SV 4dr Hatchback
2011 Nissan LEAF

2011 LEAF Photos
Nissan Leaf – Click above for high-res image gallery Nissan has gone into a back room, pulled out its Ouija board and decided that the time is right to make a huge bet. The Japanese automaker, along with its partner Renault, wants to be the world leader in pure electric vehicles. Even though you can go buy an Altima hybrid right now, the company didn't develop its own gas-electric technology (the sedan uses Toyota tech). This time around, Nissan believes the future belongs to vehicles without an internal combustion engine (ICE) and is preparing to put its own foot forward. It's way too early to know for sure, but Nissan's gamble could pay off handsomely. Toyota leads the hybrid race, General Motors and others are adding plugs to vehicles with liquid-fueled engines, but no major automaker has claimed the pure EV pole position. If everything goes right, Nissan will be that automaker. The flagship vehicle for the automaker is, of course, the Leaf EV hatchback, which was unveiled in August and recently made its North American debut in Los Angeles. We were on hand to take a Leaf mule out for a short (very short) spin and heard directly from Nissan how this unique-looking EV will secure Nissan's place in the auto industry as tremendous changes take place in the coming years. Follow us after the jump to learn about Nissan's wager and find out if the Leaf has got the potential to (silently) propel the company to the top. %Gallery-78701% Photos copyright ©2009 Sebastian Blanco / Weblogs, Inc. The short answer is, yes, the Leaf is a promising piece of machinery and fans of pure EVs can safely celebrate what Nissan is doing here. Drivers who need to drive long distances can stick with ICEs for now; those who like the idea of battery power but don't want to rely solely on electrons should consider the forthcoming Chevrolet Volt. For battery electric vehicle (BEV) fans who want a major brand name plastered on their zero-emission vehicle, there are a small handful of options: the Ford Focus BEV, Renault's varied line-up, and the Nissan Leaf. Like the competition, the Leaf offers about 100 miles of range and a decent recharge time – you can get an 80-percent quick charge using a special charger in 30 minutes, while a more common 200V outlet will need about eight hours to fully charge the lithium ion battery pack. These numbers don't make sense for everyone, but Nissan doesn't care. All that matters is that they make sense for enough people. As reported previously, Nissan believes that plug-in vehicles will make up ten percent of the new car market by 2020. By considering who makes up this ten percent, Nissan contends that range anxiety and other worries that BEV critics throw out aren't a big deal. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn told Autoblog that since Nissan will lease the batteries at a competitive price, the customer experience will be simplified, leading to plenty of …
Full Review
Nissan Leaf – Click above for high-res image gallery Nissan has gone into a back room, pulled out its Ouija board and decided that the time is right to make a huge bet. The Japanese automaker, along with its partner Renault, wants to be the world leader in pure electric vehicles. Even though you can go buy an Altima hybrid right now, the company didn't develop its own gas-electric technology (the sedan uses Toyota tech). This time around, Nissan believes the future belongs to vehicles without an internal combustion engine (ICE) and is preparing to put its own foot forward. It's way too early to know for sure, but Nissan's gamble could pay off handsomely. Toyota leads the hybrid race, General Motors and others are adding plugs to vehicles with liquid-fueled engines, but no major automaker has claimed the pure EV pole position. If everything goes right, Nissan will be that automaker. The flagship vehicle for the automaker is, of course, the Leaf EV hatchback, which was unveiled in August and recently made its North American debut in Los Angeles. We were on hand to take a Leaf mule out for a short (very short) spin and heard directly from Nissan how this unique-looking EV will secure Nissan's place in the auto industry as tremendous changes take place in the coming years. Follow us after the jump to learn about Nissan's wager and find out if the Leaf has got the potential to (silently) propel the company to the top. %Gallery-78701% Photos copyright ©2009 Sebastian Blanco / Weblogs, Inc. The short answer is, yes, the Leaf is a promising piece of machinery and fans of pure EVs can safely celebrate what Nissan is doing here. Drivers who need to drive long distances can stick with ICEs for now; those who like the idea of battery power but don't want to rely solely on electrons should consider the forthcoming Chevrolet Volt. For battery electric vehicle (BEV) fans who want a major brand name plastered on their zero-emission vehicle, there are a small handful of options: the Ford Focus BEV, Renault's varied line-up, and the Nissan Leaf. Like the competition, the Leaf offers about 100 miles of range and a decent recharge time – you can get an 80-percent quick charge using a special charger in 30 minutes, while a more common 200V outlet will need about eight hours to fully charge the lithium ion battery pack. These numbers don't make sense for everyone, but Nissan doesn't care. All that matters is that they make sense for enough people. As reported previously, Nissan believes that plug-in vehicles will make up ten percent of the new car market by 2020. By considering who makes up this ten percent, Nissan contends that range anxiety and other worries that BEV critics throw out aren't a big deal. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn told Autoblog that since Nissan will lease the batteries at a competitive price, the customer experience will be simplified, leading to plenty of …
Hide Full Review

Retail Price

$32,780 MSRP / Window Sticker Price
Engine
MPG 106 City / 92 Hwy
Seating 5 Passengers
Transmission 1-spd auto
Power 107 @ rpm
Drivetrain front-wheel
Smart Buy Program is powered by powered by TrueCar®
Autoblog Advertisement