This is the all-new Nissan Leaf, and it’s now a crossover with 373 miles of range

“This is an important moment for me,” said incoming new Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa. The man formerly in charge of global product planning will soon move into the Big Boss Chair, and from the Big Boss Chair will present a new, invigorated Nissan line-up he and his team hopes will reverse the Japanese carmaker’s fortunes.

The first of which is this. Welcome to the brand-new, third-generation Leaf. It’s Nissan’s longstanding electric car – indeed one of the early pioneers of mainstream electric mobility – here reimagined as an embiggened, upright, aero-efficient crossover with loads of range and loads of tech.

Platform enthusiasts will be delighted to know this new Leaf is spun off the same bones that underpin the Ariya EV – the ‘CMF-EV’ base – but Nissan is being coy at this stage on any more technical details like battery size or power outputs or acceleration. Or even pics.

Powertrain basics and range however, we do know. The former is the company’s ‘3-in-1’ setup, which modularises the motor, inverter and reducer. While on the latter, Nissan’s vehicle program boss Francois Bailly told TopGear.com we can expect 600km – or 373 miles – on a single charge. That’s… decent.

A “confident EV drive”, he explained, was one of the core guiding principles behind the new Leaf’s construction – not drive as in ‘oh dear, I appear to be on the doorhandles’, but travelling long distances without worry. “Highway is the key for us,” he said, but not at the expense of everything else, mind.

The other guiding force behind the new Leaf was the styling, and it’s certainly grown up from its humble 2010 beginnings. It’s shorter by around 15cm versus the current car, but of course is much more upright, with a huge emphasis on aerodynamic efficiency thanks to that sleek front and swoopy roofline. It also looks much more NewNissan like the Ariya. Only these two pictures to go on at this early stage, but you get the... picture.

Outside of the shiny new suit, it’ll come with 19s (19in wheels on a Leaf!), a panoramic “moonroof”, and in the USA, a NACS charging port allowing it to sneak onto Tesla chargers, vastly opening up its long-haul appeal.

And of course, its universal appeal. Like we said, it's part of a new line-up Espinosa and his team hope will reverse Nissan's fortunes, which you've no doubt been aware of. "There’s several things that we have to work on," he told TopGear.com about the company's current predicament and challenges. "One is the stability of our revenue flow. The second thing is cost - cost has to be improved. The third is speed, shortening our development cycle.

"And fourth is the additional measures of the turnaround. You will hear about that in due course. There’s a lot of work to be done in communications externally and internally, employee morale also needs to be improved. 

"As you see I’ve got a bunch of things to take care of," he added.

Nissan's global performance boss Guillame Cartier told TG: "The belief in the turnaround is here. What is important is how we can communicate, how we can be understood. The noise on Nissan was not always positive, whereas there is a lot of positivity to give, starting with the product."

This particular product will be made in England at the Sunderland plant - a plant that’s turning into the brand’s “flagship EV hub” - and will be launched in Europe later this year. Alongside the 'audacious' new Micra - now a full EV - and an incoming new Juke (both previewed below).

“To our passionate fans and loyal owners around the world, I can assure you, this is just the beginning of an exciting journey ahead,” Espinosa said.