Nissan Leaf Electric Car - How It's Made
The Leaf's frontal style is characterized by a sharp V-shape design with large, up slanting light-emitting diode (LED) headlights that create a distinctive blue internal reflective design. The headlights also split and redirect airflow away from the door mirrors, which reduces wind noise and drag. The LED low-beam headlights consume less electricity than the halogen lamps.[25] Nissan sought to make the Leaf appealing to mainstream drivers by giving it a familiar sedan- and hatchback-like design.[26] The bottom of the car has aerodynamic paneling to reduce drag and improve aerodynamics as much as possible.[27] According to Nissan, the 2011 Leaf has a drag coefficient of Cd=0.29, which was reduced to Cd=0.28 for the 2013 model year Leaf.[28]
According to Consumer Reports, as of December 2011 the Nissan Leaf has an out-of-pocket operating cost of 3.5 cents per mile (2.19¢ per km) while the heavier Chevrolet Volt has a cost in electric mode of 3.8 cents per mile (2.38¢ per km). These costs are based on the U.S. national average electricity rate of 11 cents per kWh and energy consumption was estimated from their own tests.[67] The consumer magazine also compared the Leaf with the most fuel-efficient hybrid and gasoline-powered cars as tested by Consumer Reports. The results are summarized in the following table, and the analysis found that the Leaf operating cost is much less than half of the gasoline-powered cars for trips up to 70 mi (110 km), which is close to the Leaf's maximum range. The Volt while on EV mode has a close cost per mile but as the distance is larger than its electric range of 35 mi (56 km), the Leaf advantage is similar to the other cars. Consumer Reports also noted that even with a much higher electric rate of 19 cents per kWh, such as rural Connecticut, the Leaf still cost about 20% less to operate than the Prius and around 50% less than the Corolla.[67]
