2011 Nissan Leaf SL. Photograph by Robert Latham |
Electric vehicles have a turbulent history within the
American automobile industry. The first
all-electric cars were introduced in the late 1800’s when the American automobile
industry was in its infancy. Several
fuels were competing at that time, including steam, electricity, and of course
gasoline. Over time, people realized the
steam cars were too impractical, and the electric vehicles took too long to
recharge with not enough range, so eventually, gasoline won out.
Shortly after Hurricane Katrina decimated
New Orleans in 2005 fuel prices started an unprecedented rise. Gas prices have more than doubled since March
13, 2000, which was the first time in our nation’s history the price of gas
crossed the $1.50 per gallon threshold.
The past 13 years have seen the shortest time period for a doubling of
the price of gasoline in history. Unfortunately
for our national economic interests, coffee isn’t the only black liquid
Americans are hopelessly addicted to, so this substantial rise in gasoline
prices has caused major economic consequences.
Enter part of the solution, the Nissan LEAF.
When I arrived to take my LEAF test
drive, I didn’t know what to expect.
Nissan’s press kit on the vehicle raved about how painstaking measures
were taken with the vehicle to reduce wind noise. They included
a specially designed antenna and
headlights that cut the air to create less drag and noise around the rear view
mirrors amongst other things. At 29 years old I’ve certainly driven
my fair share of vehicles. My aging
Honda Accord is car #18 for me. This, coupled
with stints working at car dealerships actually selling the things, I’ve likely
driven somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 different makes and models, a fair
number of them with gas/electric hybrid power trains, including Nissan’s own Altima, 3 models each
from Toyota, Honda and Lexus, one Chevy and two Fords. Even with the extensive behind the wheel
experience I have, one of my friends who currently drives a Prius but had in
the past driven a GM EV1, cautioned me to expect something radically different
from any of the hybrids I’ve driven.
When I sat in the driver’s seat,
the first thing I noticed was how conventional the interior of the car is. Gearshift? Check. Radio? Check. Climate control? Check. Even the most important of features (yes, I’m
talking about you Mr. iPod Connector) was easy to find and smartly positioned. When I turned on the car, it sounded more
similar to when I start up my MacBook Pro than my Honda.
The LEAF is equipped with an
intelligent key, so all the driver needs to have is the key on their person in
order to get in the car, and start it.
Once the green ready light popped on, we were off! The eerie silence is fairly familiar to
anyone who is used to driving a Prius or other dual mode vehicle at low speeds,
one of the first sounds I noticed the car making was the turn signal.
One of the things, despite my
friends warnings, I had not prepared myself for is how hard it is to gauge
speed. At speed, the only noises the car
made were a slight whirring sound from the electric motor, and road noise from
the tires. Since the car has no
transmission, there are no gear changes to judge your current speed;
furthermore there are no engine noises whatsoever, so the only thing you have
to gauge your speed at all is other traffic and the speedometer. It’s impossible to explain how much you rely
on those other factors until they’re removed, and you’re driving 50 in a 35
zone.
The car rides exceptionally
smooth. Both power delivery and
suspension control are effortless and I barely noticed a few bumps that I
notice in my Honda. Even with the silky
smooth ride, the vehicle was able to comfortably take a highway on-ramp I
routinely use at speeds where other cars I have driven produce tire chirp and
start to feel a bit squirrely. At
highway speed, the only sounds you hear are the noises of other vehicles on the highway.
Many of the detractors of the LEAF
cite its high price and short range as reasons not to buy the car. While yes, 100 miles per charge (Nissan
Factory figure) and a $32,780 base MSRP on the LEAF is a bit intimidating, the
overall value of the vehicle is evident when you look at the hard numbers. First of all, very few people drive 100 miles
in a given day. For most of us, work is
within 10-15 miles of our home, and even for those on the high side at 15
miles, there is still plenty of drive time when you get back from work to head
to the grocery store, go to the gym, and potentially even have a local night
out on the town. The 8 hour charge time
is a downside, however, if the car is plugged in at night when it’s parked, for most people, that would be
well in excess of the 8 hour charge time.
As of the time of writing, pre-owned
Nissan Leaf pricing is starting to come down to the levels of comparable
cars. There are reasons for this that I
have neither the time, nor the space to get into, but that being said, a quick
search on Cars.com the other day yielded a 2011 Honda Civic, and a 2011 Nissan
Leaf with nearly identical equipment, and nearly identical mileage. The Leaf’s premium had dropped to just over
$1000. For fuel alone, the leaf has an
approximately $.10 per mile advantage over the Civic, which means the
additional cost of the Leaf would be made up in just 10,000 miles. Granted, at some point you will have to
replace the battery in the Leaf, but there’s also a good chance that when this
happens, a Leaf owner will likely just ditch the car without a significant drop
in the price of Lithium Ion batteries.
Overall, the Leaf (while a
spectacular feat of engineering) isn’t for everyone. If you live far out in the country, and
commute to Downtown DC every day, you might want to stick with a more
conventional vehicle for now as there is currently very limited EV charging
infrastructure in the Washington DC region. Over time, as more electric vehicle
charging infrastructure is added, the distance away from your daily routine and
where you live will become less of a factor.
Overall, I strongly recommend the
Leaf if you have the budget to have a car that’s strictly devoted to
short-distance driving, or even if you have a commute that’s less than 50-60
miles round trip every day, and you have the garage space for more than one
car, particularly if it's a vehicle you plan to buy new, or late model used. The Leaf is not the car for you if
it’s going to be your only car, and/or you routinely drive more than 60 miles
in one day. High mileage drivers in the
LEAF have already reported significant battery life drain, particularly those
in extremely hot weather climates, and those who rely heavily on fast-charging. These criticisms are significantly less
pronounced when you venture out of the states of Arizona and New Mexico, but
are still there.
One huge thing that’s going for it,
is as battery technology improves, and costs fall, a new battery
pack for the car at 100,000 miles could conceivably be a better and less
expensive than the one that was installed in the car from the
factory. At current replacement costs of
around $8,000 (estimated after calling a local dealer, but I couldn't get an exact quote on it) any reduction in price would be very much welcomed.
As far as buying one at the 100,000
mile mark goes? It has yet to be
determined. I very much wanted to give
this car a comfortable “BUY at 100K” rating, because it’s a car I absolutely
adore. Unfortunately the technology is
too new for that recommendation, despite that I see no reason why the body,
paint and interior materials shouldn’t hold up well past 100,000 miles. There is a strong chance I will end up with
one (at this moment, I am planning on purchasing a pre-owned LEAF at some point
in the mid 2013-mid 2014 time period), and you’ll get to see my writing on it, but
for now, wait for other early adapters to shake out the bugs before writing the
check. Because of that, unfortunately I
have to rate it as “Wait and See”.
On a final note, there is one great
feature of this car that I haven’t yet mentioned. When you’ve got one in your driveway, you’ve
just one-upped the smug Prius driver who lives 3 doors down.
For more information
on the Nissan LEAF please visit www.nissanusa.com/leaf.
Many details contained in this article were provided by Nissan USA.
Note: A version of
this post first appeared in the Loudoun Lantern Newspaper, a Student
Publication at Northern Virginia Community College. For the Original article please visit here: http://www.nvcc.edu/depts/loudoun/loudounnews/articles/C%20&%20C%20News/RobtertL_04_14_11_LEAF.html
This
version has been significantly updated and edited from the original, but still
relies on much of the original framework; including the original test drive,
and unpublished photos from the original Photo-shoot. The car pictured is a 2011 model year
vehicle.
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