Here’s some more good Nissan Leaf news to wrap up the weekend. The 2013 Nissan Leaf has received a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
“Driver and passenger safety are top priorities for Nissan and the ‘Top Safety Pick’ designation by IIHS reflects the design and innovation that have gone into this car to make it a practical, no-compromise electric vehicle,” Erik Gottfried, Nissan’s director of electric vehicle sales and marketing, noted. “The new, U.S.-assembled 2013 Nissan LEAF provides customers with a remarkable level of value, comfort and security at prices competitive with gas-powered cars in a fun-to-drive package.”
Four different passenger safety tests were performed in order to rate the car — front, side, rollover, and rear crash tests.
Standard 2013 LEAF safety systems include Nissan Advanced Air Bag System (AABS) with dual-stage supplemental front air bags with seat belt sensors and occupant classification sensor, front seat-mounted side impact supplemental air bags, roof-mounted curtain side impact supplemental air bags for front and rear-seat outboard occupant head protection, 3-point ALR/ELR seat belts (driver’s seat ELR only) with pretensioners and load limiters, child seat upper tether anchor, LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) system and child safety rear door locks. Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) and Traction Control System (TCS) are also standard on all LEAF models.
Thanks to Michael Graham Richard of TreeHugger for the find.
Along with this good news, a UK police force recently ordered 30 Nissan Leafs, the UK’s largest Nissan Leaf order to date; the Nissan leaf got a standout fuel economy and range rating from the US EPA; the Leaf was 2nd in sales (amongst all cars) in Norway in April; Leaf sales also surged in the US; and US and UK Leaf prices dropped considerably following the start of manufacturing in those countries. Nissan, and especially the Nissan Leaf crew, has a lot to be happy about.