[Flakbadger]

Hey so, to the best of my understanding there are 3 trim levels.

Base: S
Mid-level: SV
Highest-trim: SL

Basically the SL has all options standard. The SV has options as specified by the original buyer, or by Nissan too. The S often has nothing.

When I was looking into buying my Leaf, the vast majority of the SVs had the quick-charging port.

I have used that (level 3 charging) 2 times since purchasing my Leaf.

Most of the time when charging I am using the trickle charger that came with the car, because I don't have a nearby 240V receptacle; and since I live in a rental I don't have the option to wire one in myself.

Anyhow, Level-2 charging uses the same port as Level-1. Level-2 is what any of your shopping-center chargers are (generally), and that gives you a full charge in ~3ish hours. So if you go shopping for a half hour and come back, your car will have another 20ish miles of range, give or take.

The problem you run into with SV's, at least in my location, is finding one that has the hybrid heat pump instead of just the dumb standard resistive heater. I lucked out and got one with all the options I wanted.

Range is OK, I get around 90 miles of usable range by driving like a hypermiler. The biggest concern I'd have in your particular case is the battery management and cooling system, which in the Leaf is built on "thoughts and prayers." As such, there isn't one. Texas might be too hot and you would lose capacity pretty fast, especially if you're using it on the freeway a lot.

I acknowledge that the Leaf isn't for everyone, but I absolutely love mine. For 95% of the driving I do, it's perfect. When we have to take a longer route, we use my wife's Fit.

Just my $0.02