Nissan’s first look at 2018 LEAF
Easily the most disliked feature of the current generation Nissan LEAF is the headlight design. Nissan’s whole argument behind the large, misshapen and protruding objects was that they were designed to optimize airflow around the side-view mirrors. In fact, they even posted video showing how effective they were at splitting the air. Try as I might, I can’t seem to dig it up now, although I thought I had posted it way back when. In case you can’t visualize the current headlight design, here’s a closer look:
See how it has that ridge down the top of the headlight as it extends almost the full length of the fender down the side of the car? That was so that it would split the airflow around that side-view mirror, thus making for a quieter ride and a more fuel efficient vehicle. It seems, however, that other car makers have been able to build cars with better aero without making them look like aliens. So while we don’t know much about the 2018 LEAF just yet, we know we can all agree that the headlights will be improved. Nissan has said the reveal of the rest of the car will be in September, with start of sales late this year.