I went by Weston Nissan this afternoon and they had one, 2011 demo available for test drives. This is the first time I'd seen the car in person, and I was pleasantly surprised at how attractive it was. Same color as the one I ordered - glacier pearl. Looked to be almost exactly the same size as my 2007 Prius, but much more attractive. No matter how much I like the technology, efficiency and reliability of my Prius, there's no question it is one ugly car.
As far as interior room is concerned, the back seats are positioned an inch or two forward from where they are in my Prius, so back seat passengers don't have quite as much room as they do in a Prius. Not a big deal for me, since I rarely have more than one passenger in my car.
On the test drive, the LEAF ride was more stable and acceleration smoother than the Prius. I'm already used to driving the Prius in electric mode, so the quiet ride of the LEAF wasn't a big shock, although I was a bit surprised when I got back in my Prius and noticed how noisy the gas-powered engine was. Prii are already pretty quiet, but nothing matches the quiet of a pure electric car.
As I expected, the sales rep, who went on the test drive with me, was friendly, but knew almost nothing about the car (didn't even know the difference between a L1 and L2 charger. I had to explain to him that the L1 was the one in the carrying case, sitting in the back of the car, and the L2 was the one on the post outside.). It seems like maybe one or two sales reps per dealership take the training course, and if you don't happen to catch that one person, you're on your own. The biggest thing I was curious about was how many orders they got for December 2011 delivery, and he didn't know. I also asked him what they were going to do with the 2011 demos when they were done with them, and he didn't know that, either.
I didn't bother discussing prices, since my final deal will be based on what they offer for my Prius three months from now, and whether I decide to lease or pay cash for the car.
Overall, it was a pleasant experience, but I think it's important not to expect any hand-holding when it comes to buying a LEAF in Florida. When I bought my Prius, the sales rep was clueless, too. It's pretty much what I expect as an "early adopter".
