Nissan Leaf comes to Tucson for a visit

By Joe Pangburn
Published on Thursday, December 31, 2009

The new Nissan Leaf may not be available for purchase in Tucson until late 2010, but the electric vehicle popped in for a visit today, Dec. 30.

Nissan brought two vehicles, one for show and one test car to the top of the Pennington Street Garage. Tucson is the first stop in the state as part of the 22-city Zero Emissions tour.

Dignitaries and media were able to test drive the Leaf on top of the Pennington Street Garage, during its first Arizona stop along a 22-city tour.

“This thing just goes,” said Secretary of State Ken Bennett after a test drive.

Billed as a zero-emission vehicle, the Nissan Leaf is a five-passenger, five-door sedan with a top speed of 90mph. The car, when fully charged, has a range of 100 miles.

Nissan is not giving out a price tag for the car yet, but says it will be comparable to other similar-sized family sedans.

Beginning early next year, electric transportation innovators ECOtality of Scottsdale, through a $99 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, will begin implementing electric vehicle infrastructure in the cities initially receiving the Leaf.

As part of the D.O.E. grant, Nissan also will play a role in providing initial Leaf owners in launch markets a home EV charging station, including installation, allowing easy overnight charging.

The battery will charge in four to eight hours on a standard 220 volt home charging unit. The quick-charging stations to be installed along Interstate 10 will charge the battery to 80 percent in 26 minutes.

The Leaf will only be available in select markets in 2010 and will go into mass production in 2012.