[fkn]

I think you fit the profile that Nissan was pursuing. Your commute isn't too far and you own another car for the longer trips.

I can't see anyone buying a Nissan Leaf as their only car. The range is a big inconvenience.

I am curious to see how the battery will handle the cold winters in the long term.

[koblenski]

You're absolutely right. This car is not for everyone. Nissan actually had a questionnaire on their Leaf order site to determine if the car was the right fit for your driving conditions. If you didn't fit the profile, they highly recommended against buying one. I think that will change quickly as EVs get longer range and shorter charge times.

As for the winters, the first one was pretty mild, but the second one had some dips below zero. During the cold snaps the battery definitely lost significant range, but now that it's summer, the range is practically back to its original amount. There's been very slight degradation of battery capacity so far. I've got plenty of data that I plan to analyze in a future post, but that's for a future post.

[hahainternet]

> I can't see anyone buying a Nissan Leaf as their only car. The range is a big inconvenience.

Remember that for some, it's no problem. I live in the UK, I have no intention of ever driving more than 100 miles in one go, and if I really need to travel long distances, trains, buses, trams, planes are relatively cheap and available.

I doubt a Leaf is what I would buy, but given that Tesla want to allow free charging, so ostensibly free fuel, I can see that as very attractive in the near future.

[robin_reala]

If you’re with Ecotricity in the UK (who peg their electricity prices to match the big 6) then you get free access to their network of chargers: http://www.ecotricity.co.uk/for-the-road

[mikeash]

A lot of people live life without a car at all. I'm sure there are quite a few people out there who could really benefit from a short-range commuter, but never have a need to drive a car beyond the range of an electric car. For people like that, a Leaf would make perfect sense as their only car.

I wouldn't do it, you wouldn't do it, but I wouldn't say that nobody would do it.

For people who do want to drive long distances, but not frequently, it could still be a good way to go. Cars are pretty easy to rent, whether from a place like Zipcar or a more traditional rental company like Enterprise. If you drive long distances rarely, it could easily be a win to buy something like a Leaf, then rent on the rare occasions you need more.

I find that people often try to imagine every possible eventuality when buying a car, and want to buy something that's capable of it all, no matter how rare these things are required. Well, they say, this car is perfect for our daily needs, but when the sister and parents come to visit once every two years, they won't fit, so we need something bigger. Or, it's perfect, except it won't handle that road trip we've always been dreaming of but never got around to doing. Buying for typical needs and renting for atypical needs is usually cheaper.

[sliverstorm]

I am curious to see how the battery will handle the cold winters in the long term.

The battery has a heating system to combat cold weather.