This is why I leased one, instead of buying
Theres an EV in our driveway.
It belongs to us, sort of.
Its shiny and blue and makes a satisfying whirring noise when you step on the accelerator.
Hyundai
Economists and automotive pundits seems to be split on leasing.
The general consensus is that if you change vehicles often, leasing is a good deal.
the other side of that coin is that after your lease ends youre left with nothing.
Waldemar Brandt / Unsplash
The vehicle goes away and you have to start all over.
It checks all the marks we need for our transportation needs.
Or at least, better.
Volkswagen
Then for 2017, the second-generation Leaf was brought to market with 117 miles of range.
Two years later, the 2019 Leaf Plus was introduced with a range of 226 miles.
According to Nissan, the latest version of the vehicleoffers 67% more energy density than the 2010 model.
Theresidual rates for essentially every EVthat doesnt have a Tesla badge are below that of comparable gas vehicles.
The higher the range the better off the vehicles value after three years.
So, sure, the 2022 Kona Electric has great range now, but in three years?
Who knows if 258 miles is something thatll be the norm on regular consumer EVs.
Plus, theres battery degradation.
Its just the nature of current battery technology.
We wont willfully aim to degrade the capacity of the Konas battery pack.
But, situations change.
What if we end up using the vehicle for more road trips than we anticipated?
That’s really where DC fast charging and pushing the state of charge to 100 makes sense.
Price Matters
Its also cheaper to lease than buy.
Thats important because EVs are still more expensive than their gas counterparts.
Plus, that $7,500 federal tax incentive when you buy is just that, a tax incentive.
You dont get $7,500 off the cost of an EV when you drive it off the lot.
You get that money at the end of the year.
In other words, it made the vehicle cheaper from the get-go instead of getting money later on.
Volkswagen
Finally, there are a lot of new EVs on the horizon Im truly excited about.
For example, every time I see theVolkswagen I.D.
But it wont be in the United States until 2023.
For us, buying another gas car seemed irresponsible.
We live in California and each year the state is further engulfed in flames.
Being green also means being smart about what works best for you and for us.
Want to know more about EVs?
We have awhole section dedicated to electric vehicles!
