I have owned my LEAF for over
I have owned my LEAF for over a year now. My total expenses including the trip to the dealer for the 1 year maintenance totalled $48 for the entire year. This includes fuel expenses since I generate my own electricity from a paid off solar panel system on my roof.
The only high cost maintenance item is a $300 brake fluid change at year 2 of the maintenance schedule and that is Nissan just trying to make some money off the LEAF since it is so maintenance free. My total estimated maintenance in that case is $450 for the first 3 years.
If the only maintenance cost of a Prius in 3 years is fuel cost at $3.50/gal that would mean to have a lower cost they would only need 45 gallons of gas per year. I owned a Prius before my LEAF and kept track of every fill up. My average year required 200 gallons of gas with an average MPG of 65. Not bad for a 2008 Prius rated at 48 MPG.
I think it is interesting that all the articles that compare maintenance cost never take into account the fuel. Most cars I have seen don't run well without maintaining the fuel level.