O Leaf é uma maravilha de conduzir
Enviado: 20 mar 2011, 15:15
O Leaf é uma maravilha de conduzir
"Recently, the Nissan LEAF came to the Washington, D.C. area on their national Nissan LEAF tour. It gave potential owners the opportunity to really look at the LEAF and to take it for a test drive.
Overall, the car was actually a real joy to drive and clearly a car that has had an insane amount of research and development put into it. As a 5 passenger sedan, the car is really zippy and fun, is quiet, and best of all, a real win for the environment.
Space and design
While the Nissan LEAF may look like most other sedans on the market, it is well designed given it's low price tag of $33,720. The car is very spacious and has a multifunctional steering wheel, which is perfect for helping the driver to keep their eyes on the road while being able to control the volume, check the battery levels or even answer a phone call using the blue tooth enabled computer system.
Performance
As an electric vehicle, most people would assume that the LEAF would be sluggish. This couldn't be farther from the truth. The LEAF has excellent acceleration and handling. There is an optional eco mode that can help to save on the battery. This eco mode reduces the speed of the acceleration. While this may seem like something no driver would use, it actually makes a lot of sense, especially for commuters. What's the point of reducing battery life to have a better acceleration when you can only go 5 feet before stopping because of the traffic?
The vehicle is also incredibly quiet. With no engine noise it's amazing how little sound it makes. In fact, it's so quiet that they have an external speaker that puts out engine noise when the car is going under 18 miles per hour so that pedestrians are aware.
Bells and Whistles
If the car wasn't exciting enough, the technology that comes with the LEAF is pretty amazing. Knowing that customers would worry over the ability to charge the vehicle, the LEAF has a built in navigation system that tells you where the nearest charging stations are. It can also tell you if someone is at those stations and can recommend another one close by. Another great feature is that you can use their mapping system to plan your routes and where there are charging stations nearby. So, if you have to run to the grocery store, the vet, the kids soccer practice and Home Depot, the car will tell you that there's a charging station at Home Depot and you can charge up the battery while you shop.
Integrating the car's system with mobile technology is genius. There's an app for iPhone that tells you the battery levels and charging levels. This enables you to always see how much of a capacity the car has, but also saves you a lot of time. If you go to a quick charging station, it takes about 30 minutes to charge from zero to 80 percent of the capacity. But most people won't be at zero when they pull in. If you're at 20 percent, instead of just coming back 30 minutes later you can see on your mobile phone where the charge is. Of course, most people will charge at home at their own docking station, but this is very helpful when running errands.
Maintenance
The most convenient feature of the LEAF is the ability to charge the vehicle at home. This is so much more convenient than having to stop for gas. And the good news is that if for any reason you don't have access to your charging station or a quick charge station, you can still plug in an auxiliary power cord into a dedicated 110 volt outlet and charge the vehicle. This will take a lot longer to charge, but it's a great option to have.
The biggest maintenance on the vehicle is rotating and replacing tires and windshield wipers. Other than that, there's no oil changes or emissions tests in most states. Nissan does want to do yearly check ups just to see how the car is doing, but that's much more convenient than replacing the oil every 3 months and is much more environmentally friendly.
Should there ever become an issue with the batteries, they are easily accessible and changeable by Nissan techs. Theoretically, if you buy a LEAF now and then the technology becomes better and the range longer in five years, you could replace all the batteries. Nissan has said that they will try to conform all future batteries to the current size. Hopefully they will be able to and the early adopters may replace batteries as needed/wanted. There's also a complimentary 3-year breakdown assistance. Should the vehicle run out of juice, a quick charge truck will come out and charge the vehicle in 20 minutes or so then you'll be on your way.
If you're on the fence about trying to purchase one now versus waiting a few years, the recommendation is to purchase now because of all the government and local tax credits and incentives. Right now you can get a $7,500 federal credit towards the purchase of the LEAF, plus additional state incentives in Maryland and Virginia. The cost of the charging stations is being reimbursed by grants, so that it's pretty much free.
While there is the risk of being an early adopter, the risk of waiting is greater. With the current congress, programs that support clean, alternative energy are being targeted for budget cuts. This means that the current incentives probably won't be around in 3-5 years, so purchasing the Nissan LEAF now is definitely worth it.
Getting your reservation in is also important as Nissan plans on producing only 20,000 vehicles in the initial run until the new plant in Tennesse gets up and running in 2013. Nissan is planning on rolling out the vehicles to dealerships starting on the west coast first in states like California and then slowly making their way east, so that those in the DC region will be among the last to be able to order. The reason for this is infrastructure. California currently has a more dense infrastructure of charging stations. DC is working on it, but it will still take a few years, which is why our region is the last to place orders."
Em: http://www.examiner.com/green-living-in ... ive-review
"Recently, the Nissan LEAF came to the Washington, D.C. area on their national Nissan LEAF tour. It gave potential owners the opportunity to really look at the LEAF and to take it for a test drive.
Overall, the car was actually a real joy to drive and clearly a car that has had an insane amount of research and development put into it. As a 5 passenger sedan, the car is really zippy and fun, is quiet, and best of all, a real win for the environment.
Space and design
While the Nissan LEAF may look like most other sedans on the market, it is well designed given it's low price tag of $33,720. The car is very spacious and has a multifunctional steering wheel, which is perfect for helping the driver to keep their eyes on the road while being able to control the volume, check the battery levels or even answer a phone call using the blue tooth enabled computer system.
Performance
As an electric vehicle, most people would assume that the LEAF would be sluggish. This couldn't be farther from the truth. The LEAF has excellent acceleration and handling. There is an optional eco mode that can help to save on the battery. This eco mode reduces the speed of the acceleration. While this may seem like something no driver would use, it actually makes a lot of sense, especially for commuters. What's the point of reducing battery life to have a better acceleration when you can only go 5 feet before stopping because of the traffic?
The vehicle is also incredibly quiet. With no engine noise it's amazing how little sound it makes. In fact, it's so quiet that they have an external speaker that puts out engine noise when the car is going under 18 miles per hour so that pedestrians are aware.
Bells and Whistles
If the car wasn't exciting enough, the technology that comes with the LEAF is pretty amazing. Knowing that customers would worry over the ability to charge the vehicle, the LEAF has a built in navigation system that tells you where the nearest charging stations are. It can also tell you if someone is at those stations and can recommend another one close by. Another great feature is that you can use their mapping system to plan your routes and where there are charging stations nearby. So, if you have to run to the grocery store, the vet, the kids soccer practice and Home Depot, the car will tell you that there's a charging station at Home Depot and you can charge up the battery while you shop.
Integrating the car's system with mobile technology is genius. There's an app for iPhone that tells you the battery levels and charging levels. This enables you to always see how much of a capacity the car has, but also saves you a lot of time. If you go to a quick charging station, it takes about 30 minutes to charge from zero to 80 percent of the capacity. But most people won't be at zero when they pull in. If you're at 20 percent, instead of just coming back 30 minutes later you can see on your mobile phone where the charge is. Of course, most people will charge at home at their own docking station, but this is very helpful when running errands.
Maintenance
The most convenient feature of the LEAF is the ability to charge the vehicle at home. This is so much more convenient than having to stop for gas. And the good news is that if for any reason you don't have access to your charging station or a quick charge station, you can still plug in an auxiliary power cord into a dedicated 110 volt outlet and charge the vehicle. This will take a lot longer to charge, but it's a great option to have.
The biggest maintenance on the vehicle is rotating and replacing tires and windshield wipers. Other than that, there's no oil changes or emissions tests in most states. Nissan does want to do yearly check ups just to see how the car is doing, but that's much more convenient than replacing the oil every 3 months and is much more environmentally friendly.
Should there ever become an issue with the batteries, they are easily accessible and changeable by Nissan techs. Theoretically, if you buy a LEAF now and then the technology becomes better and the range longer in five years, you could replace all the batteries. Nissan has said that they will try to conform all future batteries to the current size. Hopefully they will be able to and the early adopters may replace batteries as needed/wanted. There's also a complimentary 3-year breakdown assistance. Should the vehicle run out of juice, a quick charge truck will come out and charge the vehicle in 20 minutes or so then you'll be on your way.
If you're on the fence about trying to purchase one now versus waiting a few years, the recommendation is to purchase now because of all the government and local tax credits and incentives. Right now you can get a $7,500 federal credit towards the purchase of the LEAF, plus additional state incentives in Maryland and Virginia. The cost of the charging stations is being reimbursed by grants, so that it's pretty much free.
While there is the risk of being an early adopter, the risk of waiting is greater. With the current congress, programs that support clean, alternative energy are being targeted for budget cuts. This means that the current incentives probably won't be around in 3-5 years, so purchasing the Nissan LEAF now is definitely worth it.
Getting your reservation in is also important as Nissan plans on producing only 20,000 vehicles in the initial run until the new plant in Tennesse gets up and running in 2013. Nissan is planning on rolling out the vehicles to dealerships starting on the west coast first in states like California and then slowly making their way east, so that those in the DC region will be among the last to be able to order. The reason for this is infrastructure. California currently has a more dense infrastructure of charging stations. DC is working on it, but it will still take a few years, which is why our region is the last to place orders."
Em: http://www.examiner.com/green-living-in ... ive-review