for around town, when I replace my 08 Yaris, but as it mostly sits in the driveway getting about 5K miles per year it may be a very long time.

I was hoping that the price would come down a bit before I needed to get another car - but my 2001 Pontiac (which was running just fine) finally wouldn't pass inspection because of the rust from the road salt. That always seems to happen here. And since they don't make Pontiacs anymore, I got the closest thing I could, a midsize Chevy from the same dealership - which I'll probably have for the next 16 years...

Wish there was another less corrosive method of making the roads passable.

Hope you find a good vehicle when you shop.

Which I really didn't want to do since I loved my Pontiac. The main issues I had all those years were tires and windshield wipers! But I finally couldn't get it to pass inspection - and my dealership had done what they could. So I decided on a year-old Chevy Malibu that they had with very low mileage, same size and handles much the same except it's taken me awhile to figure out all the new bells and whistles!

You’ll wonder how you lived without it. My little 2015 LEAF is a joy. If you’re on the edge, take the leap!

I don’t care about range much, since I drive about 100-150 miles/ week, and I plug it into a 110 outlet. So easy.

And the used ones are incredibly inexpensive, often returned from leases, and maintained well.

Mine costs about 2.5 cents in energy/mile, compared to 6 cents for our Prius. The other maintenance is tires, windshield wiper blades, and ??

I'm in the market for an EV, and have been looking at EVs/hybrids. But I have a few questions:

1-how much is a replacement battery and how often is a new one needed?

2-how fast does the battery run down when the AC is on? It gets VERY hot here in the summer!

3-how is it doing hills?

4-has your auto insurance rate changed?

5-aside from the lower energy costs, do you like your prius or leaf better?

I drive a very small number of miles per year, and my 2004 van (only 34000 miles) is too big to fit in my garage, so the clearcoat is thrashed from the sun. I need something small enough to fit into the garage. I'm not averse to buying a used EV, but just wonder if a hybrid would be better.

1--the "big" battery that runs the whole thing doesn't get replaced affordably. The "little" battery--a standard 12v--is replaced just like in an ICE car. From what I've learned, the 12v going bad is what creates most problems reported by EV drivers--easily fixed. Maybe they run out faster than in ICE car? I haven't had that problem myself.
2. It gets hot here, too. And cold in the winter. From what I've seen, both reduce the range by about 30%, so instead of getting 85-100 miles on a charge, it is reduced. Not a problem if you don't drive long distances.
3. It is fantastic doing hills--I can't believe how zippy it is! And on the other side of the hill, the brakes are regenerative.
4. I wish I could answer that--we went from two cars, with a teenage driver in the house, to one car, and then got the the LEAF. I don't think it went up significantly from when we had the Prius and a Subaru before our teenager started driving.
5. The LEAF is the most fun car I've ever driven. We've had the Prius for 10 years and it has been very reliable and pretty zippy itself. If you need more range, I'm a Prius fan (but haven't researched the other hybrids). The LEAF is more comfortable. I really am crazy about the LEAF. Also, the used LEAFs are so darn cheap!

I think it comes down to range. We use the Prius for longer trips, and if we needed a different car for some kind of trip, or the Prius dies, we would rent a car.

I have found Reddit a valuable source of info--and lots of people who are considering buying ask questions and get answers from very experienced drivers. There's an R/Leaf group and an R/Electric Vehicles--both helpful.

Also, if you are considering, everyone will tell you to get LEAFspy app and a little thing that plugs in to check battery health. Lots of deets about that on Reddit.

Have fun looking!

Thank you so much for the info! I am on Reddit too, so I'll check out those subs. Carmax has a shit ton of Leafs for sale at a great price too. I am assuming former daily rentals, and they're around 2016 or so, which is what I'm looking for, as I don't drive much.

It is impressive looking, a bit SUV looking and one level of the model is rated at 300 miles per charge.

I don't know, but if it sells starting in 2021, it could be a contender. I would never buy first
year run of any car.

We heard $60,000 for the long range GT version and something less for another Mach-E
version.

?


The Tikkis