Womens Leaf experiences

[daggad]

I managed in a childish way to talk my wife into accepting that we sell our Toyota diesel and order a Leaf.
But she is still not comfortable with this at all. She calls it a "ugly toy car".. :lol:

If you are a woman please give us your story on how it was to get the Leaf, if you are a man please tell us what your wife thinks of the car and the conversion into electric driving.

 

[idashark]

Personally I love my LEAF. Yes, I'm a woman. I've gotten a lot of comments on how comfortable the seats / material is, and everybody likes the quiet.

 

[Stoaty]

My only experience is that 3 or 4 women at work think the Leaf is "cute" and love the ocean blue color. I didn't expect that.

 

[chris1howell]

My wife refuses to drive any other car... she loves the leaf.

 

[mwalsh]

My wife thinks the headlamps are weird, but she's otherwise on board.

 

[davewill]

My wife likes the car, especially the smoothness of the drive, and LOVES the fuel savings. She would never want it for HER daily driver as she has no judgment when it comes to how far away places are...it would drive her buggy to have to manage the battery level throughout the day. Before she joins the BEV revolution, she will have to have more range, ubiquitous charging infrastructure, or at the minimum charging at work.

 

[Packet]

I love my LEAF. My best friend and housemate loves my LEAF. We're both women.

Mind you, I'm also an engineer. And she likes the car because it costs a lot less than her RAV4 when we go anywhere. But we actually find it a comfortable car, and fun to drive!

 

[TickTock]

My wife likes the idea that she is driving a solar powered car and likes to drive the Leaf because it is the newest car in the household but the Guess-o-Meter doesn't work for her. Every trip, it seems, I can count on a call and an excited "I started at 80 miles and I've only gone 10 miles but now it only says 45. At this rate I won't make it!" At which point I reassure her she still has six bars left, she's fine (this happens often enough that I go ahead and follow her progress on Google Latitude and monitor the Leaf using the Leaf app so I am ready for the call). She still likes the car (and continues to ask if she can drive it) but it freaks her out every time she needs to go more than 25 miles. Keep in mind she's just one woman and there are probably men who experience the same thing ( although they would never show it ;-) )

 

[LakeLeaf]

Hmmm - maybe we need a Women's Forum for all of our female board members to exchange information on.

 

[GeekEV]

My wife loves our LEAF too. "Best car ever," she says. I too have gotten lots of comments from women on how cute it is and what a pretty blue it is. It sounds your wife is defective - you should have your dealer look at that... :lol:

 

[svBackstreets]

My wife almost always chooses to drive her Miata when the Leaf is ready to go.

 

[TickTock]

My wife loves our LEAF too. "Best car ever," she says. I too have gotten lots of comments from women on how cute it is and what a pretty blue it is. It sounds your wife is defective - you should have your dealer look at that... :lol:

LOL. She's just not a fan of technology. But that's OK. It just underscores that the Leaf really isn't for everyone. If you're not an early-adopter type, wait a few more years.

 

[TRONZ]

My wife loves the LEAF but does not like to think about range. She seems to leave that to me. The last time we were out she was just happily clipping along at 75mph up the slopes of the 73 toll road. I just bit my lip and let her enjoy herself. We got home real quick... thankfully.

 

[Kataphn]

2 women, one leaf. Early early adopters. Doing fine thank you!

 

[LindaK]

Love driving my LEAF....love the solar on my roof that powers her. Love the red color!

 

[LEAFfan]

Every trip, it seems, I can count on a call and an excited "I started at 80 miles and I've only gone 10 miles but now it only says 45. At this rate I won't make it!"

Just cover the GOM with a piece of black tape and have her watch the bars instead. Even when the LBW happens, there is still 20 miles left @ 38mph.

 

[daggad]

It sounds your wife is defective - you should have your dealer look at that...

You think so too !!? i've claimed this for a lot of years now but the warranty expired a loooong time ago anyhow. On me as well I guess.. :lol:

My wife is not too crazy about new technology. I can guarantee she will never learn how to use CarWings, the satnav/infotainment or any of those gadgets. I on the other hand LOVE things like this. I see the Leaf as a gigantic iPhone with four wheels.

 

[adric22]

I managed in a childish way to talk my wife into accepting that we sell our Toyota diesel and order a Leaf.
But she is still not comfortable with this at all. She calls it a "ugly toy car".. :lol:

I'm not a woman, but I just have to comment on this. I have had many women stop me in parking lots such as at the grocery store and tell me how cute they thought my car was. In each case, they had no idea it was electric and were shocked when I told them. So the Leaf's body style definitely appeals to most women, from my experience.

 

[SharonaLA]

I'm a environmentalist gal. I love being able to use the carpool lane. I love the bluetooth phone connect and charging the car with solar power. Basically, it's a lot like my old Nissan Sentra, only better.

 

[JCBNJB]

Ok, I admit it, I stole the Leaf from my husband after I vetoed it every step of the way in the ordering process (and he promptly ignored me).

Me: We're not buying a first generation of ANY car… let alone the first "real" electric car…
Him (at computer): Yeah, but it will be really cool and there are all of these incentives (as he places the reservation on line)…
Me: Well I am not giving up my space in the garage for the thing to plug in, so forget it….

A few months later….
Him: Hey, cool, we can place our order!
Me: What??!?!! We aren't getting that weird thing! I told you already, I know it sounds cool, but let's let other people be the guinea pigs…
Him: Ok, well, let's just see how the car is when it actually gets in the US (as he puts down the $99 to reserve the car)

Many months later
Him: Hey, we can go test drive one of the Leafs…
Me: Why are you still looking at that? I'm the next one to get a car and I think I want a Murano….

A week later
Me: (Driving the Leaf at the Nissan Drive event) Hey, it drives like a real car… what's the range on this thing..?

A few months later, a few days before the car is due to arrive at our local dealer
Him: Hey, I was thinking, if you want, you can have the Leaf, and I will drive your car, and we'll sell my Civic….
Me:

And, now, here we are 4500 miles later, and I have to say I LOVE the Leaf. Everything about it. My friends have accused me of becoming a gear-head. But I mostly love that it's quiet, we're doing our part to save the planet, my kids think I am the coolest ever, I can go to Costco and buy everything I need and still fit it in the car, and it is a nice drive that is crazy cheap to operate. $29/month for "fuel" So my car payment is about what I used to pay for gas each month. In a year or two once we pay off the car, we'll actually be ahead, given the Leaf requires no maintenance.

I got used to the range issues, and really have only had to stress about it a few times, when I had to carefully plan my driving for a day. I commute 16 miles each way to work; drop and pick up kids at school and do an errand or two after work and I don't come very close to the low bars (unless I am running late and hit the pedal a little harder than I probably should!)

I'm actually surprised there are not more women driving Leafs yet. I think it's a very natural market. Post-minivan women (a new term?) will like the Leaf for its zippy pick-up and great turn radius, while being flexible enough with the hatch/trunk/fold down seats to still carry all you need.

It's Zen to drive, and I can't imagine ever going back to an ICE, and 6 months ago I would NEVER have believed I'd own a Leaf.