After plenty of hype (ending with a big buzz about wireless charging), Nissan has finally debuted their latest offering in the world of green cars—the all-electric Leaf, a zero emissions vehicle that will be available in late 2010.

The Leaf is the first representation of Nissan’s plan to focus less on reduced emissions vehicles (like their Altima hybrid) and instead skip ahead to zero-emission EVs. The Nissan Leaf also highlights some of the challenges of making electric cars a common choice for car buyers with the steps Nissan has taken to ensure the vehicle is “real world” ready. Mainly, Nissan knew the Leaf needed to be affordable and practical for the day-to-day driving of the average driver, and they’ve tried to meet those demands with a cost expected to be somewhere between $25,000 and $30,000 (not the cheapest vehicle on the market, but certainly no Tesla Roadster either) and a range of 100 miles. The company also opted for a shape that would match most of the cars on the road—lest they scare off anyone afraid of change—and a five-person capacity.

Still, not everything about the Nissan Leaf has been figured out just yet. From a purely aesthetic perspective, the Leaf has disappointed some car lovers, and there’s still a lot that needs to be determined when it comes to charging the vehicle. For example, Nissan’s touting the car’s quick charge option that enables it to charge almost fully in about 30 minutes, but the expensive system required for the other end of the charging will make it a feature available only in public charging stations, which may be hard to find (at least initially). Much of Nissan’s plans for the Leaf, in fact, rely on states getting on board with electric car charging and working with Nissan to set up public charging areas.

To see more of the Nissan Leaf in action, check out its test drive video. If you want to know even more about the new electric car, head to the Nissan Leaf site, where you can ask a Nissan expert directly or just check out the extensive photo gallery.

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