Mark Andrews - Gear - Apr 16, 2025 7:00 AM

Review: Nissan Sakura 2025

This is the best-selling electric car in Japan—driver assistance, auto parking, fast charging, bi-directional power, and acres of charm. The killer stat: it only costs $17,000.

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Rating: 8/10 Open rating explainer

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Think China’s got it all sewn up when it comes to EVs? Well, at least when it comes to micro cars, Japan still has a few tricks up its sleeve—and the Nissan Sakura is the power player in the market.

Japanese automakers have generally tackled the electric transition with all the speed of a turning oil tanker. Toyota has, for example, steadfastly held out largely in the hopes that its gamble on solid-state batteries will play out.

Nissan on the other hand threw its hat early into the game with the Leaf, launched in 2010. So early, in fact, that Nissan claims the car is the world’s first mass-market EV.

The Leaf, which believe it or not is an acronym for “leading environmentally-friendly affordable family car”, was for a long time one of the world’s best-selling EVs. Had Nissan really capitalized on this EV leadership it might not have needed the now-canceled Honda engagement, but that’s another story.

Nissan first showed the Sakura as early as 2019 in the form of the IMk concept, but it took until 2022 to morph into the production car. Was it worth the wait? WIRED went to Japan to find out.

Now, electric cars are not yet big in Japan, making up about 3 percent of sales. However, Japan’s government has announced plans to increase the percentage of EVs and PHEVs in passenger car sales to up to 30 percent by 2030. For now, the Sakura, despite its diminutive length of 3,395 mm (about 11 feet), happens to be Japan’s best-selling electric car.

Together with its Mitsubishi eK XEV sibling, which bar a few styling differences is largely the same car, it was one of the first electric kei cars in Japan, although it lagged significantly behind the Mitsubishii-MiEV which was introduced way back in 2009.

Courtesy of Nissan

Small Is Beautiful

Kei car is the smallest class of car legally allowed on expressways in Japan. They are limited to a length of 3.4 meters, a width of 1.48 meters, and a height of 2 meters. In return for the restrictions, the cars enjoy lower tax rates and insurance premiums.

At first glance, the Sakura seems quite similar to a number of micro EVs from China, probably best exemplified by the super cheap Wuling Hongguang Mini EV (which we tested). However, the Nissan is somewhat bigger than these, and a five-door hatchback to boot, although still only a four-seater.

Rather than giving the impression of just being a step-up from an e-bike, as is the case with some of the Chinese microcars, the Nissan feels more like a proper car. With Japanese brands honing their kei car game since 1949 that’s not surprising.

Kei car sales peaked at 40 percent of Japan’s total in 2013. Such is the premium on space in the Japan, kei cars, thanks to their tiny footprint, have become a class of car you can buy there if you don't own a dedicated parking space.

Nissan Sakura Rating: 8/10

$17,000 at Nissan (Japan)

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Still, the Sakura is a relatively basic car and purchasers have a basic choice between X and G. The price is basic, too: the “top-of-the-range” G version has a suggested selling price of Y3,082,200 ($20,290) while the X is cheaper still at Y2,599,300—that's just $17,110, cheaper than the Dacia Sprint.

For my test I took the G, the more expensive of the two with upgrades to the car’s navigation and ProPILOT driver assistance system that helps with steering and braking (ProPILOT Park takes care of parallel parking.)

One other difference is the number of paint options available. For the X there are six solid and five two-tone options, but on the G the two-tone options expand out to nine and now include “titanium gray” as well as black for the second tone. WIRED's test car came in a fetching silky lilac for the body with black for most of the window surrounds and titanium gray for the roof and front pillars. Who said Japanese cars came in boring colors?

Box of Tricks

Spend any time with the Sakura and you soon realize it is a box of tricks. With kei cars having such a long history, Japanese producers know how to get the most out of the small footprint.

Along with the length of 3,395 mm, the Sakura's width of 1,475 mm comes in just 5 mm short of the regulatory limit. But where the Sakura more than compensates for these dimensions is with its height of 1,655 mm, which, incidentally, is taller than an average Japanese woman (158 cm).

Externally the car takes the Sir Alec Issigonis Mini ethos of a wheel at each corner. There is just a very short, stubby overhang at the front. The Sakura is actually based on the gasoline-powered Nissan Dayz, but is redesigned not just in terms of powertrain but looks as well.

Courtesy of Nissan

Nissan Sakura Rating: 8/10

$17,000 at Nissan (Japan)

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While the box-like nature of the Sakura doesn’t make for the most elegant of exteriors, it really benefits the interior space. Although the two front seats rub up against each other, they are of a full size and individually adjustable, and even manage to squeeze in a shared armrest.

Where the car’s height really pays off is with rear seat space. Although it only seats two there is more than enough headroom for even the tallest of adults— and the legroom considering the dimensions of this EV is incredible, beating many normal-sized Western models.

With no center console, the drive selector is pushed onto the dashboard to the right of the capacitive touch panel climate controls. An electronic handbrake is controlled using the P button marked in the center of the selector.

The two staggered info screens are easy to use, with the 9-inch infotainment screen surrounded by some real buttons with shortcuts to items including the main menu, camera, and map. The instrument panel is a smaller 7-inch display.

Visually the car’s interior scores highly particularly with the G version which gets a copper trim around the lower dashboard and extending into the door inserts. Perhaps not surprisingly given the price point, the materials don’t hit so high when it comes to tactility, being largely hard plastics. Furthermore, the plastics on the dashboard seem flimsy around the air vents.

A double-layered trunk floor left me at first scratching my head as it didn’t seem to serve any purpose. More investigation revealed that the rear bench could slide forward making more trunk space, and the redundant layer now being used to cover the flooring. With the seats fully back trunk space is just 107 litres, but about enough for the family’s weekly shop.

Driving Delight

Perhaps it is just a matter of getting used to the Sakura's layout, but as soon as you try to drive it you start noticing problems with the ergonomics. Firstly when in the driver’s seat the Start/Stop button is difficult to see due to the steering wheel. It’s a similar case with the Autohold and Drive Mode selection buttons hidden well down on the right, below-hand level and underneath a row mainly controlling the cruise control. Then there is the indicator on the right stalk, meaning I kept activating the windscreen wipers.

Once you are successfully in motion the car is a delight to drive thanks to its minuscule dimensions. The turning circle is just 9.6 meters, and the steering itself although on the light side makes it super easy to move in and out of traffic.

There are three drive modes: Eco, Standard and Sport, with at least some differentiation between all three. In Eco there is greater braking regeneration along with the acceleration being tapered off. In Sport, the car has a reasonable turn of speed given its metrics, with around a 10 second 0-62 mph time, so pulling out into flowing traffic should be fine.

It should be noted that Chinese micro EVs don’t even quote such times. Furthermore, unlike those where the speed tops out at usually 62 mph, the Sakura can actually reach a highway-ready top speed of 81 mph. Although by modern car standards the 14-inch wheels, or the optional 15-inch on our test car, are tiny, they are still much bigger than the 12-inch ones used by the Chinese Wuling Hongguang Mini EV.

Nissan Sakura Rating: 8/10

$17,000 at Nissan (Japan)

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The ride itself is surprisingly comfortable, an effect furthered by the sofa-like seats. While the height helps with the headroom it does mean the center of gravity is not so low, leading to some body movement. Power comes from a 63 hp (47 kW) electric motor mounted on the front axle which can deliver 195 Nm of torque.

There are actually two forms of braking regeneration, the normal and the e-pedal variety. While the braking regeneration under Eco is definitely noticeable, it is nothing compared to what you get when you press the e-pedal button. With this engaged you get a near one-pedal driving experience, but it will not take you to a complete halt, just a crawl of around 5 mph.

Mark Andrews

Despite having only a 20 kWh battery pack the range as measured by the WLTC cycle is 112 miles, which is more than enough for a commute. It should be noted that the Sakura will use less electricity when driven at city speeds. Nissan reports that 83 percent of owners say they spend less than 5,000 yen ($33) a month charging the car.

Helping reduce energy consumption are features such as the LED lights and a heat pump, which reduces the amount of power needed to heat the car in winter.

Fast-charging, the Sakura’s battery can go from 10 to 80 percent in around 40 minutes. It also supports vehicle-to-load, meaning you can use the car as a power source on household appliances and similar devices.

Beyond Japan

Surprisingly, the car’s systems such as the navigation were possible to switch into English, so if the determined fan were to import one to the US, they wouldn't be stuck with a Japanese UI. Tech in general is an area the car scores highly on. The G version as standard has Nissan’s ProPilot. Although I didn’t try it on the highway, I did try the car’s auto-parking function. You then select a target space and hold down appropriate park button while the car completes the maneuver. I found it to have variable effectiveness, with it claiming on occasions to have successfully parked when it had not fully reversed into a space.

In such small cars, safety is always a question mark—but, in 2022, the Sakura gained a 5-star rating in the JNCAP test, though it should be noted that this is not as stringent as the Euro NCAP rating. The car does, however, come with seven airbags, along with active evasive maneuver assistance, intelligent emergency braking, and collision warning.

Sadly, so far Nissan has shown no desire to sell the car outside Japan, although a few secondhand examples have ended up in right-hand drive markets such as New Zealand.

The Sakura might be Japan’s best-selling EV (indeed, strong demand led to Nissan having to pause sales in late 2022 because it had too many orders), but it has the potential to be far more than that. It is the EV that many city EV drivers have been crying out for. While it might not be as ridiculously cheap as the Chinese micro EVs (which can go as low as $5,000), it is still, comparatively, an absolute bargain—and crucially more of a “proper car” than any of its China rivals.

With real safety credentials, fast charging, good handling and enough power to even be used for the odd (slightly) longer trip on the highway, surely there's a market for the Sakura in Europe and the US? We'll have to hope Nissan comes to think the same.

Nissan Sakura Rating: 8/10

$17,000 at Nissan (Japan)

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$17,000 at Nissan (Japan)

Mark Andrews as a Shanghai-based freelance automotive and business writer. His articles have appeared in magazines and newspapers around the world including the South China Morning Post, Autocar and Auto Express. ...Read more

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