I bought a Nissan Leaf

I drove a Leaf. It was really punchy at lower speeds. I don't really think it lacks in acceleration if you are on surface streets. 

Tom, can you discuss some of your decision-points when you bought your car?  What are the differences to look for?  Are there any durability problems or maintenance that should be addressed on a used car?  Were the early cars weak versus the newer ones?

I sort of understand charging, and I'll admit I've not done a ton of research either.  So all the cars have 110 wall outlet capability, right?  Then is the Level 2 J-1772 also on all the cars?

And what exactly is CHAdeMO?  Looks like high-voltage / high-amperage speed charging.  Is that compatible with a Tesla Supercharger connection?

Illuminate me, please.  I'm thinking a Leaf would be a fun around-town grocery/kid vehicle.

In reply to USERNAMETAKEN :

All the Leafs sold have level 1 (110v) and level 2 (220v) capability. Both use a J1772 connector on the front of the car. Right next to that connector is the optional Chademo level 3 (440 DC) connector. Not compatible with supercharging. Nothing but a Tesla uses those. 

Early cars have worse battery Chem that is known to degrade in hot temps. Better after 2013 and better still after 2014ish. Mine degraded about 5% in 5 years. 

If I had known my commute would be back within range again within a few months I wouldn't have sold mine. Mine had heater issues but I believe they did a recall or TSB on 2013s for that. 

In reply to Erich :

Thanks.  All good info.

I did a bit more research on the Chademo charging.  Lots of stations around Denver and the front range, fewer as you move out from the cities.  Looks like 220 charging is reasonably common.

Must-haves I shopped for:

SL-trim

DC Fast Charging (ChaDeMo)

Not painted black or blue.

Updated "Lizard" battery chemistry.

No battery degredation bars missing.

Normally, my 2012 wouldn't have had a Lizard battery, but this one happened to have a warranty replacement right before I bought it. They were refreshed slightly in 2013, with better battery chemistry, a little more space in the trunk, and the availability of a 6.6 kw onboard charger. My car has a 3.6 kw charger, which means from a level 2 plug, it charges about half as quickly as a 6.6kw car. 

Regarding J1772: it's an electrical standard, as well as a plug. The J1772 plug is that little pistol grip thing you see everywhere, and it's what's on the front of the car. But it's also an electrical standard, so my car uses the J1772 protocol to talk to the electric vehicle service equipment (EVSE) that's plugged into the outlet. EVSEs can be as small as the little brick that comes in the trunk of the Leaf and gets plugged into a 110v outlet, and as large as those 4-foot-square 220-volt public chargers. EVSE just means an automatic switch that uses the J1772 standard to talk to the car and make sure it's safe before it turns the power on. Once the EVSE turns the power on, it's up to the car's onboard charger to convert that power into actual battery charging current. So, charging is as fast as the slowest thing in the circuit, be that the outlet your EVSE is plugged into, the rating of your EVSE, or your car's onboard charger. 

ChaDeMo, however, bypasses that. It doesn't feed the car's onboard charger AC current. Instead, it hooks directly to the battery pack, and the charger built into the ChaDeMo station feeds the battery DC current. These charge waaaaay faster than a Level 2 J1772 station, drawing something like 250 amps at 220 volts AC. Nobody has these at home, but you'll find them in public frequently. They're awesome for road trips, which is why I made finding a car with a ChaDeMo port a requirement.

Hope this helps!

Figured it was time for an update: So far so good! I rolled over 40,000 miles a month or so ago, meaning I've now added 10,000 miles to my LEAF. I still have all of my battery capacity bars, and I still love it. My only gripe is the rear door lock actuators, which have gotten flaky. I'll need to pop the rear door panels off and clean the lock motors.

These things are getting cheaper and cheaper! Go get one!

I think the big federal tax break ends Dec 31st

So if you plan on getting an Ecar , now is the time.....