Today I took my 2nd test drive of the Leaf at the Drive Electric Tour at Century City, the 1st being at the alt car expo in Santa Monica earlier this month I got to know the car a bit better and like everything about it. The telematics are excellent and well-thought out, and give plenty of real-time feedback about available range, time to charge to full capacity, and how much juice you're using at any given instant. I was also impressed by the overall build quality of the car. I played with the controls and charging connectors, etc. and everything had a good feel to it. And driving it is a total blast... nothing like pure electric drive. I plan to wait at least a year before buying one, since I never buy the first year of a new model, and I think the current allotment for the U.S is spoken for anyway. I also want to wait and see how much more built-out the charging network gets, but since I spend about 95% of the time puttering back and forth to work on surface streets (20-mile round trip) it's probably already a good fit for me. The one deal-breaker could be that I'm an apartment dweller. I've yet ask my landlord if he'll let me pick up the tab to have a charger installed at my parking space, but suspect that at best there'll be a bit of red tape involved with this. Has anyone had experience with a similar situation?
Re: 2md test drive of the Leaf... I'm smitten! Cool! I think you're ready for the upgrade. I've really come to respect Nissan recently. They're making all the right moves and I think the Leaf will really get them on the map. They also have cute commercials and are one of the few that don't bash other brands.
Re: 2md test drive of the Leaf... I'm smitten! There are a couple in the Leaf forum trying to do this. Not easy at present. But nothing like starting early to address red tape. Another option is to check with your employer.
Re: 2md test drive of the Leaf... I'm smitten! I think I found the forum you're referring to. There were at least a few long threads on installing chargers at work, apartment complexes, etc. so there's a lot to digest.
That's the big stumbling block for me too. I live in an apartment building with a shared parking garage (and no outlets). Maybe by the time my Prius falls apart I'll be living in a house . . . .
