Refreshed ’23 Leaf Debuts at New York Auto Show

Elon Musk has grabbed recent headlines with talk of new model production in 2023, but Nissan is ready for action with a refreshed ’23 Leaf debuting at this week’s New York International Auto Show.

The facelift comes just a year after Nissan refreshed the Leaf, giving it a standard Level 3 fast-charging port, a host of driving technology aids and, perhaps most attractive, a lower starting price. Why is Nissan rolling out another facelift so soon? Musk’s Tesla offerings, specifically the Model 3, the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Volkswagen ID.4 are just three models competing with the Leaf.

Power and range still are crucial to most buyers and Nissan expects the 2023 model to be unchanged at 149 miles (240 km) for the base model and 226 miles (364 km) for the Leaf S Plus.

When the LEAF debuted a decade ago, it was something of a unicorn. But with the growth of green vehicles – BEVs and beyond –drivers expect sleek exteriors, posh interiors and all the modern extras found in other models.

Nissan clearly worked to rid the LEAF of a ho-hum design. The two grade levels for 2023 boast refreshed front grilles, headlights with a black inner finish, refreshed illuminated badges and redesigned spoilers that Nissan says make for better aerodynamics.

Inside, drivers will find the Nissan badge on the steering wheels, a start-up video on the instrument panel and black cloth fabric with finishers – gray on the Leaf S and gloss black on the Leaf SV Plus.

As expected, there’s plenty of tech, especially on the SV Plus that boats ProPilot Assist4, hands-on driver assist, stop and hold functions and more.

2023 Nissan Leaf interior