I got to drive the Nissan Leaf test car during the current nation wide tour.
We waited in a short line at the Sonoma County Water District for our turn behind the wheel of the test car. They also had their current model show car there behind the no-touchy rail. That didn't stop us from going in and checking it out though. There are plenty of pictures of it online so I won't bore you with the details. Enough to say it looked pretty good overall. Good fit and finish, with the possible exception of the charge connection door. Seemed to be a bit out of whack. That could have been due to being man handled by the public.
Driving the test car was a load of fun. Much smoother than the EV conversions I have driven. Regenerative braking was noticeable but not overly strong. Pretty good pick up. I didn't time it or anything and I definitely did not get to 60 in the parking lot. Slight whine from the motor when starting out, then that sound was drowned out by other slight noise.
Fairly plain interior except for the GPS and surrounding cluster. Really big battery meter disguised as a gas gauge.
The highlight of the hour was the little elderly lady that drove the car before me. I think she literally stomped on the accelerator when she started. I don't think it is possible to burn out in the Leaf, but she came as close as possible. She completed the parking lot loop in record time and only hit one cone when she came back in.
I'm going to get an opportunity tomorrow. Your test ride was in a prototype machine (A Nissan Versa ??), I take it? The Nissan people I talked with over the weekend weren't clear whether the test ride event I would be at would have a functional LEAF or the Versa.
BTW What I found interesting about the charger port is there are two connectors. One, the J1772, is for 240v charging, the other, a proprietary connector, is for 440vDC high speed charging. That means high speed charging is requiring a proprietary connector. Sigh.
- David Herron, The Long Tail Pipe, davidherron.com, 7gen.com, What is Reiki
We didn't drive the real leaf, but close to it
Both the charger ports look proprietary to me.
The quick charge port (the larger one) has to large contacts and looks vaguely European in its design. The 220 port is similar, but of course smaller. Apparently there is a 110 port as well but it has not been integrated into the normal charging port yet. It was some connection under the rear of the car.
Luther Burrell, Mesa, Arizona, USA
Rides: ZuumCraft from zuumcraft.com
Previous Rides: Blue Vectrix Maxi scooter
That was the car I drove this morning. Just posted my article: Nissan LEAF (almost) test ride, impressions, and the LEAF tour and should have some video up later tonight. I've got a dozen or so article up on that site about the LEAF.
The test mule car did really well but it was a small track (just the top of a parking garage) so there wasn't much room to really let it rip. The acceleration was good, handling good, comfortable, etc.
They told me the fast charging port simply hasn't been standardized yet. There is a standards committee working on it, but having dealt with standards committees I know very well that they can take awhile to cogitate their way through every detail. Nissan didn't want to wait that long.
- David Herron, The Long Tail Pipe, davidherron.com, 7gen.com, What is Reiki
A little video:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsWbkzXcMQM
- David Herron, The Long Tail Pipe, davidherron.com, 7gen.com, What is Reiki