Spencer Howson - Bmag

Leaf out of new book
Nissan’s new green car a quiet achiever
There have been other electric cars,
including the Mitsubishi i-MiEV already
sold here in tiny numbers, but Nissan
claims the $51,500 Leaf available now is the
world’s first mass-produced, all-electric car.
It says the five-door family-size Leaf brings
Electric Vehicle (EV) technology into the
mainstream with its styling, technology,
driveability and performance.
The Leaf does not use petrol or diesel fuel
and therefore has no exhaust pipe emissions.
Li-ion batteries arranged in thin cells low on
the car floor provide a range of up to 170km on
a single charge and strong urban performance.
The Leaf has been widely acclaimed,
winning the 2011 World Car of the Year, 2011
European Car of the Year, 2011-12 Japan Car of
the Year, as well as being recognised in nonmotoring
awards such as Time Magazine’s Top
50 Inventions of 2009.
The compact battery packaging
has allowed Nissan to design a fairly
conventional hatchback, although there
are many interesting EV-only features.
The navigation system helps deal with
so-called range anxiety. If a destination is
programmed into the system, the computer
will continuously calculate the vehicle’s
ability to reach the destination on the
available battery power. If the battery is
running down, the computer will provide
the driver with the location of the nearest
charging station and put the car into ‘limphome’
mode if necessary.
One other interesting feature on the
otherwise silent Leaf EV is its ‘Approaching
Vehicle Sound for Pedestrians’, which
simulates a vehicle sound at speeds up to
40km/h.
Metro Nissan
at Windsor is
proud to be
one of only two
dealerships in
Brisbane to make it through the application
process from Nissan to become a specialist
Leaf dealer. Visitors to the dealership can
test drive the new electric car, view a battery
charging demonstration and ask resident
expert Gordon McPherson any questions.
McPherson completed an extensive training
course with Nissan head office in Melbourne
to be able to educate people about the new
technology used in the car.
The dealership also houses a fully
serviced battery charging station in the
service department along with other state-
Nissan Leaf has
received high praise
of-the-art servicing equipment. It has been
another major investment in the customer
service department of Metro Nissan and
demonstrating its dedication to customer
satisfaction.
Metro Nissan is Queensland’s largest
volume dealership in new and used vehicle
sales, customer service and spare parts and
has a long history with Nissan in Australia.
Nathan Seery, the dealer principal at Metro
Nissan believes that by keeping up with the
trends in automotive technology they can
ensure a long future in the industry.
Read Brisbane’s Best I bmag.com.au 47
Prices quoted do not include statutory and dealer on-road charges unless otherwise stated