Test drove a Volt and Leaf back to back today...

[Boomer23]

Speaking of front visibility in the Leaf, there is one pretty bad blind spot at the base of driver-side A-pillar. I literally had to slam on the brakes hard at least a couple of times already when a pedestrian appeared right in front of the car out of nowhere. Fortunately the speed was low. It may have something to do with me having to set the seat all the way back because I'm tall - 6'4". Sometimes on the approach to the intersection the driver-side A-pillar can hide a pedestrian as they start crossing from left to right and keep him/her hidden as they cross the road as the car is moving on the collision course. This really freaked me out. I'm more careful now but I just can't get rid of the thought that it is an accident waiting to happen.

You and me both. My wife thinks I'm half blind because she can see pedestrians clearly from the passenger seat when they're completely blocked for me by the pillar. I've been very glad that she was with me a couple of times. I've been trying to get in the habit of moving my head around a lot to look for peds when I'm about to turn left. Scary.

 

[mhigley]

Same thing here. Came close to hitting someone walking on the drivers side.

 

[evnow]

Compared to the Maxima I used to drive, Leaf has poor visibility. To an extent the blame goes to all the crash tests now in place - they make the car safer in a crash, but make that crash more likely :lol:

 

[bowthom]

Hello,
Compared to our 2003 Prius the Leaf has mush worse visibility. We almost didn't buy it because of it. The desire for electric overrode that feeling though.

Don

 

[Boomer23]

As has been mentioned on the forum previously, the extra weight of the battery pack probably dictates thicker pillars to meet rollover safety requirements.

 

[GRA]

As has been mentioned on the forum previously, the extra weight of the battery pack probably dictates thicker pillars to meet rollover safety requirements.

I thought the enhanced rollover protection requirement applied to all cars, not just EVs? I expect the Volt probably has a more slanted windshield than the Leaf, so needs thicker pillars to provide the needed strength. Or maybe it's just the position of them relative to the seats. I know I'll vote for better view out to avoid an accident over better protection afterwards almost all the time. There was an article in MT in 2011, about a company that was working on developing inflatable A-pillars, narrow for driving but inflating when sensors detected a roll-over:

http://blogs.motortrend.com/pillars-of-salt-inflatable-roof-pillars-could-aid-future-design-18159.html#axzz2NHCGuOFw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here's Autoliv's press release from June 2011:

http://ae-plus.com/technology/autoliv-develops-inflatable-a-pillars" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The advent of these can't come too soon AFAIC. My current Forester dates from 2003 and has great 360 deg. visibility, and I dread having to replace it with a car with major blind spots in the front corners, let alone all-around. Of course, by the time I need to replace it all cars may come with pedestrian/bicyclist auto-detection and braking, if not full auto-driving capability. There are already a small number that have the former capability now.

 

[mortisier]

We own Both a leaf and a volt, they are both great for what they are designed for. The volt definitely was engineered to a higher standard and it just feels like a nicer, sportier car. That beeing said the leaf is perfect for ALL of our domestic driving needs and particularly fits the commuter bill.

 

[Volusiano]

We own Both a leaf and a volt, they are both great for what they are designed for. The volt definitely was engineered to a higher standard and it just feels like a nicer, sportier car. That being said the leaf is perfect for ALL of our domestic driving needs and particularly fits the commuter bill.

I agree with this comment that the Volt feels a notch nicer quality wise than the LEAF. I also own both (1.5 years for LEAF, 2 months on Volt).

The cloth seats on the Volt are MUCH nicer than those on the LEAF. Not only are they of better, more durable material, they provide a much firmer and more comfortable support for longer rides. I used to get butt sore on the LEAF very soon (15 minutes), but on the Volt, I can sit for hours without any discomfort on long trips. I particularly like the fact that you can raise the Volt's front seats up high.

I also like the 17" wheels on the Volt much better than the 15" wheels on the LEAF. Plus, my LEAF's OEM tires (the Ecopia) barely lasted me 17K miles before I had to replace them. I hope the Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tires on the Volt will last me much longer than the Ecopia on the LEAF.

 

[vrwl]

Speaking of front visibility in the Leaf, there is one pretty bad blind spot at the base of driver-side A-pillar. I literally had to slam on the brakes hard at least a couple of times already when a pedestrian appeared right in front of the car out of nowhere. Fortunately the speed was low. It may have something to do with me having to set the seat all the way back because I'm tall - 6'4". Sometimes on the approach to the intersection the driver-side A-pillar can hide a pedestrian as they start crossing from left to right and keep him/her hidden as they cross the road as the car is moving on the collision course. This really freaked me out. I'm more careful now but I just can't get rid of the thought that it is an accident waiting to happen.

It's bad when you're short too. I'm 5'2" and I've almost hit a couple of cars in parking lots because of the limited visibility on the left hand side (10-11 o'clock position). It's my main gripe about my LEAF.