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Monday, 10 October, 2011 10:41 AM Participants charged up about Nissan LEAF at its Drive Electric Tour stop in Long Beach, Calif.
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LONG BEACH, Calif. -- It was an opportunity for the general public to get up close and learn more about the LEAF, a 100 percent electric vehicle. Since the vehicle runs on battery power alone, it releases zero emissions. The LEAF can produce up to 100 miles of driving range on a complete charge. For a place like southern California, which has 72 charge stations within a 30 mile radius of Los Angeles, the LEAF just makes sense. Nissan's Drive Electric Tour made a stop at The Pike at Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach, Calif. over the weekend and overall, most people were impressed by it. "Our battery pack holds 24 kilowatt (kW) hours of energy," said Dylan Lane, a Nissan LEAF Product Expert. "It really depends on how you drive the vehicle, though. If you drive conservatively, you'll see more than 100 miles of range. If you drive erratically or irresponsibly, you'll see less than 100 miles range. The best range we ever saw was 138, the worse we ever saw was 62. We've been up and down the east coast, then around the midwest. So far, we've probably hit 10 or 12 cities on this tour. The level of participation has been pretty good. I was very enthused by the turnout in Chicago. I was a little bit disappointed by New York. We didn't actually get a ton of people out." Attendees had the opportunity to learn about the LEAF's battery pack, charging options and cost. The LEAF is considered to be the first, practical and low-cost electric vehicle to hit the market. It can reach a top speed of 90 miles per hour. The LEAF comes with a fuel economy rating of 99 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent. The average driver will pay about $561 to charge the vehicle for an entire year. "It was my first time test driving an electric vehicle," said participant Marian Carmichael of Long Beach, Calif. "Driving the LEAF was actually pretty interesting. It was a smooth ride. It had a lot more power than I thought it was going to. The person that was with me took me into the eco mode and out of it. It felt like it had the power for me that I would need if that was going to be the car for me. The fact that it's an electrical car and it's good for the environment. What I'd like to add is a sunroof. I would consider buying a LEAF. I am ready for something different. The price is a little bit higher than I'd like, but there are incentives. Plus, I'd be able to go into the high-occupancy vehicle lane and that would be good for me." The total cost of the LEAF base model, known as SV, is $35,200. A $7,500 federal tax credit brings the price down to $27,700. It also includes a battery heater, heated outside mirrors, a heated steering wheel, front and rear heated seats and a rear HVAC duct. The SV model can be leased for 36 months for $369 a month with a down payment of $2,599 for 36 months. "The ride was surprisingly the same as a regular car except no noise," said Bill Colleran, a participant from Savannah, Ga. "If they did away with the road noise from the tires, you'd be floating in silence. It was pretty impressive, good pickup. I was surprised for being all-electric. The coolness of just pressing the buttons and putting it in park by pressing a button. I really liked the vehicle. I would consider buying one. Based on my commute, it would come in handy and be in the right range. The price was high. I know that new technology so I expected it to be in the range that it's in. It was great to have the opportunity to drive it." The new 2012 model of the LEAF, known as the SL, will cost $2,050 more than the current model because of the new solar panel on the rear spoiler and the cold weather package. The new SL model also includes a fast charge point, rearview camera and monitor, cargo cover, fog lamps and automatic on/off headlamps. It can be leased for 36 months for $409 per month with a down payment of $2,599. "It drove really well, quietly, had good pickup power," said participant Katherine Fernandez of Long Beach, Calif. "My favorite part is no gas. It's a smaller size, but that goes along with no gasoline, efficiency and charging. I would not consider buying or leasing one now, but in the future." Her husband, Aldo Fernandez, added: "It's just different from driving a gas vehicle, very quiet. I was impressed with how smooth the acceleration is overall. Not having any expectations, I guess I was satisfied. It wasn't really impressive, but it wasn't really disappointing either. It's also low maintenance it seems. I'm OK with the size for efficiency and all of that, but mainly there's a lot of the cost issue with it being the first production electric vehicle. The cost is still kind of high and probably the battery replacement later on is going to be a pretty large expense when that comes." The new solar panel on the rear spoiler will help to charge the accessory battery. That powers the lights, GPS, car radio, air conditioning and non-drivetrain portions of the car. It will not add to your driving range. "On the west coast here, we've had a lot of enthusiasm in Santa Monica and Long Beach," Lane added. "In San Francisco, we had a lot of enthusiasm last year. The west coasters, I think, are a little more ahead of the curve on this. We come in on a Wednesday. We build this event, that is built basically of shipping containers. On Friday, we open to the public at 9 a.m. We give kind of an overview of the car, we show them the batteries, under the hood. We talk about the price, answer of all their questions and give them a test drive." The next stops for the Nissan LEAF Drive Electric Tour will be Houston, Dallas, Phoenix and Las Vegas. It is completely free and open to the general public. Registration is available on the link below, however it is not required. For more information about the Nissan LEAF Drive Electric Tour, visit www.drivenissanleaf.com. Related Story: Nissan Takes 'Drive Electric' Experience to 26 U.S. Cities as Nissan LEAF Sales Surpass 4,000-Unit Milestone
PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com The 2012 version of the Nissan LEAF will go on sale this December.
PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com "Right now, the home charger is sold separately, it does not come with the cost of the car," Lane explained. "On average, the home charging station is about $2,000. That's including everything, the cost to install it, the cost to buy it. That is done through AeroVironment, they are our partner company. They do the installation and contracting."
PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com A look under the hood of the Nissan LEAF electric vehicle.
PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com Product Expert Dylan Lane explains the features of the LEAF.
PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com The LEAF comes with a GPS, a radius of how far one can drive with the level of battery remaining and where the nearest charging stations are.
PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com Level 2 DC Fast charging stations, which can charge the LEAF or the Chevrolet Volt to 80 percent in about 20 to 30 minutes, are being added along Interstate 5 from Washington state to southern California.
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