The question on turning in…
The question on turning in the car at lease expiration or paying to keep the car depends on a number of things. The primary one is does the car meet your needs? In our case which involves a Nissan Plus lease, it does well with the 60-80 miles of daily use. We don't live in nearly the cold climate of Minnesota, but forum comments from Canadian users seem to indicate some additional loss during sub zero temperatures, but not close to that much. Our lease conditions were very generous and we are looking at $19k to keep the car. It will be worth it even when newer EVs hit the market with improved distances and charging, but that's for our case. Also, how much are you saving on not buying gas? In our location, the difference between the cost of fuel is $0.16/mile (gas) minus $0.03/mile (electric) or $0.13/mile. At 12,000 miles per year, that's $1560 a year. Lots to think about.