One of the more anticipated electric vehicles coming to the U.S. market is the Nissan Leaf. The problem for many is that the Leaf won't be offered in many Nissan dealerships around the country leaving those interested in the car without a way to take a test drive to decide if the Leaf is for them.

Nissan is addressing the issue of test drives and ramping up the public visibility of the Leaf with a nationwide test drive tour that is coming to many major markets around the country. Nissan is kicking off the tour on October 1 and will be setting appointments for consumers to come in and take a test drive at each event. 

The first of the tour dates is October 1 in Santa Monica, California. After the Santa Monica tour, there are more in California and then Nissan will hit other states around the country with the final date for the tour in late March in Nashville, Tennessee. Nissan says that the goal for the tour is to give drivers the "Opportunity to learn about the car, its technology, its features and to actually take it for a test-drive," reports Inside Line.

Nissan has an interactive website for the Leaf tour that show all the dates and locations for the tour across the country. As the tour dates come close, drivers interested in taking the Leaf for a spin will be able to register for a drive right from the special tour website. Some of the dates set for next year don’t have a firm location set for the tour, but they will be coming soon according to Nissan.

The Leaf is a fully electric vehicle with no tail pipe, unlike the Chevy Volt which uses a gasoline engine to produce electricity for the vehicle when a longer driving range is needed. The MSRP for the Leaf is $32,780 before a federal tax credit ($7,500). The Leaf can travel at up to 90 mph and has a 100 mile driving range per charge.