Upcoming competitors to the LEAF- Focus EV, RAV-4 EV, Fit EV

With the delays in Nissan bringing the Leaf to the east coast USA is anyone thinking of waiting until 2012 when other companies will have EV models and plug in hybrids.
Ford- Focus EV
Toyota- RAV-4 EV (in conjunction with Tesla) Who doesn't like the sound of Tesla as part of the electric engine?
Honda- Fit EV
Plus other cars with plug in hybrid varieties to get 15-20 miles on EV.
I have my $99.00 deposit in on the LEAF but with no delivery date in site I am considering waiting until 2012 when the market will have more options.
Charging infrastructure also may improve in a year.
Anyone considering these options?

Some others:
http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/special/ev/
http://www.codaautomotive.com/
http://wheego.net/more/

BMW ActiveE, Smart Fortwo electric.... yet Leaf is the only attractive option now and probably stay that way even when some of these get released...

chuck58 said:

With the delays in Nissan bringing the Leaf to the east coast USA is anyone thinking of waiting until 2012 when other companies will have EV models and plug in hybrids.

Click to expand...

Grass always looks greener on the otherside.

Do you think all these companies will have compelling cars, attractively priced yet easily available ?

Note how Ford Focus is supposed to be sold this year - but nothing has been released about the price or ordering process.

Has the Tesla S stirred any interest? More expensive but the range potentially is much superior. Has a beautiful design.

The LEAF has a fairly distinct Cost / Range / Perfomance Trim (as in economy/family/luxury) spot amongst the coming EVs. So until there are hundreds of different EV models in the future, there's probably one of the 10 or so options that best fits your needs. And it's nice that we have more than one choice coming to fit many of the different needs.

A notable addition, with much more range at 160 miles and options to go up 300 miles range, at a higher price and luxury bracket is the Tesla Model S

What are the prices of the different battery pack options?
Three battery options are offered: 160-, 230-, or 300-mile range. Model S comes standard with the 160-mile range battery at the quoted $49,900 base price (after the $7,500 Federal Tax Credit). The 230-mile and 300-mile range batteries are optional upgrades. The 230-mile range option is priced at about $10,000 more than the base and the 300-mile option at about $20,000 more than the base.

Click to expand...

Also check out the excellent vehicle directory at http://www.pluginamerica.org/vehicles for even more options.

chuck58 said:

Has the Tesla S stirred any interest? More expensive but the range potentially is much superior. Has a beautiful design.

Click to expand...

if you have a daily need of 110+ miles with no options for day time charging and the $49,900 to spend, I'd say there's a lot of interest in the Tesla Model S. Or go all out for the longest Model S 300 mile range option at $69,900. That's up there, but if you look at the purchase cost and fuel operating cost of a Lincoln Navigator, there's still a substantial car market at the higher prices.

The LEAF actually fits my needs very nicely at the moment. I figure it's at least a good, low cost, bridge vehicle for the next 5 years as we get more EV models available, increased range, lower costs and improvements in EV technology. The LEAF will easily get me through the next 5-10 years, and the choices then should be very good, possibly available to drive off the dealer lot, and less expensive. So I'm loving the LEAF at the moment, though it's a long distance relationship since my LEAF isn't even born in Japan yet - or at least that's what they tell me.