These last weeks we sat at the wheel of the 2011 Car of the Year, a very smooth and able electronic performer, the Nissan Leaf. But does it really turn a new leaf towards the (all) electronic age?

Hans Knol ten Bensel

It is astonishing how fast one gets used to driving these all-electric vehicles. After a few days of testing the Citroën C-Zero, we felt immediately at home pushing the starting button of the Nissan Leaf. Again we enjoyed the uncanny silence and smoothness of the engine, contributing greatly to a relaxed, “Zen” driving style, enjoying classic and intimate jazz music to the full. No need to accelerate briskly, no need to speed hurriedly on freeways and ring roads. Just enjoy the ride and the creature comfort of the car.

You get used to it in no time: the clever gear knob of the Leaf puts you in the right mode... and mood!

In terms of comfort, the Leaf scores very good, as the seats are quite comfortable and the interior space of this five seater is roomy. The light interior colour palette of our test car added further to the general feeling of airiness and refinement. The well placed controls invite even more to a relaxed driving style.

The body styling might not suit everyone’s taste, but it is rather pleasing to us, with a low-slung, abbreviated front-end design which is framed by the vertical blue LED headlights. These also direct airflow away from the door mirrors to improve the Nissan LEAF's aerodynamics.

The body was designed using Nissan's ‘smart fluidity' principle, combining visually pleasing flowing lines with aerodynamic efficiency. The kicked-up roofline blends into a large spoiler while the good aerodynamics are further helped by the flat, smooth underfloor.

And the driving range?

This time we got a bit more confident in driving an all-electric car, and now we used the heater, radio and other electric equipment as we would normally do. To our surprise, all this cost quite some battery power, and consequently, the driving range suffered substantially.

We found that driving off in the winter morning with a fully charged battery and an indicated driving range of some 155 kilometers, this range very soon dwindled to some 100 km and lower. Not that we were speeding: we accelerated slowly, say, going from 0 to 60 km in some 15-20 seconds, and topping a maximum speed of about 105 kilometres on the open road and motorways. In essence, just to stay ahead of the large trucks, keeping barely pace with the traffic flow. In effect, using some 15-20 horsepower, like if we were driving a pre-war saloon…

When charging at home, a transformator shows the status...

On a typical test day, we drove off in the morning, starting from some 15 km from the south of Brussels in light traffic to the edge of town, then driving to the Brussels Motor Show at the Heyzel. Then we spent 1,5 hours in heavy Brussels city traffic, and the range indicator dropped into the lower half of the range. We then drove back in the evening, some 15 km outside of Brussels, and we had barely 15-20 km of range left upon arrival, with more than 10 hours home charging time ahead of us. Our effective range (you do not want to “risk it” when the indicator shows less than 15 km) had thus in practice boiled down to some… 70 kilometres!

During the photo session, the indicator dropped some 15 kilometers in 10 minutes...

The next day, taking the car first for a photo session close at home, just stepping in and out of the car and leaving the heater on for some 25 minutes, “cost” us some 30 kilometres in range!

This, in our eyes, greatly limits the practical useability of our all-electric test car when no daytime charging is possible. It is not unusual nowadays to have some three-hour traffic jams in congestedBelgium, and coming home in your silent and smooth Leaf can then become a problem…

Charging the Leaf at home is easy, but takes quite a few hours... 

This indicates the urgent need for public quick charge points, otherwise the Leaf, despite all its ingenuity, is not a practical proposition.

Ingenious…

Because nevertheless, it is a clever car indeed. The LEAF is a totally new design built on a unique platform. At its heart is the Nissan-developed laminated compact lithium-ion battery. The battery is actually the result of decades of research and development: Nissan first used lithium-ion batteries in the…prototype Prairie Joy EV of 1996(!).

The electric motor and regulator actually look like a "classic" combustion engine... 

The Nissan LEAF stores its energy in 48 lithium-ion battery modules with four battery cells inside each module. The advanced laminated design allows for them to fit snugly beneath the floor of the car.

Responsive performance comes from the 80kw (108 bhp) electric motor that instantly generates its maximum 280 Nm of torque - equivalent to the torque of a conventional 2.5-litre V6 petrol engine - from a starting start. Nice in theory, we must admit we never ever used all this power during our test.

Coming back to the public charging points, The Nissan LEAF can be charged up to 80 per cent of its full capacity in just under 30 minutes with a public quick charger. At-home charging using a 240V - 16A outlet takes considerably longer – up to more than 10 hours.

Nissan gave us a charging card where we could charge up the car in quite a few Belgian Total charging stations, and this is what the car really needs.

Like we said, we drove the Leaf cautiously, using also the possibilities of the regenerative braking system to the full. We also adopted the driver-controlled Eco mode setting, which also can be used to reduce air conditioning.

Safe and sound…

As with conventional vehicles, the Nissan LEAF has an airbag system,ABS, Brake Assist, Vehicle Dynamics Control and pretensioner seatbelts as standard, along with a rear-view camera for safe and easy parking. The latter is an accessory we come to like very much on Nissan cars, and we think that every vehicle should have it.

Our conclusion…  

Easy and pleasant to drive, recharging at home is a breeze, but you have to do this for long hours every night if you use the car frequently for around town errands.

Unless public charging points become increasingly available, and admittedly it is possible already to charge the Nissan in not less than 12 Total charging stations inBelgium, the action radius is quite low. There are not less than 10 charging points in Brussels, but besides onlyONEcharging point inAntwerpand one in Jambes, NONE in the other major Belgian cities…

Renault promised us a test drive in their Fluence, which apparently has a slightly longer driving range. We are eagerly awaiting to get our hands on this car…

Hans Knol ten Bensel