(2014 Leaf leaseholder here)

At the time we were a 2-car household and used the gas car for longer trips. That being said, there were a few times we had to scramble:

Once, when it was very cold my wife and I both needed to drive a long distance. I took the Leaf because I had access to a charger.

On our last year of the lease we ended up having to move 90 miles away. When we bought the Leaf, we never planned on driving that far. Due to circumstances, I had to make multiple 90-mile trips in the Leaf.

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Case in point: I now only recommend that class of Leaf to people who need a 3rd car for a teenager and no intention of moving.

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apparent a day ago | parent [-]

We considered getting a used Leaf but my wife had too much range anxiety, even for vehicles with 70 miles of range. I plotted out on a map how many trips she would have to take in a day (to work, to doctor, to pick up kid, to dentist, to store, etc.) in order to come even close to 70 miles. Of course, she never goes that far around town (only when visiting relatives, when I typically drive and we take a PHEV). But the RA was too great, so we got another PHEV. It has been useful at times to be able to both go 50+ miles in a day without any concern, but it's literally a handful of times over the years.

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gwbas1c 12 hours ago | parent [-]

> (only when visiting relatives, when I typically drive and we take a PHEV). But the RA was too great, so we got another PHEV. It has been useful at times to be able to both go 50+ miles in a day without any concern

After the Leaf, we ended up with the Chrysler Pacifica PHEV and a Model 3. The PHEV had so many problems that I'll never recommend them, and dumped it early at a loss and went all-electric. (Both cars). We will never go back to gas.

IMO, the main thing EVs need in the US is a good publicity campaign, more chargers, and better legislation of chargers. The technology is now "good enough" if you have access to a charger where you park overnight, and "almost there" if you can't charge overnight. (IE, if you rely on street parking stick with gas.)

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apparent 8 hours ago | parent [-]

Sorry to hear about the lousy Pacifica. We have a friend who had a good experience with it, but one reason we never thought seriously about it is Chrysler's reputation for reliability.

I think you're right about the tech being "good enough" in many places, but it depends on weather (colder climates are not as good). I also know people who live in temperate climates that refuse to have their only car be an EV because of emergencies and power outages. As someone with two cars, I don't have that concern, but I can understand why someone (especially an older person) would not want to go all in on electric, if the grid is not super reliable (and would likely be offline in a natural disaster, when they would need to charge and possibly flee).

	▲	gwbas1c 8 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I live in the Northeast. The Leaf had problems with extreme cold, and my 2018 Model 3 lost a lot of range because it (surprise) had resistive heating. My 2022 Model Y and 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9 have heat pumps and generally work well in extreme cold. It's also nice that I can preheat them in the garage. Most importantly, they don't lose range overnight in extreme cold like the 2018 Model 3 did. I charge the cars before large storms, which is much easier than fighting traffic at the gas station!