TOKYO: Nissan LEAF
October 21st, 2009 by Richard Aucock
NISSAN is showing probably THE most significant mainstream car of the show – the electric-car LEAF.
Billed as a Ford Focus-sized five-seat family hatchback, it’s an electric-only car with a 100-mile range.
It’s not based on any current production model, so the design has been honed specifically for electric drive. This makes it efficient, quiet, safe and good to drive.
How do we know? We had a sample taster, and were knocked over with how ‘together’ it feels.
It’s almost silent and it would have no problem at all keeping up with a 1.6-litre family hatch. Even on the motorway.
It will be sold in the UK from 2012 – and, longer term, could even be built over here, if the firm’s Sunderland plant gets the contract.
Costs will remain an initial issue, as it’s unlikely to be as cheap as a regular petrol family hatch. But then, neither is the Toyota Prius, and look how they’re selling.
Nissan senior vice president Andy Palmer told us the education programme for customers will start next year. It goes mainstream in 2012: Nissan dealers thus have two years to teach the public about its many advantages, and convince them to overcome their range anxiety.
It includes many clever solutions to aid this, including some ingenious iPhone apps. Low running costs will be another draw, with a full charge costing many fractions the price of a full tank of fuel.
Could this car be ‘Nissan’s Prius’, becoming the defining standard by which all future mainstream electric cars will be judged? On our first evidence, we wouldn’t be surprised…
By Richard Aucock
October 24th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
With the concept of “V2H” (vehicle to home), the vehicle can supply 100V electricity stored in its on-board lithium-ion batteries to electric appliances in a house.
It is possible to charge the batteries at night, when electricity is cheaper, and use it for home appliances during daytime, Mitsubishi Motors said.
And the company claims that the batteries can provide almost all the electricity used in a normal household throughout the day.
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