Nissan’s next Leaf is cheaper and can nearly drive itself

Nissan on Wednesday introduced the new Nissan Leaf, the next evolution of its zero-emission electric vehicle.

The new Leaf’s somewhat staid design might be divisive among electric vehicle enthusiasts, but it won’t run the risk of turning off a lot of people altogether with a radical new approach. The new Leaf is completely new inside and out, with single-pedal driving, automation, more power, and most importantly, its driving range has been increased to a more usable 150 miles.

The company has so far sold more than 112,000 Leaf EVs in the United States and over 283,000 globally.

Nissan says the new LEAF will keep you connected and it will make you more confident with the longer range and will give you more enjoyment with its improved acceleration.

The new Leaf features Nissan’s ProPilot technology that makes driving easier and less stressful.

Most electric and hybrid vehicles have the option to use regenerative braking when not actively accelerating or maintaining speed, which means they decelerate more rapidly when the accelerator pedal is released than petrol or diesel-only cars, turning the excess speed into electricity to charge the battery. It now comes with ProPILOT, the semi-autonomous tech that intends to offer a safer driving experience.

In about 24 hours from now, Nissan will pull the curtains off the next-gen Leaf and we can’t wait to check out the vehicle in person.

The new Leaf, which will be on sale in Japan from October and around the world early next year, has a longer range due to a bigger 40 kilowatt hour battery.

Nissan is also said to offer higher priced model with more power and range next year.

Nissan said it aims to sell at least 90,000 new-model Leafs annually, “doubling, or even tripling” sales of its predecessor, which topped 47,000 past year. But Nissan were quick to point out that you’ll still need to use the actual brake if you need to stop suddenly, for a pedestrian or a frog or whatever. It is not a self-driving system, but rather a hands-on driver assist system. Nissan reckons you can still charge the new model as quickly as the previous one, with a full charge possible overnight. Nissan said it would launch a longer, U.S. 200-mile rated version of the Leaf in 2019 that would be more expensive.

The new Nissan LEAF’s design expresses the company’s forward-thinking attitude.

The new Leaf will aim to “embrace the early steps of advanced driver assistance” with the introduction of Nissan’s ProPilot autonomous driving system, ProPilot Park and the brand’s e-Pedal concept, which is said to allow drivers to control the vehicle using a single foot pedal. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto have been added to the infotainment system in cars equipped with the navigation system.