The Nissan Leaf, the car of the year for 2011, is being launched on the unsuspecting Manchester public at Manchester Central (please, oh please go back to calling it GMex!) on Monday May 9th through to Saturday May 14th .

Nissan has selected Manchester as the first UK city to host a comprehensive test drive of the new Nissan LEAF.

Six Nissan LEAF cars will be available for test drives at Manchester Central, Petersfield, from 9am to 7pm from Monday 9^th to Saturday 14^th May, as part of a European City Tour. And to experience what Nissan promise to be a no petrol, no exhaust pipe and no gearbox car, with a smooth, near silent drive, you can book a 30 minute test drive on Facebook by logging on to http://on.fb.me/mc3qAm.

The City Tour will also showcase an interactive exhibition with games and displays and a 3D film of the LEAF, along with a ‘Jungle of Opinion’ style diary room where customers can record their thoughts about the ground-breaking car. The exhibition will be open until Sunday 15^th May until 5pm.

Manchester has been chosen as one of the two flagship UK cities to showcase Nissan LEAF as it is one of the first nationwide locations to be named as one of the ‘Plugged-In Places’. Greater Manchester will be investing in electric vehicle charging points and aims to have 300 by October of this year.

Nissan LEAF, the award winning compact 100% electric five-seater family car, comes fully equipped with features such as climate control air conditioning, satellite navigation, a parking camera, a rapid charge socket and internet connectivity.

Available in five colours – Sky Blue, Universal Silver, Pearl White, Kuro Black and Force Red – the Nissan LEAF is equipped with a compact lithium-ion battery pack that, when charged to full capacity, gives a range of 110 miles.

Launched earlier this year, Nissan’s network of 26 EV dealerships are equipped with specialist equipment and facilities including dedicated service bays in the workshops and designated parking spaces, to ensure customers are provided with the very best service.

Each dealership will also offer a rapid battery charger where customers can charge their Nissan LEAF up to 80% capacity in approximately 30 minutes. The network of fast chargers means that over 90% of the UK population are no more than 50 miles from a fast charger.

It all sounds very eco friendly and positive. I’ve been invited by Nissan to attend so I’m going on Monday to have a look and try out the milk-float quietness of it. They asked me to let you all know about it and so they’ve sponsored this post and as a thank you they’ve giving me a Vexia Econav 380 Sat-Nav for Fuel Efficient Driving to give away in a competition, which I’ll be announcing shortly.