Compare the2023 Nissan LeafVS 2023 Hyundai Kona Electric

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Nissan Leaf have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Hyundai Kona Electric doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Nissan Leaf has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Leaf has standard Rear Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

The Leaf SV PLUS has a standard Around View® Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Kona Electric only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

Both the Leaf and the Kona Electric have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available daytime running lights and driver alert monitors.

There are over 30 percent more Nissan dealers than there are Hyundai dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Leaf’s warranty.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Leaf’s reliability 48 points higher than the Kona Electric.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 18 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is rated below average.

The Leaf PLUS’ standard electric motor produces 13 more horsepower (214 vs. 201) than the Kona Electric’s electric motor.

As tested in Motor Trend the Leaf PLUS is faster than the Hyundai Kona Electric:

The Leaf’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Kona Electric are solid, not vented.

The Leaf stops much shorter than the Kona Electric:

The Leaf SV PLUS’ tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Kona Electric’s 55 series tires.

The Leaf has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Leaf’s wheelbase is 3.9 inches longer than on the Kona Electric (106.3 inches vs. 102.4 inches).

The Nissan Leaf may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs up to about 200 pounds less than the Hyundai Kona Electric.

The Leaf has 1.6 inches more front headroom, .6 inches more front legroom and .1 inches more rear legroom than the Kona Electric.

The Leaf has a much larger cargo volume than the Kona Electric with its rear seat up (23.6 vs. 19.2 cubic feet).

The Leaf’s speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Kona Electric’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Leaf has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Kona Electric only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

Insurance will cost less for the Leaf owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Leaf will cost $215 less than the Kona Electric over a five-year period.

Consumer Reports® chose the Nissan Leaf as its “Top Pick,” the highest scoring vehicle in its category, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Hyundai Kona Electric isn't recommended.