I'm a Convert
After getting a new job and moving to a new area, I quickly realized I'd need a new vehicle for commuting. My wife encouraged me to check out the electric vehicles, since she's a numbers girl and her math showed we'd save at least a couple thousand dollars a year in gas, not to mention the additional incentives on the EVs at the time. Since I'm a utilitarian when it comes to cars (will it get me from A to B?), I didn't care what I drove; but I was still a little nervous about the range issue. Nevertheless, after considering the incentives, and the gas savings, I went ahead and leased a Leaf. My first trip in the vehicle was actually an extended range drive - about 116 miles. Since the average projected range of the 2015 Leaf hovers around a 100 miles on a full charge, I knew I'd have to stop somewhere along the way to charge. An EV charging station app told me a quick charger was available at a mall about half way, so that's where I headed. Unfortnately, the quick charger was "offline." DOH! But the regular level II chargers worked, so a couple hours later, I was on the road again having gone from 38% battery to about 75%. I made it to my destination, but I was having second thoughts at this point.
It's been a week, and now that I've done a few work commutes and errand running around town, I'm much more comfortable and confident with the range and capability of the vehicle. I will definitely be investing in a level II charger for home (a must, in my opinion), and I've found a level II charger pretty near my work I can use if needed. While I don't think my family could go all EV (we still have a regular minivan - which we'd definitely want/need for roadtrips), I'm very happy with my Leaf for daily commuting and errand duty.
If I have one complaint - it's the head rests. Positioned way to far forward to be comfortable. But this is true in all new cars apparently; some sort of anti-whiplash safety thing. But it's almost so bad I'm tempted to remove the headrest completely.
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