Hi,
I just joined, and have had a 2013 Leaf S on lease since March of '13. I've put a ton of miles on in all kinds of weather, and have gone out specifically to "shake it down" in the worst of the worst weather for a year and a half now.
* Would you recommend a Leaf for the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area? Absolutely.
* How bad is winter driving in Iowa? Average range? Totally flogging on it (constant 70 to 75 mph on freeway, heat blasting, all seat heaters on = most power draw I could cause; 20 degrees outdoors) the lowest I could force the range to was 55 miles actually driven, getting home with the --- flashing. Based on the guessometer and distance from home when it went to ---, I would have had about 5 miles left when I parked at home. **UPDATE Now into my second season of wintry weather driving, and this range is down to about 45 miles**
* Have you had any problems getting your Leaf serviced at local dealers or 3rd parties? Never had it serviced by a 3rd party. It's leased, and has bumper-to-bumper. Local dealer has been alright, not spectacular, not bad.
* What's the futhest you've traveled from home in your Leaf? Have you ever run out of juice? I've had a number of 100 mile days, actually. Thought it was a big deal at first, but it's not hard to do. No, I've never run out of juice. I have no problem going to a park 40 highway miles away. On a day with shirtsleeve weather, it'll go more than 70 miles on the slab and easily mid 90s on surface streets.
* How do you feel about public charging in Iowa? Like the idea. There's nowhere near enough.
* Any good/bad things about owning an EV in Iowa? (I read something about lower registration rates.) It is registered for the $25, but good thing I took a printout regarding that to the courthouse with me; they had never heard of it, and I'm sure it was the talk of the office for a while afterwards.