A good buddy of mine received his new Nissan Leaf, the first all-electric production vehicle a couple of days ago. I asked him to write a quick blurb about what his first day of owning an electric vehicle was like. Here is what he had to say…
Today we picked up our new Nissan LEAF SL at Downtown Nissan. It is the fourth all-electric vehicle sold in BC. It took us about one hour to go through all the features (this is a very tech-laden vehicle) with the sales manager…this was their first retail LEAF delivery for them.
Left the dealer and noticed that my vehicle was only 50% charged – not a good start. Phoned the Fairmont Waterfront to see if I could plug-in while visiting downtown for 1.5 hours – they refused unless I was staying there or having lunch there! I parked at EASY PARK and plugged in without hassle.
I was stopped on Seymour Street when a bus driver opened his door and asked me if I liked my electric vehicle – a passenger asked how much it was. Biggest difference on day one – The total quietness when driving.
Range anxiety is frequently a phrase that oil-lobbyists use, but with 160km/charge it is a perfect run-around-town-car that combined with limited mechanical tune ups will ensure lower running costs.