Two Highly Anticipated 2011 Evs: Green Vehicles Articles: Eco20/20

Two Highly Anticipated 2011 Evs

Electric cars are extremely popular nowadays because they fall into the 'going green' category of today's culture. Saving the planet is now all the rage and car makers have taken up the banner on that account to the point where it shouldn't be long before electronic vehicles are appearing in our local car dealership.

The only reason why we aren't seeing even more electric cars on the road than we do already is because of how expensive they are. Thankfully, those who have the cash are perfectly willing to model these gasoline alternative vehicles on the roadway runway. This means that we are now able to compare and contrast our favorites from among this elite number of models. At least by judging the types of EV out there now we can make a better guess as to what sort we'll be buying when the time comes.

The first one that we should look at is called the Nissan Leaf. The Nissan Leaf is one of the cars that can be plugged into a home outlet to be charged. The car runs for about $32,000. While it's cheaper than some electric vehicles, it's still in its own little world as far as price is concerned. The car does allow you to plug up your laptop and other electronics, so that's pretty neat. This particular EV can reach up to 90 miles per hour. Not that you would ever drive that fast on residential streets or anything, but still. As a five-seat hatchback, for every battery charge the Nissan Leaf will achieve 100 miles. Impressive when you consider that the Nissan Leaf is an all electric car. Different from other vehicles that claim to be electric vehicles but still require non-electric fuel. Unfortunately for those interested in this EV, it won't be available in the U.S until 2011, and even then it will only be appearing in select cities.

The second car on the list would have to be the Ford Focus EV. The Ford Focus EV is like the Ford Focus of earlier times…except that it's electric. Like the Leaf, this newest Ford Focus won't be seen until 2011. The battery in this car is something to behold, but it also uses up mucho amounts of energy. For every 100 miles the 23 kWh batter pack needs to be recharged. That's fine if you live in or near cities. But for those surrounded by long stretches of open road, have fun driving back and forth to Wal-Mart. While it may take the battery anywhere from 6 to 12 hours to fully charge, the owner of the car will be compensated for the time lag with the car's quick acceleration and excellent braking. Very much like the Nissan Leaf in design and price range, the Ford Focus beats out the Leaf by one very important factor. Horsepower. With a 141 horsepower engine the vehicle promises to be a fun car to drive in, though the pleasure may be interrupted by frequent stops for charge ups.

With the promise of cars like the Leaf and the Ford Focus EV lightening the horizon of 2011, there should be no shortage of enthusiasm as far as saving the planet focused gadgets are concerned.