Friends are ditching their gasser for an EV (Leaf? Volt?) Update: Bolt!

[MetroMPG]

(Flickr photo by: mariordo59 - CC-BY-SA 2.0)

A friend of mine corralled me yesterday to ask me questions about EV's. He and his wife are considering replacing their aging pair of cars with an EV for local use and a midsize manual shift pickup truck for odd jobs and highway trips.

They drove a Leaf and liked it.

I suggested looking at a Volt as well. The range is more than enough for our small city, and the ICE generator gives them the option of using it for some of their highway trips at probably half the fuel use of the pickup.

If they get one, it'll be only the third production EV in our sleepy little city. (Someone else has a Tesla sedan, and there's a Volt running around as well.)

Will keep this thread updated with what happens.

Mostly I'm looking forward to getting the chance to try out whatever they buy. (I also suggested checking out the Model S 2-year lease deal annouced last week.)

[Baltothewolf]

I would say get a gen2 volt... Way better, and driven easy can get 60mi on a charge

[MetroMPG]

One reason they're considering the Leaf is he wants a Frontier, and if they get 2 vehicles from one dealer, they should be able to negotiate a better overall deal.

But he didn't know about the Volt and was open to checking it out.

[vskid3]

Volt + trailer would get them EV around town, good mileage on highway trips, and do odd jobs.

[MetroMPG]

Agreed.

I think it's more a case of wants, not needs.

To his credit, he looks after his stuff (including rust prevention) and will probably still own the truck in 20+ years.

[Fat Charlie]

Our family of four with all our luggage for a two week vacation fit in a Prius taxi. The driver was in it too! Sure, we had a couple backpacks on laps, but I was really impressed with its capacity.

[Ryland]

My parents bought a used Leaf and a Ford Ranger of their only other vehicle, they put almost 1,000 miles per year on the truck, with a battery maintainer on it so it'll start when needed.
Most car hitches are good for 100 lb hitch weight, 1,000lb trailer weight.
The truck towing a trailer handles fine with nearly 3,000lb.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

... I suggested looking at a Volt as well. The range is more than enough for our small city, and the ICE generator gives them the option of using it for some of their highway trips at probably half the fuel use of the pickup.

The volt is my personal fav of all the EVs because of this parallel mode, EV/ICE. I test drove one, too. Liked it okay. But the dealer did a seeming bait and switch with a used volt at a great price point that they "couldn't find" when I got there. That and the jard sell on the new one with options sent me home a little turned-off (again) on dealers.

Someday, a Volt might find me. Gen 2 is much better than 1.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Ryland

My parents bought a used Leaf and a Ford Ranger of their only other vehicle, they put almost 1,000 miles per year on the truck,

Yeah, that sounds similar to what happens with my friends' truck.

He actually bikes to work 3 seasons/year. 8k km on his bike last year. She drives (shorter distance, too).

[NeilBlanchard]

If they are looking at a new Leaf, they should see a lower price once the Chevy Bolt EV comes out.