2011 Nissan Leaf Gets EPA Mileage Rating

As the hotly anticipated 2011 Nissan Leaf electric car gets ready to go on sale, the car cleared one last major hurdle. The Environmental Protection Agency has approved its fuel-economy label for electric vehicles and rated the Leaf’s equivalent mileage rating at 106 MPGe in the city, 92 MPGe on the highway and 99 MPGe combined. According to the agency, the rating makes the Leaf the most environmentally friendly vehicle in the midsize vehicle class.

“MPGe” emerged as the most popular fuel-consumption metric while the EPA was designing new window stickers, the agency said. The rating is intended to allow electric-car shoppers to equate a vehicle’s efficiency in relatable terms. Tesla says its EV Roadster carries a 135 MPGe rating, but it’s not part of the midsize category.

During the EPA testing, many respondents also liked “kW-hrs per 100 miles” over MPGe, so that figure is listed as well, in smaller text. For the Leaf, it’s 34 kilowatt-hours per 100 miles.

Besides the prominently displayed MPGe info, the new label also shows range/distance on a charge, cost of charging, time to charge and environmental impact scores. The Nissan Leaf gets a 73-mile range, which is noticeably less than the estimated 100-mile range that Nissan has touted.

For those of you keeping track, the EPA selected one of its two proposed vehicle label designs for EVs. The option they chose was the one we thought made the most sense when the EPA unveiled the new designs in August.

The Nissan Leaf will begin deliveries to California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona and Tennessee next month.