subject: A Look At The Nissan Leaf [print this page] Nissan has traditionally been a company semi-hesitant to market alternative fuel and hybrid cars to the North American market. Part of this is because of worries over marketability in an environment that is very much in love with big cars and oil, as well as the fact that there is great competition with Toyota and Honda in the United States. However, Nissan is entering into a new arena with their development of electric vehicles and the lithium-ion batteries that support them. The company has been active in this pursuit since 1992 and are about to be rewarded for their efforts.
The company unveiled the revolutionary Nissan LEAF which has been designed as a C-segment hatchback with front-drive capacity and the ability to seat 4 to 5 people comfortably. This car was designed to be an everyday vehicle and Nissan notes that it meets the needs of 70 percent of the world's drivers. The car runs on electricity, has zero emissions and travels 100 miles before needing to be recharged.
Currently, 80 percent of United States drivers travel less than 62 miles per day round trip in their commute to and from work. The car also takes into account that not all terrain is created equal so motorists do not have to worry that their electricity is going to die or they are going to run out of batteries while going up a hill.
Nissan has made other style developments with the LEAF as well. For instance, instead of following suit with the Kammback, or a chopped off rear end in the style of Toyota or Honda, Nissan has chosen to help the LEAF fit in while it is on the road. The car is unique looking without looking out of place or space age and is designed to attract drivers who want an environmentally friendly alternative, but do not want to look like an alien while driving it. The LEAF compliments the other offerings by Nissan and fits well into the family of cars without looking like the step-child.
The interior offers a nice interior with plenty of room for regular sized adults to sit comfortably. The rear offers cargo room enough to carry a few sets of golf clubs. Finally, the Nissan LEAF employs the use of the lithium ion battery which has the ability to deliver over 90kW of power to the vehicle. With this battery, the car has 280Nm of torque and has the ability to top approximately 87 miles per hour from stop to full acceleration.
When the car needs to be recharged, the user simply has to plug the car into a 200 volt AC charger. If it is plugged into a standard wall outlet equipped in most homes, will usually double the time needed to charge. Nissan recommends that a user install a 220 volt hookup in their garage, this is the same type of outlet required by a washer or dryer for optimal use and will decrease the amount of time it takes to "re-boot" the car before tomorrow's commute.
