Have you heard about the all-new Nissan Leaf electric car in Malaysia? All this time, I assumed it was a joke or maybe even a prototype car, but then again, I had to visit the Nissan Malaysia website to find out more and guess what? They had an ambassador program to test drive the car. Therefore, I applied to be one of the ambassadors for six weeks and was selected!

Nissan Leaf Electric Car in Malaysia

Well, after weeks of waiting, I received a call from one of Nissan’s representatives to inform me that I had been shortlisted for the program, which is in its third round of public testing. I was beyond words when they shared the good news with me, as I have always wanted to know how it was to drive a fully electric car, or EV, as it is called.

Hybrids are now common in Malaysia, but a 100% fully electric car? This was a true challenge to my normal driving style, as things are going to be different for the next six weeks, especially with my hectic travels around the cities of Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur.

Interior of the Nissan Leaf electric car in Malaysia

Looking back in the day and my early days of school, I used to dream and wonder when vehicles would go electric. In 2013, the future is here, and I finally have the opportunity to experience driving a 100% fully electric car mass-produced by Nissan.

The Nissan Leaf is a fully electric car that does not run on fuel, unlike hybrids. This is what I learned when the Nissan team paid me a visit to show me the car and also install the car charging unit at my home.

The team was one of their chief technicians who explained the entire process of the electric car in 60 minutes. Now, the car can drive fully charged for 160 kilometers, so I cannot take the car outstation on my frequent travels around Malaysia.

But then again, I do travel a lot around the city for meetings or client calls, so it will be quite interesting to see how this car handles our crazy Malaysian traffic.

Firstly, I was informed that this is a 100% Zero-Emission car. There is no fuel intake, so there is no exhaust or tailpipe.

Everything else in the Nissan Leaf is almost similar to a common car, just that it has a massive lithium-ion battery that weighs about 300 kilos and powers the entire car. Fast-forward: I was given the entire breakdown of the car before I did a test drive around my home area.

How was it? I almost felt silly when I started the car with the push-button, and they told me it was ready to move. There was no noise at all! Talk about silent. Being accustomed to the engine starting sound, this was so different in all ways. There was no kick-start sound, no engine turning, nothing.

Just a push of the button and a light on the dashboard indicated that the car was ready to move. Apart from the start and the no-noise, I spun the car around my area with no problems at all. In general, it performs just like a regular car and with power!

Contrary to the belief that electric cars have no power, I was wrong. The vehicle can accelerate just like a regular car and faster than any other general car! Everything else handles just typically.

The only setback is that, at this moment, I cannot drive the car all the way to Melaka or Ipoh and back unless they have an electric car charger installed there.

I am guessing that chargers will be installed nationwide over the next few years. At this moment, a few Electric Car (EV) chargers are installed at selected places around Klang Valley.