So yesterday I went up to UCF to test drive the new Nissan Leaf and I pretty much liked it.
I have to admit though the thought of never putting gas in the car, not checking oil or other maintenance items is weird. I guess I could find some sort of normalcy in having to check the fluid levels for coolant, brakes and the wipers?
Looking under the car was a bit freaky as well. Where is the exhaust, the catalytic converter/test pipe (oops did I just say that), and resonator? Wait, were there axles? There was nothing under there except a covering designed to flow air under the car.
So this car is just something you just get in and drive and don't think about? No drips on the driveway to make you investigate which seal isn't happy? The thought of "Will this make drivers in the US even more complacent in driving a car on the road?" scared me a bit.
Oh and the biggest thing that got me, no stick shift to put the car into gear or rest my hand on while driving? Take yourself back to - if you can - the days where the shifter was on the steering column. Yeah for those of us who can remember when we did that it is just kind of weird to feel that again because the stick shift is now a knob really. Just push over to the left and then down and bam you're in drive. To park, push the P button on the knob. Wait? What? Weird. It would be something to adjust or readjust to.
The drive was nice. The suspension a bit soft. Not floating couch soft but take a right hand sweeper at the normal posted speed and you can feel the suspension bearing down on the right front tire.
The recycled material seats were comfy but almost felt like memory foam which was comfy but weird because it didn't really feel like a drivers seat to me? Sitting in the back you have room but the back seat passenger couldn't put their feet under the front seat of the driver or passenger which would make long road trips uncomfortable.
The - what I am guessing is a 1 speed transmission - makes the torque feel weird because it is constant. No break between gears. Which means no low end torque pulls which I enjoy doing in gears 1 - 5 of my Hondas'. Its not a bad thing, just odd. The car pulls but just pulls and pulls and pulls. lol
Am I totally put off by the idea of driving an electric car where part of my road trip across the state would include a stop for a 30 minute charge? Yes and no. See I am the driver who stops for gas/bathroom and I'm back on the road ASAP. Having to plan an extra 30 minutes or more if the charging stations are full is not really making me smile right now. But Nissan will tell the car hey, that charging station is all full right now, try this one instead. That is an assist I like but still .... the added time to my trip would require me to change my style of travel.
But that is what the electric vehicle is about, change. Isn't it?
I also would like to see Nissan give you the 220 volt charger instead of having to buy it. 20 hours of charging time from home is not going to work with many drivers life. So if you purchase the car one would have to throw in the additional cost of the 220 volt charger, the charging station and 220 volt being ran to it. Giving the consumer the 220 volt charger would be one less cost and one more incentive to buy the charging station or run the 220 volt out to the garage/car port/etc.
At the end of the day I think it is pretty neat that our generation gets to see the development of the EV being put on to the road. Being around to see the installation of charging stations at our local petrol stations, malls restaurants and grocery stores. Much like those who witnessed the birth of gas pumps and stations pop up across the US when the Model T and others took to the roads.
For me a car is one to drive and one to be driven. And to own this car would mean it would have to be driven! I would like to see if it could be.
