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Posts Tagged ‘nissan leaf review’

Toyota is king of hybrids, with the iconic Prius and a long list of Toyota and Lexus models available with gas-electric drivetrains. General Motors thinks it has an ace up its sleeve with Extended-Range Electric Vehicles, like the Chevy Volt, that drive up to 40 miles on battery power and then start a gas engine.

But only Nissan, so far, has been willing to go all-in on electric cars. The company plans to offer the first mass-produced purely electric vehicle built by a major automaker (unless you count the six-figure boutique sports car made by Tesla) next year. The Nissan Leaf is a five-seat, small to midsize hatchback without any gasoline engine at all, just a battery pack and an electric motor.

Trying to sell an electric car to V8-loving America is a gamble. But the automotive press has finally had the chance to drive a prototype, and early reports say that Nissan may have built something remarkable.

The Los Angeles Times reports, “In the Leaf — an all-electric, five-passenger car that will start hitting American streets in late 2010 — you step on the accelerator and the car spools out velocity in one continuous, syrupy stream. It’s nothing short of elegant.” Under the control of the Times’ Dan Neil, a Leaf loaded down with the weight of four adults “shot across [a] stadium parking lot like it had been pinged with a BB gun.” The Times estimates that the Lead offers zero-to-40 mph acceleration “in the mid-5-second range, which would suit a decently sporty little car.”

And it’s butter-smooth acceleration. The Times explains, “Every year, automotive engineers find new ways to smooth more rough edges off the conventional automobile.” Computer-controlled automatic transmissions boasting as many as eight speeds, Continuously Variable Transmissions with no gears at all, and “suites of computer programming that modulate engine torque at the precise moments of gear change” have made the experience of driving most modern cars very smooth. But they can’t match the simple physics of an electric engine. The Leaf offers nearly 100 percent of its available torque at all times, creating a driving experience the Times calls “Sweet, glycerin smooth, techy, frisky and even a little bit beautiful.”

Autoblog had a little time behind the wheel as well. They report, “While the Leaf powertrain doesn’t accelerate like a Tesla Roadster, it’s got more than enough get-up-and-go for a standard family car, even with four adults on board. Considering the Leaf will cost something like a third or a fourth as much as a standard Roadster, we think the car will cause a fair share of EV grins once it’s unleashed into the wild.” They add, “After getting up to speed, we found the regenerative brakes felt great. While Nissan is still fine-tuning the system for production, they grip solidly whether you’re going fast or slow, gently applying pressure or hitting them hard.”

Nissan hasn’t announced final pricing on the Leaf, but analysts believe the car may cost under $25,000 when it arrives late next year.

It may also be the first of several electric vehicles from Nissan. The Wall Street Journal reports that Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn recently “said in an interview the companies will launch four electric vehicles globally, with three of them coming to the U.S., including the Nissan Leaf compact, a light commercial vehicle suitable for use by companies such as FedEx, and eventually an electric car to be marketed under the Infiniti luxury brand.”