SAN FRANCISCO — Nissan will not formally announce the 2013 version of the all-electric Leaf until early this week at the Detroit auto show, but on Saturday the company offered a sneak preview to the Bay Area Nissan Leaf Owners Association.
Nissan showing a preproduction 2013 Nissan Leaf to a meeting of the Bay Area Nissan Leaf Owners Association, the largest and most active group of Leaf owners in the United States. The San Francisco group has been active in suggesting enhancements to Nissan’s small electric vehicle.
It was an apt setting for the global unveiling of improvements — better range, faster charging and a lower starting price — intended to address shortcomings of previous versions of the Leaf.
“I can point to a half-dozen things on this 2013 car that directly resulted from meetings this group had with Nissan,” said Gary Lieber, co-founder of the owners association, informally known as the BayLeafs. “They really listened to us.”
The meeting, attended by about 60 people, took place at Luscious Garage, an auto service shop specializing in hybrid and electric cars in San Francisco. (Full disclosure: I was invited to the meeting because I lease a 2011 Nissan Leaf.)
Tim Gallagher, a Nissan spokesman, said the 2013 enhancements were “simple, small changes, a nice generational move of the car.” He said the simultaneous increase in content and the lowering of the price was made possible, in part, by the shift of production for 2013 Leafs to the company’s assembly plant in Smyrna, Tenn.
When asked if the pricing reduction was significant, Mr. Gallagher replied: “I was impressed. It’s a good number.” He declined to give the exact figure before the official announcement.
The strategy for affordability is primarily based on the advent of a stripped-down S model that comes without a navigation system or a Quick Charge port, and with only a basic radio-CD player. Premium features like the Quick Charge port, previously available only on the upscale SL model, are now included in the SV version. The SV, which was the cheapest model, is now the midrange Leaf.
New features, including LED headlamps, fog lights, 17-inch alloy wheels and leather seating, will now be reserved for the SL. Additional premium upgrades to the SL include a Bose seven-speaker audio system and “around view monitor,” which puts cameras in front, in back and on the side mirrors for parking assistance.
Nissan is adding “improvements for range management,” without actually providing a bigger battery in the Leaf. The implication is that many owners will drive farther than the 80 or so miles typically possible with the 24-kilowatt-hour battery — but the company did not offer an estimate of how much farther the 2013 Leaf would go on a single charge, either in miles or on a percentage basis.
The improvements would result from a combination of an aerodynamic tweak to the front fascia, a more efficient heater and the addition of a driver-selected B-mode that increases regenerative braking. A feature long demanded by Leaf owners, a dashboard display of the battery’s state of charge on a percentage basis, will be offered in the 2013 model.
Charging times using 240-volt power will be faster in the 2013 Leaf with an upgrade to a 6.6-kilowatt onboard charger, from the 3.3-kilowatt charger on 2012 models. That means adding about 20 miles in an hour of charging, rather than about 12 miles. A full charge from empty to full will take about four hours, instead of seven hours.
The charge port area now comes with a much-needed light, not provided on earlier models, and the ability to open the port door from inside the car or by using the key fob.
The car’s driving range will be indirectly enhanced as well, because most Bay Area Nissan dealerships will soon install Quick Chargers, Mr. Gallagher said. The Quick Charger, capable of providing 50 to 60 miles of added range in about 25 minutes, will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week — at no cost to Leaf owners.
“I’m confident that in the next 60 days we’ll have a lot of Quick Chargers in the ground,” Mr. Gallagher said. “It’ll be great coverage across the state.”
Source: The New York Times
Nissan showing a preproduction 2013 Nissan Leaf to a meeting of the Bay Area Nissan Leaf Owners Association, the largest and most active group of Leaf owners in the United States. The San Francisco group has been active in suggesting enhancements to Nissan’s small electric vehicle.
It was an apt setting for the global unveiling of improvements — better range, faster charging and a lower starting price — intended to address shortcomings of previous versions of the Leaf.
“I can point to a half-dozen things on this 2013 car that directly resulted from meetings this group had with Nissan,” said Gary Lieber, co-founder of the owners association, informally known as the BayLeafs. “They really listened to us.”
The meeting, attended by about 60 people, took place at Luscious Garage, an auto service shop specializing in hybrid and electric cars in San Francisco. (Full disclosure: I was invited to the meeting because I lease a 2011 Nissan Leaf.)
Tim Gallagher, a Nissan spokesman, said the 2013 enhancements were “simple, small changes, a nice generational move of the car.” He said the simultaneous increase in content and the lowering of the price was made possible, in part, by the shift of production for 2013 Leafs to the company’s assembly plant in Smyrna, Tenn.
When asked if the pricing reduction was significant, Mr. Gallagher replied: “I was impressed. It’s a good number.” He declined to give the exact figure before the official announcement.
The strategy for affordability is primarily based on the advent of a stripped-down S model that comes without a navigation system or a Quick Charge port, and with only a basic radio-CD player. Premium features like the Quick Charge port, previously available only on the upscale SL model, are now included in the SV version. The SV, which was the cheapest model, is now the midrange Leaf.
New features, including LED headlamps, fog lights, 17-inch alloy wheels and leather seating, will now be reserved for the SL. Additional premium upgrades to the SL include a Bose seven-speaker audio system and “around view monitor,” which puts cameras in front, in back and on the side mirrors for parking assistance.
Nissan is adding “improvements for range management,” without actually providing a bigger battery in the Leaf. The implication is that many owners will drive farther than the 80 or so miles typically possible with the 24-kilowatt-hour battery — but the company did not offer an estimate of how much farther the 2013 Leaf would go on a single charge, either in miles or on a percentage basis.
The improvements would result from a combination of an aerodynamic tweak to the front fascia, a more efficient heater and the addition of a driver-selected B-mode that increases regenerative braking. A feature long demanded by Leaf owners, a dashboard display of the battery’s state of charge on a percentage basis, will be offered in the 2013 model.
Charging times using 240-volt power will be faster in the 2013 Leaf with an upgrade to a 6.6-kilowatt onboard charger, from the 3.3-kilowatt charger on 2012 models. That means adding about 20 miles in an hour of charging, rather than about 12 miles. A full charge from empty to full will take about four hours, instead of seven hours.
The charge port area now comes with a much-needed light, not provided on earlier models, and the ability to open the port door from inside the car or by using the key fob.
The car’s driving range will be indirectly enhanced as well, because most Bay Area Nissan dealerships will soon install Quick Chargers, Mr. Gallagher said. The Quick Charger, capable of providing 50 to 60 miles of added range in about 25 minutes, will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week — at no cost to Leaf owners.
“I’m confident that in the next 60 days we’ll have a lot of Quick Chargers in the ground,” Mr. Gallagher said. “It’ll be great coverage across the state.”
Source: The New York Times
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