OK, the Leaf could easily function and serve in this setting (40 mile total commute). BUT, if one is honestly "still shopping" and considering their options, I would suggest a VERY close look at the Mitsubishi i, if it is available in your area.
We have Leaf #320 and it is serving well for our "city/commute" car here in the Sacramento area, but for total economy in a commute car, I would probably get the Mitsubishi i, if I was shopping today. The Mitsubishi is about $5000 less than the Leaf, and though it has less content (no proximity locking/unlocking, regular key insert starting, and no GPS to list just some of the deletions), most of those things are pretty much unnecessary in a practical "city" car. The Mitsubishi i has about 10 miles less range, but again for this thread and for many of other shoppers this also would not be a "deal breaker."
Personally I like the looks of the Mitsubishi better than the Leaf, but that is just a personal call.
And the whole range of Nissan GPS systems, in my experience, are simply HORRIBLE. The actual position tracking is less accurate than what I have experienced with other vehicles and the software on my 2011 Leaf is at least 5 YEARS out-of-date in terms of the area where I live in Sacramento. Better to have NO GPS, save the approximately $1500 and use a portable unit with "lifetime FREE map updates."