Two Seat Version of the Leaf

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RegulusBlack

Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2013
Messages
15
Nissan went to great pains to make a car that would seat 4-5 people and they did a great job. I appreciate the cargo space when the back seats are folded down but I never carry passengers in the back seats. I would like to have less accommodation for back seat passengers (or no back seat at all) and more accommodation for Li-ion battery space.

Thanks
 
I agree. It's rare for me to have a passenger. And almost unheard of to carry more than one person (maybe only a couple of times a year). Actually, I could probably get by with a single seat city car, truth be told.
 
Yep, I can count on two fingers the total number of times we have had more than two in the car.

mwalsh said:
I agree. It's rare for me to have a passenger. And almost unheard of to carry more than one person (maybe only a couple of times a year). Actually, I could probably get by with a single seat city car, truth be told.
 
This is the Company for you then!
Rear Seat-Delete

Very popular with the Electric Mini-Cooper crowd around here
http://rearseatdelete.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
I know that there are cars where the rear seats are not really functional. You'd have to cut your legs off at the knees to sit there. A design like that would qualify for lower insurance rates and make space for extra battery packs.

Hymotion added battery packs to the Gen II Prius. I'm sure they could be added to the Leaf.
 
RegulusBlack said:
I know that there are cars where the rear seats are not really functional. You'd have to cut your legs off at the knees to sit there. A design like that would qualify for lower insurance rates and make space for extra battery packs.

Ummm...the Porsche 911 (and many similar cars) has useless rear seats, and insurance on that car is most definitely not cheaper!

As mentioned before, 2 seaters tend to have a limited market base, though if EVs become real popular I can see Nissan making a two seat EV. However, with the postponement (if not outright cancellation) of the Infiniti LE, it may be some time before we see a 2 seat Nissan EV, if ever.
 
KillaWhat said:
This is the Company for you then!
Rear Seat-Delete

Very popular with the Electric Mini-Cooper crowd around here
http://rearseatdelete.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I looked at that website and it seems to be catered to the performance crowd for weight savings reasons, though in the case of the Fiat 500 and Scion iQ it does increase both the volume and usability of the cargo area, at very little sacrifice of passenger comfort since the rear seats on these (especially the iQ) are useless to begin with.

It will be interesting to see if the Fiat kit will work on the 500e, since I don't know if the floor pan or other alterations were made to accommodate the batteries (such as on the Ford Focus Electric).
 
adric22 said:
Unfortunately, history shows that 2-seat cars are always a niche market.
Yep. Most of them are sports cars and if one looks at 2-seater sports cars sales, they are almost all tiny!

(Former owner of a 2-seater sports car.)
 
That's why I pre-ordered a Lit Motors C-1 ;) Still offers 2 seats, supposed to get close to 200 mile range, self balancing etc. Hoping these guys can make it happen.

The Nissan LEAF would be way too big for just 2 people, they would have to resize it, so you might as well get a Smart ED, which doesn't seem to offer that much more range either.
 
Nissan could remove the rear seats and use the same everything else to keep the cost down and offer added batteries as a option. To be clear, if the back seats were removed in this "two seat option", then the batteries would be mandatory or else something like the Mini Cooper GT would have to be done. I have a Mini Cooper and was considering the two seat GT version which is the same chassis as the regular Mini. I asked a Mini rep why they had a bar across the back area where the seat was. The answer was that because there was no seating accommodation and seat belts, they specifically wanted to make it near impossible for anyone to ride back there. Because the LEAF back seat can accommodate three people the car should be able to withstand another 450 lbs. of batteries, which could add somewhere around 50 more miles of range.
 
But those folks don't care about gas mileage etc, why haul all that extra car around if the max capacity is 2 people? Plus those people might use that SUV on the weekends to haul cargo, kids, impossible to tell ;)
 
lion said:
Plus those people might use that SUV on the weekends to haul cargo, kids, impossible to tell ;)
Right. That is the reason 2 seater cars have tiny markets - people buy cars based on their 90% need, rather than 50%.

EVs already are a niche, and if you create a niche within a niche with a 2 seater, they might just sell a few hundred a year. That just adds enormous cost to Nissan.
 
I'm not disagreeing with you, I also don't see Nissan changing the LEAF to fit just 2 people. Smart ED, Scion IQ EV, Lit Motors C-1, Fiat 500e, plenty of EVs out there if you want something small.
 
I did this a year ago. http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb377/1932highboy/leafseat_zps60d7ade0.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
RegulusBlack said:
I know that there are cars where the rear seats are not really functional. You'd have to cut your legs off at the knees to sit there.

Yeah, I have never understood such cars. In fact it just pisses me off to even look at them. If I want a 2-seater, I'll buy a 2-seater. I loved my Miata!. But phony rear seats are perverse.

Between equipment and a 175-lb dog we load up the LEAF pretty good on a regular basis. I'd love to see them come out with a 2-seat EV convertible sportscar. That could be brilliant.
 
evnow said:
lion said:
The Nissan LEAF would be way too big for just 2 people....
Yet we regularly see older people/couples driving around in huge SUVs ...
In my area, it doesn't matter the age.

If you come to my neighborhood and sit around at certain intersections or the supermarket parking lot, almost every single battering ram of death class SUV (aka full-sized ones w/curb weight of 5000+ lb. e.g. Tahoe, Suburban, Escalade, Navigator, Hummer H2, Excursion (aka Ford Exxon Valdez) and increasingly Sequoia, etc.) is being driven solo or w/minimal cargo and passengers. :roll: They're old (actually very few), middle aged and young.

This phenomena seems to be way worse in my neighborhood than what I observed when living in the Seattle area.
 
I wanted to jump on this discussion because I was thinking it just the other day. Most people I know use their Leaf to commute to and from work... and the occasional errand. They are usually by themselves. I two person "commute" electric vehicle would be an ideal option for them. Get rid of the back seat and required space, and you're going to reduce the weight of the car, increasing its range too.
 
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