My family currently owns two Nissan Leaf electric vehicles (EVs) and we absolutely love them! They are just great for in-town commuting and run on 100% battery, no gas tank at all. We have found that the driving experience offers an extremely smooth ride, you don’t even know when the car is on. A lot of people have expressed concerns that electric cars have no “pick up”, but we have not found that to be true. You can have your foot on the accelerator and be flying in just a few seconds without even realizing it. (At least I can, LOL). Our “Leaves” save money on gas, and appear to impact our electric bill by approximately $30 a month, if we use our cars every day. A big plus for us is that we feel we are contributing to the sustainability of our environment big time by driving an EV! I have a charging station installed in my garage so every day, after using the car, I just charge it – – something akin to charging a phone, tablet, or other electronic devices. The number of public charging stations is on the rise and there are quite a few in Central Florida. Some are free and others charge a low fee that averages between $1.25 – $1.50 per hour.
The most significant challenge to driving EVs is a mileage issue. The car can only go about 100 miles on one full charge, depending on your driving behavior, so a lot of people tend to have mileage anxiety (fear of not enough battery to get to where they need to go). We find that if a long trip out of town is what you have planned, you probably need a gas engine or hybrid car unless you get a Tesla EV. That car achieves the same mileage as a regular gas car, but many find the price tag too high. The other drawback that some people find impossible to overcome is that it takes a long time to charge. For my EV, it takes about 4 hrs to charge a full battery.
If you are looking for an efficient, fun way to commute around town and perhaps to work, an EV may be a solution for you. We truly enjoy ours and highly recommend them.
