75 miles would be the limit of the range on a good day. Figure 60 on an average day. You would be better off buying a good economy car.
Can you charge it for free at work?
Are winters cold where you live? Wikipedia says that the range drops dramatically from over 100 miles at moderate temperatures to about 15 miles when its 10 degrees F. Under those conditions, it’s a light gas vehicle.
No, but I’m rolling with a 2014 Camry Hybrid. I’m getting into the high 30s/low 40s per gallon with highway mileage. It’s a nice car, too.
Very worth it, though I purchased the Toyota Prius Hybrid Plug-in instead.
Basically, I have a 13 mile electric charge that covers my commute.
Charge up at work.
I get 1000+ miles to the tank on a 10 gallon tank depending on how disciplined I am on keeping it charged and keeping my side-trips to a minimum. I cut my fuel costs to at least 1/3 and possible 1/4.
Depending on the State you live in, you will get much more of an up-front tax incentive for the Leaf (a 100% electric vehicle) over the Prius.
Only thing you need to keep in mind is that your commute is just below the mileage limit for a complete charge on your vehicle. That would concern me as life is not perfect.
You can find a lot better commuting car for a lot less money. If i ran the quick math right you are getting around 12-15 MPG in whatever you are driving now, no?
The Current FReepathon Pays For The Current Quarter's Expenses?
I always thought “Make Like A Tree Hugger And Leaf” would have made a great slogan for Nissan.
Might be too soon to buy... There are some battery and engine performance improvements on the horizon (1-2 years).
Consumer Reports: We can no longer recommend the Leaf because it scored a Poor in the IIHS small-overlap crash test.
VW TDI. I’ve heard amazing things about their diesels. They get crazy good mileage and actually look good. I see a cup edition at work that looks great. The Nissan Leaf looks like you lost your man card.
Thanks but I prefer my super duty.
I had a used VW diesel Jetta. It had over 180k miles on it (bought it with 105k) and it stil got 52 mpg. Almost no maintenance. Can’t recommend aone of the VW TDI diesels strongly enough. Only sold it because I was going out of the country for a couple years.
User comments here:
Diesel.
We’ve just finished one of the coldest winters on record followed by one of the mildest summers on record. The Farmers Almanac is predicting a bitterly cold winter for the entire Northen Hemisphere and you want to buy a car that emits no greenhouse gases?
Are you deliberately trying to destroy the earth?
Do your part to save the Planet. Buy a Ford F350. It’s a lot safer and you can sleep well knowing that you are trying your best to save all the homeless people and grazing farm animals from freezing to death.
This might be helpful.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/06/24/gas-vs-electric-cars-cost-comparison/
Bottome line of this site shows that over the live of a gas vs electric Ford Focus. The electric car will not save you money.
Electricity is NOT FREE either. Recommend you find out how much it will cost to charge the LEAF.
Also — as someone pointed it out you may not make it for your full trip with the LEAF, without charging it while at work and you need to find out whether that would be feasible.
I heard from someone who has a LEAF that it takes some 12 hrs or more to charge it up fully — you can pay for some fast charging accessory, that comes with the car, that allows you to charge it faster.