BenAzLeaf said:Thanks for all of the info. I did not expect such a great surge of posts. I must say that there is a lot to digest here. My takeaway is that I should be prepared for reduced range. I think that with the vehicle there are tradeoffs and you need to consider them. I am primarily purchasing as a commuter during the months of August-May 20 miles each way mixed freeway and streets. About 6 miles on streets and 14 on the highway. I know the highway zaps range.
I have been researching a lot about the vehicle and think I am ready to buy, knowing the trade-offs I would make. I figure at 7k dollars It would basically be free (i have been commuting in my Tacoma.) I have other vehicles available and would drive this as a commuter for 3 years, then hand it to my daughter who would be a driver at that time. I would then purchase another EV (Leaf or ?) once there is more track record etc with the EV. I don't want a hybrid etc. I want purely BEV only.
I think this is a pretty safe move and for the money even if in three years it is worth only 3k dollars. At that point I could either put a new pack in or, maybe the battery will have been covered by warranty etc....?
Call me crazy but I really dig the funky styling of the leaf, I especially love the rear end.
I know you will enjoy the Leaf for commuting. Look at my previous post for comments about range vs. temperature in our climate (I like it cool and am not afraid to use A/C even when I might be pushing the range). My commute is 26 miles each way with 2 in neighborhood, 5 on surface streets, and the rest on I-17 (car pool lane saves a lot of time) and I-10. I made my roundtrip (52 miles total) when the 2011 was down to 8 capacity bars with normal A/C use before Nissan replaced the battery, but there was not much reserve. I don't know about the 2014, but the battery in my 2015 (so-called lizard pack) is doing much better than either the original or replacement in the 2011. There is a lot of discussion on the forum about battery deterioration, but I look at it as part of the fuel cost and the Leaf saves wear/tear from stop/go traffic on my other vehicles. No one thinks about extra wear/tear and maintenance requirements on internal combustion vehicles in our climate, but those costs are there.