The world’s first mass market electric car, the Nissan LEAF, won World Car of the Year for 2011 - the first fully electric car to be awarded this title.

Despite being anelectric car, the LEAF resembles a regular vehicle in practically everyrespect, except it’s a lot quieter and doesn’t have a tailpipe. You get frontMcPherson suspension, rear torsion beam, front wheel drive and a practical5-door hatchback body with remarkable aerodynamics. The pack of lithium-ionbatteries sits efficiently for space and weight distribution, under the floorand between the axles. So you have space for 4-5 occupants and even areasonably sized boot

The LEAF (which standsfor Leading Environmentally-friendly AffordableFamily Car) is an all-electric carthat produces no exhaust pollution or greenhouse gas emissions. The engineproduces around 80KW of power and has a top speed of around 150kms according toNissan. It can achieve widely varying ranges of travel before the lithium ion batteriesneed to be recharged. Independent tests revealed ranges varying from 76kms to222kms, depending on load, driving style and weather. The LEAF’s battery packis guaranteed by Nissan for 8 years or 100,000 miles.

The standard LEAFcosts around $25,000 in the USA after the US government’s tax incentivededuction (both USA and Europe offer large tax incentives for buyers ofelectric vehicles). The vehicle will only be available for sale in South Africauntil 2012. But don’t expect to get yours any time soon, demand for the LEAF isso strong that Nissan is struggling to keep up with demand. Good news formotorists though is that Chevy and Ford have plans for electric vehicles in theworks with the Volt and Focus Electric respectively. Unlike the LEAF, the Voltfeatures a petrol engine back-up that will extend its range by another 480kms.