Neil:
When we got a
demo of the Leaf a few weekends back, I asked the person who had it if he could "coast" the car by modulating the accelerator. He really had no idea - he appeared to be a very "typical" driver who didn't give a lot of thought to how his technique affected range/efficiency.
Do you know if you could also just pop it into "neutral" to coast? I'm sure the gear selector is just an electric switch - the transmission/motor are likely always engaged.