Nissan Leaf vs Prius

I talked it over with the wife, to her it came down to the Leaf is just too ugly for her to drive. For me it was the 100 mile limitation. Even if I never drive it more than 100 miles in a day, I want the option if needed.

 

I paid cash for my 2010 Prius, and I am probably going to lease the Leaf for the $349/month, 36 month term ($1999 down). If the Leaf does well, the 2010 Prius will be up for sale in short order, if not, the Leaf commitment is not too bad. I have a 34 mile roundtrip to work, and the Leaf fits right in. I kind of wish I had stuck with the 2004 Gen 2 Prius I had until the Leaf was available, as that would have been a better plan, but that's life.

 

mitch672,

Have you read/heard anything specific about when the Leaf will be
available outside the initial offering areas in the western states...
for example on the East Coast, better yet at your local Nissan dealer?

Everything I've read is vagaries and "wait and see."

The Leaf could work for me, although a Ford Transit Connect would be a
better match for my needs.

 

There is no specific date yet published other than "initial Leafs available in December 2010 with availabilty to the rest of the US in 2011", however, there are at least 4700 promised for the "EV project" The EV Project » Home if you live on the West Coast, you will have a lot of charging stations, thanks to the $100M in bailout money being used.

On April 20th, you will be able to sign up on the Nissan website to reserve a Leaf, there is no commitment required until August, when a firm order will be required (from what has been published). It's $99 to reserve your place in line, and it's fully refundable.

http://www.nissanusa.com/leaf-electric-car/news.jsp#/news

Reservations & Purchase
In order to ensure a one-stop-shop customer experience, Nissan is carefully managing the purchase process from the first step, when consumers sign up on NissanUSA.com, until the customer takes the Nissan LEAF home and plugs it into a personal charging dock.

• Nissan begins accepting reservations on April 20 first from people who have signed up on NissanUSA.com, and, after a brief introductory period, to all interested consumers.
• Consumers will be required to pay a $99 reservation fee, which is fully refundable.
• Reserving a Nissan LEAF ensures consumers a place in line when Nissan begins taking firm orders in August, as well as access to special, upcoming Nissan LEAF events.
• Rollout to select markets begins in December, with nationwide availability in 2011

and..

Nissan LEAF Electric Car | LEAF Pricing | Nissan USA Official Site.

 

If you have a short commute, the Leaf sounds good. (My 'commute' is about 55 miles each way, to somewhere: Cleveland MS 42, Charleston MS 44, Greenville 53, Clarksdale 56, Marks 60, and Tunica is 90 miles) The more you drive, the better the Prius looks, I do 30,000 miles a year.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=e...4193381753844590586.000475eaf4f9abd253858&z=8

I hope the Leaf meet the needs of many, even if they are not me.

I see the ideal Leaf owner as someone who has access to 220v charger at home (and ideally at work) who commutes more than a mile and less than 30 miles. (60 miles if you have a charger at work) They rarely make long trips by car, or need to carry more than groceries. (not a flat load floor with seats folded down)

 

I think one should stay fairly close to their house / charging bay with a Leaf. A drive from SF to LA machine it is not.

Prius could tackle that drive in a snap.

 

Yes cycledrum, true enough. However, "Ed Begley Jr" came up with a good expression: "While EV's are not for everyone, as they don't meet everyone's needs, however, they meet the needs of %95 of the US population"

The Leaf is a commuter car, and that is it's market. If you drive more than 75-100 miles a day, you are not a good fit for the Leaf, and may be in the %5.

http://www.edbegley.com/

 

The fact that Nissan belongs mostly to a French manufacture Renault bugs me a lot not go out and buy one.

Shame. Even with Toyota's quality issues it is still far better choice than Renault.

So no, I won't be going anywhere near the LEAVE.

 

I, on the other hand, will not hold their french retreating a-s against them

 

For me there is no question the Leaf will be replacing one of our Prius. It has the perfect range for 99% of our travels, and the Prius will pick up the other 1% or be the second car when we each need a car at the same time.

 

If an American company had a 100 mile+ EV, I would buy it instead. However, they don't seem to be able to manage that, so...c'est la vie

 

If it is American company it would be the same as Renault. Whats the difference? I would not buy any American cars (except Ford because they seem to have improved) or French cars. Actually I should say I would only buy Japanese cars and some German cars.

 

the truth hsiaolc is that Nissan has put a lot of money into their battery research & development, and packaging, and this is what is allowing the Leaf to exist. This is while GM was making gigantic SUV's to see how fast they could use up all of the oil in the world. Build a better EV, and they will come

 

I never said they didn't spend any moeny. R&D would be every car MF's cost and all of them has it.
Still I would not buy a FRENCH Car.

 

I'm signed up ... but the 100 mile limit probably stops me in my tracks. Even if my wife took it, it would mean dealing with the garage power connections and recharge hook up every night, or somewhere's along the road. Not sure if I'm ready for that. Don't want 3 cars.
That being said ... Will definately give it a test drive. This is just the beginning of the EV and Hybrid explosion. Wait till gas is back to $4, and is now up to $3.18 at my local station here in SoCAL. Bart

 

good for you.

I would not by a BRITISH electric car, we all know they can't build a car without massive electrical problems.

 

surdolfin, you plug it in when you get home, and the charging can be scheduled/delayed for non-peak power, I see you are in socal, there may be several charging stations available, check the EV project website.

update: I just checked for you, all of the public charging stations will be in San Diego, LA is not one of the cities being wired by the EV project (at least initially)

 

Well isn't that why you here because you bought a Japanese car?

As for British cars I wouldn't buy it anyway. But are there any British cars MF anyway? I wouldn't even buy Japanese cars that is build in the UK.

So don't feel offended.