A true-blue, petite full-electric cutie that feels like a people鈥檚 car. Bold. Thank you, Nissan, for not hedging with any kind of gasoline-assist backup generator or ostentatiously waiting for a national, public 鈥渃harging infrastructure鈥 (c鈥檓on everybody, they鈥檙e called plugs). This thing makes the pioneering Prius look Old School, even if it borrows some of its goofy shuttlecraft design cues. (Better it should look like a Mini Cooper Clubman.)
Frank Polich/Reuters
A pre-production 2012 Nissan Leaf is shown during the first media preview day at the 2011 Chicago Auto Show in Chicago, Feb. 9, 2011.