Nissan revamps Leaf electric car with more cruise range, cheaper model, other perks

[ScienceRocks]

Nissan revamps Leaf electric car with more cruise range, cheaper model, other perks


Nissan revamps Leaf electric car with more cruise range, cheaper model, other perks - The Washington Post

TOKYO — The upgraded Nissan Motor Co. Leaf electric car can travel further without recharging, comes in a cheaper model and tells drivers how much battery life is left.

Electric cars emit no pollution, but they need to be recharged. Owners have charging equipment installed at home. But the scarcity of recharging stations on the roads has limited electric vehicles use to short commutes and kept zero-emission cars confined to a market niche.

The new model can travel 228 kilometers (142 miles) on a single charge, up from 200 kilometers (124 miles) as long as you don’t use air conditioning, because of improvements such as streamlining the battery system and the vehicle’s lighter weight, according to Nissan.

It sells for less than 2.5 million yen ($31,000) in Japan when stripped of fancy options and adding government green subsidies — more affordable than the cheapest previous model at just below 3 million yen ($37,000).

This is fucking amazing that this could could go 124 miles on one charge before. WTH?