Poll: Is your Leaf your daily driver?

[Cosmacelf]

I posted a similar poll over on the Tesla forums and found the results rather interesting, so I though I'd post a Leaf poll here.

Many non-EV drivers believe that Leaf owners just use their car as a secondary vehicle - ie, it isn't their daily driver. But I have yet to see a poll about this question. So, IF you own a Leaf, I would appreciate it if you could participate in this very quick poll. Please use this thread to suggest poll question improvements.

Poll link: http://www.easypolls.net/poll.html?p=52a2ad66e4b0b2051ebfe7b5" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'll post results here when I get enough respondents, or if you participate, you can see the results.

BTW, the Model S poll currently looks like this:

 

[RonDawg]

I'm in the "EV is my daily driver, but still use another vehicle occasionally" camp.

I'm not quite sure why anybody would think a Leaf is a secondary car. You don't drive a Leaf because it's fun, like you would a sports car. You don't drive it because no other car in your garage or driveway fits a certain need, like a pickup or van. Unless you want to announce to the whole world how Eco-conscious you are, you don't drive a Leaf for image reasons like you would with a high-end car.

You drive a Leaf because it's economical to operate, because it pollutes less than an ICEV, and because it reduces our need for oil, domestic or imported. If allowed in your state, it also provides certain perks not available to ICEV drivers like solo access to carpool lanes and free parking. For those reasons you 'll want your Leaf as your primary car, not the secondary one.

Folks who signed up for 12k/year leases and now regretting not getting 15k/year leases is showing that some people are finding any and every excuse to drive it.

 

[LeftieBiker]

My Leaf is my daily driver. My housemate drives a prius PHEV, which I almost never drive. And I do want to make a statement: "Electric cars are fun and practical."

 

[Cosmacelf]

My strong suspicion was that the vast majority of EV owners use their EV as their daily driver. However, there is a perception out there that this isn't the case - I wanted to get some data from these polls to see what the facts were.

 

[smkettner]

How do I select both 2 & 4?

 

[JeremyW]

My leaf is my only car, and I'm pretty proud of it!

 

[cwerdna]

The wording of "Yes, but I occasionally use my ICE pick up truck, SUV, sports car, etc." seemed a bit off. Is it missing a comma or something?

I selected that choice but my occasional use car is an ICEV that's not a pickup truck, SUV nor sports car. It's an 06 Prius.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I also ride an electric bicycle year round, and both an electric scooter/motorcycle (ZEV5000LA) and a Suzuki GS450 (albeit rarely) in warm weather.

 

[leafedbehind]

Leaf and Fit EV are the daily drivers in our household. Wife and I swap based on needs for the day. We have a backup ICE that hasn't been driven in months. Guess I'd better take it for a spin to keep things lubed!

 

[palmermd]

ok I need to answer 1 and 2. Leaf is a daily driver, spouse has an ICE, and we have a second EV. Or perhaps we have two EV's and an ICE in reserve.

 

[UBUYGAS]

My ICE died. I bought the LEAF. 4 days later my wife got rid of her ICE and she bought a hybrid (Prius C)

I found out from a friend that my old car was under a recall. Hyundai picked it up and with $3300 in parts they rebuilt it for free! It runs like new. It sits in front of my house with a bumper sticker that reads "this is not an abandoned vehicle!" I've used it twice in 8 months

So, Yes my LEAF is my daily driver. Most likely I will get rid of the old car in the spring.

I'm keeping it around because I don't know if the LEAF will be usable in the harshest winter weather yet.

I chose option 1.

Sal "Lasareath" Cameli

 

[RegGuheert]

My leaf is my only car, and I'm pretty proud of it!

I'm amazed that so far 24% of respondents have said this!

I was proud because we have a LEAF and only three other cars!

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

My ICE died. . . I found out from a friend that my old car was under a recall. Hyundai picked it up and with $3300 in parts they rebuilt it for free! It runs like new.

Seems fitting, given your nickname.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

I voted 2. The majority in both polls so far.

Interesting that more LEAF owners are EV only, albeit in such a small sampling, but probably just a demographic thing.

 

[UBUYGAS]

given your nickname.

I don't understand. Please explain.

 

[Stoaty]

given your nickname.

I don't understand. Please explain.

I believe he is referring to the rough pronunciation of your nickname: "Lazarus"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazarus_of_Bethany" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Phoenix]

Lazarus rose from the dead. Your dead Hyundai rebuilt. Your forum name of Lasareath.

 

[Epi117]

Its our only car for a family of 4.

Complemented by use of trimet trains in Portland. Heading into month 8, so far its worked great.

 

[Cosmacelf]

As far as having multiple options to choose from (like my spouse has an ICE AND I occasionally use an ICE for other tasks), just pick one of the two. No poll can be 100% accurate without getting way too complicated (which is why simple political opinion polls are inaccurate!), but it will provide some broad brush generalizations. Indeed, so far, while an ICE is often in the family, the EV is being used as a daily use vehicle. At some point I'll do a poll of all EV owners asking them why the secondary ICE hasn't been replaced yet, and obviously one of the choices, based on this feedback, will be "We use it so little that it's going to be sold, just haven't gotten around to it yet!".

 

[cgaydos]

We have two LEAFs and two ICEs for 5 drivers. The cars are treated as a shared pool. Over an 8.5 month period since getting the second LEAF the miles driven:

LEAF 1: 9,475 33.1%
LEAF 2: 8,948 31.2%
ICE 1: 6,509 22.7%
ICE 2: 3,725 13.0%

As you might imagine the percentage of trips for the LEAFs is in the upper 90s - each ICE vehicle can sit for a week or more between uses when college is not in session - but the ICEs get more miles because they are used for trips outside the LEAFs' range.