Nissan Leaf

So my husband told me to find a new car I would want to replace my Saturn SL1. We had already decided to get our first band new car when I get my next pay raise which I got this paycheck. First I wanted a Dodge Journey since it 7 passenger. However, he told me to look for a car for me to drive to work, some sort of compact. Unsure now what I wanted I was playing Sim City and had just built Nissan Power Stations and was seeing these new cars on the roads in the game.

On to researching the Nissan Leaf a 100% electric cars. These cars seat 5 people and have 4 doors. I started talking to my husband about this car and below is the questions he asked me to find out.

1) On average how many miles can you drive on a single charge?
            (Answer) Between 86 and 100 miles depending on grade of the road. If you drive up a             mountain you use more battery than normal, and driving down hills are recharge the battery a little.

2) How many years does the battery live?
          (Answer) The car comes with a 8 year or 100,000 miles battery warranty, and you can buy an  extra extended service Security+Plus that gives you the peace of mind that benefit from Nationwide Coverage, Genuine Nissan Parts, Factory-Trained Technicians, and you’ll be protected against future inflation.

3) What is the cost to set up a charging station at your home?
        (Answer) The home station if installed by your self would cost $999. To have the companies certified installer would cost $1,999 and these cost can be added to your cost of purchase.

4) If we do our normal trips would we be able to charge on the way?
         (Answer) We drive from Nampa to Salt Lake UT about once every 2-4 years. There is 9 charge
station in Nampa - Boise area but tell you get to Utah there is no other station on Interstate 84. Thus this car wouldn't be able to make it to UT. IN fact if we drive anywhere outside 100 mile range of Boise there is no Charging stations. Thus taking this car out of the state would be impossible.

5) If we ran out of charge and no station is around is there any way to change out the battery, or get it some extra charge to make it to a station.
         (Answer) Letting your car coast will recharge the batteries a little so if you starting to get low and have a downward road ahead, coast down it and get some extra distance to drive.

6) How much would it raise our power bill charging it every night?
       (Answer) Drivers in CA and OR have reported about an increase of $1/day for charging their cars. In Idaho we are cheaper on the power side of living but I stick to the $1/day. That means in a month if cost us about $30

7) What speeds can it get to with a problem?
        (Answer) 70 MPH no problem

8) How much horsepower does it have?
              (Answer) It has 107 horsepower and 187 lb-ft of torque.

We are still unsure if we going to buy one, I think first on the list would be to test drive it for a day to see if it would work for my daily commute.