Nissan adds more range to Leaf electric car
Will have a range of 107 miles per charge vs. the current 84-mile maximum
Nissan is turning over a new Leaf, giving more range to a version of its pioneering electric car.
The 2016 Leaf will have a range of 107 miles per battery charge, an improvement over the current 84-mile maximum. That’s because engineers came up with a new 30-kilowatt-hour battery, 27% larger than the 24-kilowatthour battery that has been powering Leafs.
Even though the Leaf model is aging since it became one of the first plug-in cars on sale in the U.S. in 2010, the base price for the version with the same battery as today will be unchanged at $29,860, including $850 in destination fees. Nissan points out that prices are cut by up to $7,500 when the federal tax credit is taken into account.
Nissan says the new battery lasts longer and won’t take up any more space in the car. The more upscale versions that come with higher price tags have the larger battery.
Leaf isn’t the only electric car getting more range. Tesla recently announced that a 90-kilowatthour battery pack is available for its Model S, up from the current 85-kilowatt-hour pack. It says it will be good for almost 300 miles of driving at 65 mph, but it adds another $3,000 to a car that already is priced at $86,200, including destination charges.