Small Company Car of the Year 2026: Nissan Leaf
The Nissan Leaf is the 2026 Auto Express Small Company Car of the Year, with the Kia EV3 and MG4 Urban commended
Sometimes you need to pause for a moment to reassess the situation before making your next move. So it is that, after a brief hiatus, one of the world’s first mass-produced electric cars is back, and this time the Nissan Leaf is following in the footsteps of the highly successful Qashqai in becoming a crossover-SUV that’s perfectly in tune with the needs of car buyers today.
It even has the look of a much more expensive car, which is a neat trick to pull off, considering this model’s affordable pricing. The latter will be especially important to business drivers paying Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) company-car tax.
And they don’t have to sacrifice practicality by being forced to go for a small model in order to reduce their bills, because the latest, third-generation Leaf is a very spacious five-door car with more than enough room for a family.
We were also impressed with the Leaf’s infotainment system, which features Google-based software with Google Maps navigation, so it’s capable of using live traffic data to provide dynamic route planning that even takes into account weather and elevation changes with regards to charging stops. On top of that, it can re-route you if a charging station is full.
Refinement and comfort are also high points for this Leaf, with a more polished ride than the Kia EV3 and motorway manners that inspire confidence – just as well given that this car’s battery capacity provides a long driving range. Ideal qualities for a great company car you’re likely to spend tens of thousands of miles in.
Configure your perfect Nissan Leaf through our Buy A Car service now. Alternatively, check out the best deals out there on a new Nissan Leaf from stock or top prices on used Nissan Leaf models...
Our choice
- Nissan Leaf 75kWh Engage+ (£33,149 inc £3,750 Electric Car Grant)
We recommend going for the longer-range 75kWh battery because it'll do up to 386 miles on a charge – among the best in this class. Combine it with well specified Engage+ trim, which has everything you’d need, plus our preferred Google-based infotainment software, wireless phone charging, plus heated front seats and steering wheel.
Commended
Last year’s class winner, the Kia EV3, remains a highly commendable small company car in our view, thanks to its electric range of up to 375 miles, ultra-low company-car tax bills, and some impressive efficiency – we achieved 4.6 miles per kWh in warm weather during our testing.
MG4 Urban
The regular MG4 earned our praise in previous years, and its Urban sibling follows in its footsteps by providing even more affordable company-car motoring, due to its lower list price. If our experiences on the Auto Express long-term fleet are anything to go by, the Urban will cost buttons to run.
See all the winners...
Click on the gallery below to see all the winners of our 2026 New Car Awards...
You can find all the information on our New Car Awards 2026 winners and the reasons why we chose them on the pages below. Just follow the links to read more…
New Car Awards 2026: the winners
Special edition of Auto Express
For the full New Car Awards experience, make sure you pick up a copy of our special 2026 New Car Awards collectors' edition of the Auto Express magazine, which is available in shops now.
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Nissan Leaf
KIA EV3
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