Yes - we ended up with the Leaf. It climbed the hill like a trooper. The dealer gave us a great deal- $3400 under invoice (including an extended warranty and maintenance package) plus the $7500 tax rebate, plus 0% financing, which means we come out at less than $2000 difference between our actual and the list+tax on the Fit. It gives us an EV for daily commutes and a gas car for longer trips.
It was charged to 18% when we got it home at 4pm on New Year’s Eve, and was fully charged by morning on the standard plug. We didn’t opt for the Level 2 plug, as we wanted to see how we do with the normal one, and I think we’ll do fine.
Ask me again in 2 years if I think it was worth it, but I hope I’ll be able to say yes.
That’s the right way to do a hybrid. Instead of compromising and getting a single vehicle that is mediocre at being a gas car and also a mediocre electric car, have 2 purebreds optimized for their specific roles. I strongly suspect that at the price you paid for it, the Leaf will pay for it’s price premium in gas savings, easily. Supposedly the leaf is 0.026 cents in electricity per mile to operate, while the Fit is 33-41 mpg. Calling it 35 mpg for an estimate, that means over 100k miles the Fit uses 2857 gallons of fuel. Gas prices have gone down recently, but a quick glance at a 5 year average shows that $3/gallon is a reasonable estimate for the next few years. So that’s $8571 in fuel to run the Fit for 100k miles, versus $2600 to run a Leaf. Leaf is also a simpler drivetrain, though replacing the battery, at $5500, is about what a mechanic charges to replace the whole engine and maybe the automatic transmission on a Fit.
I have a 2014 Leaf (since June 2014), so I’ll add my two cents.
Charging: At home I have a level 2 charger (240 V). It cost around $600 and I installed it myself. It charges roughly 20-30 miles worth every hour of charging (how many miles you’ll get per hour will ground on how you drive). I just plug it in after parking in the garage, and it’s full in a few hours.
Tax credit: Process was easy, but YMMV.
Accessories: Climate control typically takes 3-4 miles off the range. Radio etc are negligible.
Safety: I had an accident. Someone rear-ended me going quite slowly (maybe 5 mph). There was some minor cosmetic damage to the rear bumper, which I got fixed (at a dealer) without any problems. No safety features other than seat belt activated, so I can’t say much more than Nissan promotional materials.
Range: I typically get around 80-90 miles of range, which is more than enough for my 44 mile round trip commute. I’ve never run the battery all the way to “empty.”
Other: My electric bill went up by roughly $20 a month, but that’s under half what I was buying in gas. The car is seriously quiet without an engine rumbling away.
Worth it? Absolutely. I love my car. It does what I need it to do. When I need to drive farther, I use my wife’s car.