The LEAF is too nondescript?

[GeorgeParrott]

Fellow LEAFers....what is your response to these opinions?

http://www.greencarreports.com/blog/1056787_is-the-2011-nissan-leaf-the-truly-invisible-electric-car

Your chance to "open up."

 

[mwalsh]

Your chance to "open up."

I kind of agree with you. But not with the same vehemence.

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

I agree more than a little bit.

The LEAF is the future of driving; it should look like it! Something should stand out as futuristic, instead of just frumpy.

Instead, well, we all know what it looks like.

 

[Boomer23]

Your chance to "open up."

I kind of agree with the author. But not with the same vehemence.

The author is George, by the way. I agree with mwalsh that you could have reduced the synonyms for "bland" to one or two, rather than beating the idea to death by throwing the thesaurus at it. I hate to think that the LEAF is that boring. Maybe I should cancel my order to avoid a future accident as I'm lulled to sleep at the wheel. :lol:

One reason that I ordered the blue color is that light blue is a less commonly seen color on other hatchbacks and that Nissan has been using the blue exclusively for their marketing photos and videos. I felt that people would recognize the blue LEAF for what it is more readily than the other colors. However, Mike has the blue and he's said several times that he gets few responses from other drivers.

I don't really like the Eco Package, especially for the blue center console, but I'd be willing to have the large stickers on the side of the car to get the LEAF noticed more. I'll probably add a rear license plate holder with a message that I'm driving on solar power. Sparky has added stick-on letters with the word ELECTRIC to the rear of his black LEAF to increase the visibility.

I'm sure that most MNL forum members share the feeling that we want our LEAFs to be visible because we want to promote the adoption of EVs, not because we have huge egos. (Perhaps some of us do have huge egos as well, but that is common on all car enthusiast forums. :lol: )

 

[HChristopher]

Yes, the LEAF is boring looking. I am excited to be getting mine this month, but not because I like the way it looks. I have been waiting for YEARS for a mass produced all electric car. Nissan was the first to offer one, so I jumped on it. I really wish the LEAF was smaller and sportier looking, though. I have had my current car (New Beetle) since 1999 and I bought it mostly because I liked the way it looks. Yes, I'm girly that way (I LIKE the sparkly blue center console on the LEAF)! I will miss my cute car, but I will NOT miss filling it up with gas!

 

[linkim]

Apparently some one has a different opinion.

[http://www.speedtv.com/article_print_view/1070183]
"Leaf’s styling is indeed different. There was an obvious effort to give it a look that would set it apart, and that they did. All I can say is, it looks odd enough to be French. Kind of cute, really, but it’s going to be hard to get macho guys to favor it over a roaring muscle car, not matter how good it is."

Are you a macho guy? I will be happy to get a car to drive whether it's nondescript or not.

 

[Ready2plugin]

Yes, the LEAF is boring looking. I am excited to be getting mine this month, but not because I like the way it looks. I have been waiting for YEARS for a mass produced all electric car. Nissan was the first to offer one, so I jumped on it. I really wish the LEAF was smaller and sportier looking, though. I have had my current car (New Beetle) since 1999 and I bought it mostly because I liked the way it looks. Yes, I'm girly that way (I LIKE the sparkly blue center console on the LEAF)! I will miss my cute car, but I will NOT miss filling it up with gas!

Welcome to the forum...and congrats on your upcoming delivery! As for one, I've enjoyed driving past the gas stations more and more...

 

[mgoleta]

I think Nissan was going for the 'looks a regular car'. A ZAP Alias is certainly flashier and the ZAP Zebra looks like a golf cart maintenace vehicle. I would never convince my wife that our next car should be a Telsa, Tango or a ZAP zebra (at least if I expect her to drive it ever.) If people are really going to adopt EVs they need to appeal to the largest market segment not the fringe markets. I think the styling is fairly distinctive from the front. If the problenm is not enough people will notice the LEAF that is because most people currently don't care about EVS. They would first have to take their eyes of their cell.

 

[hill]

Maybe the author is 18 years old? . . . needs the extra attention? Otherwise I'd think, "Oh brother . . . tell the author of the article to get a loud speaker that screeches, "PLEASE LOOK-AT-ME!!" if his ego is so desperate for attention. It's a car, for cryin' out loud. Maybe he should put big chrome exhaust pipes on the side . . . how 'bout a honkin' wing mounted over the trunk . . . trash it up baby.

oh yea . . . let's see if we can get every Leaf posted on the laughatrice.com web site (if it's still up and running). Make your Leaf look like THIS:

:lol:

Am I the only one that ever read the fable about the "Emperor's New Cloths" ??

 

[AndyH]

Only one comment for the article's author:

"Caution - drinking GM's Kool-Aid causes temporary blindness."


Enjoy your cars, George - but give the Leaf bashing a break?

 

[IBELEAF]

Leaf looks, on a scale 1-10, would probably be a 3, bang for your buck maybe 7, but I think it deserves a 10 for what it has to offer. Again, this is just my personal opinion, I am like most, not getting it for looks, but for obvious reasons. Actually, I prefer its "bland" or "ugly" look, makes me think that it would be unappealing to steal or vandalize.

 

[Googler]

The styling on a car is a combination of two factors:
1. appearance. This is subjective, so I'll just leave it to the individual to decide.
2. functionality. On this score I'm disappointed in the Leaf, because it's not as aerodynamic as it should be. The 2010 Prius claims a drag coefficient of .25, whereas the Leaf is more like .28 or .29.

I had originally ordered an Aptera, and I would have been happier with a pure commute car that had only two seats, lower weight, and longer range. That being said, Nissan is trying to appeal to a broad market, and in that game the best approach is to make something as innocuous as possible.

 

[gascant]

Don't you think it looks like a miniature Murano? I don't find it bland at all.

 

[Beachcliffs]

Don't you think it looks like a miniature Murano? I don't find it bland at all.

A combination of the Murano and Versa. Unfortunately, IMO, too little of the former and too much of the latter.

 

[garygid]

What other cars (other than perhaps an older vacuum-cleaner Citroen) look so much like a catfish from the front, and perhaps like a sleeping bunny from the side?

No, not as different as an Aptera would have been, but ...
it is, in my mind, the same as many others, but also a bit different.

 

[Ingineer]

I think they should have made it more like the Juke: (at least the profile and rear, the Juke front end needs work)

 

[Boomer23]

I think they should have made it more like the Juke: (at least the profile and rear, the Juke front end needs work)

Good thinking, I like the Juke rear much better. They must have hired the guy to design the rear of the Juke after the Leaf rear was set in stone.

"Help Wanted ad: Wanted: Guy to design the rear end of new Nissan Juke. Front end already designed, we're not too happy with it, but what can you do? By the way, if you've seen the rear of the LEAF, that was designed by the guy we just fired. Good benefits, three weeks vacation."

 

[Deleted member 1622]

I think the look of the Leaf is stylish enough. No, it's not a sports car, but that's not really what it's going for, is it? The front could be called sleek with the styled headlights, and the back is a standard hatchback with the headlights theme continued with the tail lights. I think the Prius wedge is much uglier. I'm not interested in "making a statement" with my car, I think it's statement enough that I don't burn gas. These things are really subjective. I opted to not get the sticker package... we have to be careful about emitting smug, even though the car is not emitting smog.

Josh

 

[HChristopher]

I agree, the Juke is MUCH more attractive than the LEAF. I'd love to see an electric mini-Juke in a nice spruce green color!

 

[garygid]

Getting better aerodynamics (less drag) begins to limit the body styling options.

I wish the LEAF's drag was less than that of the 2010 Prius
(which seems to like going 70 mph on flat freeways).