2014 Nissan Leaf pricing announced

Nissan has announced pricing for its pure-electric Leaf, which seems to be growing more popular by the hour. This time last year Nissan slashed the price of the Leaf by a whopping $6,000, sending into the sub-$30K territory, and for 2014 the price and equipment list has barely changed. The Leaf's driving range remains at 84 miles on a full charge, and the mpg-equivalent ratings stay at 126 mpge in the city and 101 mpge on the highway, for a combined rating of 114.

For 2014, pricing has stayed in the same neighborhood, with the base Nissan Leaf S starting at $29,830. The new base price represents a small increase of just $180, but a rear view monitor joins all trim versions of the Leaf as standard equipment -- not a bad idea considering the Leaf's high-set rear window.

The Nissan Leaf S is the intermediate trim level and will come with a few more goodies than the base trim, including 16-inch aluminum alloy five-spoke wheels, a navigation system with NavTraffic, AM/FM/CD with MP3/WMA CD playback capability, cruise control buttons on the steering wheel, an auto-dimming mirror, and Nissan Connection remote telematics system. The Leaf SV will start at $32,850.

Nissan
$6,000 price cut carries over from 2013.

The SL range-topping trim level will start at $35,870, and buyers who opt for this model will receive a Fast Charge system which can charge the battery up to 80 percent in just 30 minutes, 17-inch aluminum alloy wheels, all-season 215/50R17 Michelin Energy Saver tires, LED headlights, a photovoltaic solar panel spoiler, a quick charge port, cargo area cover, and leather seats. The Nissan Connection remote telematics system comes standard, as does a navigation system with SiriusXM's NavTraffic, though the latter requires a subscription to activate.

We noted a couple months back that sales of the once slow-selling Leaf have really picked up over the last year, with the pure-electric enjoying three to four times the volume of sales compared to the summer of 2012.

By Jay Ramey