Table of Contents

Welcome! 1 An Introduction to Electric Cars 3 Electric cars and the twenty-first century 4 The advancement of technology 6 The changing face of transport 7 Cost 8 A brief history of the Nissan LEAF 9 Living with a LEAF 19 First impressions 19 Performance 20 Braking 22 Handling and Ride 23 Refinement 23 The Fun Factor 24 CARWINGS(R) 24 Range 26 How much is enough range? 31 Range Fixation 32 The first few weeks 33 Long term ownership 34 Plugging it in 35 Charging from home 35 What to look for when buying a home charging point 37 Home charging point suppliers and installers 39 Charging at work 40 Public charging points 41 Putting your car on charge at a Destination Charger 47 Charging up at a Rapid charger 48 Free Electric Car Charging 49 Will a LEAF work for me? 51 What benefits do I expect to get from owning a LEAF? 51 Where do I live and where do I drive? 51 How far do I travel in an average day? 52 How often do I travel long distances? 53 I do not have off-road parking. Can I still own LEAF? 54 What if an electric car is not suitable for me now? 55 Me and my LEAF 57 Damian Powell, Birmingham, UK. 57 Peter Berg, California, USA. 59 Diane Courtney, London, UK. 62 Model Range 65 North America 65 Europe 67 The Options list 69 Purchasing and Running Costs 73 Leasing 73 Buying Used 74 Fuel Costs 74 A car for free? 75 Looking after your LEAF 77 Looking after the battery 77 Long Life Mode 78 The Nissan LEAF and the environment 79 Real world economy and the environmental test 84 The Test 84 The Carbon Calculations 85 Test Validity 85 The Nissan LEAF 85 The Toyota Prius and Ford Focus 86 Test results from the Nissan LEAF 87 Test results from the Toyota Prius and Ford Focus 88 Side-by-side analysis: well to wheel measurements 88 What if my Nissan LEAF was powered by coal? 89 A final word 90 Also by Michael Boxwell 91

About the Author

Michael Boxwell has been involved in the electric vehicle industry since 2003 and has owned and driven electric cars since 2006. He is currently on his second Nissan LEAF.