The 2016 Nissan Leaf can take you 107 miles on a single charge

The other big improvement to the 2016 Leaf is with the car's entertainment system, which Nissan says is "more user-friendly" than previous versions. The low-end Leaf S gets a 5-inch display color display with Bluetooth hands-free connectivity and audio streaming, hands-free text messaging, and "NissanConnect" — a suite of mobile apps that supports things like Facebook, Pandora and iHeartRadio. The SV and SL versions of the Leaf get even more. They come with a 7-inch display that supports multi-touch, voice recognition, navigation, SiriusXM satellite radio. These trims will also support even more apps, like Google search, Twitter, and Trip Advisor.

Otherwise, the rest of the Leaf is pretty similar. The curvy, aerodynamic exterior remains unchanged, and you still charge the car through a port in the front grill. The same goes for the interior. There are two display screens behind the wheel — one dedicated to time and speed, while the other is for battery information, like how much driving distance remains. There are blue accent lights all around the dashboard, and the strange orb-like shifter is still there, too. Nissan might like to position its all-electric car as an innovative machine, and in many ways it is remarkable that there is an established, truly affordable electric car with decent (and increasing) range on the market. But with the 2016 Leaf, Nissan is really just playing the same "yearly iteration" game that the auto industry at large has played for decades.

The low-end 2016 Leaf S starts at $21,510, the Leaf SV starts at $26,700, and the Leaf SL starts at $29,290. These prices provided by Nissan include the maximum federal tax credit for buying an electric vehicle, and the full retail price may vary from dealer to dealer.