PorlockJunior
Member
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2012
- Messages
- 6
What about the car?
When it came off the lot, it was in a low state of charge, not enough to get back from Oakland, really. This is good, right? Even in our cool climate. So they charged it, with whatever other final prep, while we did the paperwork. Which was quick. But at that point the Guessometer said 50+ miles, about twice what I needed to have.
Start with the thing that Nissan hasn't got right: After driving home, I understand why you folks call it the Guessometer. All over the map, but mostly going down fast. Made it, on Low Battery Warning. Not driving strenuously, impossible to drive much of the way fast, no climate control needed. Of course I have this problem under Guessometer, not under Range, which I haven't explored yet.
Otherwise, what an engineering delight this thing is! Also, no slouch at User Design. Instant reaction on getting it onto the street: The throttle and brakes work exactly as expected, an unusual feat among hybrids and all. Steering is fine too, for all that it's so power-assisted. OK, I made a little of the standard mistake, in which the slow traffic picks up speed, I want to make up the gap, I goose the throttle just a little, and pick speed faster than I wanted to. No problem, just learning the reality of 100% torque at 0 speed.
I've seen various comparisons of handling of Leaf vs Volt, and the Volt seems the consensus winner. Consensus may well be right. My own reaction to the sheer feel of driving the cars, though, was that I didn't like the Volt even before I got it out of the lot -- a heavy, clumsy, sort of imprecise feel that shouted "Detroit!" to me, loud and clear.
Sorry this is so, and I love Clint Eastwood's Super Bowl commercial even though I don't like flag-waving all that much, and don't like Eastwood at all; but there you are. It's the way Detroit wants its cars to feel, and I don't.
The Leaf felt like a Japanese car that wasn't aping the Americans, and it felt right. Matter of taste, and I hope Detroit rakes in money. Meanwhile, the Leaf still feels right. Also, the interior feels positively spacious, at least in the front seats.
The whole thing is waaay far from giving the feeling that you're giving anything up for all this Green stuff -- except for the matter of range, and having to deal with gas stations. And of course some money, but we even get some of that back.
When it came off the lot, it was in a low state of charge, not enough to get back from Oakland, really. This is good, right? Even in our cool climate. So they charged it, with whatever other final prep, while we did the paperwork. Which was quick. But at that point the Guessometer said 50+ miles, about twice what I needed to have.
Start with the thing that Nissan hasn't got right: After driving home, I understand why you folks call it the Guessometer. All over the map, but mostly going down fast. Made it, on Low Battery Warning. Not driving strenuously, impossible to drive much of the way fast, no climate control needed. Of course I have this problem under Guessometer, not under Range, which I haven't explored yet.
Otherwise, what an engineering delight this thing is! Also, no slouch at User Design. Instant reaction on getting it onto the street: The throttle and brakes work exactly as expected, an unusual feat among hybrids and all. Steering is fine too, for all that it's so power-assisted. OK, I made a little of the standard mistake, in which the slow traffic picks up speed, I want to make up the gap, I goose the throttle just a little, and pick speed faster than I wanted to. No problem, just learning the reality of 100% torque at 0 speed.
I've seen various comparisons of handling of Leaf vs Volt, and the Volt seems the consensus winner. Consensus may well be right. My own reaction to the sheer feel of driving the cars, though, was that I didn't like the Volt even before I got it out of the lot -- a heavy, clumsy, sort of imprecise feel that shouted "Detroit!" to me, loud and clear.
Sorry this is so, and I love Clint Eastwood's Super Bowl commercial even though I don't like flag-waving all that much, and don't like Eastwood at all; but there you are. It's the way Detroit wants its cars to feel, and I don't.
The Leaf felt like a Japanese car that wasn't aping the Americans, and it felt right. Matter of taste, and I hope Detroit rakes in money. Meanwhile, the Leaf still feels right. Also, the interior feels positively spacious, at least in the front seats.
The whole thing is waaay far from giving the feeling that you're giving anything up for all this Green stuff -- except for the matter of range, and having to deal with gas stations. And of course some money, but we even get some of that back.
