Surprise!  Nissan has an electric car.  The Nissan Leaf has just been debuted from seemingly out of nowhere, and it’s a 100% electric, (so no, it’s not a hybrid) Prius-looking 5 door that claims to perform “like a V6.”

That and its got a battery that will get you 100 miles from a plug.  Not bad.  A heck of a lot better than the Chevy Volt’s 40 miles before it starts sipping gas.

But hold your plug in powered horses… The sipping gas part is not an option for the Leaf.  100 miles of full electric, then you better find yourself near a plug.  30 minutes is what you’ll need to get to an 80% charge on the Leaf’s battery.  Whereas the Volt can start sipping gas and go for… well… forever as long as there’s gas.

Will Nissan find a market of mainly city dwellers who A. Want to have a car and B. don’t want to buy gas?

Sure it’s targeted towards the enviro-friendly crowd.  But one day word will get out that electric-only cars are NOT zero emissions. They’re displaced emissions.  Because somewhere, someone is most likely burning something that spews crap into our atmosphere, in order to make that electricity for your plug in car.

Final Analysis:  The Volt looks better.  The Leaf is the next step.  And the best looking and performing full/mainly electric car ain’t either of them.  It’s the Tesla Model S.

$50,000.  Coming soon.