According to the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Fukuoka is considered “a low-threat location for crime directed at or affecting U.S. government officials.” The crime index and safety index are 16.67 and 83.33, respectively, which means it's safe to walk alone during night and daylight, citizen and tourist alike.
Be that as it may, the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture in Japan has a police force, and those officers need some wheels to do their job. As the headline implies, the police took delivery of a fleet of Nissan Leafs (or Leaves). This isn’t all that unusual if you bear in mind that the Bolt, i3, Model S, and Model X are also used for police duty.
All 22 units feature roof-mounted emergency lights, police decals, and white-and-black paintwork. As far as interior modifications are concerned, the police-specific radio system appears to be the only one. According to the Fukuoka Traffic Safety Association, the zero-emission fleet will be used for patrolling and public relations.
The Leaf is hardly appropriate for chasing a Nissan GT-R on the highway, but that’s not what the Fukuoka police plans to do with these cars. Over the years, the Japanese converted the Honda NSX, Nissan Skyline V35, the Skyline R33 and Skyline R34, Nissan 350Z, Mazda RX-7, Subaru Impreza, and Mitsubishi Galant VR-4 for this kind of job, just to name a few of the most compelling examples.
Manufactured at the Oppama plant in Japan, the Leaf starts at 3,150,360 yen in the Land of the Rising Sun. Converted to U.S. dollars, that’s $29,385 at current exchange rates. Over in the United States, the world’s best-selling EV retails at $29,990. The range-topping SL trim level starts at $36,200 excluding the destination charge and federal tax credit of up to $7,500.
The cheapest Leaf available in Japan comes with pretty much the same standard equipment as the U.S.-spec model, including Automatic Emergency Braking, Automatic Temperature Control, and the 7.0-inch information display in the gauge cluster. And just like every other Leaf in the world, the rear suspension is of the torsion-beam variety to keep production costs down.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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