Leaf -vs- Volt

[doug]

[place holder post]

In an effort to clean up some of the model specific threads, I've created a few comparison threads. Feel free to go ahead and use them. When we get a chance we'll try to move some past comparison posts to one of these new threads.

(The idea here is to not have a bunch of Volt posts in the Leaf thread or Plug-in Prius posts in the Volt thread, etc. )

[doug]

Consumer Like Those Electric Cars, They Just Dont Know Who Makes Them | The Truth About Cars

[howabout2]

The brain says Leaf. The eye says Volt.

[jkirkebo]

The brain says Leaf. The eye says Volt.

Funny, I was going to say the opposite. If I had to get one of them, my brain would choose the Volt because the Leaf have way too low range for us. But I think the Leaf looks much better.

[richkae]

As the 2nd car of a 2 car family: Leaf.
As your only car: depends on your driving needs.

[JRP3]

I only see one EV, so that's the winner.

[user497]

As the 2nd car of a 2 car family: Leaf.
As your only car: depends on your driving needs.

I agree 100%. That's why the Leaf vs. Volt comparisons in a vacuum don't make any sense. If you already have a car you can take on a long distance and your commute is under 80 miles round trip, a Leaf makes a ton of sense. If you only have 1 car, then it depends on your driving patterns but generally this would favor a Volt. I strongly believe that the EV makers should strongly push on making all 2 car families have an EV as their 2nd car.

[smorgasbord]

As the 2nd car of a 2 car family: Leaf.

Actually, don't most people do most drives within the Leaf's range? In those cases, the Leaf would be the 1st car and something that can do the occasional longer drives would be the 2nd.

What's kind of interesting is reading through the Volt Forums (gm-volt.com) from all the people talking how they haven't used any gas in weeks or months and many hundreds, even thousands of miles. Essentially, they're living with an EV that has only a 40 mile range! And, the Leaf has twice that range. Volt owners are even getting worried about having the gas in the tank go stale! Maybe as more and more people drive Volts and see what they actually use, they'll start to realize that they don't really want the expense, maintenance, and weight of that IC drivetrain in their EV vehicle.

So, I think the Volt is great, as it'll help people be less anxious about Range Anxiety. And, the Leaf's great, as people who want a very usable EV have an affordable option right now.

[GSP]

So, I think the Volt is great, as it'll help people be less anxious about Range Anxiety. And, the Leaf's great, as people who want a very usable EV have an affordable option right now.

Very well said. I haven't bought gas for nearly 4 months. The Volt has opened my eyes to the practicality of a 73-mile EV. However, I still would much rather pay extra for a 150+ mi. EV.

Volt owners don't have to worry about gas getting stale however. The fold has a special sealed, pressurized, tank to preserve the gasoline, and if you don't use it within a year the engine will start per a "fuel maintenance mode" program.

GSP

[richkae]

I have been trying to convince everyone I know that they need to buy an electric car.
Several of them spend over $5000 per year on gasoline.
The most compelling sound bite argument I have been able to make is that you can pay for a Leaf in 5 years with the money you save on gas - the exact length of the typical car loan.
It doesn't work for the Volt.