2012 Nissan 2.0 S on 2040-cars

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2014 Nissan Versa Note

The original Austin Mini was not designed as a fun-to-drive, sporty small car. Its go-kart-like handling and general chuckability were an unintended byproduct of essential aspects of its design. Its four wheels were pushed to the absolute corners of the car to maximize interior space, and its front-wheel-drive layout and transversely mounted engine were in contrast to the rear-wheel-drive, longitudinal layouts of the day.
The result was a highly economical car with space for four and some luggage that just happened to be an absolute hoot to drive. Nissan has followed a similar path in the design of its Versa Note, which strives to provide the maximum amount of space and efficiency in a minimal footprint. On this front, it's successful.
First, we must salute Nissan for departing from the styling of the malformed kidney bean it calls the Versa Sedan. The Versa Note is a fashionably conservative design that neither offends nor excites. The front fascia is arguably its most conservative point, with high-mounted headlights and a sharper, cleaner version of Nissan's familial grille. The tail, with its funky I-don't-know-what-shape-I-am taillights contributes most of the car's flair. The large, spacious greenhouse, particularly up front, keeps passengers from feeling hemmed-in while letting in plenty of light.

Nissan pokes fun at Tesla's New Jersey woes, then deletes Tweet

Ever have one of those moments when you release something out onto Twitter, only to think better of it a little while later and reach for that garbage can icon? If so, you are not alone. In fact, you're in the company of a certain Japanese automaker, who recently joined the ranks of those who've suffered an embarrassing bout of tweetus deletus. The Nissan Leaf social media team apparently thought it would be amusing to take a light poke at Tesla Motors and its New Jersey dealer fight woes on its Twitter feed and put together the cheeky graphic which you see above. It was originally published on the micro-blogging network accompanied by the text, "It's okay #NewJersey, you can still #GoElectric with the #NissanLEAF #EV." Funny, right? Not to everyone. The image attracted a bit of mild criticism which, to their credit, Nissan responded to saying, "It's all in #EV love." Soon, however, the original image disappeared from the @NissanLEAF feed. Luckily, we saved a copy for your edification. Rob Robinson, senior specialist of social communications for Nissan, told AutoblogGreen that the Leaf Twitter account is run by an agency, and that the tweet in question, "Was not a tweet that was reviewed or approved by Nissan. We saw it and asked them to take it down." As for the reasoning, Robinson said that, "We thought it was a discussion we didn't need to be weighing in on." While we can see the Nissan point of view, we also appreciate the attempt at being irreverent. Anything to break up the monotony of the stale toast the account usually offers up – "What would you nickname your Nissan Leaf if it was Ocean Blue?" which is the last undeleted Tweet available on the feed, as of this writing. We actually applaud the intention of the Tesla post. It all makes us wonder, though, if the social media team over there isn't in need of a little input on how they might improve its outreach. Since we know our readers are not shy in offering suggestions, we ask you to leave your thoughts and ideas for them in the Comments.

This is what happens when you drive your Nissan Leaf beyond empty

If you see an AAA truck bringing someone a can of extra gas, it's rarely a big deal, but when an EV driver runs out of charge, people pay attention. Whether its a writer for The New York Times or hardcore Tesla fans, people are curious about this newfangled technology and the things that could go wrong. "I don't know what the opposite of range anxiety is. Range annoyance?" – Robert Llewellyn Well, few people have more fun with their EV than Robert Llewellyn, the actor (best known for Red Dwarf) and star of his own pro-EV show Fully Charged. And he's good at educating people on the EVs as well. In the latest episode, he tries something in his first-gen Leaf that he's never done before: drive until the battery is completely empty. When the car just keeps on going well beyond the official range estimate, Llewellyn gets frustrated. "I don't know what the opposite of range anxiety is," he says. "Range annoyance?" After 91 miles, he finally comes to a stop. Watch the video below. In the end, all Llewellyn needed to do to get up and running again was to get towed home and plug in. A few hours later, he was ready to go, this time with his range estimate at 93 miles. Compare that with the dangers to your gas engine if you run out of gas and you might wonder why so many people worry about an EVs range. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.