The Nissan Leaf looks like a sharp car, and if it were not for my choice of a Prius, my wife and I may have bought a Leaf or Volt.
This is not a review of the Leaf, only an update about its performance.
Auto journalists in Japan (perhaps they were a bit the skeptical types) recently took the Leaf to task.
In the snow.
Not just snow. Try BLIZZARD-type snow in Shibetsu, Hokkaido.
“Some 230 meters above sea level, media gathered to assess the LEAF’s driving performance and handling in extreme weather conditions, icing any concerns that wintry weather could drastically reduce battery performance,” Nissan said.
It was cold.
Scratch that. Bone-numbing freezing.
“Chief Vehicle Engineer Hidetoshi Kadota said that despite a reading of minus 9 degrees Celsius (15.8 degrees Fahrenheit) outside, the LEAF battery stayed between 5 and 10 degrees Celsius (41 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit),” Nissan noted with scientific precision.
What that means is the battery was operable.
What if it were colder, you ask?
No worries there; after all, we’re talking about the venerable car-marker Nissan.
“In the more extreme cold of Canada and Norway, a battery-warming system can keep the LEAF primed to charge at normal capacity, the same as outside temperatures of around 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit),” Nissan added.
So, no worries. Take the darn thing to Antarctica, if you want.
Mr. Kadota has a lot of experience with snow, freezing temperatures and the Leaf. In fact, he has shared energy- and range-saving tips with the 350 Leaf owners in Hokkaido.
However, on the day they had the freezing cold-weather test conditions, Mr. Kadota was proving the Leaf’s reliable performance to the 60 journalists gathered.
The tests apparently made a positive impression on what is ordinarily a skeptical group.
“I feel that the LEAF has been developed well, and incorporating the merits of the EV have made the car’s characteristics more generous to drivers,” said Yasuo Kusakabe, chairman of the Automobile Journalists Association of Japan. “For example, when the driver steps on the accelerator pedal or corners, the LEAF is expressing gentleness unique to the EV {electric vehicle}.”
Mr. Kusakabe said some of the LEAF’s unique advantages in winter conditions include Nissan’s Vehicle Dynamic Control, which monitors driver input and vehicle function.
“And the LEAF’s balanced weight distribution — due to a centrally positioned battery and a light front-forward motor compared with conventional gas-powered cars — also helps,” noted Nissan Technical Meister Hiroyoshi Kato.
“The footwork of the LEAF is smooth and nimble because the heavy components, such as batteries, are mounted under the floor, and the center of gravity is low and in the middle,” Mr. Kato said. “Such vehicle motion is emphasized on snow. As you may have seen, a car can easily slip or drift on snow or ice.
“As for the LEAF, the changing attitude of the car — the start of slipping, etc. — is very smooth and easy to control compared to conventional FR (front engine/rear drive) or FF (front engine/front drive) vehicles. I believe those may be some of the positive surprises for participants.”
These features, Nissan said, proved their worth on the slippery slopes of country roads and the quick turns of the pylon slalom that the company had set up for the tests.
Takayuki Kinoshita, a journalist and racecar driver, says LEAF proved its road-worthiness.
“I think EVs, like the LEAF, will expand in the future,” Kinoshita says. “If EVs can only be usable in certain limited conditions, they will not grow. But I was highly impressed by the key message here, that the LEAF can drive normally in hot or cold weather throughout the world.”
So, I guess that means take the darn thing to the Sahara, if you want. It will run, although electricity may be a problem.
There is a growing legion of Leafs in the world — 22,000 so far.
No doubt that tests in the freezing cold will only help propel Leaf to more sales.
My only request would be that electricity produced to power the Leafs would progressively be weaned off carbon and on to renewable energy production.
Otherwise, it’s just an exchange from one form of carbon energy production to another; from a gas station to a power station, although in Japan, nuclear power is a major electricity supplier.
