hingisfan
Well-known member
(If this is in the totally wrong section, please direct me!)
Hi guys, just discovered this forum a few days ago and love all the info on here. Just wondering if owners can offer their advice on if they think a Leaf would work for me....I'll try and provide as many details as I can. Thanks!
My wife and I live 30km north of Kingston, Ontario, Canada. We have an 8 month old and will probably have one more child in the next 1-3 years. We park our cars in the driveway, but we have a 2 car garage that I could put the Leaf in, if that is a much better option. I have room on my panel to install a level 2 station.
We currently have a 2002 Nissan Altima which my wife drives with the baby, or we all drive in if together. We also have a 2009 Saturn Astra that I drive to work, and drive when I do errands, gym, etc, in Kingston when on my own. Planning to replace the Altima when it dies or has a major issue, but it's been a great car (original owner) and little problems with now over 235,000km on it. If it died tomorrow I would buy a Prius V to replace it. I would be looking to replace the Saturn with the Leaf, hoping to get at least $7,000 trade-in or private sale for the Saturn.
My work is 45km each way, I can level 1 charge at work, and I work 12 hour shifts (14 shifts in a 4 week period). Assuming I would be at least close to 100% again after my 12.5 hours at work. Drive to work is single lane highways, low traffic, 80km speed limit dropping down to 40km speed limit when passing through 4 villages on the way. I usually cruise around 100km/h. Roads are in good shape, not a whole lot of big hills, but I would not say totally flat either. Temperatures here can hit over 30C during a summer heatwave, and under -25C during a winter cold snap. Drive into Kingston is similar, drive mostly at 90-100km/h, with a few slower zones. Kingston is a city of about 140,000 and traffic can be heavy at times, but not bad.
I have test driven a 2012 Leaf twice, and loved it both times. Quiet, smooth, spacious. Wasn't crazy on the lighter interior, but the pics I see of the black 2013 interior look amazing. Also love the faster charge time on the 2013, and of course the price drop. CDN pricing has yet to be announced, but we are usually a bit higher than USA. In Canada, we can get an $8,500 rebate (post-tax), and it is taken right off at the dealership. Tax here is 13%. I would be open to both leasing or owning outright. I don't see BEVs taking huge strides in the next 3 years, but on the other hand if my range were down 20-30% after 3 years, I would probably rather hand it back to Nissan and re-lease a newer model. I would want a 2013 SV. I currently put about 27,000km a year on the Saturn. I am usually the type of person to buy a car new and then keep it for 10-15 years. I am not anti-Volt, but if you compare 2013 MSRPs, the Volt is over $10,000 more expensive, which makes it unrealistic for me at this point.
I have room on my panel to install level 2 here at the house, and electricity would cost me about 13.5 cents/kWh, assuming I could charge 80% of the time at off-peak. My Saturn averages 8.3L/100km. Gas here is currently $1.25/L
My main concerns are....
1. Will I have enough range on a cold winter day, say 5-6 years down the road when I have 160,000km on the car with the original batteries, lots of accessories going, winter tires, and I need a range of 100km to go into town, do some errands, and get back home without charging.
2. Should I just keep what I have until I NEED a new car. The Saturn only has 60,000km on it and it runs great. Should I just drive it for the next 6-8 years until it's ready to die and then look at what options are on the market? (I know this is a tough question to answer, if the Saturn were near death I would not hesitate to buy a Leaf)
I appreciate any advice or thoughts.
Thanks guys!
Hi guys, just discovered this forum a few days ago and love all the info on here. Just wondering if owners can offer their advice on if they think a Leaf would work for me....I'll try and provide as many details as I can. Thanks!
My wife and I live 30km north of Kingston, Ontario, Canada. We have an 8 month old and will probably have one more child in the next 1-3 years. We park our cars in the driveway, but we have a 2 car garage that I could put the Leaf in, if that is a much better option. I have room on my panel to install a level 2 station.
We currently have a 2002 Nissan Altima which my wife drives with the baby, or we all drive in if together. We also have a 2009 Saturn Astra that I drive to work, and drive when I do errands, gym, etc, in Kingston when on my own. Planning to replace the Altima when it dies or has a major issue, but it's been a great car (original owner) and little problems with now over 235,000km on it. If it died tomorrow I would buy a Prius V to replace it. I would be looking to replace the Saturn with the Leaf, hoping to get at least $7,000 trade-in or private sale for the Saturn.
My work is 45km each way, I can level 1 charge at work, and I work 12 hour shifts (14 shifts in a 4 week period). Assuming I would be at least close to 100% again after my 12.5 hours at work. Drive to work is single lane highways, low traffic, 80km speed limit dropping down to 40km speed limit when passing through 4 villages on the way. I usually cruise around 100km/h. Roads are in good shape, not a whole lot of big hills, but I would not say totally flat either. Temperatures here can hit over 30C during a summer heatwave, and under -25C during a winter cold snap. Drive into Kingston is similar, drive mostly at 90-100km/h, with a few slower zones. Kingston is a city of about 140,000 and traffic can be heavy at times, but not bad.
I have test driven a 2012 Leaf twice, and loved it both times. Quiet, smooth, spacious. Wasn't crazy on the lighter interior, but the pics I see of the black 2013 interior look amazing. Also love the faster charge time on the 2013, and of course the price drop. CDN pricing has yet to be announced, but we are usually a bit higher than USA. In Canada, we can get an $8,500 rebate (post-tax), and it is taken right off at the dealership. Tax here is 13%. I would be open to both leasing or owning outright. I don't see BEVs taking huge strides in the next 3 years, but on the other hand if my range were down 20-30% after 3 years, I would probably rather hand it back to Nissan and re-lease a newer model. I would want a 2013 SV. I currently put about 27,000km a year on the Saturn. I am usually the type of person to buy a car new and then keep it for 10-15 years. I am not anti-Volt, but if you compare 2013 MSRPs, the Volt is over $10,000 more expensive, which makes it unrealistic for me at this point.
I have room on my panel to install level 2 here at the house, and electricity would cost me about 13.5 cents/kWh, assuming I could charge 80% of the time at off-peak. My Saturn averages 8.3L/100km. Gas here is currently $1.25/L
My main concerns are....
1. Will I have enough range on a cold winter day, say 5-6 years down the road when I have 160,000km on the car with the original batteries, lots of accessories going, winter tires, and I need a range of 100km to go into town, do some errands, and get back home without charging.
2. Should I just keep what I have until I NEED a new car. The Saturn only has 60,000km on it and it runs great. Should I just drive it for the next 6-8 years until it's ready to die and then look at what options are on the market? (I know this is a tough question to answer, if the Saturn were near death I would not hesitate to buy a Leaf)
I appreciate any advice or thoughts.
Thanks guys!