All Leaf models qualify for a $7,500 Federal income-tax credit, along with various state, local, and corporate incentives. Nissan also offers a three-year lease at $199 a month, allowing the benefits of the tax credit (which goes to the lessor) to reduce the monthly payment, as well as reducing worry about battery durability over the life of the car.
The Leaf now sells well in multiple locales: not only California and the Pacific Northwest, but also in several parts of Texas and in Atlanta, where buyers benefit from a $5,000 state income-tax credit on top of the Federal income-tax credit of $7,500.
The only notable change for 2015 is an updated chemistry for its lithium-ion battery that Nissan says tolerates high temperatures much better--those in sun-baked Southwestern desert states, for instance.
The new "hot-weather" chemistry in the battery cells for 2015 doesn't change the EPA-rated range of 84 miles, but it is expected to make the pack significantly more resistant to capacity loss due to very high ambient temperatures--a problem seen in a small number of cars in climes like Phoenix, Arizona, where temperatures just above the asphalt can reached 150 degrees F or higher during the summer.
Top speed of the 3,200-pound car is limited to 90 mph., that drives the front wheels.
Buyers find they save enormous amounts of money from not having to buy gasoline. Indeed, electric cars cost only one-fifth to one-third as much per mile to run as gasoline cars do, depending on how much the owner pays for a kilowatt-hour of electricity.
BMW i3 (autonomia 160km y 300km con version extendida)
Beyond those groundbreaking BMW basics, there's an optional 650cc two-cylinder range-extending engine, producing 34 horsepower (25 kilowatts) and 40 lb-ft of torque. It doesn't power the wheels, but simply acts as a generator to recharge the battery, boosting the car's range from the 82 miles of the battery-only version to perhaps 150 miles or so between fill-ups. That's thanks to a tiny gas tank holding less than 2 gallons, purposely made tiny to comply with complex California regulations on zero-emission vehicles.
Almost all of these are leased. Hardly anybody wants to buy them because of the low range and since the manufacturers don't want to be embarrassed by a low sales price they do a cheap lease. I'm not knocking this car. This looks like a perfect commuter car for somebody who drives 40 miles/day like this guy. It's definitely better than a $300/month experience.
TESLA
While that efficiency rating is slightly lower than those of the Nissan Leaf (114 MPGe) and the most efficient electric car on the market, the new BMW i3 (124 MPGe), it remains impressive for a five-seat luxury vehicle that's larger, heavier, and much faster than either of those other cars.
