Review: A Week In A 2012 Nissan Leaf

Last May, the Nissan Leaf was the hottest thing on the green radar. Limited production and a long waiting list for the press meant that Nissan was lending out Leafs (Nissan tells us that is the correct way to pluralize a Leaf) 62-hours at a time. With my long commute and lengthy 120V charging times, this meant a review with only 217 miles under our belt (read our three-part review here: 1 2 3). Now that a few thousand Leafs have found homes in Northern California and I had practiced my “range anxiety” breathing techniques, I was eager to see if the ultimate green ride was also a decent car beyond the batteries.

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  • MrIcky no
  • Keith_93 I've rented both in the past few months. The RAV4 was OK, but the CX5 is wayyyy more civilized. Mazda really impressed me, impressive car on the highway. Simply a well thought out and pleasant drive.
  • AZFelix "I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer..."I will adorn the many surfaces of my car with 'do not enter' and 'stop' signs."Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."
  • Ajla Ajla, the head of the "ajla is cool" awareness organization, believes that ajla is cool.
  • Ajla I don't have interest in owning an autonomous car. I certainly don't think I'd ever "embrace it" because I like driving my car. Would I be "scared" taking a ride in an AV in 2024? Probably, although not hysterical about it. Statistically the majority of accidents, especially fatal accidents, are caused by reckless or impaired driving. I don't do those things and the AV technology of 2024 won't really save you from other people being insane on the road.