If Fortune Favors the Brave, This Car Deserves To Succeed
By Andrew Frankel Edmunds.com
2011 Nissan Leaf
Given that there has been so much talk and so many wise words from so many different directions about our all-electric future, it can almost go unnoticed that the one thing no one has actually gotten around to doing is translating a single syllable into something a normal family with a normal budget can go out and buy.
Until now.
The 2011 Nissan Leaf is not a low-volume slice of automotive exotica like a Tesla Roadster, nor is it an electrified version of a conventional gasoline car like the Mitsubishi i MiEV, and it is certainly not a plug-in hybrid like a Chevrolet Volt or a conventional hybrid like a Toyota Prius. The 2011 Nissan Leaf is a brand-new, purpose-built, mass-produced, battery-powered family car and, as such, the very first of its kind in the world. And we've driven it.
But is it a real car for real people?
You Say You Want a Revolution
The moment of truth is upon us. We're in the East End of London in a large concrete parking lot upon which Nissan has marked out a track for us to sample the 2011 Nissan Leaf. Actually, two Leafs are here today. One is for static assessment, and it cannot be driven. The car that can be driven is a late-series prototype, and this one wears the body of a Nissan Tiida, known as the Versa in the U.S. Underneath the bodywork, however, this car is pure Leaf. It is very like the car that John O'Dell, editor of Edmunds.com's Green Car Advisor, drove last summer.
Before you even slot the shift lever into Drive and tentatively press the throttle, the 2011 Nissan Leaf has done much to win you over. For a start, there's no reason not to have one — in design terms, anyway.
This is a full five-seater with a conspicuously large trunk. You sit a little higher than you might expect because there are 48 lithium-ion battery modules under the floor, but that's no bad thing. The cabin is spacious, airy and promising. The electronic dashboard works particularly well, using state-of-the-art graphics to present almost certainly more information than you will ever need, a way to reassure you that the Leaf is not going to run out of electrons without giving fair warning first. Nissan calls this "range anxiety" and, as we shall see, it's an understandable affliction.
At first, the Leaf is entirely as expected. Once you're satisfied the Leaf is actually awake, you select Drive. Then one small squeeze of the throttle later, you're under way. It's not silent, not quite at least, but even in the unlikely event that your everyday steer is a Rolls-Royce Phantom, you're going to be stunned by the Leaf's smoothness and refinement.
The Fun-To-Drive Quotient
You ease the Leaf through the first corner and see a long straightaway appear, so naturally you nail the throttle to the floor, expecting acceleration of the barely discernible variety. But that's not what you get.
Because maximum torque is always and instantly available, the Leaf jumps forward with sufficient alacrity to make you wonder if it should not be renamed "Leap," a word that describes both its throttle response and game-changing technology with equal precision. Nissan reckons this electric vehicle's midrange punch is on a par with a sedan powered by a 2.5-liter V6 (probably it really means a Nissan Altima 2.5 with its inline-4, but whatever), and we'd not argue with that.
The 2011 Nissan Leaf also has a party piece, a feature quite incidental to the reason it exists but likely to add considerably to its appeal. And that is the location of the batteries under the middle of the car instead of in the trunk. Because the Leaf represents a clean-sheet design, Nissan created a platform that centralizes the weight of its heaviest components — the batteries — within the span of the wheelbase. And this bit of physics when combined with a very low center of gravity makes the Leaf very responsive to directional changes.
That is to say, all this makes the Leaf implausibly good fun to drive. OK, this is no Porsche Cayman, but when your expectations on the dynamic front are precisely zero, anything comes as a pleasant surprise, so the Leaf's ability to corner both flat and fast adds up to considerably more.
Reality Bites
And now we must let the cold light of day flood into this rosy picture. Because while the Nissan Leaf might be surprisingly good to drive, what matters — and what, ultimately, will determine its success or failure — is what it is like to live with.
The bottom line is that currently the 2011 Nissan Leaf has a range of just 100 miles, and that's worked out to the U.S. LA-4 driving cycle (the original EPA city driving cycle, before the current FTP cycle was instituted), and this means that even Nissan admits that the car's owners are going to struggle to achieve it. Moreover, the Leaf will top 90 mph, but it won't travel 100 miles at that sort of speed — 60 miles is more like it, we're told. So this confirms what we all know about electric cars, which is that they are meant for city streets, not interstate freeways.
It's also useful to remember that it takes eight hours to recharge a Leaf with an industrial-type 220-volt hookup, though you can get an 80 percent recharge in 30 minutes from a specialized high-energy recharge station.
The math still adds up for most people, since we live in cities. And, as we're constantly reminded, 80 percent of us cover less than 60 miles daily. So Nissan considers the Leaf to be an eminently viable proposition as a result.
Besides, the Leaf also does much to minimize any residual range anxiety that you might have. Its navigation system is hooked up to a global database, so as the charging infrastructure expands, the nav will automatically update and always be ready to take you to the nearest power supply. Over and above that, the car's operational radius is displayed on the nav screen, so if you program a destination that's beyond the circumference, the nav will not be shy about letting you know.
You can even talk to the 2011 Nissan Leaf through your mobile phone, telling it, for instance, to warm up its interior on a cold morning while it's still parked and charging in your garage, saving you battery life and a cold backside. Once it's charged, it will send you a text saying it's hot to trot.
The Cost of Being Green
Of course what you pay for the electricity and how clean it really is depends on prices that change and the kind of power station in which the electricity was generated, but it's still safe to say that the Nissan Leaf's cost per mile traveled is a small fraction of what it would be for a car of the same size that burns gasoline.
But there's another saving, too. Where a conventional car needs an annual checkup, the Nissan Leaf effectively looks after itself. In fact, Nissan says the only routine maintenance required at the dealer will be the renewal of brake pads, and since the Leaf's regenerative braking system minimizes pad wear, it could be some years before the car needs any maintenance at all.
In around five years, however, the Leaf's lithium-ion batteries will only take around 80 percent of their original charge, so you might feel inclined to change them, not least because the replacements will almost certainly have far greater range than the old ones even when they were new. Indeed Nissan says it has targeted a cruising range of 300-350 miles for the Leaf, though the company admits the technology that will achieve it does not currently exist.
Will This Car Succeed?
It's the million-dollar question — or multibillion-dollar question, if you're Nissan. Certainly the 2011 Nissan Leaf will prove an outstandingly able device for delivering urban mobility. The immediacy of its motor response coupled with its unforeseen dynamic nimbleness will make light work of heavy traffic and there really is very little for the range-anxious to fear so long as you remember to put the plug in the wall at night.
But as with other EVs we've driven, the 2011 Nissan Leaf will have to wait for the rest of the world to catch up with it. Only when it's possible to recharge your Leaf with another hundred miles of power in the time it takes to knock back a coffee will this car's true potential be unleashed. And only when batteries are capable of sustaining the Leaf for more than 300 miles or more will this and other EVs stand a chance of prevailing over the conventional automobile with an internal-combustion engine that has served us so well and for so long.
Don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen, though. Even in 2050, up to half the cars on our roads will still be powered by internal-combustion engines, Nissan says. So while the 2011 Nissan Leaf is undoubtedly the start of something big, it seems the finish is so far away that few of us reading this today will even be here to see it
2010 Nissan Maxima SV Review
Chris Burdick | Mar 15, 2010 | 0 comments
Last year, Nissan completely overhauled the Maxima, bringing it into premium territory. And it needed it. The 2004-2008 model held little over the Altima, and could even be confused for an Altima by someone not familiar with the Nissan product line. Now it’s a premium sports sedan so good that competitors should be running scared. If it weren’t for its price, that is.
They’re calling the new Maxima a “4DSC” (short for 4-Door Sports Car) – a tribute to the Maxima of late eighties. It certainly acts like it, too. A strong 290 hp 3.5-liter V6 engine in combination with a CVT provides quick and responsive throttle inputs without the harshness of a typical sports car. No, I’m still not a fan of the CVT, but I understand why they use it. Steering input is quick without feeling overly boosted, suspension is tight but not rough, and it provides a Sport mode with paddle shifters (not that they actually shift anything.) It’s smaller than last generation, which is a good move, and exterior design certainly hints at a more aggressive car. A proper sports car though? Not quite, but a highly capable sport sedan most definitely.
Interior quality is superb, with high-end materials used all around, and a driver-oriented cockpit with modern design that Nissan calls a “Super Cockpit” due to the high tech feel and design. 8-way power leather seats with heating and cooling, a good amount of bolstering, and driver thigh extension make long-distance and aggressive drives comfortable. Lots of features are standard – intelligent key with push-button start, cruise, dual-zone climate, power moonroof, bluetooth, and 8-speaker sound with available USB connectivity.
Check out the 2009 Nissan Maxima Review for more details and opinions. So what’s changed for 2010? They’ve simplified their option packaging a little bit (which we complained about last year) by offering a monitor package, giving you the 7-inch color monitor, rearview monitor, and 2GB music server without having to buy the technology package. Bluetooth is standard, and now there’s only one technology package instead of three, which could be confusing. Two new wheel finishes are available as well as two new colors, Crimson Black and Ocean Gray. Finally, they’ve changed their previous iPod connectivity to USB connectivity, allowing those who own something other than an Apple iPod to connect their MP3 player. Other car makers should follow suit.
I love the new Maxima – it’s a pleasure to drive either aggressively or complaisantly. It’s smooth, quiet, fast when you want it to be, and handles like a champ.
The Numbers
The problem the Maxima is going to have is its price. Not that it’s overpriced, but it’s priced into a premium category generally held by Nissan’s premium brand Infiniti. Personally, I’d rather have the Maxima than a G35 sedan, but I’m afraid buyers aren’t going to look at it like that or agree. The 2010 Maxima starts at $30,460, and $33,180 for the SV trim. Our test model, which includes the Sport Package, Sport Technology package, and Monitor package, comes in at a whopping $38,660 – a price point normally held by brands like Lexus, Cadillac, and BMW. Fuel economy comes in at an excellent 19 city / 26 hwy.
Before you Buy
Competitors include Toyota Avalon, Acura TL, Cadillac CTS, Hyundai Genesis, VW CC, Audi A4, and at the higher end, BMW’s 3-Series, and Nissan’s own Infiniti G37 Sedan
, funny enough. If you’re looking at the higher end models within the Maxima’s price range, you’ll have to stick with the base models, which won’t include as many features as the Maxima but will have the brand prestige too many are looking for. Frankly, out of all the models listed, the Maxima will give you some of the best value in terms of features and fun-to-drive factor.
The 25th anniversary is silver, the 50th is gold. And the 40th? Another precious metal, or more correctly metal, rubber and glass -- the Nissan Z®.
Forty years ago, on October 22, 1969, the Datsun 240Z arrived in North America, heralding a new era in sports car design.
Where previous sports cars were primarily a.) imported from England or Germany b.) expensive c.) fragile or unreliable or d.) all of the above, the new import from Japan offered the performance of a Porsche, the looks of a Jaguar and the price and reliability of, well, a Nissan. The 240Z was a revelation to the automotive world -- an affordable sports car that could be driven every day and was accessible to anyone with the $3,626 base price.
And though the price of a new Z® might have changed a little in the past 40 years, its unmatched value, style, performance and segment leadership remains stronger than ever. To celebrate, Nissan has created a special, limited production version of the current 2010 Nissan 370Z Coupe, the 370Z 40th Anniversary Edition. It will be offered at select Nissan dealers nationwide beginning in late February 2010, with availability limited to 1,000 units.
"Throughout the history of the automobile, a rare handful of cars stand apart as vehicles that not only capture the imagination of the world but also embody the essence of the automaker's brand, engineering and ideals. The Z® is just such a vehicle," said Al Castignetti, vice president and general manager, Nissan Division, Nissan North America, Inc.
Changing Times -- Literally
When the original Datsun 240Z debuted as a 1970 model, its design and performance were considered state-of-the-art: a 150-horsepower 2.4-liter single overhead cam inline 6-cylinder engine, 4-wheel independent suspension, 14-inch wheels, choice of a 4-speed manual or 3-speed automatic transmission, and a quarter-mile acceleration time of 17.1 seconds at 84.5 miles per hour. The 240Z was conceived as a closed coupe body, rather than the typical open-top sports cars of the age, to enhance body rigidity and, therefore, improve handling and durability.
Needless to say, a lot has changed. Today's definition of state-of-the-art, as expressed in the sixth generation Nissan 370Z, includes a 332-horsepower 3.7-liter dual overhead cam V6 engine with VVEL (Variable Valve Event and Lift), lightweight 4-wheel independent suspension with extensive use of aluminum components, available 19-inch super lightweight forged alloy wheels, choice of 6-speed manual transmission with innovative SynchroRev Match or refined 7-speed automatic and independent quarter-mile acceleration times of 13.5 seconds at 106.6 miles per hour. And today, the recently introduced 370Z Roadster -- with its automatic-operation fully lined cloth top, offers nearly the same body rigidity and performance as the rock-solid 370Z Coupe.
Also, where the 240Z offered what many considered "luxuries" in a sports car -- including roll-up windows and radio, today's 370Z is offered with items such as Nissan Intelligent Key with Push Button Start, Bluetooth® Hands-free Phone System, XM® Satellite Radio and an advanced Nissan Hard Drive Navigation System with touch-screen, XM NavTraffic® Real-Time Traffic Information and NavWeather (XM® subscription required, sold separately), Zagat® restaurant guide, 9.3GB Music Box hard drive for digital music storage and playback and a USB fort for iPod® connectivity.
About the Nissan 370Z 40th Anniversary Edition
The 370Z 40th Anniversary Edition starts out as a 370Z Coupe Touring model equipped with manual transmission and Sport Package (including SynchroRev Match, front chin spoiler, rear spoiler, Nissan Sport Brakes, 19-inch Rays forged aluminum-alloy wheels and viscous limited-slip differential) and adds a premium ?40th Graphite? exterior color and red leather-appointed interior.
Additional exclusive equipment includes a high-luster smoke wheel finish, red brake calipers and 40th Anniversary badges on the rear hatch and front shock tower brace. Inside, along with the red leather-appointed seats are red door panel inserts, 40th Anniversary seatbacks with debossed logo, floormat logo embroidery, red stitching on the center stack, shift boot and kneepads, smooth leather steering wheel with red stitching and interior 40th commemorative plaque. Every 40th Anniversary Z® also comes with a commemorative premium satin car cover.
The Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (M.S.R.P.) for the 370Z 40th Anniversary Edition is $38,860 USD.
A Brief History: Six Generations of Z®
The journey from the original 240Z to the current 370Z, of course, made a number of interesting stops along the past 40 years. Interestingly, the 240Z might not have made the journey to America in the first place, if not for the efforts of one man.
Though many, many people were responsible for the design and engineering of the first generation 240Z, its success in North America can be attributed to Yutaka Katayama, who was president of Nissan's U.S. operations at the time. Known affectionately as "Mr. K," he was convinced that the company's new sports car design would be a hit in the U.S. There was just one problem -- the vehicle's name: the Fairlady Z (which is still used in the Japanese market today).
With a name change for this market to "240Z" and some aggressive marketing, including early motorsports success, the Z® became an instant hit -- bringing attention and buyers not just to Z®, but also to the entire brand.
After overseeing Nissan?s growth in the U.S. in the '70s, Katayama returned to Japan and remains, to this day, linked to the Z®?s success here and around the world. On September 15th, 2009, Mr. K celebrated his 100th birthday and received cards and birthday greetings from Z® lovers everywhere.
In 1974, as the engine displacement climbed to 2.6 liters the name changed to 260Z. The 2+2 model with an extended roofline and tiny back seat also appeared. In 1975, engine size increased again to 2.8 liters and the name changed to 280Z. Z® cars continued to dominate on the racetrack, with Pete Brock, John Morton, Bob Sharp and P.L. (Paul) Newman among the many talented drivers.
Z® sales continued to climb with the introduction in 1979 of the new second generation 280ZX. Now priced at just under $10,000, the 280ZX was named Motor Trend "Import Car of the Year" and sales passed 86,000 units. T-tops and a turbocharged engine followed in the early '80s.
In 1984, Z® engine displacement increased again, with a 3.0-liter V6 replacing the classic Z® inline-6, and the 300ZX was born. Also, a specially equipped model celebrating the company?s 50th anniversary and priced at $25,999 was introduced. The 1984 Z® was the best selling sports car in America.
The next breakthrough in Z® history came in 1990 with the arrival of the totally redesigned, fourth generation 300ZX. Offered in two-seat and four-seat 2+2 models, it offered an unheard of 222 horsepower and a top speed of 150 mph. A few months later, the 300ZX Turbo followed -- with 300 horsepower, a 160-mph top speed and a $33,000 price tag.
The 1990 300ZX captured the Z®?s second Motor Trend "Import Car of the Year" award, along with a spot on Car and Driver and Road & Track ?10 Best? lists. The 300ZX also captured Automobile?s ?Design of the Year? and the first of four ?All-Stars? awards.
By the mid-?90s, however, sports car sales in general were slowing and the Z® had lost its "affordable" sports car positioning. With Z® sales declining sharply and the core "value" positioning no longer part of the "Z® DNA," sales of the Z® in the U.S. slumped and sales were stopped following the 1996 model year. The last 300ZX imported into the U.S. was inducted into the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
The next chapter of the Z® history came just before the end of the century. In 1999, Nissan and Renault formed what has become the highly successful Renault-Nissan Alliance.
Mr. Carlos Ghosn was assigned by Renault to head the new management team. Among his first tasks was not just to look at the business aspects, but to find the "soul" of the company. In interview after interview, people inside and outside the company brought up one model to him, one letter: Z®.
Development of the new Z® began later that year, with the return to the values of the original 240Z -- a car that sports car enthusiasts would look forward to driving everyday; quick, inspiring and affordable.
In summer 2002, the Z® was reborn with the introduction of the 2003 350Z. It was delivered, as promised, with an MSRP of under $30,000.
Following the 350Z's unprecedented success, the sixth generation Z®, the 2009 370Z was launched last December. Now the little sports car that could comes full circle with the announcement of the 370Z 40th Anniversary Edition.
"It's almost inconceivable that it has been 40 years since the original 240Z changed the course of Nissan and the concept of affordable, everyday sports cars," said Castignetti. "In a year, 1969, marked by the first man to walk on the moon, the 240Z made a remarkable first step of its own. Happy anniversary, Z®."
Maxima has earned the 2010 Automotive Lease Guide Residual Value Award in the full-size car category. The Residual Value Awards honor the vehicles in each automotive segment that are predicted to retain the highest percentage of their original price after a conventional three-year period.
370Z has earned the 2010 Kelley Blue Book Best Resale Value award in the sports car category: “Regularly compared to performance coupes and convertibles that would cost you an additional five figures, the Nissan 370Z can be considered a bargain to begin with, which can be an important part of the resale value equation.”
