TomT wrote:I have a real world example of how this can backfire... A friend of an acquaintance bought a 2013 Leaf (unfortunately, he didn't talk to me or anyone else who owned one before making the purchase)... He has a 75 mile round-trip commute, mostly freeway with elevation changes, and no charging at work. The dealer assured him that it would be "no problem whatsoever." Needless to say, he did not make it the first day. He ultimately dumped the Leaf and bought a regular Prius... Guess what he now tells anyone who will listen what he thinks of the Leaf and BEVs...
Holy cow I can imagine he was livid. Also doubly so for not talking to anyone that he knew who has a Leaf, he probably felt like a donkey. That said, whenever I have conversations with people about my Leaf, I'm quite honest about the range that I get, and I add it with the caveat that the EVs coming out next year will offer 200+ mile ranges, and that those would more than likely suit their needs. I would much prefer for people to come into the situation having realistic expectations instead of being let down.
The dealership I bought mine from didn't even know that you could charge it at home. I'm not kidding. They thought you HAD to charge it at a charging station. (Used Toyota dealership.) They had taken it to the nearby Nissan dealership to have it charged up, and of course that dealership told the Toyota guys that you could get 100 miles a charge from it, but I knew better, of course.
Pulled the trigger on going EV on 10/2016 with a 2012 Leaf SL, traded it in and now I'm a very happy Tesla Model 3 owner. Reservations for Tesla Model Y and Cyber Truck.