johnr is right, the QRG doesn't come right out and say you can do it when it's unplugged, and the rep at my Leaf test drive clearly said it can only do it when plugged in "for safety reasons." I don't think we will be able to do it on these first versions. In my climate area it won't make much difference. In the morning is when it's cold and it will be plugged in at home, so I can pre-heat it. By 10 AM or so it's almost never cold enough for that to be a problem and if there's any sun, the interior will be plenty warm even on a near-freezing day. Cooling on the other hand would be nice as it does get >100 degrees at times during the day when I'm away from home, but I've never had a car that precools before, so I'm sure I won't feel deprived. I just open the windows for a couple of minutes, then turn on the A/C when I get in. FWIW, this morning I had to scrape frost off my windshield, and when the squeegee didn't do it, I ran the hose on it, only to have the sheet of water freeze solid. I had to run the engine until the defrost softened it, so it gets cold enough here to make preheat desirable, but when I get the Leaf my wife will park in the driveway and I'll get the garage. I suspect that this issue may be addressed better when the cold weather package is available. This is probably one of many reasons why Nissan started with a warm climate version.