My Ride In A Leaf

My friend Rob is the proud new owner of a Nissan Leaf electric car, and was nice enough to take me and some friends for a ride in it. It's hard to take photos of the quietness and the lack of emissions, but here's a quick summary.

One of the first things i noticed was the 'gearstick' - with just P,R,N and D. Nissan's CV transmission means having the convenience of an auto, but with an even better range of gears.

So one of the first things we did was test the gears (and the power). Dispelling any myth about electric cars not having enough power, we cruised up one of the steeper streets in Brisbane - and without the neighbourhood-shaking sound a petrol car would make.

Another major difference was the dashboard display, which calculates your driving efficiency, and (for those with range anxiety) how much distance you have remaining.

The circles across the top indicate the power flow. This photo shows the car at rest. The dot moves to the right to indicate how much power is being consumed, and to the left when you are braking - to show how much power is being recycled back into the battery.

Despite what i said earlier about the difficulty of photographing an absence of emissions, Rob had this sticker on his old car. Clever :)

[Read Part 2 - Charging the Leaf]