Franklin, Tennessee – Merging onto I-65 South near Nissan North America’s headquarters I had to really stand on the gas to match the 70 mph traffic flow. No, scratch that, I didn’t stand on the gas because the car didn’t have a gas pedal at all—it had an accelerator pedal. In fact, it didn’t have a gasoline engine either. Welcome to the wonder of the 2011 Nissan Leaf electric car.
Acceleration in the Leaf happens with a quiet rush and there was no problem matching the traffic speed on I-65. But that was just one test for the Leaf during this visit to Tennessee. Over several hours, we ran Nissan’s new electric car through as many “normal” driving conditions as possible, including this highway stint, followed by two-lane country roads, stop-and-go city traffic, and urban cruising. In all, acclimating to electric power was remarkably easy.
The 2011 Leaf is a five-passenger, family-sized electric car that Nissan will mass-market in the United States and Japan beginning in December, then in select European markets in early 2011. Nissan plans to build 50,000 Leafs annually in its Oppama, Japan assembly plant, where the Cube and Juke are also built. That production number will quadruple when the North American production facility in Smyrna, Tennessee comes on-line in late 2012, adding 150,000 units of capacity. Another 50,000 Leafs will follow in 2013 from a production line in Sunderland, England. The global demand for a viable electric car seems strong in today’s market too; Nissan reached its goal of 20,000 orders for the Leaf three months earlier than expected and has stopped taking reservations.
Pricing, Trims and Options
Unfortunately, the cost of an electric car is driven up by the price of the battery. Advanced technology batteries like the laminated Li-ion pack in the Leaf can account for half the cost of the car. Nissan set the Leaf’s sticker price at $32,780. A $7,500 federal tax credit offsets the price of admission, bringing it down to $25,280. Depending on where you live, additional state and local incentives can further reduce the price. For example, California offers a clean vehicle rebate of up to $5,000, Georgia likewise has a $5,000 credit and Colorado residents can qualify for up to $6,000 in tax credits. There are also tax credits of up to $2,000 to offset the price of installing a personal charging dock in your garage.
The 2011 Leaf will be offered in two trim levels. The nicely equipped base model is the Leaf SV, which includes a navigation system, an information center with a Carwings app for remote charging status monitoring through a smart phone, cruise control, Bluetooth hands-free phone system, and 16-inch alloy wheels. For another $940, buyers can upgrade to the Leaf SL, which includes a solar panel in the rear spoiler to help charge the 12-volt accessory battery, a rear-view backup camera, automatic headlights, fog lamps, a HomeLink universal transceiver, and a rear cargo cover.
Must Have Features
If you are going to use the Leaf as a daily driver, then a 220-volt home charging station is necessary. You can charge the car from a standard 110-volt outlet, but 110 volts equates to a trickle charge and will take up to 20 hours to recharge a fully depleted battery. The Leaf comes standard with the 110-volt charging cord in a tote bag stowed in the rear hatch, which Nissan says is intended for “opportunity” charging. The 220-volt Level 2 charger, which must be hardwired into the charging location, cuts charging time to 8 hours making it perfect for overnight charging. An even faster 50-kilowatt (kW) DC charger can bring the Leaf’s battery to an 80-percent state of charge in as little as 30 minutes. Nissan has placed the charging port in the nose of the Leaf so it is convenient to plug in when in a head-in parking space.
The car we drove in Tennessee was the SL and the back-up camera is a useful addition. There is a standard reversing alarm that sounds when the car is in reverse to warn pedestrians that the silent Leaf is backing up, but it’s nice to be able to check the navigation monitor for pedestrians and other obstructions as an added precaution.
Interior Features
As a five-door hatchback, the Leaf provides easy access for both people and cargo. At 6’2”, I found rear seat legroom more than adequate even when the driver’s seat was left where it was comfortable for my long legs. Interior layout is fairly standard, but there are a few unique features that you won’t find elsewhere. The most obvious of these is the shift knob mounted to the center console. Somewhat resembling a computer mouse, the controller selects reverse, neutral, or forward drive as needed. A button on top is used to engage park. The parking brake is a bit different too; it’s electrically operated at the push of a button.
Other than the shifter and parking brake, all other controls are conventional and there really isn’t much of a learning curve when it comes to operating the Leaf. The dash features a two-tiered instrument cluster with a digital speedometer placed at the base of the windshield directly in the driver’s line of sight. The Leaf’s instrumentation is clear and easy to read, even in changing light.
The navigation / information display in the center of the dash provides a wealth of vital information. From here, you can keep track of energy consumption and optimize vehicle range by monitoring and controlling other electrical loads on the car. For example, when the air conditioner is operating at full blast, the display will inform you that you can gain 10 miles of range by turning it off. The response is instantaneous when the climate control is switched off, making the driving range jump proportionally. The navigation map will also provide a radius of safe operation and charging locations. You can even set the charging timer to take advantage of off-peak electricity rates and have the climate control turn on to change cabin temperature while the car is still plugged in, thereby using charger power rather than battery juice to heat or cool the cabin before you drive the Leaf. Nissan also offers a cell phone app that it calls CARWINGS, which allows remote monitoring of the car’s charging status through your smart phone.
