2026 Nissan Leaf electric car revealed
Having come perilously close to bankruptcy last year, the Japanese giant attempted to merge with Honda and Mitsubishi before going its own way.
The first fruit of its effort is a new Nissan Leaf that has morphed from being an awkward-looking hatchback to an attractive SUV.
It's a 'make or break' vehicle from a car maker with its back against the wall.
New looks borrow elements from the larger Nissan Ariya electric car – a rival to the Tesla Model Y – and the Nissan Z sports car.
Finished in eye-catching 'luminous teal' paint for its debut, the car rides on 19-inch wheels that fill its arches better than the old car's 17-inch rims.
On the inside, twin 14.3-inch screens promise much-improved connectivity, and a clever Bose stereo has speakers built into the front seats.
Promising more than 600 kilometres of range from a 75kWh battery, the Leaf is powered by a 160kW electric motor that drives the front wheels.
A cheaper version offers a 52kWh battery with about 435km of range.
Customers can expect to add 430 kilometres of range in half an hour thanks to 150kW fast-charging ability.
Nissan spokesman Arnaud Charpentier said the new Leaf 'blends elegance, confidence, and breakthrough range – wrapped in a design that's as smart as it is emotional'.
'It brings the best of Nissan innovation to the mainstream, and we're incredibly excited to introduce it to European roads,' he said.
The new leaf has a 'vehicle to load' function allowing owners to plug electric appliances into the car. It will also be compatible with 'vehicle to home' and 'vehicle to grid' tech that will allow customers to integrate the car into their home's electric system, like a giant battery.
The Nissan Leaf was one of the world's first mass-produced electric cars.
It gave the brand an enormous headstart over rivals such as Toyota and Honda, which have struggled for traction in the EV segment.
Nissan has sold more than 700,000 examples of the electric Leaf around the globe.
But sales of the car have been stagnant in Australia.
Nissan Australia sold 484 and 357 examples of the Leaf in 2023 and 2024 – just 841 cars in two years.
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ABC News
28 minutes ago
- ABC News
Rice nearly sank US tariff talks until Japan finally agreed to take more American grain
For decades, Japan's tight protection of its rice market — a symbol of cultural pride, postwar resilience and self-sufficiency — blocked broader trade deals. Last month, rice was once again a sticking point during negotiations over the US "reciprocal tariffs" with President Donald Trump calling Japan a "spoiled" country that "won't take our rice". However, this time Mr Trump forged what he framed as a tariffs breakthrough: Japan importing more US rice. Rice prices have nearly doubled since last year across Japan. A perfect storm of supply miscalculations and a bad harvest left supermarket shelves bare and sparked rare street protests, triggering the government to release emergency stockpiles. But still the question remains: Are the Japanese public able to stomach foreign rice? Rice is integral to history and political power in Japan. Rice planting festivals remain an important ritual in rural areas, alongside offerings to ancestors during ceremonies to gods or weddings. "It's a delicate tightrope between price and protecting our identity," said Yusuke Yokoyama, a Tokyo resident, who noticed many local restaurants had stopped offering free "refill" rice. "People in Japan are generally happy to have lower prices for rice, but they also don't want to import it," he said. In the late 19th century, as Japan faced geopolitical tensions while opening up to the West, rice was even woven into the military transformation. Mr Yokoyama explained that many Japanese were aware of the historical connection of rice as a symbol of Japanese identity and sovereignty. For example, a "rice wage" was an incentive to recruit soldiers, expanding from the previous exclusive samurai class. In a nation where rice farming has been politically protected since the 1970s, the crisis is exposing the structural fragility of its agricultural sector. Rice emerged as a top-three issue for voters in polling ahead of recent municipal elections, as customers and restaurants struggled with inflation and the far-right Sanseito party capitalised on the outrage. CoCo ICHIBANYA, Japan's largest curry rice restaurant chain, raised its menu prices and saw a 5.2 per cent drop in customers between September last year and this year. Retailers are resorting to marketing gimmicks. Convenience store chain Lawson began selling rice balls made from the older grain, labelling them as "2023 Vintage" onigiri. The attempt at humour — or damage control — was mocked online. For decades, Tokyo maintained one of the most rigid agricultural systems in the developed world. Under the now-defunct "gentan" policy, farmers were paid not to grow rice, and strict production targets were set to manage supply. "Japan previously paid farmers to leave their fields fallow," said Jeffrey Kingston, professor of History and Asian Studies at Temple University Japan. "The idea was to keep prices stable. But now we see how this entire system — combined with high tariffs and climate shocks — has become untenable." Instead, it has contributed to what he describes as a "Byzantine" distribution network and mindset. "The youngest farmer I know is 65," Mr Kingston said. "The aging population will have adverse effects on the sector whether Tokyo likes it or not." Nicole Freiner, author of Rice and Agricultural Policies in Japan, said the government's program to subsidise farmers to limit rice production because of declining demand was short-sighted. "Even if Japan utilised most of its usable land, it still would not be self-sufficient," she said. Instead, she encouraged the government to react more to consumers switching to wheat-based food. "This policy created a lack of incentive for rice-growing that left rice paddies abandoned, with no opportunities for young farmers," Ms Freiner said. Japan's protectionist stance has long frustrated international trade partners. The United States, in particular, has pushed for greater access to Japan's rice market and the Trump administration made it their mission during the recent tariff negotiations. Some netizens pushed back, sharing clips of an anime film where a Japanese character tells a pushy US politician that Japanese consumers prefer home-grown rice over California rice. Japan imports 770,000 tonnes of foreign rice annually — but much of it has traditionally been used for processing or animal feed, not table rice. Tokyo reached a deal with Washington in the latest tariff deal, increasing the proportion of US rice allocated for household consumption. Mr Trump claimed that Japan had "caved" to US demands. Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pushed back. "We made absolutely no sacrifice in the agricultural sector," he told local media. Marcel Thieliant, Asia Pacific analyst at Capital Economics, said Japan had negotiated cautiously, keeping the overall import quota unchanged, but a larger share of that quota would now come from the US, rather than other countries. He rejected the narrative from Washington of a sweeping victory. "I'm not aware of any plans to actually liberalise the market by lifting the import quota," he told the ABC. Other analysts said the proportion change of staple rice imports — even within existing frameworks — may have signalled a gradual shift away from hardline protectionism. "The [US] side deal is significant in symbolic terms; it may be an indication that Tokyo is becoming more willing to open its rice market — at least, when it needs help," Ms Freigner said. "Whether or not these changes take hold and become more entrenched is not clear yet," she added. For ordinary citizens, many remain uneasy and some local broadcasters have directed the blame at the rise in foreign tourists — including Australians — as Japan records an all-time high for international tourism figures. "As the yen falls, locals have started to become angry," said Mr Kingston. "They watch foreigners swaggering about, buying up real estate and eating cheap, while local households feel the pinch of inflation — even in their daily meal of rice." The situation, he added, had created "a sense of malaise gripping people here". Japan is struggling with low wages and inflation. Since the July agreement, Japanese supermarket prices have fallen following the government's release of stockpiled rice. But prices are still nearly double the same time last year. Industry analysts note that the increase in imports of rice for human consumption has been modest so far relative to the scale of the domestic supply shortfall, and distribution has yet to catch up with rising consumer demand. Last year's harvest was devastated by record-breaking heat. And with meteorological extremes becoming more common, experts say Japan's model of matching production to slowly declining demand is no longer sufficient. "Climate is affecting harvesting rice and other products," said Mr Yokoyama. "The policy may have to change. Our food security is not high, and people are starting to understand that now." A sense of frustration has grown among farmers, angry at the regulations limiting how much rice they can grow, which spilled over into protests earlier this year. Japan's food self-sufficiency rate has languished around 30–40 per cent for decades. Despite pledges to raise it, little has changed. One approach could be to subsidise farmers' production of rice instead of paying them not to, and export the surplus. "What the government should do now is stop subsidising crop conversion," said Yusaku Yoshikawa, an agricultural aid consultant with Japanese Official Development Assistance Projects. Already, the government has dipped into emergency stockpiles to manage supply, but analysts warn that short-term fixes can't resolve long-term instability. They must also be careful not to overcorrect, as producing too much rice now could lead to a glut and cause prices to crash. "We're in a delicate moment," Mr Yoshikawa said. "We've gone from rice scarcity last year to needing policy imagination. What's needed now is not just price control."
News.com.au
11 hours ago
- News.com.au
Daniel Ricciardo's replacement Liam Lawson tees off on Red Bull blaming F1 team for his failure
Former Red Bull driver Liam Lawson has taken aim at the F1 juggernaut, pinning his failure to perform squarely on the team. The Milton Keynes-based outfit officially dumped Lawson after only two events earlier this year, with the New Zealander replaced by Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda. It came after Daniel Ricciardo was unceremoniously dumped from Red Bull's second team almost a year ago, to make space for Lawson. Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every practice, qualifying session and race in the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship™ LIVE in 4K. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1. Such was Lawson's immediate success in the seat once occupied by the Aussie that he was promoted to the main Red Bull Racing team alongside world champion Max Verstappen for the 2025 season. But it would be short-lived as he was demoted just two events into the 24-round season, on the back of two horror races, replaced by Yuki Tsunoda. And that move has hardly worked out well either, as Lawson – now back in the junior team – is ahead of Tsunoda in the drivers' championship. But as Lawson's stock begins to rise once again, he has surprisingly decided to take a swipe at the team he ideally would want another shot at driving for. 'If you look at how other teams have approached bringing a young driver in and you look at the test days, the time in the seat, the amount of testing that, for example, Kimi [Antonelli], has done in the past before racing this year – we didn't do any of that,' Lawson told RacingNews365. 'It was two weekends on two tracks I'd never raced at, one of them being a sprint weekend. They weren't smooth weekends. We had issues in Bahrain [testing] with reliability, we had issues in Melbourne with reliability.' It is a peculiar move to take shots at Red Bull, considering their 2026 driver line-up is still up in the air. While Verstappen is locked in again in 2026, Tsunoda is only contracted until the end of this season, and based on recent performances, he is unlikely to retain his seat. That would then likely lead to a promotion for either Lawson or Isack Hadjar. French youngster Hadjar is currently ahead of Lawson in the drivers' championship, sitting in 13th on 22 points. But he has previously said he doesn't feel ready to be promoted yet. Though the decision by Lawson to bag Red Bull could result in the team taking a chance on Hadjar or looking in a totally different direction. Daniel Ricciardo reveals struggles post-F1 career Lawson's comments come as Ricciardo revealed earlier this week that it has been a 'tough six months' adjusting to his new life out of the fast lane. Ricciardo's F1 exit came without as much as a farewell lap, as his unceremonious ousting brought an end to 14 years on the Formula 1 grid. And headlining Ray White's Connect conference on Monday, when Ricciardo was asked by sports presenter Mel McLaughlin about life after F1, he said: 'Well, I haven't been shaving my face. The beard is my comfort right now. 'I had a fallout with my barber and then I lost my razor. It's been a tough six months.' The 36-year-old then got serious, saying he realised his drive for F1 success made him somewhat 'selfish' and, since being axed from Red Bull, has been working hard to find himself and focus on what really matters in life. 'I've lived this crazy, high-speed life for so long, and I just sat into a little bit of stillness. I suddenly wasn't always surrounded by a tonne of people giving their opinions and thoughts,' Ricciardo continued. 'I've had a lot of time, I've done some hiking. I was in Alaska a few weeks ago and didn't get mauled by a grizzly, which was a bonus. 'I've been trying to figure out who I am other than this race car driver. 'I've come to appreciate the little things more and the meaning of the importance of family and friends. 'I've always been driven, and that sometimes leads you to being selfish, so I'm trying to learn to be a bit more selfless and become a better listener.' Ricciardo left the F1 grid with eight race wins, 32 podiums and three pole positions. He also twice finished on the season's podium in the Drivers' standings in 2014 and 2016.
News.com.au
17 hours ago
- News.com.au
Suzuki Fronx review finds a solid performer
The new Suzuki Fronx hybrid compact SUV has arrived in showrooms at a time when Australians are embracing the technology like never before. After a wave of electric excitement, things aren't looking so swell for the pure battery-powered genre. Hybrids on the other hand are proving more popular than strawberry sundaes at the Ekka. They account for more than 15 per cent of the total market, while plug-in hybrids are also on the increase. An ace up the Fronx sleeve is price. Most of the hybrids are pushing into the $40k-plus bracket, whereas the new Suzuki is $30,990 drive-away. That significantly undercuts the Toyota Corolla Cross GX hybrid ($40,846 drive-away), Hyundai Kona Hybrid ($40,190 drive-away) and even the MG ZS Excite Hybrid+ ($32,990 drive-away). What do you get? Given the price it's not surprising there is liberal use of plastics in some areas, but the faux leather seat trim and the shiny dash surfaces raise the ambience. Other nice kit includes a 9-inch touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, heated front seats, head-up display, keyless start, wireless phone charger, satnav and a four-speaker stereo. Warranty coverage meets the industry standard of five years and unlimited kilometres, Servicing costs are at the midpoint of the scale, with the capped-price ranging between $319 and $579 for the first five dealer-service visits. The total would be $1915 with annual or 15,000km intervals – that sits in the middle ground compared to the Corolla Cross at $1275 and the Kona Hybrid at $2639 on the same schedule. White is the only external colour which is complimentary. Premium options of grey, blue and black are $690 extra, while the two-tone versions that combine silver, red or orange with black add $1190. How was the drive? Buyers of compact hybrids are chasing frugal machines, and the Fronx is miserly when it comes to running costs. Running on standard unleaded, $20 filled about half of the 37L tank. Our fuel consumption over a week returned an average of 5.5L/100km with a combination of highway, metropolitan and easy rural drives. That's slightly higher than the official figure from Suzuki. For comparison, our recent test in the Kona saw 4.6L/100km (3.9 claim), the Corolla Cross managed 4.8L (4.2 claim) and 5.2L/100km in the ZS (4.7 claim). Quarter-mile records are well and truly safe. The Fronx delivers consistent and reliable performance, just don't expect anything rapid or excitement-inducing. It's conservative in all aspects, but it feels typically Suzuki in terms of solid build and on-road confidence. Sitting just under 3000rpm at 110km/h, things can get rowdy as you push up into the rev range. Steep inclines can be challenging and the Fronx requires some right foot motivation to maintain pace – steering wheel-mounted paddles are useful to take manual control of the six-speed automatic gearbox. The sport button can be a placebo as it holds the gears higher into the rev range and feels anything but athletic. Like most hybrids, the Fronx does its best work in traffic. Its nimble and compact dimensions make tight carparks a breeze. The turning circle of less than 10m converts usual three-point turns into U-bolts. Unlike some of the other hybrids Suzuki employs a 12V mild-hybrid system with a small lithium-ion battery. So it can't run purely on battery power, the battery acts more as assistant and gains its energy from regeneration via braking and coasting. Those in the back seat will find reasonable head and leg room for adults, but it best suits two. Three would be a squeeze. Would you buy one? Kel: Our test car was in the two-tone with orange … that wouldn't be my first choice. The Fronx was user friendly and our family has had a reliable history with Suzuki courtesy of the Swift. I did feel not a great deal had changed with the Fronx operationally, and the limited boot space meant gear often spilt into the back seat while it also couldn't handle all 10 bags for our weekly grocery shop. I'm looking forward to the new Vitara which is coming soon and more my preferred size. Grant: Across the key performance indicators the Fronx remained good, but never pushed above and beyond. Some may be tempted to cross-shop it against the cheaper Chery Tiggo 4 or Mahindra XUV 3XO, but they're not hybrids, and Suzuki is a trusted name plate with runs on the board. Anyone chasing a solid performer with low running costs and a solid features list will find the Fronx won't let them down.
