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When the news broke recently that Nissan is indefinitely delaying the entry-level “S” trim of the 2026 LEAF, the internet reacted with the usual chorus of doom: “Another affordable EV bites the dust,” “Why doesn’t anyone want to sell a cheap car?”

I get it and I’ve shared similar sentiments in the past. I’ve spent years writing about the need for affordable EVs, and I’ve put tens of thousands of miles on budget-friendly cars like the Bolt EUV and my old 2018 LEAF. I know firsthand that not everyone needs (or can afford) a $70,000 towing rig or luxury sedan. Even $30,000 is out of reach for many people, so cheaper EVs should be celebrated, right?

But, let’s be real for a second: We’re sitting in 2026. Compliance cars are dead, and arguably have been for years. Early adopters all have at least one EV in the driveway. To succeed now, an EV has to meet a much stricter set of expectations than the EVs of yesteryear, and a lower price can only make up for so much.

Compliance Car Thinking

On paper, the LEAF S sounded like the dream we’ve been asking for: a brand-new EV for around $27,000, and perhaps cheaper. But when you look at what you might  actually be getting for that money (a 52 kWh battery and roughly 210 miles of range) the math starts to fall apart, especially if you drive anywhere outside of a dense city.

I’ve lived with a 240-mile Bolt, and I’ve driven across the country with one, and I did it towing a small trailer. 240 miles is definitely workable, but it’s enough to give some anxiety for regional driving.

But 210? That’s really pushing it. Once you factor in highway speeds (especially out here in the West where speed limits are 75-80 mph), winter weather, headwinds, or a bit of battery degradation, that “210 miles” quickly becomes 140-160 real-world miles. That’s not a road trip car. that’s a “hope I make it to the next charger” car in some areas.

Yes, I know that 210 miles covers over 90% of people’s drives. It probably covers everything but the occasional road trip. But, nobody outside of the early adopter sphere wants to pay a new car price for even 98-99% of a car. People expect a new car to both cover the local drives and take them across the country on demand.

100 kW Charging Ain’t Gonna Cut It

The bigger issue, and the one that gives me flashbacks to my old #Rapidgate LEAF, is the charging speed. While the rest of the new LEAF lineup gets a decent 150 kW peak, the smaller battery in the S would have been physically capped at around 100 kW. It would have likely got around that speed pretty consistently with liquid cooling, but that’s still 33% slower than not only the better LEAF trims, but other cheap vehicles like the Equinox EV, the new Bolt that’s going to be on offer for a limited time, and a number of others.

We aren’t in 2018 anymore. When you pull up to an Electrify America station next to a used Hyundai Ioniq 5 that’s charging in 18 minutes, do you really want to be stuck there for 45 minutes to get enough juice to reach the next town? I’ve spent enough time sitting in Walmart parking lots waiting on a slow charge to tell you: it gets old, fast. While it’s tough to please the people who want gasoline charging speeds, there’s a vast difference between 20 minutes (time to go to the bathroom and stretch your legs) and 45 minutes (enough time for a meal).

Launching a 100 kW car in 2026 would have just reinforced the worst stereotypes about EVs. It would have not only hurt the image of EVs as a whole, but it would have made people think that the better LEAF models with better charging curves and range are less than they really are.

The “Smart Money” is Elsewhere

The final nail in the coffin is the existence of the LEAF S+.

For about $3,000 more, you get a 75 kWh battery, over 300 miles of range, and faster charging. There is no world where saving $50 a month on a payment is worth losing nearly 100 miles of range. It’s the difference between a car that can handle a surprise detour and one that leaves you sweating on the side of the interstate.

And if your budget is strictly capped at $27,000? You shouldn’t be looking at a stripped-down new car anyway. You should be looking at the used market. For that price, you can now grab a 2023 Model 3 or an Ioniq 5 that will charge circles around a hypothetical LEAF S. And if you’re happy with less range and slower charging? A number of used EVs are available (including almost new Bolt EUVs) for $10,000 less.

There just wasn’t a market niche for a car with LEAF S specs.

Conclusion

We shouldn’t mourn the loss of the “Cheap LEAF.” It was a vehicle that would’ve been built to hit a price point on a billboard, not to meet the needs of a driver in the real world. It would’ve hurt Nissan. It would’ve hurt EVs as a whole when non-early adopters figured out that it had serious limitations.

What remains is the LEAF S+. At $29,990, it’s a 300-mile EV with liquid cooling (finally!) and a NACS port that can be adapted to charge on CCS. That is a legitimate win. Nissan trimmed the fat, and what’s left is arguably the best value in the American car market today. The plus variant that’s available now is one of the best dollars per kWh deals around, too.

If anything, Nissan has learned from their past mistakes (the #Rapidgate fiasco) and experience selling second generation LEAF S models. We should be glad they didn’t go hard on cost cutting like this again.

We should also hope that other manufacturers are smart and avoid making this kind of mistake. Building an EV with outdated specs, whether it has a Datsun-style Nissan badge, a bowtie, or a V and a W in a circle, won’t work out. The bare minimum today is probably 250 miles with 10-70% charging that lands under a half hour.

Featured Image: My old 2018 LEAF S charging at an RV park in Lordsburg, New Mexico.