STILL $200/mo for a leaf?! Boy do Americans just hate EVs for some reason. BTW I have a leaf.
OP stick with a gas car. You don’t drive enough for it to really matter.
How do you like your Leaf?
One difference (which may or may not matter to OP) is that waiting in the gas line at Costco is a pain (I just got back from my trek). If OP can charge the car at work, that may be enough of a convenience for them?
We bought a 2018 Leaf when it was new and I really like the car. $200 a month is a steal if and only if you don’t want to travel or you don’t mind renting a car when you do. It’s been our only car for 2.5ish years and we’re ordering a 4xe because we want to be able to travel easily w/o renting a car.
Also, note that at highway speeds you will lose range faster than on the surface level streets. So if you need to drive 110mi back and forth somewhere all highway plan a range buffer or a brief charging stop along the way.
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Loved my i3 lease a few years back. Might try to find a good used on at some point. Was a great work commuter car for me.
Not a huge fan of the ID4 but if the numbers were right I’d take one. Got some time before my model 3 performance lease is up.
Very helpful info. My partner’s car is starting to croak (2011 Ford Fusion hybrid; we bought it used and get a great deal on it). He doesn’t have to drive much for work (2x/wk) and should be able to charge the car there (we live in multi-family housing w/ no EV charger) for a hrs each time. It’s pretty short errand driving otherwise, and we take my ICE car for road trips.
If we need a new car, we’d want something truly cheap, so the Leaf might actually work.
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After the rebate…this car would be much less than the typical golf cart!
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https://kandipowersports.com/GOLF-CART/Kruiser-4P.htm
They make a golf cart as well. But at $5,500 this would be much bigger, have the infotainment screen, anti lock brakes and plushier seats. I’m not saying play golf in it, but for the neighborhood crawling golf carts this would have potential.
99% of them are used for this purpose…mine included. Most of the neighborhood golf carts around here are former actual golf course units that came off lease (~3-4 years old) which then get converted to what people want (generally speaking…larger tires, lifted suspension, headlights, tail lights, rear seats, etc), and they still end up costing ~$10k for a fairly basic one like mine (and easily much more).
@paranoidgarliclover this is my second leaf. I had a first gen which was okay but its 50% range drop in winter with a “73 epa” meant that as a winter car it was quite bad. The 2020 SV has twice the range. Honestly I’ve still noticed 40-50% drop in really cold winter weather, but I expected this going in so have not been surprised by it.
18k miles on the car now and no issues at all. The lane assist is not great–it vibrates the wheel but it does not correct unless expressly engaged: There is the requirement to turn on all safety features every time you start the car, which is absurd and obviously nobody ever remembers. The emergency auto braking, however, is always in effect along with the vibrating lane assist.
Would I buy it again? Yes. In fact, our lease ends in October and I will probably buy it out. Its electric motor makes its performance punch above its weight looking only at horsepower figures. It’s certainly nice to watch gas prices skyrocket and not be impacted by them.
If you could actually get this at $200 it’s a no-brainer. In present market even $300 would be a great price, IMO.
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I’d definitely be interested in one now for that price range. Are these readily available? What are the numbers for an 18 mo lease?
Cheapest non-Leaf? Bolt?
Kia Niro EV Roughly $350
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Does it make more sense to buy or lease Leaf now?
Confirms my thoughts…Leaf is out due to range, but any 300+ miles could be considered. Performance I’d steer towards Mach E, but sheer mileage I think it’s Niro/Bolt.
Lease a leaf right now, the RV’s are artificially high on an 18m
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Lease it. The sweet spot for Leaf leases is 18 months.
Do they pass along any fed rebate on an 18mo lease?
Indirectly, yes. That’s why it’s cheap.
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I was trying to put the numbers in calculator based on $34k msrp with current rv and mf and it was coming down to negative. I’m sure I’m doing something wrong but I entered $7500 rebate and it came to around -$1000. And based on 18 mo lease.
Indirectly applied means that they’re using it to subvene the mf or inflate the rv. It isn’t directly applied so it doesn’t get listed as a cap cost reduction.
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