Plug in Prius or LEAF?

Will this be your only car? If so, how often do you take long road trips (anything over, say, 75 miles)?

 

Why not one of each?



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Good question. If one only keeps a Leaf, then long trips w/o any ability to charge in between or on other end are out of the question.

If the OP's not already at Nissan Leaf Forum - Online forum for the Nissan Leaf Electric Car, there's a wealth of info there.

If the goal is completely to eliminate the use of gasoline, then the Leaf is the clear choice.

 

My One Way trip to work is 14.2 miles and I can ReCharge there.
The PIP is great because I usually only need a few HV Miles, yet I can use the car for Long Distance trips too.

If I had to drive 30 miles One Way to work AND if I had another vehicle for Long Distance trips, I probably would get a Leaf as a Work-only vehicle.

EV miles are cheaper than HV miles.

 

I think if I were in your shoes, I'd get a Leaf.

Being that you have a GenIII you could use for longer road trips, the 61 mile daily commute would best be done in a Leaf. Even being able to charge at both points, you'd still need to run on gas in a PiP. Something to look into though is the Leafs cold weather range (if using the heater and how the temperature affects the battery). But being able to charge at work means that won't affect your commute anyhow.

Something else to consider, with a bigger battery in the Leaf, you get more "free" electricity from work .

 

ok, i am confused.

you can plug in at work

you are getting solar in a few months

so what is the question exactly? is it should i pay for gas and double the payback time on my solar...or NOT?

you currently have a few Priuses so that means you live with someone and you dont carpool.

like wow, what are you waiting for?

 

If I were you, I'd get a Leaf.

 

Yep, seems like your situation is tailor made for a Leaf!

 

What happens if you get to work one day and all the chargers are taken? (I guess you could carry a long extension cord ...)

Your commute is 95% Interstate driving. High speed gets fewer miles out of the PIP's EV range. How does it do with the Leaf? (Edit - Oops - missed that the 61 miles is round trip. That should be fine.)

And it might not be a drawback, but won't you have to borrow the Prius for the Denver trips?

 

Did you consider the Honda Fit EV ? It is supposed to have 123 mile city range. Honda is going to have some available for lease - 2013 Honda Fit EV Overview - Official Site

 

that might be just about perfect!!

the 2012 Leaf had a price increase due to poor exchange rates on the Yen. the TN plant will crank up this fall and produce US made Leafs and eliminate the poor exchange rate so expect a price drop for MY 2013

as far as range concerns. you are going 30 miles one way. even in very bad weather, you should have little problem. keep in mind the 2013 comes with 6.6 KW charger so charging time will be halved (you wont need it anyway)

also a more efficient heater system will be employed as well (you will want that!)

some background. Saturday, i will roll 15,000 on my Leaf. i will have had it exactly 15 months a week from yesterday. now, my mileage was low at first. i had a 4 day 12 mile RT commute but started a 5 day 50 mile RT commute April 2nd.

i have yet to see any battery degradation. (i have an aftermarket meter that monitors the amount of charge. i pretty much ignore the dash info) and we have a Leafer in Kent, WA who rolled 35,000 miles on his Leaf and also no battery degradation (he got his Leaf May 11, 2011 so its another "2Fas4u; Leaf version!")

but last year, i was saving about $50-70 a month on gas verses electricity driving the Leaf. this year after the gas price increase, its just over $100 a month.

now, we used to switch cars to even out the mileage on the Prius which was on a 64 mile 5 day commute (reduced 3 months ago to same commute but 4 days a week) but now we are even (Leaf does a bit more miles because its the "errand" car)

the other thing is the "drive electric" experience. that alone makes it all worth it. that you will have to see for yourself. its not something easily put into words

 

If it's a normal 110v outlet, then a full charge from empty would take 20 hours. If the battery's nearly half down, it's unlikely to get back to full charge in a workday. But you'll get enough to have plenty of safety margin to get home.

A 70 mile range with a 61 mile commute doesn't leave a lot of margin for error. So if for some reason you can't charge at work on any given day, you might have a nervous trip home.

Driving within Denver won't be that many total miles, nor will your days off.

 

Leaf for sure. You're a perfect candidate!