The new Nissan Leaf is fun. Can it transform the electric-vehicle market?

DRIVING THE NEW NISSAN LEAF WILL TAKE AN UNINITIATED electric-car operator—like me—by surprise. During a two-day test drive on Washington, D.C.–area streets and highways, the Leaf accelerated fast, ran silently and allowed me to use a feature letting the driver never touch the brake pedal. Add to that a sleek redesigned exterior and you have a vehicle that will impress even a hardened electric-vehicle skeptic.

But those elements are just