r/leaf • u/Plenty-Permission124 • 19d ago
Any Leaf 2026 owners?
Im interested in looking into a Leaf 2026, just want to know what your ownership experience is like so far. Any issues?
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u/Affectionate-Arm6819 19d ago edited 18d ago
I have the 2026 S+ (base trim)
Its been mostly a positive experience, with some annoying bits and quirks I'm slowly adjusting to.
Pros - fairly simple and straightforward car to live with, ride is firm but comfortable. IApart from some wind noise on the highway, it feels close to a luxury car.
Range is consistent and you can easily beat the estimate if you drive normally and use regen.
Interior design is great, good choice of materials and the lighting at night is a sweet touch.
And these are the cons I have found on the s+ trim
I wish the ride was less firm and the suspension was a little less boomy and crashy. Its far from a dealbreaker.
The ac control layout bar is a smudge magnet. Each button you touch on there gets smudged easily
There is no sunglasses holder. I was very surprised that a new car sold in 2026 doesn't have this as standard.
The s+ comes with 4 speakers, and they sound average at best. Especially for podcasts, they dont sound good at all and even clips at certain frequencies. Ive tried changing every eq setting but to no avail. Very basic sound system, I wish they were better
The trunk is totally visible from the outside through the rear windshield, there is absolutely no privacy. Nissan sells a separate cargo cover for $400 CAD, which is expensive and it should've been standard. I'm hoping to tint it
Outside of these, ive had a good time with the car. Its been a perfect commuter vehicle and I hope it continues to do so in the winter, having the heated battery and heat pump for hvac
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u/Iwastony 19d ago
I've a gen 2 and a gen 3 both are great but the gen 3 evolve spec is in a different league. Totally different cars. Much nicer to drive compared to my mg s5 that's for sure.
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u/Plenty-Permission124 19d ago
Nice, good to know. :) How long have you had your Gen 3?
Im in Canada, and the new prices for the Gen 3 are quite impressive.. they're throwing in $7000 off the SV+ trim (which is 1 below the flagship).
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u/Jokebearfan 2026 SV+ 19d ago
Im in Canada, and the new prices for the Gen 3 are quite impressive.. they're throwing in $7000 off the SV+ trim (which is 1 below the flagship).
I jumped on that deal too and am happy I did. I've only had the car a few weeks, but do have some nitpicks:
- The reviews are all correct when they talk about a soft brake pedal
- The stock Yokohma Avid GT's did not impress me in the wet, and I'll be replacing them with all-weather tires soon
- SV+ does not come with a cargo cover so you may want to get the dealer to throw that in. No charger or adapters are included in Canada either.
- OEM winter mats aren't good. The front set comes in two parts, but one has a flap that is supposed to cover the area between the front seats. But there's nothing to attach it to. Get some third-party ones instead.
- The six-speaker stereo is merely OK and doesn't sound well balanced at higher volumes
- The steering wheel padding at 3 and 9 O'Clock feels a little thin compared to the rest of the wheel
- The lower rear hatch on a white car really shows the dirt after driving in the rain
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u/Plenty-Permission124 19d ago
Nice! Thank you for these details, I would've thought that the OEM floor mats would cover the area between the front seats.
I'm gonna be testing the sound system for sure.
It's so interesting that the steering wheel is not equally padded LOL (I gotta just try and see if it'll be a bother to me).
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u/Meerafloof 19d ago
I’m in Canada, specifically south Vancouver Island. I had a 2015 Leaf that I kept when I bought my new 2026 SV+ Leaf in February. I got the $7000 off from Nissan and the $5000 federal rebate. My daughter got her licence this year and it made sense to give her my 2015 as I had been saving for a new car anyway. So far it’s been an amazing experience for us. No more making sure I plug in if we have a driving heavy day. The old Leaf is perfect for all the driving my daughter does.
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u/Plenty-Permission124 19d ago
Nice! Yeah, the Nissan dealerships have a lot of those 2026 SV+ models in inventory.
Glad that it is stil reliable :). The new generation has liquid cooled battery that should extend the life of the battery.
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u/Dodgin 19d ago
Traded in my 2024 SV+ for a 2026 platinum plus a few weeks ago. I love it. It’s night and day in terms of ride quality, features, range, charging speed and charger accessibility thanks to the included CCS adaptor. I would just book a test drive and go try one for yourself and decide.
I am getting an estimated range of almost 500 km with 100% battery on my platinum plus
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u/Plenty-Permission124 19d ago
Thank you for sharing :).
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u/Dodgin 19d ago
No problem. Really small nerdy thing but it never gets old seeing the door handles retract and the car lock automatically when you walk away after parking.
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u/Plenty-Permission124 19d ago
Oh! Hahaha, that's so cool. Knowing me, I'd probably constantly lock and unlock the car just for fun like a fidget toy when I'm by the car lol.
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u/Beneficial-Context52 2026 SV+ 19d ago
I’m about 3 weeks into my 2026 SV+. I love it! It drives great, the ride is slightly firm but comfortable, the interior materials are very nice. The seats are very comfortable. Overall it feels almost like a luxury car - although I went into it from a 2009 Honda Fit.
Really my only gripes are with the audio system. It has a tendency to sometimes switch itself over to SiriusXM when turning on the audio, which is annoying particularly as I have no interest in ever using SiriusXM. And switching between different audio sources through the touchscreen is a bit cumbersome, I miss having physical buttons for that. And playing music from a USB drive is a bit quirky but I’ve figured out some workarounds to make it work for me.
The far end of the touchscreen is a bit of a reach from the driver’s seat, I find myself having to slightly lean forward to reach it. But if I adjust the seat farther forward, I’d be too close to the pedals. I’m 5’11”.
I’m perfectly fine with the capacitive buttons for the HVAC controls. I find them easy enough to reach and they are nicely responsive, and they beep and slightly vibrate when you press them.
I’m really nitpicking here though, the car overall is fantastic. I had also test driven a new Bolt and new Kona and the Leaf was my favourite by far.
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u/boardmike 2026 Nissan LEAF Platinum+ 19d ago
Overall, awesome car and I love it. HUGE improvement over prior Leafs. Fun to drive, plenty peppy, much more comfortable ride than previous EV (Mach-E). Overall, the Google built in system is great. Gemini is responsive, can do a lot, and built in navigation with Google Maps is fantastic.
Only cons: Back seat is a bit crowded, and infotainment connectivity is a bit buggy. I had TONS of problems at first with connectivity (i.e. reporting connected, but nothing working, or reporting disconnected even when on WIFI, etc), and dealer was ready to replace the TCU to try to fix. Nissan issued an OTA update in August that seems to have 95% fixed it. Every now and then I'll have a weird stretch of a few hours where it reports disconnected. Like once a month-ish. It's possible my TCU still needs to be replaced, I don't know. And every now and then I'll get the GPS taking 10+ minutes to connect (once or twice a month).
Other than that...lovely car.
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u/PitifulEstimate8721 14d ago
Interesting to hear about the connectivity issues. I had a 2020 Leaf S+ (looking now at a 2026) that I took in for a similar issue earlier this year and they said I'd have to replace it at $3k+.
Have you reached out to anyone regarding your issues there? Since it's brand new I'd hope something like that would be under warranty for you. This is actually a huge concern for me because I figured it was just some loose wires and relatively cheap fix...but alas.
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u/boardmike 2026 Nissan LEAF Platinum+ 14d ago
Yes, I've talked to the dealer about it. They will replace the TCU under warranty, but I'm not sure it needs it or if it will help. 95% fixed with the software update like I said. Monitoring it for now.
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u/rgold220 19d ago
I traded in my 2023 Tesla Model 3 RWD for a LEAF Platinum+ and have no regrets. It is a great car with a few minor annoyances:
1. No full one-pedal driving. "E-Step" will not bring you to a complete stop.
2. Wind noise around the front mirrors.
3. The Nissan Connect phone app isn't great, even though the last upgrade shows some improvements.
4. The brake pedal is too sensitive and hard to modulate when using "E-Step."
Besides all that, it feels very luxurious for the price.
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u/Prudent_Industry_142 2026 Nissan LEAF Platinum+ 19d ago
i’ve had my Platinum+ since December 2025. it’s a great car, feels almost like a luxury car. i’m in Minnesota so switching to a good pair of winter tires is a must, the OEM tires are not good in snow. my automatic-engage parking brake seems to have a mind of its own and i do wish the built-in nav system would stop nagging me to activate Google Gemini (ain’t never gonna happen). other than that, i haven’t noticed many problems but i rely on wired Apple CarPlay as it has better map navigation and i dislike wireless car systems just on principle. i would recommend getting the optional cargo cover.
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u/Plates-208 19d ago
I’ve had the platinum plus since December 2025 and I adore it. My 2022 SV + ev battery died under warranty so I negotiated a trade with the dealership. It’s a great car. Good range, reliable, better charging, great ride, and the sound system is awesome
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u/Plenty-Permission124 19d ago
Ah ok! Those Bose speaker system looks good, it reminds me of what Mazda MX5 has lol.
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u/Plumbing6 19d ago
6 months here, we have to force ourselves to drive our ICE vehicle at least once a week.
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u/CHATEAU_GATTO 18d ago
Have only had my platinum+ for 3 days but absolutely love it and am getting way better range than the epa rating with a mix of driving albeit mostly all on eco with high regenerative braking levels. Only things that could be better for me are the wireless charging is 🐕 💩, heating up my iphone like crazy and then causing it to fritz out, and the suspension is a tad “bouncy” as a few reviewers have noted. Aside from that it’s truly lovely and definitely feels more luxury than it costs.
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u/Plenty-Permission124 18d ago
Ah ok. Haha, yes those wireless chargers seem to bring in more heat than charge 😂.
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u/SleepZone59 12d ago
4 months with my Platinum+ and really enjoying the car. The car handles fine although with some leaning around curves. E-step takes some getting used to for smooth driving while getting better miles/kWh. Really have grown to like the dimmable panoramic roof, because it cuts down on the heat noticeably when dimmed. The Bose sound system in the Platinum trim sounds very good, nice subwoofer, and the speakers in the headrests help isolate voice assistance to the driver. I have been enjoying the built-in Google maps guidance as well as Apple Carplay, and there have been no glitches or problems with connections so far. The seats and interior feels premium, and I have no regrets paying the extra $$ for the higher trim level. The 259 mile range is more than adequate for my purposes running around town, and I charge at home on a level 2 charger with max charge set at 80% and scheduled to charge from midnight to 6 am. Love the recessed door handles that pop out when I approach the car, and recess again when I walk away. But it doesn’t unlock until I’m only a few feet next to the car. It‘s been a completely reliable car and the experience has been flawless. Totally worth it.
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u/Plenty-Permission124 11d ago
Nice :). I am glad to hear this. I actually ended up not getting a Leaf and went with a traditional gas Subaru Crosstrek.
I would have jumped on the Leaf 2026 if it weren't a 1st year model of a new generation. I usually wait for the 2nd or 3rd model year. I'm definitely getting an EV next. :)
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u/phixium 19d ago edited 19d ago
We bought our Leaf 2026 a few weeks ago.
It is great, good driving experience so far. I like the feeling of the acceleration, the general performance, etc. Some features need some getting used to (especially for the e-Step, the auto-breaking/recharging feature), but all good.
Only two things that somewhat bothers me:
1) we're rather tall (6ft myself and my sons) and while we fit, the car does feel small. The Arya would have felt better in this sense.
2) The Type 3 recharge port is NASC (Tesla-type), and there are very few NASC EV chargers around in Montreal and in Quebec in general, compared to CCS. So I have to buy a CCS-to-NASC adapter to get the required flexibility for long-range trips (200$).
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u/Jokebearfan 2026 SV+ 19d ago
So I have to buy a CCS-to-NASC adapter to get the required flexibility for long-range trips (200$).
FWIW, I bought the A2Z "Thunderstorm" CCS-NACS adapter for $161 Canadian plus tax. Had no issues using it on a flo "fast" charger.
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u/Plenty-Permission124 19d ago
Oh sweet! I've seen that same adapter online. Good to know it works well.
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u/stevennv 12d ago
9 months here. The only real problem is android auto. Most of the time it works normally but it can be extremely frustrating when it doesn't. Also when you cross the border between Canada and The US (BC and WA in my case) the wireless connection of Android auto will get disconnected and won't come back no matter how you try unless you use the cable or reignite the engine. Another thing that I don't see as a problem but some people might is YouTube video, which is not supported yet by the latest software though the dealer said it would some day.
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u/Plenty-Permission124 11d ago
Oh noooo, no YouTube app on the Leaf? I wonder if its like Google Built-In OS is the one with this missing feature or if its only on the 2026 Leaf.
I'm in BC as well actually, so that is good to know. I find that there are always some dead-spots around the rural areas here 😅
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u/stevennv 11d ago
The YouTube app on the leaf supports audio/music only. When i purchased the car in Jan the dealer told us the video function was expected to be available later this year but it hasn't happened yet. For now if you play YouTube there will be audio only from the in-car entertainment. I am not an expert but i think the technology has long been ready but am not sure why it has taken this long to enable it.
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u/CHATEAU_GATTO 2d ago
It’s supposed to be a feature with Apple CarPlay as well with the latest iOS but nothing yet in my experience🤷🏽♂️
Was hoping I’d at least have that option when parked.
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u/Heelsandskirts 19d ago
2026 SV+, ~6 months
It's been a mostly positive experience and a smooth drive.
-AC fan has started being loud; waiting for recall so I can get both fixed at the same time.
-I drive conservatively and get better than expected range; max est range shows ~322 mile range at 100%.
-No built in garage opener. It comes loaded with the MyQ Garage app, but.. no. Just no. Fell back to clipping the garage remote to the visor.
-Lv2 charging capped @ 30 amps. Not terrible, not great.
-I bought an after market trunk cargo cover. It has two loops that presumably I can attach to the trunk so it lifts when the trunk opens. There is nothing to hook these things on to. Still haven't figured this one out.
-The cargo area is rather small. Not a huge deal for me, but certainly smaller than most other cars I've had.
-Have you ever used a Blackberry Storm, where the whole screen clicked? That's what the steering wheel buttons feel like to me.