Am I a good Leaf candidate?

[LeftieBiker]

If you aren't determined to drive an EV as much as possible, the Prius PHEV would get about 80MPG on your commute. No heat unless you let the engine run as needed, though.

 

[tkdbrusco]

I have a new 2015 and I'd say that you could do the drive for at least a few years (maybe not in 4+ if significant degradation kicks in). I'd lease rather than buy just to make sure that doesn't happen.

I would second what a lot of others have said about having to put in an L2 charger, but here's my 2 cents.

(1) Charging on L1 will sometimes mean that you won't get to 100% in the morning, as it will often take 15 hours our so to charge the car from a low charge.
(2) Charging on L1 will also put you into peak power cost times for your charging. If you switched to a time of use electrical service, you'd save a lot of money over a few years, perhaps enough to offset the cost of installing the charger. It will also mean that you will be able to utilize the car more often without worry of having to plug back in. This will save money on gas.
(3) You won't be able to effectively pre-heat the car on L1 because it can't draw enough power to pre-head off of 110v. So you will find that pre-heating while plugged in will drop your charge to 95% or so in the winter because it will draw off the car battery as well. Doesn't seem that significant, but you'll want every percent you can get in the winter and you'll definitely want to pre-heat the car.
(4) An L2 will actually be less of a problem to the total AMPs of your panel then you think. An electrician may tell you that you need to upgrade the whole panel, but the reality it that under most circumstances, you won't have your car charging while you have the dryer on and the AC and the stove. Most of the time you'll charge the car from about 2:00AM - 6:00AM, when you're asleep and nothing else is drawing power.

 

[kubel]

I would advise against the LEAF. I'm in Southeast Michigan. My commute used to be 55 miles with no highway (all 45MPH to 55MPH). After 3 years, I get about 40-45 miles on a full charge in sub-zero temperatures.

I think the Soul EV would be a better choice, if they would just roll it out over here.

 

[rogersleaf]

It is hard to tell from the picture, but if the 150-ampere service disconnect is actually a main breaker, then you probably have 150-ampere service (not a common size service). I strongly suggest you have a qualified electrician look at the panel and measure your actual load because there is a really good chance that you could add a 15 or 20 ampere 240-volt circuit.

Gerry

+1. My own panel is a 100 amp and now at capacity with the 40 amp EVSE line. His main difference is an extra 240v for a stove (my stove is gas) and likely a slightly larger home. I've had situations where A/C was on, close dryer running and charging the car at the same time without problems.

 

[GRA]

It would be my commuter, my wife has a giant gas-guzzler that is the kid wagon.

Whatever you do, if you get a sub-$40k BEV, lease for two or three years. The LEAF is already at the top of the list for % drop in resale value, and once the next gen arrives in 2017 the resale values of _all_ the current ~80 mile BEVs will go into the toilet. Dealers will be giving them away if you buy a toaster.

In your climate you're an edge case for a LEAF, depending on how long you keep it. It all depends on how much you want to get completely off gas, and how much inconvenience you're willing to put up with to do that. Once the 2017 BEVs arrive it will be a different matter, and if it were me I'd be inclined to just wait until then, or get a 2016 Volt and know that the car will still be able to do your commute in a decade. But if you do get a BEV instead of a PHEV, as others have said, get the electrical upgrade.