I drove the world's best-selling electric car for a weekend — and I realized why electric cars need more than 200 miles of range

The Nissan Leaf is the world's best-selling electric vehicle and has set the stage for a new generation of affordable electric vehicles that could reshape the auto industry.

The Leaf debuted in 2010, beating the Chevrolet Bolt EV to the market by five years. But until this year, the Bolt had a significant advantage in range — 238 miles compared to 151 miles for the 2018 Leaf. Nissan will release a new version of the vehicle, the Leaf e+, in the US in the spring of this year. It will have up to 226 miles of range, according to the automaker, but I tested the 2018 version over a weekend in December before Nissan announced the Leaf e+.

Read more: I drove a $44,000 Chevy Bolt for a weekend and saw just how far electric cars have come — but I also discovered a huge problem

I live in an apartment in New York City that doesn't have a parking garage, which meant I couldn't charge the Leaf overnight and likely had a different experience with the vehicle than the average Leaf owner. But during my time with the Leaf, I came to understand how important it is for an electric vehicle to have at least 200 miles of range.

Here's what it was like to drive the 2018 Leaf for a weekend: