By Truman Lewis
ConsumerAffairs.com
The Nissan Leaf is sold out for now, even though not a single car has yet been delivered to a U.S. customer.The company had expected to reach its target of 20,000 reservations for the all-electric Leaf in December, but said today that it had already hit that target and would not be taking any more orders, at least for now.
The Leaf and General Motors' Chevrolet Volt are both eagerly awaited by consumers who like the idea of plugging their car in at night, then driving it to work and back the next day. Toyota has said it will have a plug-in Prius ready by next year.
Nissan will begin selling the Leaf in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona and Tennessee at the end of the year, adding Texas and Hawaii to the list in January 2011. Sales will go nationwide by the end of 2011.
On Oct. 1, Nissan begins a tour of markets around the country to let consumers ogle and test drive the car. See the full list here.
The little car is about the size of a Nissan Versa. It is powered by an 80-kilowatt electric motor that produces 107 horsepower. The car's top speed is said to be 90 miles per hour.
While the Leaf is touted as a "zero-emission" vehicle, the electricity used to charge its battery comes from somewhere. Ask anyone who lives near a coal-fired generating plant how "emission-free" that is. Nevertheless, its fans say, the Leaf and other battery-powered cars are eco-friendly and, just as important, economical.
Is it for you?
Nissan estimates that the Leaf will use about $400 worth of electricity to go as far as you'd go on $1,800 worth of $3-per-gallon gas. Of course, everything is subject to local factors -- including the cost of electricity where you live, not to mention terrain, weather conditions and how heavy your foot is.
Just as with gasoline-powered cars, driving the Leaf fast will cost you. The faster you go, the higher the wind resistance the car encounters. Most cars get their best highway mileage around 55 miles per hour, although this admittedly increases the risk of being rear-ended if not outright flattened on most urban freeways.
The Leaf has been generating a lot of positive press from reviewers, who like its zippy feel but not its tippy behavior in corners. Some reviewers have also said the steering is sluggish, requiring a lot of wheel-twisting before much happens.
Most important, though, is range -- how far the thing will go on a charge. Nissan says it should be able to go 100 miles. Again, it all depends on weather conditions, terrain, traffic and your driving style.
A close second is charging time. Nissan estimates it can take up to 20 hours -- yes, that's 20 hours -- to charge an almost dead battery using a plain old 110/120-volt circuit, the kind most homes have. If you have a 220/240-volt plug -- the kind your dryer plugs into -- the charging time is cut to eight hours.
Ponder these two factors carefully before you commit. The United States is a big, big place and a lot of us routinely drive 50 or more miles per day. A couple of unexpected trips, especially one that interrupts the charging cycle, and the Leaf can wind up as dead as that cell phone you've been talking on for the last few hours.
