"The debate over the vehicle of the future and how it will be propelled has been going on for years and shows no signs of letting up.
With gasoline prices constantly on the rise and concern over greenhouse-gas emissions, consumers and carmakers are constantly looking for ways to improve fuel economy or, in some cases, eliminate the use of gasoline altogether.
Much has been made about the possibility of hydrogen-powered vehicles, but many hurdles remain before that kind of technology can become mainstream.
The other solution is the electric car, something many scoffed at when the idea was first floated.
But after years of talk and experimenting, they are now a reality on Canadian roads.
The Nissan LEAF, a zero-emission electric vehicle, went on sale recently, albeit in very limited quantities – with only 100 made available in our market. The number of LEAFs available in Canada is expected to rise in the coming years as production ramps up.
Pricing starts at $38,395, but the Quebec government gives you a rebate of up to $8,000 and a rebate of $1,000 toward the installation of a 220-volt charging station in the home.
After a brief drive of the LEAF during a media preview of the car, Nissan handed me the keys to one for a few days so I could get a better feel and understanding for it.
The short two-day test reinforced my initial impressions of the LEAF, which were extremely positive.
From a driving perspective, there is really no difference motoring around town in a LEAF compared to a traditional gasoline-powered vehicle.
Well, that isn’t entirely true. There are a few huge differences: You are emitting now harmful gases into the environment, even when stopped in Montreal’s numerous traffic jams, and the LEAF is absolutely silent.
And that lack of noise was one of the biggest questions I got while driving the LEAF. In fact, Nissan does have a system that emits a sound – kind of like a low whistle – when the LEAF is moving at low speeds up to 30 kilometres per hour.
When reversing, the LEAF also emits a constant beeping noise, something we are used to hearing from trucks and larger vehicles.
One of the biggest concerns about electric vehicles is their range. Nissan says the LEAF should be able to get 160 kilometres on a full charge, but that it can vary from as high as 210 km to 110 km depending on driving conditions and habits. The LEAF has two drive modes: standard and ECO, with the latter helping control energy consumption and increasing your range.
But Nissan believes that should be enough for most consumers, and statistics prove their point. They say that 90 per cent of Canadians commute less than 60 kilometres per day, and the average Canadian commute is 25 km.
My round-trip commute from the West Island to downtown Montreal is about 70 kilometres and I was able to accomplish it with ease in the LEAF, with the car telling me I had 60 km worth of battery power left when I got home.
I have to admit, however, that I found myself constantly checking the range indicator in the dashboard to make sure I wasn’t getting too low on juice. It was to be expected, and one has to assume that once you know your LEAF, that habit will stop.
Recharging the LEAF’s battery is another issue consumers face, and there are three ways to do so:
- The standard 110-volt plug found in any home, which takes up to 18 hours for a full charge from a dead battery.
- The 220-volt quick charging stations, which must be installed in the consumer’s home at their own expense, but cuts the charging time down to seven hours from a dead battery.
- Three-stage power, which can give you an 80 per cent charge in 30 minutes. Unfortunately, there are no such charging stations anywhere in Canada at the moment.
When I plugged the LEAF in the first night around 11 p.m., the battery wasn’t fully charged until 11 the next morning. However, the next night, charging took two hours less.
The LEAF is also programmable, meaning you can set timers for charging and to activate the climate system before you leave the house in the morning. This can be done via the on-board computer or an iPhone app. The bonus is that if you use the climate system while the LEAF is plugged in, you are using grid power and not draining the battery.
Other than the fact you have to plug your car in at the end of you day, the LEAF has everything you expect in a normal car. The four-door car seats up to five passengers and offers plenty of cargo space behind the rear bench.
And the LEAF doesn’t cheap out on features, coming with air conditioning, heated front and rear seats, a heated steering wheel, Bluetooth capability, satellite radio and much more.
As it happened, the week I had the LEAF saw gasoline prices shoot up to $1.41 a litre. But I caught myself smiling because I could bypass all those gas stations and use Quebec’s cheaper electricity to get where I needed to go.
One day in the not too distant future, that may be the case for many more of us."
Em: http://www.driving.ca/Nissan+LEAF+just+ ... story.html