Earlier this month, I took a Chevy Volt for a test drive. Today, I drove a Nissan Leaf.
At the test drive event, they had a little sales pitch thing with equipment displays and videos that they led us through first. I think they stretched it out a little too much to keep people occupied while they were waiting to drive, and it was incredibly corny. The style was almost exactly like what you see in the old World’s Fair films, so I’m sure that in the future people will be laughing at the marketing pitches, because we’re laughing at them today.
But, marketing aside, the test drive was okay. I could only take the car on a pre-defined route through the streets of San Jose, so unfortunately I never got to go more than 35 MPH and spent a good portion of the drive waiting at traffic lights. The car handles just like any other car, and I didn’t notice the regenerative braking as much as I did on the Volt. I’d have to try it out on a highway to form a more informed opinion, but right now I think I prefer the Leaf over the Volt in terms of driving experience.
I wonder which car I’ll get to drive next.