Coming from Jaguar, Switch EV trial driver calls Nissan Leaf a "winner"

Nissan has finally delivered fourteen of its Leafs to England's Switch EV project. The trial, which began back in September of 2010, gives drivers first-hand experience in electric vehicles. Selected participants essentially own one of the Switch EV vehicles for six months and are asked to report on their encounters on a regular basis. Mick English, one of the first EV trail drivers to take delivery of the Leaf, has enthusiastically blogged his first impressions of the electric hatch:

From a driver's perspective it [the Leaf] was an absolute dream and the performance matched any car on the road. My normal car is a Jaguar X Type 2.2 Diesel and after taking away the limitations of the EV range, this car performs equally as good.

Wow, that's some praise. As expected, the Leaf's limited range caused some initial concern and kept English on his toes whenever pushing the Leaf near its limit. Additionally, English pointed out that it was hard to take his eyes off the vehicle's range display, but never once did the Leaf fail to deliver its promised range.

English sums up his initial impressions of the Leaf like this:

I feel fortunate to be in at the beginning of this ground breaking trial, the car is a great ride and looks good, and if Nissan can get people into the driving seats and overcome their initial apprehension about driving range, they will certainly sell cars and be onto a winner.

Click here to read English's entry and more blog posts from Switch EV trial members.

[Source: Switch EV]