For me a much better Leaf would be one that could charge 20kwh in 15 minutes instead of the 30 minutes it takes the current Leaf at 50kW. The 70 miles EPA rated range is fine if it could charge at 100kW at public charging stations. When you have to stop several times and charge for 30 minutes at a long range trip it is inconvenient but 15 minutes per stop is manageable for shopping, eating, e-mailing, etc.

@tterbo - The audio system is pretty decent. Not audiophile quality, but I enjoy rock'n it loud. Really dig that it will stream audio over Bluetooth.

@BobSchoenburg - The WiFi hotspot is a nifty idea, but the cost of the data plan to cover 3 people streaming video at the same time would not make anyone happy. The telemetry data for the car is pretty small. Besides you wouldn't like the 1Mbps 3G data rate in a year when you cellphone is on LTE and pushing 25 Mbps.

The Nav system needs a total rethink. After 5K miles in our Leaf, the Nav is a pretty moving picture for my 4 year old to enjoy. It all starts with the goofy license agreement each time you start the car. The car KNOWS who I am by the key in my pocket. It even weighs me while I'm in the driver's seat to know how much power to use when the airbag deploys. It seems between these two bits of data, Nissan should be able to write software to allow me to agree that they are watching me. If the layers can't live with THAT idea, how about a splash screen as the car boots with the data transfer message and an opt-out button, releasing to the regular screens when the boot process is done.

The NAV system gets worse, when many of the settings go away when the car is in motion. To modify a route, I have to stop the car. Even if I have a passenger who might do it. Even if the car KNOWS there is a passenger in the front seat (airbag sensor), and EVEN if that passenger has the OTHER key. Oh, and WHY is the charging station list in the car so crappy? This is the ONE thing the Leaf Nav should really be good at: finding me some electrons to get me home. Come on Nissan. Let me USE the frigg'n car I bought. You make it hard, so I just fire up Google Map on my Android and let my kid enjoy the moving picture on the Nav system screen.

Either rewrite the Nav (which would make me happy) or put Dora the Explorer icons in it (which would make my kid happy).

I would also like to be able to use the fog lights in a way that they actually help in the fog: with the headlights off. My 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee got this right. I'll let Nissan's engineers sit in it if they want to see how a good fog/headlight switch might work. Really, I will. I'll even show them how to put a headlight system on relays with an inexpensive Chinese made wiring harness, but only if they are nice.

How about a charging latch that is electronically actuated, maybe on the key? I feel silly when I forget to pull the mechanically actuated charge door lever and have to go back in and pull it.

On the plus side, everyone seems to love the irony of the traction motor inverter looking like a valve cover. Kudos.

To make the LEAF insanely great, add a small gas heater to heat the interior of the car and to defrost the windows. This would extend the winter range and give faster interior heating than an equivalent ICE car.

Using hydrocarbons for heat makes a lot more sense than for mechanical energy, since the burning of fuel results in disordered (high entropy) energy, which is efficiently converted to background heat because it is also disordered energy.

Electricity on the other hand is highly organized energy (low entropy) which is why it can be so efficiently converted to mechanical energy. Electricity therefore should not normally be used for background heat (it's a waste of its order) unless it is used to drive a heat pump.

So to add a gas fueled interior heater to an electric car such as the LEAF is not a bad thing environmentally. Using electricity to drive a car, and fuel to heat a car, is consistent with the respective quality of each energy type.

@NISSANMASTTECH

Very good points. There is a lot of complexity with gas heating systems, propane would be less complex.

In any event, I see fuel heaters as an interim fix, a way of extending winter range until battery cost and capacity are such that the extra heating load on the battery is no big deal.

Preheating when charging is a huge benefit and a real selling point for plug-in vehicles. Surprisingly, this feature does not seem to have been advertised much in northern climates - it should be.

The map display in the Nav system should track when you touch and move your finger like every other touch display does. Having it move to the spot is really annoying.

jak

Regarding "There should be a hatch release inside the vehicle.". There is no need. The cargo door can be opened whenever the car is unlocked.

Regarding "Leaf should be a Wi-Fi hotspot". Carwings uses the AT&T data service. There is no Wi-Fi connection presently in the car.

Regarding "using atomic clock technology". The clock in the navi uses GPS time which is just as accurate.

You might want to also check MyNissanLeaf.com where many similar discussions have been and are taking place. I am also a LEAF driver and love my car.

On cool Spring days when the car has been parked in the sun it is hot and stuffy inside. The vent system is inadequate without using the fan witch drops the mileage the same as air conditioning or heating. Doesn't the fan at low speed use less power than at high speed with the heater? Can the fuzzy logic range calculations be fine tuned? I just carry passengers around in a stuffy car and that is bad PR.