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steve  ·  3012 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Why Electric Cars Will Be Here Sooner Than You Think

ok... so here's my take.

I'm rounding the corner on a three year lease of a Nissan Leaf. I have loved the car. It has worked particularly well for us because it is ONLY my commuter car. We have a van for road trips and anything long distance. Range anxiety is a real thing - but disappears after a few months. I regularly get 90-100 miles out of a charge, but rarely wear it all the way out like that. In the winter, with heaters blowing, and all freeway (the worst mileage for EVs) I rolled 78 miles with still 8 or 9% left in the battery. The new Leaf has an even larger battery option (30kWh up from 24kWh).

When I originally leased the thing, gas was pushing $4/gallon, so it was even more sexy. Now that fuel is sub $2, it's a little less so.

The Leaf is expensive to insure. Even though federal and state incentives bring the purchase price down... insurance companies still zing you for the whole amount. And I think they're more nervous about new tech than you are.

And charging stations? They're actually nowhere in Denver. There are a few, but they are often in disrepair or blocked in. I wish establishments that install them would stop putting them up close. I'd rather have to walk a few extra yards and have a high probability of being able to use them. Just plan on installing one at home, and ask your employer if you can access a plug somewhere at work (or if they're really cool - they probably get a tax incentive to install a station).

I won't do another EV this time around... but that's less about the cars and more about my personal home situation (kid getting a license soon - he'll be expensive enough on a beatdown old corolla).

I hope Tesla gets it right. 200miles in a $30k EV will be a game changer.