Thanks to John for the great
Thanks to John for the great review. I am on my second Leaf, a 2013 SL with the Around View package. I love the car, obviously, and look forward to the next model. I got the 2013 for the leather interior and Around View (we are older and it helps a lot). We drove the i3 and liked it. Even my wife was comfortable with the 'one pedal' feature. It was definitely a blast to drive. Our reasons for not getting one are: 1) I thought that the back seat was more confining than our Leaf. 2) We only leased our Leafs due to luck and knowing now that they depreciate due to the changing technology. 3) Price! Our list was about $36k loaded. 4) Terms: We leased from our Auto Nation store and we got the full $7500 US credit off the price plus dealer discount of about $2500 for a net of about $26k. I was told that BMW is only giving $4500 credit on their leases and pocketing the extra $3k - bad form.
The 2013/14 Leaf is plenty fast for us. Also, the Around View gives us birds-eye viewing in front and back at very slow speeds. We drive it in B/Eco drive which gives us extra charging, but not as much as the i3. I am awaiting the Tesla econocar and the Infinity in 2016/17. I hope they come out about the same time so it will be clear which one to buy. Bottom line: Driving an EV, whether a Leaf, i3, or Tesla, is a blast. We have an ICE backup just in case but rarely use it. For us, the 85 mile range is just fine and we charge on a 120. If you don't try an EV, you don't know what you are missing. One other thing, maintenance. Not much to go wrong and don't have to pump gas.