The All-New Nissan LEAF has been named the best car on UK roads, winning three prizes at Auto Express' Car of the Year awards, including the top trophy. The £28,000 electric vehicle beat competitors from BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Ford, and Volkswagen.
Triple Award Victory
The new EV secured gongs for Small Company Car of the Year and Affordable Electric Car of the Year, in addition to the main 2026 Auto Express Car of the Year award. Auto Express deputy editor Richard Ingram praised the vehicle, stating: “Against every yardstick, Nissan’s Leaf is an outstanding Car of the Year. Rivals can’t beat its mix of long range, keen pricing and a powertrain that blends performance and efficiency like few others.”
Ingram added: “Add in a premium ride quality, tight handling plus an interior that offers impressive space wrapped in a dynamic design, and its victory is richly deserved. Engineered and manufactured in Britain, it’s a homegrown triumph to boot.”
British-Built Triumph
James Taylor, Managing Director of Nissan Motor GB, expressed pride in the achievement: “We’re over the moon that All-New, British-built LEAF has been recognised with not just one, but three awards from Auto Express. A big thanks to the team for recognising the hard work that’s gone into making this third-generation model the best yet! To see LEAF recognised as Auto Express Car of the Year is something all of us at Nissan can be incredibly proud of – not least the incredible team at our Sunderland plant, which has now built three generations of award-winning LEAFs.”
Specs and Features
The All-New Nissan LEAF offers a spacious interior, a range of up to 386 miles (WLTP), and helpful technologies like Google built-in. It is the most advanced British-built Nissan to date, featuring vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and vehicle-to-load (V2L) capabilities, which add utility for the car’s 52kWh or 74kWh battery packs.
Nissan’s London design studio shaped the vehicle’s look, its R&D team in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, contributed to engineering, and the finished car rolls off a production line near Sunderland, supplied by the UK’s first and only battery gigafactory.
