Nissan Leaf. Another ugly EV.

[Old Tele man]

...you'll have to pardon my "wicked" sense-of-humor, but the first thing I thought was "...turning over a new Leaf?" and visualizing a bug with it's legs (wheels) up in the air wriggling!

[vinny1989]

Originally Posted by groar

vinny1989: only newer (2nd / 3rd gen) megane are ugly
...
Denis.

Thats the version i meant - 2nd gen. The front is ok, but the back is soo ugly, and badly designed.

[MPaulHolmes]

I would just like to say that I think it's ugly. I think it's funny that they specifically designed it to look "normal".

[jkp1187]

Originally Posted by orange4boy

That is better.

The main area of concern in my mind is the rear end. Everything in front of the rear wheel well is all right if you ignore the side view profile. Everything below the rear hatch window is what the call in the industry a cluster f***.

Agree with you about the rear - it reminds me of the latest abortion of styling applied to Acura's current-gen TL.

Any idea on the sort of range it's supposed to have?

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi,

It's supposed to have ~100 mile range.

The Nissan Leaf - Another EV! | Hypermiling, Fuel Economy, and EcoModding News - EcoModder.com

[chuckm]

I think it will actually work out 100+. It sounded like 100 was achieved with multiple passengers and "normal" driving.

[cfg83]

NeilBlanchard -

100 miles is pretty impressive, but it's not clear to me what the street/highway assumption is. That could work for my commute. The 16 hour charge is too long. I do have a 220 line. Would the 240 volt plug work with that? This is what I like because it agrees with my (easy to make) prediction :

The battery pack is ~200kg (440 pounds) and is made up of 48 laptop-sized modules (each of which has 4 magazine-sized cells). These are thin, laminated lithium ion cells (that may be similar to the battery used in the newest MacBook Pro laptops)

Unlike the H2 car poll, Hybrids and Electrics are benefiting from the PC/Electronics industry battery tech (and versa-visa?!?!).

CarloSW2

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi Carlos,

Yes, 220v is the same as 240v -- just like we can refer to 110v as 115v or 120v. So, with 220-240v it takes ~8 hours to charge the Leaf. Hopefully, we get some of these fast charging 3-phase charging stations, too.

The range test (called US LA4 mode) is apparently mostly "low" speed. and we'll have to wait to hear how it does in the "real world". Hopefully they have designed the coasting and regenerative braking a little more elegantly than the Mini E.

[RandomFact314]

Its not all that ugly

[orange4boy]

No, It's not that bad compared to many cars on the road. Taste is somewhat subjective. I'm a pretty harsh critic, though being a designer, you have to be. I'm planning on changing my own kammback right now to make it look better.

It's growing on me... I actually wish I had not made such a damming title for the thread.