Fictional Third-Gen Nissan Leaf EV Gets a Thorough Ariya-Inspired Redesign

Introduced in late 2010 both in Japan and the United States, the compact five-door hatchback quickly turned into a massive success – at least as far as those incipient EVs are concerned. As such, it naturally held the title of best-selling EV, for a while.

But, of course, a couple of Tesla models (3 and Y) quickly took the world by storm, and somehow the Nissan Leaf fell into oblivion even faster than it attained worldwide notoriety. It does, however, remain mostly up to par with current EV offerings through subsequent updates of the second generation. Alas, even internally the Leaf is now dwelling in the shadow of the all-new Ariya compact crossover SUV.

Hey, in case you did not know, the latter is embarking on a crazy adventurous journey (for any vehicle, let alone an EV), as a couple will attempt to travel from the North to the South Pole across a 27,000-km (almost 17k miles) road trip. Still, there are some fans of the Nissan Leaf left dwelling out there. Although, we should not count the good folks over at Consumer Reports among them, since they are recommending the Kia EV6 over both Tesla’s Model 3 and the Japanese EV hatchback.

Instead, the Nissan Leaf is more beloved by the imaginative realm of virtual automotive artists rather than the real world, as it turns out. So, meet the digital car content creator better known as Theottle on social media, who is still dealing with sustainable Japanese models, and upgrades to fully electric CGI prowess now. Thus, if not long ago he was all eyes and ears for Alfa Romeo’s Tonale (GTA, compact Q4 PHEV pickup truck, anyone?) or the Giulietta (both hatchback and sedan) revival, he recently switched back to some more Toyota Prius love – and made the ‘Hybrid Reborn’ a rebadged MX-5 Miata roadster.

Now, he continues to sprinkle some Prius DNA (aka larger wheels!) on top of his latest behind-the-scenes making-of video but switches his attention to a hypothetical, unofficial third-generation Nissan Leaf that might arrive for the 2024 model year across the realm of his parallel universe. Over there, his imagination traveled quite far and deep inside the new Ariya’s “sheet metal” and mixed its novel styling with the current second-generation Leaf body.

Alas, things are not so simple because the hatchback is bulkier than the streamlined EV crossover SUV. As such, the pixel master thoroughly remastered the contemporary Leaf with a lowered stance, a lengthened wheelbase, “along with a more steeply raked front windscreen.” The result is quite intriguing, indeed – and as far as I am concerned, it sure merits our CGI hall pass, no questions asked.