2011 Nissan Leaf SL Specs, Prices, Pics and Reviews

The first disappointment with the Leaf, Nissan’s new electric car, is that it has only one 12-volt accessory port.

You might think that an EV could charge a cell phone unto eternity, but every watt of juice in the Leaf’s 192 lithium-ion battery cells is precious. Power not associated with forward motion comes at a cost. The headlights, air conditioning, and even the stereo all impact maximum range.

Nissan claims the Leaf can go 100 miles on a full charge based on the LA4 test cycle, which is the one used for the EPA city number and doesn’t employ hard acceleration or sustained speeds above 40 mph.

Range aside, the Leaf seems like a normal car. The control system and the drive motor sit under the hood, right where you would expect to find an engine. Slightly bigger than a Versa, the Leaf’s tall roof, pays headroom dividends and gives the cabin an airy feel. A few tricks minimize wind noise, which is more prevalent when there’s no exhaust note to offset the whooshing. The headlights sport fins that direct air away from the side mirrors, and the radio antenna is fashioned to be extra quiet. It works; on the highway, the most audible sound is tire noise from other cars.

The Leaf’s forte is short errands, where its linear power delivery and single-speed transmission take all the tedium out of stop-and-go traffic. It works so well that we started rationalizing our range concerns. Grip is SUV-like, at 0.79 g, but the low-positioned (in the floor beneath the seats), roughly 600-pound battery pack lends itself to the car’s stable handling. The steering, however, offers so little feedback, the front wheels might as well be casters operated by remote control. Acceleration keeps up with traffic but tapers toward the car’s 92-mph top speed. Zero to 60 comes in 10 seconds flat; add 8.7 seconds to hit 80.

And state-of-charge is always a concern. On an 88-degree afternoon, the Leaf predicted a 24-mile drop in range if we were to use the climate-control system. We managed 97 MPGe (miles per gallon equivalent), or 2.9 miles per kilowatt-hour, with the air conditioning off during a 19-mile run around town that included a short highway stretch. Based on our time with the Leaf, we expect it to comfortably do about 70 miles on a charge.

Unlike the Chevy Volt, the Leaf has no backup plan. And the range predictor varies wildly as you alter driving style. Run out of juice, and you’re stuck. A charge on 240-volt power takes seven hours, or as long as 19 hours on 120. High-voltage rapid chargers can do an 80-percent fill-up in half an hour, but such stations will be rare for years to come, and Nissan warns of significant battery degradation if this method is used often.

The base Leaf SV costs $33,600, excluding a $7500 federal tax credit; the uplevel SL model, for an extra $940, adds a few goodies such as automatic headlamps and a solar panel to charge the 12-volt battery. A lease also will be available, starting at $349 a month. 

Nissan’s rollout plan for the Leaf opens where the infrastructure will grow fastest, starting on the West Coast and in Nissan’s home state of  Tennessee in December. Nationwide availability begins in the fall of 2011.

The Leaf’s limitations remind us that gas- and diesel-powered vehicles aren’t doomed to history’s dustbin just yet. The Leaf isn’t a primary car for most people, even if their driving habits are well within its capabilities. But the Leaf trumps every other car on the market in one way: enough green smugness to flip the bird to every Prius driver on the road. That’s worth a little sacrifice.

Specifications

VEHICLE TYPE: front-motor, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door hatchback 

PRICE AS TESTED: $35,240 (base price: $34,540) 

MOTOR TYPE: AC permanent-magnet synchronous electric motor, 107 hp, 207 lb-ft 

TRANSMISSION: 1-speed direct drive 

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 106.3 in Length: 175.0 in 
Width: 69.7 in Height: 61.0 in 
Curb weight: 3366 lb 

C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 10.0 sec 
Street start, 5-60 mph: 9.8 sec 
Standing ¼-mile: 17.6 sec @ 78 mph 
Top speed (governor limited): 92 mph, 
Braking, 70-0 mph: 185 ft 
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.79 g

FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: TBD 
C/D Observed: 97 MPGe 

To go along with the coming surge of new-technology vehicles, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation are revising the fuel-economy labels for 2012 that are required on all new cars and light-duty trucks. But the new labels aren’t final yet; two designs were shown, and the definitive label won’t be ready in time for the 2011 Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf.

Today’s EV sticker lists EPA city and highway efficiency in units of kWh/100 miles, which makes it pretty tough for a non-calculator-wielding consumer to compare economy at a glance with, say, a hybrid that’s rated in miles per gallon.

The proposals show that cars will be rated on a miles-per-gallon-equivalent (MPGe) scale, which converts alternative means of propulsion—such as electricity or natural gas—based on their energy content relative to that of gasoline (for example, 33.7 kWh = 1 gallon of gas). Vehicles with multiple operating modes, such as the Volt, will get separate ratings for each one. Another metric listed for battery-powered vehicles is the required recharging time, although the assumed power source isn’t given. The new labels also add two emissions scores: one for tailpipe CO2 emissions and another for other air pollutants. Some argue, however, that EVs should be penalized for CO2 emitted during the creation of the electricity they use. Learn More...

Source : http://www.caranddriver.com