# A petrolhead (Me) test drives the Nissan Leaf.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 6, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-petrolhead-me-test-drives-the-nissan-leaf/624331 "2012-06-06T23:30:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-petrolhead-me-test-drives-the-nissan-leaf/624331/21 "2012-06-07T17:34:19Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > They still make VW Rabbits? Cool. Well, they did, '06-'09, but they were nothing more than a Mk. V Golf with a rabbit logo on the rear hatch decklid As far as the Leaf brakes, they felt just like every other car, just a tad grabbier One other potential downside, before we got our whole house backup generator, we would have extended power outages in big storms, often over 36 hours, not being able to charge up due to storm damage is a big downside ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-petrolhead-me-test-drives-the-nissan-leaf/624331/22 "2012-06-07T17:46:58Z")
My parents just brought home their new Leaf. They are retirees who will primarily use it for running errands and things like that; they also have a gas-powered car that could be used for any longer trips.They also have solar panels on the house, so their operation costs are going to be very low. So far, they are delighted with it. I think the only downside has been that they needed to clean out a spot for the car in the garage! ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-petrolhead-me-test-drives-the-nissan-leaf/624331/23 "2012-06-07T18:32:32Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Seems reasonable to me. What if you bought it and then discovered you didn’t have the necessary infrastructure at home? > > “I’d like my money back for this car please. I can’t use it at home and no one informed me otherwise.” After it’s a month old and has a thousand miles on it. ☹ Yeah thats the impression I got. I didn’t delve into it too deep because I don’t believe it is practical at this time. Too expensive and not enough range. It is basically a round trip commute to work car. For most it would mean having another gas powered car for other purposes. 30k is way too expensive for that. And how much is your electric bill going up? ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-petrolhead-me-test-drives-the-nissan-leaf/624331/24 "2012-06-07T18:42:09Z")
Nice write-up. Big thumbs up to the Nissan dealer. Technology marches on, it will be interesting to see what the state of the art is in five years. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-petrolhead-me-test-drives-the-nissan-leaf/624331/25 "2012-06-07T18:55:56Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Seems reasonable to me. What if you bought it and then discovered you didn’t have the necessary infrastructure at home? > > “I’d like my money back for this car please. I can’t use it at home and no one informed me otherwise.” After it’s a month old and has a thousand miles on it. ☹ Well, OK, when you put it that way it makes more sense. Certainly Nissan should work with potential buyers to be sure they understand the requirements involved. I was just put off by the word “permission” in the context of purchasing a consumer product and probably overreacted. ---
**Author:** ![diku](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@diku](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diku)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-petrolhead-me-test-drives-the-nissan-leaf/624331/26 "2012-06-08T14:08:35Z")
I live in Smyrna, TN, where the Leaf is going to start being built (or maybe has already started with this model year). They’re all over down here. Really odd being near one in a parking lot, just no sound at all, really. I might think about one in a few years when my Civic dies, since my car is just used back and forth to work. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-petrolhead-me-test-drives-the-nissan-leaf/624331/27 "2012-06-10T14:01:07Z")
I always thought that cabin heat and air-conditioning would be a real killer for the all electric. It seems that it would need to live in a very mild climate. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-petrolhead-me-test-drives-the-nissan-leaf/624331/28 "2012-06-10T14:40:19Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Do you feel these electric cars should have artificial noise added to them (not just for dumb orange tabby cats but for pedestrians)? I have no idea about the Nissan Leaf, but the [Fisker Karma](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisker_Karma) has little speakers that generate a weird little UFO noise to warn anyone who strays into your path. I actually drove one a few weeks ago and it was a strange experience. It’s a long, wide car, but it’s very, very low. Like **MacTech** ’s leaf, the startup takes an age (well, maybe 30 seconds). And like the Leaf, it is totally silent when you glide away from a stop. The car does have a little 4 cyliner engine, but it is used to recharge the battery, not driving the wheels. One very odd thing that happens is that sound of the engine revving doesn’t always correspond to putting your foot on the gas, which is a bit strange. On the road, the car has a little get up and go, but not much. The handling isn’t great either. It’s a big car, and also a heavy one. 5300lbs IIRC. That’s what almost as much as a full sized truck. And it has to have truck sized brakes to stop it. This means 22" rims. I’m no expert, but they look ridiculous. The rest of the car looks pretty good - and so it should considering the $100,000 price tag. It is very cramped though. I think it’s mainly the lack of headroom. The rear seat is divided by the battery compartment, so no possibility of squeezing a fifth person in. I wanted to like it, but I didn’t. Overall, it’s definitely not a sports car, definitely not a family car, just a costly eco-fashion statement. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-petrolhead-me-test-drives-the-nissan-leaf/624331/29 "2012-06-11T13:38:34Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > I have no idea about the Nissan Leaf, but the [Fisker Karma](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisker_Karma) has little speakers that generate a weird little UFO noise to warn anyone who strays into your path. > > I actually drove one a few weeks ago and it was a strange experience. It’s a long, wide car, but it’s very, very low. Like **MacTech** ’s leaf, the startup takes an age (well, maybe 30 seconds). And like the Leaf, it is totally silent when you glide away from a stop. The car does have a little 4 cyliner engine, but it is used to recharge the battery, not driving the wheels. One very odd thing that happens is that sound of the engine revving doesn’t always correspond to putting your foot on the gas, which is a bit strange. > > On the road, the car has a little get up and go, but not much. The handling isn’t great either. It’s a big car, and also a heavy one. 5300lbs IIRC. That’s what almost as much as a full sized truck. And it has to have truck sized brakes to stop it. This means 22" rims. I’m no expert, but they look ridiculous. The rest of the car looks pretty good - and so it should considering the $100,000 price tag. It is very cramped though. I think it’s mainly the lack of headroom. The rear seat is divided by the battery compartment, so no possibility of squeezing a fifth person in. > > I wanted to like it, but I didn’t. Overall, it’s definitely not a sports car, definitely not a family car, just a costly eco-fashion statement. The Karma is pretty much a bust-not only does it haul around 2500 lbs of batteries, the batteries (built by A123) have a disconcerting tendency to catch on fire. That $500 million that the Federal Gov gave to Fiskars was a real good investment! I actually saw one recently-the roof is covered in solar cells-which (in full sunlight) might give you an extra 4 mile’s range (after a week in the sun). It would be cheaper to put a 25 HP engine in the thing and rip out the batteries. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2012, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-petrolhead-me-test-drives-the-nissan-leaf/624331/30 "2012-06-11T15:38:37Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I always thought that cabin heat and air-conditioning would be a real killer for the all electric. It seems that it would need to live in a very mild climate. I saw a Leaf along with other electric and hybrid cars at a ‘green’ festival on Sunday. I was speaking with the guy showing the Mitsubishi i-MiEV… apparently, the idea is, you warm it up at home while it’s plugged in before heading out. The charger communicates with the car to tell the heater or cooler to come on, and you can command it from your computer or phone. This transfers the load for the first heating or cooling of the mass of the cabin to the external power supply. Then the car’s battery just needs to supply the ongoing heating and cooling to maintain the temperature. The rep did say it was a significant concern, though. The nominal range of the i-MiEV is 160 km; he said that he’s describing it to Toronto-area customers as 120 km because of the increased heating demand in Southern Ontario, and that in places like Bancroft, where winter temperatures drop to -30C, the range might drop to 90 km because of the heating loads. He said that he would not recommend the car to a customer there. Really, pure-electric cars seem best suited as short-to-mediam-range commuter cars until battery capacity increases. The best solution for longer range at the moment would seem to be a plug-in hybrid, such as the Volt or newer Priuses. I was talking to a guy who had an aftermarket plug-in kit on his Prius, and charging it at home, and he said a tank of gas had lasted him 1400 km… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-petrolhead-me-test-drives-the-nissan-leaf/624331.md?page=1)