Well, I just drove my leaf (Model S + QC) to work from the dealership. Here are my observations after 45 miles or so today:
1. Quiet ride. Road noise doesn't seem bad at all. Nissan clearly worked at this. Pretty smooth ride. Decent acceleration from a stop.
2. Does take a little while to get up to highway speeds. I didn't floor it cause I wanted to be mindful of range. In the end, wasn't much of an issue. Was able to get into the 70s easily.
3. I'm 6'2'' but have longer legs than average for my height. I felt a bit cramped after a while. Cause the battery is along the floor, felt a bit high. Tried to lean seat back but was too far away from the steering wheel. Ended up driving more upright than usual. Area around the pedals felt a bit cramped.
4. The USB doesn't support playback of music unless it is an MP3 on the device. So if you use Spotify or Pandora you are out of luck. The hands free phone system worked well.
5. Eco mode required me to put more pressure on the gad peddle than I'm used to. Leg felt a bit fatigued. Model S has no cruise control. Switching to regular D mode was considerably better. I wonder if there is much of a range different on the highway between D and Eco. I'll post my results. I'm sure I'll get used to it.
6. The stereo controls on the steering wheel don't allow you to change stations, scan stations, etc., just switch inputs (cd, aux, fm1, fm2). I had to strength to get to the scan controls on the stereo and I'm a pretty tall guy. Likely an issue for short folks with shorter arms and taking your eyes off the road to change stations is a safety issue.
7. It was great plugging in at work today.
There are some things you can't figure out in a test drive, unless you do a lot of test driving. So my summary:
1. If you are a taller person, you might want to consider cruise control (need SV at a minimum).
2. Car drives really well. Doesn't feel odd or unusual cause it is an EV.
3. While I felt cramped in terms of legroom, it wasn't any worse than my wife's Honda CRV (although this isn't a model known for legroom).
4. Stereo seemed fine to me even though some folks complain about it. The poor control over the iPhone is a small disappointment. I'm going to buy one of those Bluetooth plug-in devices from Amazon to improve stereo-to-iPhone integration (they run $30-$100).
I'm coming from a Mercedes E430 which is a big car with lots of room, Bose premium stereo, etc. Before the E-class I had a BMW 328i and before that a 318i. I've never owned anything but German cars. I was spending $320/month on gas and think I spent $4k last year on maintenance and repairs. So basically, my Leaf is not only free, but once you consider lower maintenance as the money I save on the toll bridge I cross in the bay area for work everyday ($50/month) the Leaf turns a profit for me (and good for the planet is a bonus!!)
My feedback to Nissan would be the following:
1. Would be nice to have an option to get Cruise Control on the S. Cruise control is pretty standard these days and with the regen the car really slows down when you lift your foot of the peddle. There is enough with the Nav, better bluetooth, etc., on the SV to entice users who are willing to move up.
2. The steering wheel should have the ability to scan radio stations for safety.
3. Would be nice to have some Nissan approved extension bracket for the seat for taller drivers. Yes, it would kill rear room but I suspect many use this as a commuter car. Frankly, even in my E-class (and 2 BMWs before that) there was little space behind me when driving cause the seat was way back and reclined. There is some aftermarket options but I worry about voiding the warranty and safety in an accident with them.
4. Telescoping steering wheel. When I recline the seat a bit to try to carve out some extra leg room, I can't reach the top of the steering wheel. I can only reach the bottom of the wheel. Some sort of steering wheel adjust (manual would be fine) would be great and I'd pay for that.
Overall, I'm pretty psych'd about my Leaf. After 15 years of German luxury/performance cars, it will be an adjustment. I told my wife that we broke off a long term relationship with German cars. The sex was great but they were high maintenance. My wife replied, "Yes...we'll miss them but now we'll have a long term relationship with our money."
I also feel good about doing my part to reduce pollution and leave this world a little better for my kids. I was someone who intellectually favored EVs and the gov't dishing out rebates etc to encourage their use even though I'm politically generally not in favor of the gov't doing much. To me it is like encouraging the development of inter-state highways, in addition to the environmental, and national defense aspects (foreign oil dependence creates unpleasant entanglements).
However, despite my intellectual support for EV tech (I'm an engineer too and tend to like new tech), I pretty much viewed myself as an ICE driver for life due to my love affair with German cars. I love how they drive and as an engineer I always appreciated the German engineering and design which I consider the best in the world for autos.
This all changes a few months ago. Mostly because since moving down to the bay area from Seattle I've noticed how many more EVs there are all over the place (e.g. my neighborhood is full of them, there are plenty at work with charging stations) and I began to chat with co-workers who owned them. I slowly began to think that maybe it would make sense "one day" for me. Then I added up in my head how much I spent on gas every month (easily over $3000) and I was a bit shocked ("really - I spend that much?"). Then I heard a rattle under my car ("oh no, I just spent $3k on a repair 8 months ago - how much is this gonna cost me"). Then I started looking at the Leaf, the Focus (I can "afford" a Tesla but not where I wanted to spend my money). Within 90 days I was driving away from the dealer with a Leaf. Now my friends will ask me, and some of them will convert, etc., and the momentum will continue to build.
If I can convert, really anyone can convert. If these things get just a bit cheaper, and charging stations are a bit more available, then we will hit a real tipping point. I predict the next 18-36 months will be huge in the state of CA where adoption is high for a number of reasons.
If Tesla can come out with a smaller Model S (called the Model E I think) for $35k then I believe it is game over. Everyone who drives an Audi, BMW, etc., will want a Tesla. If Tesla or Nissan can deliver a Honda CRV/Rav4 competitor that is reasonably competitive on price with the gov't rebate, then I believe that will drive adoption. Lots of stay at home moms/dads/nannies are transporting kids from place to place all day and burn a ton of gas.
I think we're pretty close to this EV thing really popping off.
