My only experience with electric vehicles up to this point has been golf carts and streetcars. Not exactly smooth rides as they both start and stop with a jolt; two speeds, really; stop and go.

So it was with some trepidation that I took at the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle for a test drive up to York Mills Rd. and Leslie St. to meet with the folks at the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD).

I was more than pleasantly surprised. I’d say it drove just like a regular car, which is mostly true, but there was one big difference — the Leaf doesn’t have a transmission, which means no gear changes, just smooth acceleration. And boy, did it accelerate! Step on the gas and off you go! Fast! It certainly made my heavy foot happy and it was a breeze to pass slower moving traffic up the Don Valley Parkway.

I had a great meeting at BILD and was happy to see my new toy sitting in the parking lot when I left. BILD, afterall, is on the leading edge of energy conservation, with solar panels from Pure Energies on their roof and green energy provider Bullfrog powering their electrical needs.