Posted by: KenN
Posted by: chupacabra
How much does your car cost per km? I commute between Burnaby and Squamish in an old Maxima. It is not cheap on fuel but it was cheap to buy and I didn't want to rack miles up on a new car. It is closing in on 200,000 KM so a "new" car is on the horizon. Between the fuel savings and rebates, it might be a good time to pull the trigger on an electric.
I run about 220 wh/km in summer, 240 wh/km in winter. That's about 4.5 km/kwh summer;4.2 km/kwh winter. Simple math using your hydro rate from there. So worst case, in winter at BC Hydro step 2 rates (12.87 cents/kwh plus 5% delivery charge), it's going to cost you just over 3 cents per kilometer driven, or $3 per hundred km. Compare to a reasonably efficient gas car at, say 6 litres/100 km efficiency, using $1.40 per litre you're looking at $8.40/100 km.
Factor in that about 1/2 my charging is at free public chargers and the cost to operate plummets.
That would be cost of fuel/energy only. With the EV there's no oil changes, tune-ups etc. etc. I got an annual maintenance program for mine, but when it runs out this year, I'll probably only bring it in every second year for service.
If you're serious about trying it out, maybe check out North Shore Kia - their used car group is really keen on the EV market and they have some used 2015 Nissan Leafs for around the $20k mark. For that price, you could see if it works for a summer, then sell it at minimal loss if it doesn't work out.
For your commute, the Leaf would work one way, but would be tight for the round trip. You'd need to find charging at/near work (or even an available outlet). For longer range options that are not crazy expensive, Chev Bolt, the new 2018 Leaf (looks much nicer ... honest!) or wait until the Tesla 3 gets to Canada.
I guess when you start with the current Leaf as a baseline, anything will look better. The 2018 Leaf still aint no show pony thats for sure. Whats the ETA on Model 3s getting to Canada now? Ive heard 2018, but given their issues, is that date still realistic?