u/sonxmachonx

Just completed a 2k+ mile road trip through the US south with my 2026 Leaf SV+ and it was super smooth.

Charging at Tesla and Ionna stations was easy and quick. Hit charging speeds of 150 kw/h until ~50% then a fairly linear drop to about 60 kw/h at 80%. Planned lunch and long breaks with the family around charging, so always ended up with more charge than planned. I think Ionna stations are the best all around. They have shade and seem to always be next to a restaurant my family is happy to eat at. Tesla stations were fine, but I hate having to download the app to charge and found myself at a station that did not support my car once in Raleigh, which my hungry kid did not appreciate. A few hotels had level 2 chargers or I was able to find a random outlet to run a level 1 charger to top off.

Efficiency was right at 4 mi/kwh for the duration of the trip with an average speed of 45 mph, using standard mode and e-step. The highway speeds were usually between 60-70mph. Covered a chunk of mountain roads through NC and VA, but otherwise mostly level through SC, GA, and FL. Weather was brutally hot, so AC was blasting the whole time. Despite all that the 4 mi/kwh puts me at over 300 miles range, exceeding EPA estimates.

The adaptive cruise control and lane assist worked well and made the longer highway stretches much easier, though the car did get confused in construction zones with confusing intermediate lane markings.

My only big complaint is the lack of lumbar support. I found a janky workaround with a small thin pillow, but having some adjustability would go a long way towards comfort.

Overall I'd highly recommend the Leaf as both a long road-tripper and an everyday car. The size is small enough to navigate cities, but large enough to haul 4 people and 2 weeks worth of luggage.