Electric Nissan Leaf now sold in WMass

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - The fully-electric Nissan Leaf has arrived in Western Massachusetts.

While hybrid cars use gas and electricity to power the car, the new Leaf is purely electric. Jerry Rome Nissan in West Springfield just started selling the Leaf in November, but it has been available in other states for months now.

The Nissan Leaf takes eight hours to charge under 240 volt power and will give you about 100 miles of travelling before a recharge is necessary. The Leaf has a top speed of 90 miles per hour, and produces no tailpipe emissions.

Without the need for oil charges, and a cost of around $3 of electricity per charge, the Leaf could save you around $1,500 per year compared to a typical compact car. Battery replacement has also been designed to save your wallet, says Jerry Rome Nissan EV Specialist Oliver Layne. "Even if there's a failure, so to say, you can actually take one piece out at a time and have that installed; not taking out an entire battery module at one time,” Layne said.

Layne told 22News that batteries should get you between seven and 10 years of use before replacement is necessary.

If you intend to buy a Leaf, you may need to make some electricity adjustments to your home to allow for the charging station to be installed.

The car costs around $36,000, with up to $7,500 in federal rebates available.