LATE BLOOMER

THE NISSAN LEAF LAUNCHED THE EV ERA. IT HAS FINALLY CAUGHT UP TO THE REVOLUTION IT STARTED.

- BY RICH CEPPOS PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDI HEDRICK

IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE how long this has taken, but the Nissan Leaf may finally be at the end of its long road to redemption. The OG Leaf went on sale in December 2010, the first mainstream mass-produced electric vehicle, a little car carrying big hopes for the future. Drive gas-free! Help reduce global warming! Show off your eco-consciousness! Sure, but Nissan didn't know what it didn't know: that the original Leaf's 73-mile driving range and the U.S.'s nonexistent charging infrastructure would make buyers leery. It was a dud.

Fast-forward 15 years to this, the new third-generation Leaf. Fearless prediction: It will not be a dud. It looks nothing like the first two generations, with their plump, nebbishy sheet-metal that whispered, "Move along. Nothing to see here." The new one has a more SUV-adjacent shape that's modern and stylish, a hint at the changes contained within.

Those changes are comprehensive, and they start with an accomplishment that few manufacturers pull off these days: keeping the new model from growing. Though it looks larger, the Leaf is actually three inches shorter in length, and its wheelbase and height are both a fraction of an inch less. Width is the only dimension that's up, by a mere 0.8 inch. That tight rein on exterior size keeps the Leaf living squarely in the subcompact-SUV corner of the EV marketplace.