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and two more prestigious accolades
The competition was fierce, 27 class champions with their elbows out, teethed gritted and ready to do whatever for the win. However, the victory was clear and heading in one direction only – that of the Nissan LEAF. A car designed to make owners smile the kind of smile that just shows the pearls of white behind their lips, a smug smile, a smile of knowing that where they are is some place special. It is an outstanding family EV, with class-leading or highly competitive performance in every key measure.
Fighting off both electric and combustion-engined models from across the automotive landscape, the Nissan LEAF pipped the lot to win the prestigious title of 2026 Auto Express Car of the Year.
Richard Ingram, Deputy Editor of Auto Express, said “Against every yardstick, Nissan’s LEAF is an outstanding Car of the Year. Rivals can’t beat its mix of long range and keen pricing and a powertrain that blends performance and efficiency like few others.
“Add in a premium ride quality, tight handling and an interior that offers impressive space and packaging wrapped in a dynamic design its victory is richly deserved. Engineered and manufactured in Britain, it’s a homegrown triumph to boot.”
Phil McNamara, Auto Express Editor, comments that “Even Goldilocks would be satisfied with the extended-range Leaf’s 386-mile figure: not too big to make it unaffordable, not too small to trigger uncomfortable anxiety.” Almost exasperated McNamara says “we’re struggling to find any rival that can match the Leaf’s compelling quartet of range, horsepower (215bhp), efficiency (4.5 miles per kWh) and price: the 75kWh model costs £32,249 after discounting the Government’s Electric Car Grant, or £28,849 for the standard-range, 52kWh edition.”
He, like us, realises that the LEAF’s appeal drives deeper than mere specs. When rubber meets the tarmac is where LEAF really shows it’s worth. Its plush ride quality is its standout feature, but not at the expense of response: the Nissan jinks sweetly to follow your inputs and clings on tight to give you stability and confidence should you be the more enthusiastic driver.
The package is brilliant. This is a seriously compact car, measuring just 4.35m long, yet there’s good rear-seat space and a decent-sized boot. And it’s all wrapped in a genius crossover design, with a coupé-like glasshouse and roofline on top of a chunky, clean body with plenty of SUV attitude.
LEAF’s unbeatable combination of technology, ride comfort and impressive range made a compelling case for fleet and business customers, resulting in the category win for Small Company Car of the Year and Affordable Electric Car of the Year too.
Shelbourne Motors Limited trading as Shelbourne Motors Portadown, Shelbourne Motors Nissan, Shelbourne Motors Newry, and Fleet4u is an Appointed Representative of Automotive Compliance Ltd, who is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA No 497010). Automotive Compliance Ltd’s permissions as a Principal Firm allows Shelbourne Motors Ltd to act as a credit broker, not as a lender, for the introduction to a limited number of lenders and to act as an agent on behalf of the insurer for insurance distribution activities only.
We are a credit broker and not a lender. We can introduce you to a carefully selected panel of lenders, which includes manufacturer lenders linked directly to the franchises that we represent. We act on behalf of the lender for this introduction and not as your agent. We are not impartial, and we are not an independent financial advisor. Our approach is to introduce you first to the manufacturer lender linked directly to the particular franchise you are purchasing your vehicle from, who are usually able to offer the best available package for you, taking into account both interest rates and other contributions. If they are unable to make you an offer of finance, we then seek to introduce you to whichever of the other lenders on our panel is able to make the next most suitable offer of finance for you. Our aim is to secure a suitable finance agreement for you that enables you to achieve your financial objectives. If you purchase a vehicle, in the majority of cases, we will receive a commission from your lender for introducing you to them which is either a fixed fee, or a fixed percentage of the amount that you borrow. This may be linked to the vehicle model you purchase. Different lenders pay different commissions for such introductions, and manufacturer lenders linked directly to the franchises that we represent may also provide preferential rates to us for the funding of our vehicle stock and also provide financial support for our training and marketing. But any such amounts they and other lenders pay us will not affect the amounts you pay under your finance agreement; however, you will be contributing towards the commission paid to us with the interest collected on your repayments. Before we propose you to a potential lender, we will inform you of the likely amount of commission we will receive and seek your consent to receive this commission. The exact amount of commission that we will receive will be confirmed prior to you signing your finance agreement.
Automotive Compliance Ltd, The Factory, 44 Alfred Street, Gloucester, GL1 4DD Telephone: 01452671560 E-mail: complaints@automotive-compliance.co.uk
If we cannot resolve your complaint within 8 weeks, you may refer your dispute to the Financial Ombudsman Service. This service is free to use. Their consumer helpline is available on 0800 023 4567 or 0300 123 9123 or you can visit their website at www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk
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