Is the quickest way to charge a Nissan Leaf... by towing?

When you have a Nissan Leaf with an empty battery, desperately need to get somewhere and there's no charging station around, your options are pretty limited. For the moment at least, Nissan will gladly tow your EV at no cost, though something tells us the driver may have an issue with being your personal chauffeur. But there may be another alternative to help you get where you're going. As one enterprising Leaf driver recently found out, towing the vehicle using a tow bar actually quickly charges the batteries thanks to the vehicle's regenerative braking.

Now, as you can tell from the video after the break, this may not be the best thing for the Leaf's powertrain. The owner's manual specifically warns against towing in this manner unless it's a dire emergency, and the Leaf's computer seems all kinds of out of sorts after a brief tow session behind a Toyota Tundra. We wouldn't be surprised if this even led to warranty issues down the line, too. The bottom line is that while the stunt makes for compelling internet entertainment, it's not something we'd recommend trying at home. Be warned that the video may be a little NSFW due to some brief foul language (the audio is in Dutch, but there are English subtitles). Check it out after the jump.