I am looking into leasing an electric vehicle and taking advantage of the CA rebate as well as PG&E and any other rebates. All the info is very overwhelming. I need a car that gets at least 50 miles per charge (more is better), has the DC level 3 charging capabilities, 4 doors, ideally some cargo room, and lastly is the best deal! I am all the way up in Humboldt, CA, but would consider going down to the Bay area for the right deal. I have called dealers and they often say come meet with them in person. Anybody have any ideas as to what models I should be comparing, and what models have good lease deals? I would like to minimize overall lease cost.
My name is Phil and I can help you out. I am very active on here and a Certified Technology expert with Chevrolet. Check out some of my reviews on LeaseHackr.
I work at the number one Chevy dealer in Northern California. Feel free to call or text me and i’ll answer all of your questions and give you the best price and lowest possible MF on a vehicle of your choice.
Phil Gileno
415-596-6262
Capitol Chevrolet
San Jose C.A.
I’d highly recommend to look at the Volt. The best deal will be always in the eyes of the beholder. If you don’t need more than 50mi range and Volt’s cargo is sufficient, that could be the best deal overall. It does not have the DC charging though, so not sure if that’s a deal breaker for you. You get all the benefits you need minus range anxiety, big bonus to someone like me coming from Chevy Spark EV.
Thank you for your insight. Definetly looking at the Volt. The lack of cargo room is the only real concern I have with it, which is not a deal-breaker. What about the KIA EV or Ford Focus, Nissan? Those seem to be the ones I can find on the lower end. Maybe I am confuesd… I am interested in being able to charge on all the new stations they are installing in Northern CA. Is this DC Level 3?
I was and still am looking at Soul, Focus and Golf but they were not providing range anxiety free options and would cost me more than Volt did, so it was kind of no brainier for me. Now, with the lack of $3000 Asian conquest lease money, Volts became not as attractive of an option, still pretty good imo. You may want to wait till the 2018 Volt comes out and GM offers deals on 2017 again, not guarantee though.
Just a warning with charging, at least from personal experience. Volt is “only” level II charging, no DC and internal charger is 3.6kW i believe, so charging is slow. When I bought my Spark I also thought I needed the DC plug, ended up using it a handful of times, even with fast charging it’s too slow and the deeper you depleted the battery the longer it will take. If this is the only car you are going to have for short and long trips, I’d just get a Volt or at least BMW with range extender, but again if and when the prices become reasonable again, if ever.
Thanks for your response. We might be a little late to the game for the Volt deals tight now it sounds like. But it also seems like prices are dropping as time moves on? Can you clarify what the charging stations they are installing on the 101 will be compatible with? Definetly SOUL seems to be best fit as far as size and cargo room. Seeing a deal on the bmwi3 that seems hard to beat. When do model 2018 cars come out?
Ford Focus has a big battery hump in the trunk, so that will cut into cargo space a lot. I don’t know which charging stations you are talking about, but majority chargers are lvl 2, which I think is fine if you’re just driving locally. I see DC fast charging (lvl 3) as really only necessary for road trips, and even then they’re not a very good solution atm either.
