How Do I know if an Electric Vehicle is Right for Me?
Choosing and buying your next car is an exciting and nerve-wracking time. So many choices. So many things to consider. Hoping that you are getting a good deal. Well, we’re hoping GMP’s Leaf Power Program might make the process of finding your next car more simple for you.
If the following criteria are important to you in selecting your next vehicle, then GMP Leaf Power is something you should seriously consider:
- A cool, fun driving experience, including surprising acceleration when needed
- Insanely good mileage and super-low fuel costs
- Highly reliable performance with very low maintenance costs
- Good winter performance in Vermont’s snowy conditions
- Room for five passengers with plenty of cargo space
- Entitles the owner to preferred parking spots in some locations
- Confidence in a really, really great price
That’s a pretty nice list of qualities for a new car. My family has owned a Leaf for the past three years and will be upgrading to a new 2017 Leaf as part of the GMP Leaf Power Program. Our Leaf has been a terrific family car for 95% of our driving needs. Our kids learned to drive in the Leaf. Whether it is commuting to work, running errands, chasing the kids around at their sporting events, going skiing, golfing, a trip down to Rutland or out to Stowe or to Montpelier, our Leaf has been pretty flawless for our needs. We charge it overnight at home about 80% of the time and use the vast number of public charging stations in Vermont the other 20%. The only time we leave the Leaf at home is the few occasions when we drive down to Boston or NYC or up to Montreal. Other than the cost of a decent set of winter tires, our maintenance costs on the Leaf have been $0. And our cost of fuel (electricity) has been 40% of what it would be for a comparable gas vehicle. A really great deal for us over the past three years.
The 2017 Nissan Leaf MSRP’s at $30,680. Subtract from that the $10,000 GMP Leaf Power incentive as well as the $7,500 federal tax incentive you will get when you file your 2017 taxes and your new 2017 Leaf will cost you $13,180 before tax, title and registration. If you happen to work for one of the Vermont employers who offer an EV incentive to its employees then your cost can be even lower than that. That is confidence that you got a great deal.
by Brian Otley