Compare the2026 Ford Mustang Mach-EVS 2026 Nissan Leaf

Both the Mustang Mach-E and Leaf have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Mustang Mach-E has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Leaf’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Mustang Mach-E offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Leaf doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

Both the Mustang Mach-E and Leaf have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Mustang Mach-E has Cross Traffic Braking (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Leaf’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the Mustang Mach-E and the Leaf have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The Ford Mustang Mach-E (built after August 2024) has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2025 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Leaf has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2025.

There are almost 3 times as many Ford dealers as there are Nissan dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Mustang Mach-E’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Ford vehicles are more reliable than Nissan With 7 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Ford higher than Nissan.

The Mustang Mach-E has more powerful engines than the Leaf:

	Horsepower	Torque
Mustang Mach-E electric motor	264 HP	387 lbs.-ft.
Mustang Mach-E eAWD electric motors	325 HP	500 lbs.-ft.
Mustang Mach-E ER eAWD electric motors	370 HP	500 lbs.-ft.
Mustang Mach-E ER electric motor	372 HP	387 lbs.-ft.
Mustang Mach-E GT electric motors	480 HP	600 lbs.-ft.
Mustang Mach-E GT Performance/Rally electric motors	480 HP	700 lbs.-ft.
Leaf S electric motor	174 HP	254 lbs.-ft.
Leaf + electric motor	214 HP	261 lbs.-ft.

As tested in Motor Trend the Ford Mustang Mach-E is faster than the Leaf +:

	Mustang Mach-E GT	Mustang Mach-E GT Performance/Rally	Leaf
Zero to 60 MPH	3.6 sec	3.3 sec	6.8 sec
Quarter Mile	12.4 sec	11.8 sec	15.3 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	103.8 MPH	115.2 MPH	94.1 MPH

On the EPA test cycle the Mustang Mach-E gets better mileage than the Leaf:

			MPGe
Mustang Mach-E
	RWD	ER Electric Motor	115 city/104 hwy
		Electric Motor	111 city/103 hwy
	AWD	ER Electric Motors	110 city/98 hwy
Leaf
	FWD	Platinum+ Electric Motor	110 city/96 hwy

The Mustang Mach-E can travel longer on a full charge than the Leaf on a full charge:

			Miles
Mustang Mach-E
	RWD	ER Electric Motor	320 miles
		Electric Motor	260 miles
	AWD	ER Electric Motors	300 miles
		GT Electric Motors	280 miles
Leaf
	FWD	S+ Electric Motor	303 miles
		SV+ Electric Motor	288 miles
		Platinum+ Electric Motor	259 miles

For better stopping power the Mustang Mach-E’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Leaf:

	Mustang Mach-E	Mustang Mach-E GT/Rally	Leaf
Front Rotors	14.3 inches	15.2 inches	13.8 inches
Rear Rotors	12.4 inches	12.4 inches	11.5 inches

The Mustang Mach-E stops much shorter than the Leaf:

	Mustang Mach-E	Leaf
70 to 0 MPH	158 feet	184 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	.83 feet	129 feet	Motor Trend

For better traction, the Mustang Mach-E has larger standard tires than the Leaf (225/55R19 vs. 215/55R18). The Mustang Mach-E GT’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Leaf (245/45R20 vs. 235/45R19).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Mustang Mach-E has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Leaf. The Mustang Mach-E GT’s 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels on the Leaf Platinum+.

The Mustang Mach-E offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Leaf’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Mustang Mach-E Select/Premium’s wheelbase is 11.6 inches longer than on the Leaf (117.5 inches vs. 105.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Mustang Mach-E is 1.3 inches wider in the front and 1.5 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Leaf.

The Mustang Mach-E’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (50% to 50%) than the Leaf’s (55.5% to 44.5%). This gives the Mustang Mach-E more stable handling and braking.

The Mustang Mach-E GT handles at .92 G’s, while the Leaf Platinum+ pulls only .83 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Mustang Mach-E GT executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.3 seconds quicker than the Leaf Platinum+ (25.9 seconds @ .7 average G’s vs. 27.2 seconds @ .67 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Mustang Mach-E has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Leaf (5.8 vs. 5.3 inches), allowing the Mustang Mach-E to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The front grille of the Mustang Mach-E uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Leaf doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Mustang Mach-E has 9.1 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Leaf (101.1 vs. 92).

The Mustang Mach-E has .9 inches more front legroom, 2.2 inches more front hip room, 1.6 inches more front shoulder room, 1 inch more rear headroom, 6.3 inches more rear legroom, 1.7 inches more rear hip room and 1.2 inches more rear shoulder room than the Leaf.

The Mustang Mach-E has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Leaf with its rear seat up (29.7 vs. 20 cubic feet). The Mustang Mach-E has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Leaf with its rear seat folded (59.7 vs. 55.5 cubic feet).

The Mustang Mach-E uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Leaf uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The power windows standard on both the Mustang Mach-E and the Leaf have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Mustang Mach-E is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Leaf prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Mustang Mach-E’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Leaf’s passenger windows don’t open or close automatically.

If the windows are left open on the Mustang Mach-E the driver can close all of them from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Leaf can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Mustang Mach-E’s exterior PIN entry system. The Leaf doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

The Mustang Mach-E’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Leaf’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Mustang Mach-E has a standard rear wiper. The Leaf doesn’t offer a rear wiper.

The Mustang Mach-E’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Nissan only offers heated mirrors on the Leaf Platinum+.

Both the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Nissan Leaf offer exterior mirrors that can be folded to provide convenience. The Mustang Mach-E offers optional power folding mirrors, which allow for easy, one-touch folding or unfolding at the driver’s discretion. This provides added convenience when maneuvering or parking, as well as when walking past the parked vehicle. In comparison, the Leaf’s foldable mirrors are manual, requiring the driver to get out and physically fold them once parked and unfold them before getting in.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Mustang Mach-E Premium keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Leaf doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Mustang Mach-E’s standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. The Leaf doesn’t offer dual zone air conditioning.

Both the Mustang Mach-E and the Leaf offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Mustang Mach-E has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Leaf doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

The Mustang Mach-E’s optional Active Park Assist 2.0 can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Leaf doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Ford Mustang Mach-E, based on reliability, safety and performance.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Mustang Mach-E as the 2021 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. The Leaf has never been chosen.

The Ford Mustang Mach-E outsold the Nissan Leaf by over 10 to one during 2025.