One of the things that was made clear in the Eurocharge 2025 EV road trip that I took part in a few weeks back was just how big an impact speed has on an electric car's range. On the days that required mostly or only highway driving, which means cruising at a constant 80 mph (130 km/h) here in Europe, all eight EVs in the group lost around 40% of their range.
The 2026 Leaf has little jaw-dropping technology, but several features stand out. Unusually, Nissan built in separate AC and DC charging ports. The Leaf includes both wireless and wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay phone mirroring, and Google routing services (on all but the S+ base model). Like a growing number of EVs, via a pair of 120-volt outlets-though only on the highest-end trim-you can power stereos, cooler
Taking a road trip in an EV is no easy feat, as two Tesla alumni found out the hard way. Range is already a significant anxiety for EV owners taking long journeys, and towing a heavy RV can cause an electric vehicle battery to drain even faster. Toby Kraus and Ben Parker, two ex-Tesla employees who each spent five years working at the EV giant, say they have an answer.