Nissan Leaf review from Consumer Reports

[CCVSquid]

@TheSaltyAdmiral - Very well said :]

[wkmcmahan]

My Leaf is my primary car. I drive 49 miles to work every day. My drive includes climbing over a mountain and then drive on an Interstate at 70 MPH. When I arrive at work my range meter shows that I have about 10 miles remaining. It takes under 5 hours to recharge it. I am at work for 11 hours, so its always read for the trip home. My leaf saves me about $12 a day in fuel cost compared to my 2002 Ford Taurus. I have 2400 miles on it and I love it!

[Jetkimchrea]

1. "find that a lot of the recharging stations are not in range" okay... but the technology and infrastructure will catch up, making stations more accessible. so half point for you.

2."Arnt any nobs to be found" NOT EVEN FOR THE VOLUME!!???OMG its the end of the world. Now hold on, am i sensing a bias?

3. "THE WEIRDEST PART IS A SHIFTER" I knew something was up with this review, its completely biased. SHUT THat shit UP BALD DUDE, THE WEIRDEST THING ABOUT YOU IS YOUR FACE!!! Nit picken ass!

[diggingforgold]

How would this *not* be a primary vehicle? How many people for the majority of the year drive over 65 miles per day? Maybe 10% of the our nations population? I have a 45-minute one-way commute to work every morning and the LEAF would easily make that trip without even having to stop for a charge. It's like my cell phone. It has just enough battery life to get me through the day. When I get home, I plug it in and forget about it until the morning. Unplug it, and go.

[eronpino]

I like the high pitch sound it sounds like the jetsons

[FUOPEC1]

I own a LEAF and yes the range is far less than the 100 miles claims.. I average around 65 miles range in winter and 85 in warmer months. He is wrong about one thing though. My LEAF is my primary vehicle. I use it for 98% of my driving. As a side note the LEAF is very inexpensive to charge so even with the limited rage this car makes far better economic sense than a gas car right now.

[liamselwyn]

This is such a skewed review. What a dunce. Is this a Fox show?

[liamselwyn]

This seems like kind of a skewed review. I think a 60 mile range is more than enough for most people and the "long charge time"??? Don't most people sleep for 8 hours per night?? Is it so difficult to plug in your car when you get home? Okay now I'm getting pissed. Bravo Nissan - an incredible leap in automotive engineering.

[yuprulesing]

LOL Consumer Reports, who the heck drives 65 miles a day? If you do, THIS isn't for you. I only drive only 30 miles a day TO and FROM work. If you are driving more than 65 miles a day (to and from work), go take the commuter train and save even more money than an electric car. I an easily drive this to work AND BACK with the heating/ac running (they said 65 miles with either on) AND still have 30 miles to spare. Charge it up over night and boom it's ready for the next day.

[cjcookie]

@yuprulesing you guys clearly don't live in the bay area or la or california in general

[Sebastian198004]

You forgot to mention that with a Level 3 charger you can charge it up in 20-30 minutes.

[dave777blaster]

Incredible car !

[adric22]

Strange.. I drive a Leaf as my primary vehicle. I have done so for nearly a year now. I've only encountered 2 situations during that entire time that I had to take a different vehicle. I'd never go back to gasoline, not ever.

[ChinatownWieners]

I am here because this car is in Gran Turismo 5.

[kudynski]

I think this guy may have drank some gasoline before he did this review.

[mrjaffar]

His actual cars a Hummer!

[kidmecha]

Right from the beginning he didn't like this car, and I didn't like him.

[chuck2205]

I also disagree that, even with a 65 mile range worst case, this could still be your primary vehicle. I'm on the list for one of these as my primary vehicle because, even with the high pricetag, it's the cheapest option for me. Here is my cost summary for over 7 years:

New Leaf: $38,705

New Hyundai Hybrid: $50,024

Used Chevy 1500 pickup: $80,298

Continue to repair my 2000 Jeep GC: $51,625 (will it last another 7 years??)

[Sodasprite6310]

Do you hate cars?

[TheMarlonsandifer]

The range in this car is the most range available.

[patterson234]

Unless you live quite far from your job, or something unexpected happen to you, I think is difficult to drive diary more than 100 miles. Nissan says it has an autonomy of 100 miles or around, and it is more than enough for the 80% (I would say) of the people.

Nissan Leaf is a fantastic car for common use, and I have no doubt that I would buy it!! Is economic in comparison of the cost of gasoline, is ecologic and have a magnificent design.

[bluemtnfarm2]

I have a LEAF with 5,000 miles. We live out in the country (closest stoplight is 18 miles in one direction, 22 miles the other). It is my primary vehicle and use my Dodge 4x4 3/4-ton pickup for long-distance and lumber hauls. I love my LEAF. This review is bogus: what whine? Steering is fine. True that I get 65 to 75 miles of comfortable range, even in temps of mid 20's. But plenty for trips into town and it recharges overnight. A lot of nutty agendas out there, little objectivity even from CR.

[forestgreen98]

YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING.

[forestgreen98]

I wouldn't be caught dead in this piece of GARBAGE

[mike6459]

time is money

[deepfriedking]

How much for a new battery pack give us some information we can use, when are you going to rig another rollover test?

[beancube2010]

People should tow a battery in the back of this car to extend range. Who will design it? How will Nissan block it so all customers will be cornered? How about power stations distributing those tow-able batteries to supermarkets, corner stores, and hotels around cities and freeways for convenient renting?

[lesliekanddanr]

I love the nissan leaf.

[rollinswitch]

Great review. You bring out the limitations of range and steering. Not bad for a first attempt at an all electric, though I think they have lots of room for improvement. The long recharge times can get you caught without a vehicle at times. Not a good country vehicle due to the rainge but should work in some suburban/city enviros fairly well. How is the low temperature performance, say around zero F?

[greensoccerballz]

No engine = limited range. Chevy Volt is much better.

[andrewerdna100]

the car is nice but the only problem is it looks like a odd shaped bubble

[waqarism]

This is the worst review I have ever seen... biased and full of misinformation

[jonkleinow]

De-interlace your videos.

[SmileForYou22]

Unfortunately, where I live, most people drive at least 100 miles a day, so this wouldn't be a very convenient car. But, They need to make a small electric sub compact for city drivers, it would lower the amount of emissions in the air.

[shuforce]

What are you talking about? It sounds like a jet.....

[beautyinmetal]

Test rode one of these at AltCar Expo 2011 in Santa Monica this past Saturday. Nissan built the Leaf into a nice package. There are many people in cities this would be appropriate for.

[increasingrain]

Toyota will find a way to make is very good.

[DJTEVAdotCOM]

ur not gonna make a vegas trip with this car.

[mikexilva]

It should be one of the best options for a PRIMARY vehicle, meaning 90% of the trips can be done with this car, and you didn't talk about fast charging option, that puts 80% of charge in 20minutes.

[TheSaltyAdmiral]

What the hell? "Assures that its not gonna be your primary vehicle"? I don't know anyone that drives more than 60 miles each day. And everyone sleeps, right? So what that basicly means is that you NEVER have to visit a charging station, ever. You wake up to a "full" car each morning.

Another thing is that you don't HAVE to charge it max when you're out of juice. If you only need an hour of power to get home, you only charge as much as you need to.

Biased review:(

[TheBadBuffalo]

@TheSaltyAdmiral Plus there's a dc charger option that'll charge it in 20 minutes, and that option isn't crazy expensive either. So you're right, this would make a great primary vehicle anyway for the fact that it'll save you money too.

[Dragore94123]

@TheSaltyAdmiral thank you. im a firm believer that if i had the cash id get one. its all i need. i barely need to leave the county to do want i need to do.

[TheBadBuffalo]

Better than the volt, costs less, is more practical, and you won't have to worry about gas or oil, just electricity. With the Volt, you have to worry about all three

[TheVJProduction]

it will be great for the big cities.

[McWeslyF1]

it's not annoying... it makes you feel you have your own G6!

[rborba1001]

We've been driving our Leaf for a week now in addition to our second (gas-powered) car. So far, we've put 600 Km on the Leaf and about 80 Km on the other car. So you guess which one is our PRIMARY vehicle now.

[DevPack]

that vine is the hidden turbos.

[jvrdlc]

very informative, Jake and Tom make great reviews

[usama1119]

Id get the volt instead, has that gasoline option.

[sicklight]

LEAF=FAEL(FAIL).

[Vanuatoo]

This car would be a perfect second car in the family.

My wife or me drives only 20-25 miles a day.

[mobrien888]

"The most developed electric car to date." Does this include the Tesla Roadster? The Tesla seems to be very well developed with great range with the cost its main shortcoming.

[rml695]

@mobrien888 That $200,000 cost vs $30,000 is so significant, that many don't even consider it, I'm sure. It'll be nice to see Tesla's tech end up in the RAV4 EV.

[skoshy]

As much as I like the idea of the LEAF, I can't wait for the competition to ramp up their game so I can see some other EVs too.

[bg1379]

Not going to be the primary vehicle? I completely disagree.

This WILL be the primary vehicle, although you will need a SECONDARY vehicle for extra errands and road trips. This, though, as a daily commuter, is the primary.

[NZWolf2]

Neesahn?

[redcivicsi16]

I love functional reviews. Thank you!

[gene978]

This is my PRIMARY VEHICLE

[eskimochild87]

A volt would be a better buy i would think

[techdude6693]

Electric cars are good ideas, but until range improves, its not something I'd consider

[kokobasha7778]

Great Review, Thanks Consumers Reports !!!