Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on June 2013

Every manufacturer takes a different approach to green driving, with the main divide being electric/non-electric (e.g. hybrid or diesel). If you’re thinking about an all-electric car, you’re probably going to have to modify your driving habits. One manufacturer told Metropolis, “It works for some people. It doesn’t work at all for other people.” Which is why Toyota has sold five million hybrids.

The two-seater Tesla Roadster is no longer for sale—the company is now turning out the four-door Model S—but the key fob is the same, and the Roadster was the one on offer for a test drive.

We drove with Tesla’s Kevin Yu, in charge of the company’s Asia-Pacific operations, who put us at the wheel of an electric supercar. The Roadster’s acceleration is thrilling, enhanced by the knowledge that tromping on the “gas” when the light turns green is not burning any gas at all. During our drive around Aoyama, a Mercedes-Benz coupé pulled up alongside us at a red light and revved its engine. To which the Roadster replied, “Auf wiedersehen, sucker.”

The new Model S, resembling an ordinary luxury sedan, outperforms the Roadster by a large margin, and thanks to Moore’s law of technological advancement, or the electric-vehicle equivalent, it’s significantly cheaper. Tests have proven it can make the 460km from Tokyo to Kyoto without being charged (and with 43km of charge remaining), indicating the Tesla has solved the electric vehicle owner’s range-anxiety problem. Another indication Tesla is doing something right is a North Carolina state senator’s proposed legislation in effect banning Tesla sales in the state—after an $8,000 donation to his campaign from the North Carolina Car Dealers Association.

One problem is the waiting time. Tesla is to manufacture 20,000 Model S cars this year globally, with the majority going to the US. By comparison, Toyota sells 10 million cars a year.

Bottom line: Fun, fun, fun, and great range for an electric. If you can afford one ($62,000 in the US), and don’t mind the wait (the last Roadster customer in Japan had to wait three years), get onto it right away.

Of the 540km we drove the Prius PHV, the car was in electric mode for about three. The battery status display showed “full” most of the time, but apparently it wasn’t full enough to allow switching over, except very briefly. That said, those 540km used up only half a tank of gas, at a cost of just ¥4,200—road tolls were significantly more than that. But for all the electric usage we got with this car, it might just be worth getting the much cheaper regular Prius and spending the savings on a year’s supply of gasoline.

Bottom line: This is the car for people who want to, or need to, do a lot of driving. That’s Toyota’s philosophy on “eco” vehicles. It’s a car that gets you where you want to go without compromises. The base price Prius PHV is ¥3.2 million.

This was the big adventure of the green-vehicle research experience. We wanted to push the Leaf to its advertised range limit, so we drove one evening from home in southern Miura Hanto in Kanagawa to Roppongi (just under 80km), planning to recharge during dinner.

The problem was the lack of enough publicly available chargers. The first charger located by Nissan’s navigation app already had a Toyota hybrid plugged into it. The second was inside a carpark (¥300 to enter)—and not for public use. The third—we were now late for dinner—was inside the German Embassy grounds… verboten. The locator app is scant on details.

The fourth charger was at a Nissan dealership, and we nearly hugged the manager when he emerged. He charged the car for less than hour and reparked it before he had to close the dealership, leaving the key in the door pocket. But after dinner, the car had only charged to 80%.

Driving home at highway speeds, the range predictor was unspooling more quickly than the distance covered. We knew of a charger on the Yokohama-Yokosuka Road, but who wants to stop to charge their car at 1am? Approaching, the blue-lit digital instrument panel showed 15km of “fuel” remaining, with home just 10km away. We breathed a (tentative) sigh of relief and ploughed onward, only for the readout to change abruptly from “15” to “– – –.”

We made it, but not without imagining a phone call to Nissan next morning letting them know where they could find their car. Company spokesman Chris Keeffe later pointed out the car does have a reserve for people who insist on pushing past sensible limits.

With most aspiring electric car drivers planning to use their vehicles for shorter trips, Nissan is going all in on EV, waiting on government approval to sell its Renault-developed Nissan Mobility Concept in Japan. The Mobility Concept looks like a cross between the Mercedes Smart fortwo and the roofed-over Yamaha electric wheelchair often used by obasan in the country to get out to the fields. But the MC’s smaller size than the Smart Fortwo might make it even better as a city runabout.

Bottom line: The range of the Leaf is advertised at 140-150km, though in normal driving it’s more like 120. But Nissan positions the vehicle as a second car/runabout. If you can get your home/office charger situation sorted out, it’s perfect for that. The base price Leaf costs just over ¥3 million and significant savings maybe had through government electric vehicle subsidies.

So much fun, fun, fun that her daddy can keep the T-Bird. This car turned even more heads than the Tesla Roadster. It wasn’t to be put through the same paces as the Leaf, but it was great for a couple of hours zipping around Tokyo, burning zero gas, and squeezing through tiny gaps in traffic.

The Smart fortwo is a two-seater, so it’s not for people with three kids and a Great Dane. And like the Leaf, the all-EV smart car requires you take a close look at your driving habits, and be sure you have access to chargers wherever you drive.

Bottom line: Smart brand manager Kyoko Shimakawa said, “Customers just tell us it’s fun.” As usual, the customer is right, with a bonus: it’s zero-emissions fun! The base price costs ¥ 2.95 million with savings through government electric vehicle subsidies.

BMW is expected to launch its i3 electric car in Japan in January, with the i8 to follow. In the meantime, it offers a wide range of “clean” diesel vehicles. We didn’t have enough time to drive the 1,200km BMW Japan said were possible on a single tank of fuel, but diesel engines do tend to run and run.

Like many of the tested vehicles, the 523d has several performance modes, from “eco” to “sport,” and the turbocharger doesn’t disappoint in sport mode. At the other end of the eco spectrum, the car shuts down at stoplights to save fuel, and restarts when you lift your foot off the brake. Disconcerting at first, but you get used to it.

Bottom line: Like the Toyota Prius, the BMW 523d requires no compromise in your driving habits, and guarantees you won’t suffer from range anxiety. The M Sport costs ¥6.3 million with savings through government ‘green’ vehicle subsidies.

Pick your pony…

With environmentally friendly automotive technologies, there are almost as many approaches as manufacturers, with price and convenience the main fault lines.

While electric cars are inexpensive to operate, they are significantly more expensive than regular gasoline burners. For example, the Smart Fortwo electric drive retails for ¥2.95 million, but its entry-level gas-powered counterpart sells for ¥1.59 million.

But for now, if you can afford it and don’t mind the wait, the Tesla Model S is the best eco car on the planet. However, if you, like many of us, can’t and do, but want to cut emissions significantly, choose the Nissan Leaf or the Smart Fortwo based on the size of your family and/or budget.

Perhaps at some point, batteries will offer greater range and come way down in price. And charging stations will become more common. Then, environmental buyers will concern themselves mainly with color and style.

As Tesla’s Yu put it, “At some point you’ll stop caring about the technology and just focus on price.”