FWIW, I was at the SF Auto Show on Monday (last day) and I was in/around the Leaf and people asked me some questions about the range. I pointed them to the 73 miles on EPA test rating on the sticker. I also mentioned to some that forget about 73 miles at highway speeds (for Nor Cal) and that it varied a lot depending on speed and other factors. I mentioned to some folks about 100 miles if going slow and Edmunds doing ~130 miles (and IIRC, someone here doing 150..)
I don't remember the exact words some folks used but I recall some folks characterized the 73 miles as "useless", "worthless" or "almost dangerous". One guy said he could (?) do 150 miles in a day (me too, but that's not that often for me right now).
Of course, I overheard one of the Nissan staffers at the booth (not sure if they're Nissan employees or contractors) tell someone (probably in response to range) "100 miles, on average". :roll: I didn't have the time or motivation to argue w/them. If people buy a Leaf expecting 100 miles of range on average and they have lots of highway driving, they will be VERY disappointed.
FWIW, my drive to Daly City BART (to take BART to Moscone Center) is ~57 miles, one way, mostly at highway speeds... and I had to meet someone for dinner in Serramonte Center afterward. If I had a Leaf, that'd have been a no can do for me.
Re: GRA's comment of cruise control.... "frill" or not, it's available even on the cheapest econoboxes and is pretty much standard on most cars sold in the US above say $25K (if not even lower). I'm pretty sure one can find an econobox w/equipped w/cruise control for <$18K. So... to leave out CC on a car that has a $30K+ upfront cost in the US seems silly.
Heck my former 255 hp 02 Maxima GXE (MSRP looks like it was $24,699 and invoice was supposedly $22,326, I'd paid about $75 above invoice) came with standard w/cruise control, HID headlights and a power driver's seat.
Side note back to the auto show: The test drives (http://www.sfautoshow.com/show-info/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false
for Nissan ended at 4 pm, for some reason. I spoke to some folks who got into a Leaf (at the booth inside) a bit after 5 pm and seemed semi-interested. They said they'd just arrived at the show. I told them to go back outside and go for test drives pronto, before it's too late. They said they saw Leafs outside and nobody was around.
While those folks were still in the Leaf, I checked the show's web page and found that sadly, the test drives ended at 4.
Oh well... Also, the times when I was waiting for test drives, it seemed there were not many takers for Leaf and '13 Altima test drives. They were all mostly sitting idle.