Nissan Leaf News

Here are some of the impressions, taken from posts our friends made at MyNissanLeaf.com:

From gasmiser:

“I finally saw the Leaf in person today at Boardwalk
The model shown today was the SV model (w/o the Level III charging port) and was silver in exterior color. Interior was a light tan on the seats and door panels. Carpet was a generic non-pile type, dark-grey in color. The seats had a fabric that was similar to a Prius Gen II micro fiber. Seats were very comfortable. Driver’s seat had a height adjustment, as well as front to back, and back rest adjustments fore and aft. Door panels were a combination of microfiber on the arm rests, and plastic. I sat in the driver’s seat with the seat all the way back, and there was just enough room for a 6′2” guy behind me without his knees hitting the back of the seat. Leg room was comfortable. Steering wheel had tilt feature. Center consul and driver/passenger up front had cup holders. Doors closed nice and solid with double rubber seals. I think it would be a tight fit for 3 adults in the back seat.

I was able to try the features: radio, touch screen interface, AC, map, etc. AC blows ice cold. Just turning it on reduced the range by 9 miles. The range display/screen was easy to read and operate.

I viewed it in motion around the parking lot and it is extremely quiet.

I’m 6′2”, and sitting in the front seats, I found that I still had a several inches to spare in height. In the back seat, I had a few inches in height to spare.

Fit and finish was on par with an upscale model Mirano or Maxima. The trunk was nice and deep. One guy held up his road bicycle next to the car and one could see it would fit no problem lying the bike down in back with the rear seats folded.

The only initial thing I didn’t like about the Leaf was the wimpy horn. That will definitely need to be upgraded.”

From Tango:

”

Interior:

• Underneath the radio is a space to put a phone.
• Also underneath the radio, there are spaces for four connectors with small flip-up covers. On the SV version we saw, two of those spaces were occupied. One had a USB connector, the second had a 3.5mm audio input jack. The other two weren’t used.
• The startup “chime” was different than on the Nissan website.
• The nav system is standard (not an option).
• The main system screen is a touch screen
• The car does not come with floor or cargo mats of any sort. If you don’t order mats with the car, you’ll have your feet on the bare carpet for the entire car (in one of the other threads, there was a question about whether the car came with cheapo mats and the mats available as an accessory were “better”). Susan, the GM at boardwalk said she’d sell them at the same price later if needed.
• When the seats are folded down, the “floor” is not level throughout the car. The trunk area floor is about a foot or more lower than the level that the backs of the fold-down seats. (This is different than on my subaru outback, where when you fold down the seats, they are basically on the same level as the cargo area floor).

Exterior

• the reps and the GM didn’t know what the exterior would look like with the “eco package”. There were folks asking if it was the huge “zero emissions” stickers or if it’d be something more subtle.

Ordering

• The dealers have seen a marked drop in number of orders over the last week or so.
• One of the nissan corporate reps (not the store GM) said that they’re expecting 1000 cars delivered to the states in december, but wasn’t sure what that meant in terms of people actually getting the cars. I think he was talking about 1000 cars will be at least on the docks by then, but transfer to the dealer and other issues he didn’t know about. I have to add though, that he was being a little cagey about this, so i’m not sure if it’s because he wasn’t supposed to say, or if he was just guessing.
• The nissan corporate rep said he had been taking some flak over the lack of information about the accessories. He said he was going to take that back to corporate.”

Here is a Flickr photostream of the event.

Tags: Boardwalk Nissan, nissan leaf, ordering a leaf, test drive a leaf
Posted in Leaf News & Information | | 11 Comments »

We joined the hundreds of luminaries who have sampled the all-electric Nissan Leaf before it arrives in December. It’s an impressive piece of software baked into an expensive compact car. Here’s how the Leaf turns driving into an app.

Automakers have futzed with electricity as a source of power for over a century with little success, mainly because batteries simply can’t hold as much energy per pound as gasoline. The Leaf and the rest of the new-age EVs tackle those problems with a cavalcade of technology that solve some issues while adding a few new ones.

This walkaround with Mark Perry, Nissan North America’s product planning chief, gives you an idea of how different electric car ownership will be from a regular vehicle when the first few hundred Leafs hit the United States this year:

Even in its darkest days, Nissan earned a reputation for top-notch engineering, and with the Leaf, Nissan shows it can compile capable software as well as hardware. Owners can choose from three start-up sounds, similar to a desktop PC, which Perry said was necessary because testers couldn’t tell when the vehicle was on. If owners forget to plug it in, the Leaf can email a reminder. And its navigation system can automatically find the nearest electric charging stations.

We didn’t have a chance to drive the Leaf much beyond city traffic, but doing so wouldn’t have revealed any hidden oasis of driving pleasure. Outside of a nice launch boost from the electric motor’s instantly available 206 lb.-ft. of torque, the Leaf rides and handles like a generic compact car. Its 3,200-lb. curb weight provides some buffer from rough roads, but at higher speeds the 108-hp motivates with the polite restraint of a kindergarten teacher.

The Leaf’s software also holds dominion on the road. The speedometer sports a little “tree” that grows the more economically a driver performs; eventually you can rack up a tiny grove of electric trees. Instead of a shifter, the Leaf has an oversize computer mouse to shift to drive or “Eco,” the mode of choice for hypermilers. In Eco, the car boosts its regenerative braking and stiffens the accelerator pedal response; shifting into it at speed felt like the Leaf had been hugged by a polar bear.

To maintain a range of 80 to 110 miles, the Leaf will use more than 90% of the energy that its 24-kWh lithium-ion batteries can hold. That’s a Muhammed Ali-worthy pummeling compared to the ginger 50% load that the Chevrolet Volt will limit its 16-kWh pack to. “We have 17 years of experience with these batteries,” Perry said. “We’re confident in them.”

What’s most jarring about driving the Leaf is just how much data it wants to give you. During our drive, we scrubbed several miles off the range, but the Leaf nudged us to note that shutting off the air conditioning would add eight miles back to the reserve. But should a Leaf driver attempt a Kramer-esque testing of its distance-to-empty measures, the car will coast to a stop with a modicum of power still left in its battery pack, the reserve meant to ensure battery conditioning capable of meeting its 8-year, 100,000-mile warranty.

The high-tech gleam — and a marketing push far greater than seemingly justified by a 20,000 vehicle per year sales goal — has generated Nissan 19,500 pre-orders for the Leaf, and Perry nearly snagged another during our drive from a Civic driver at a stoplight. Yet despite its technology, the $32,000 Leaf would lose a strict comparison of driving functions, costs and enjoyment to an $18,000 Nissan Sentra.

But the Leaf isn’t about driving as an experience to savor. It’s software with wheels, a rolling app meant to strictly oversee how much energy you’re using on the road. For those who get satisfaction from such parsimony, and don’t live in an apartment or other dwelling with no access to a 220-volt outdoor plug, the Leaf offers a compelling solution to the problem of driving.

If you don’t see driving as a problem, the Leaf isn’t for you.

-Courtesy of Jalopnik

Tags: nissan leaf first drive, test drive a leaf
Posted in Leaf News & Information | | No Comments »