LA Auto Show: Coda Electric Sedan
So you want to go green. The problem is a Prius isn’t green enough for you, what’s a green shopper to do? Go all in with all-electric. So far we have the Leaf and the newly announced Focus Electric both with ranges under 100 miles and charge times that can get a little long even at 240V (the Leaf takes 7 hours). In step the new breed of auto makers: Tesla, Fisker and Coda (just to name a few). Coda is a new all-electric car made in China (assembled in California). The first thing that strikes you about the Coda sedan is how plain the design is. The second thing is how the parts don’t come from any parts bin I’ve ever seen with all the window switches and knobs having a unique look. Good or bad? Depends on how reliable the parts are. Coda touts fast charging times with the 6.6KW charger (2x the speed of the Leaf) and a battery pack that’s another 33% larger than the Nissan as well. The shorter charging time and larger battery pack mean an advertised (but not verified) longer range and shorter charging time than the Leaf. The trade off? A cheaper interior. Pricing is expected to be slightly higher than the Leaf at just under $40,000 less the usual tax incentives. On our short spin in the Coda on the roads around the LA Auto Show, the prototype vehicle had too many rough edges that are due to be polished to posit a firm opinion of the car. Stay tuned for a review of the production model in 2012.
More by Alex L. Dykes
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looks like an old Daewoo.
Kind of reminds me of an old Ferrari or CobraJet mustang. Cars you only bought for the engine. This car is interesting solely because of the battery - it's 50% larger than the Leaf for not much more money. I have a hard time thinking they'll sell very many - the Nissan Leaf has most of the early mover advantage and a known brand name, the market for this car are people who a) want an electric car from any source possible and b) are okay with 70-120 mile range (Coda) but are not okay with 50-80 mile (Leaf).