The revolutionary electric vehicle 2012 Nissan Leaf has no engine, no exhaust, no transmission, and any fossil fuel is strictly excluded from his diet. Its futuristic silence, comfort, refinement and the ambitious plans and world around him seem to make it the first all-electric vehicle consumer in the world, the prophet-wheel electric vehicles of the 21st century. In the long ascent to heaven sustainable zero-emission, it is the logical next step plug-in hybrids.
Photo Gallery: 2012 Nissan Leaf
During our first contact with a Leaf series, we performed two carefully planned route, a loop of 30 km urban and one rural 50 km, which was always intended for journalists. According to Nissan, the Leaf has a range of 160 km on a full charge. In fact, despite the availability of this electric car for about an hour, car that has the potential to change the face of the automobile, most of our colleagues had already left the scene to write their articles.
Photo: Nissan But not us. After about 80 km of driving with a heavy foot in the sun at a temperature of 26 ˚ C, our test car had enough power reserves to drive for 45 km still under the needle gauge of our autonomy, although for which we indicated that we were only a "bar" of the red reserve. We wanted to try the Leaf once more on the urban loop of 30 km. "Are we expected to change cars? "Asked my co-pilot test that did not seem to have any fiber of a player. "No ... Let's see what happens. "
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We knew it would be tight but it is a decision that all future owners will eventually face Leaf, and many also choose to take the risk. Of course, my answer implies that if we fell down the side of the road, out of electrons, we would be missing our plane back home. And I would wear no doubt the responsibility of the whole episode.
Even if it only happens in one year, the education process begins today
Photo: Michael Bettencourt
The first electric car up to five of the modern era available in Canada is not expected until the fall of 2011 and will be delivered to consumers as a 2012 model. Yet here we are the headquarters of Nissan in the United States, near Nashville, not only to live our first experience of driving a Leaf series, just one month before the arrival of the car in the U.S. in December, but also to find out exactly what is involved in owning an electric car to the north of the border.
Much of this discovery can be done online. Nissan Canada has launched a site for "volunteers" (a kind of reservation) that details the process involved in electric mode of life, including the installation of a charger and a 240 volt outlet in the garage . While not mandatory, the faster charger is a highly recommended option, otherwise a full charge would take about 20 hours - against eight hours, which is much more user friendly. A circuit of 40 amps is required, which drives up the cost of installing electric averaged $ 2,000 in the United States, according to Nissan.
Guaranteed eight years/160, 000 km on battery power, but that decrease performance
Photo: Michael Bettencourt
The process of "voluntary" will become more formal this winter, after the price Canadian Leaf announced. According to a manufacturer's representative, it will be higher than the base price of U.S. $ 32 780. Tax incentives of $ 8,000 and $ 8,500 respectively in Quebec and Ontario will reduce its price. Other provinces - including British Columbia - and the federal government are considering (to varying degrees) their own measures.
In early spring, we will accept the first installment and assessment of the home / garage start. No parking will mean no Leaf, at least initially, with the limited number of vehicles that will be available here before the global launch mass in 2012.
Orders dealers and the first installations of charging stations begin next summer and guests can choose to buy or rent the Leaf, like any new car. Do not lose sight of the fact that the battery performance degrade over time, as recognized by Nissan, which will reduce the autonomy and, presumably, the power of the car. Nissan plans to lease the battery while selling the car but now says that the useful life of the battery would be 10 years and will be covered by a warranty of eight years/160, 000 km. The main question remains: what reduction from the guarantee of autonomy come into force?
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