We got a model year 2013 LEAF S (the cheapest model) with a 24 kWh battery in May 2014. A 3 year lease with 12,000 miles/year rate.
Its my wife's daily driver, she commutes to work 17 miles from home, and 17 miles back. This is hilly back roads, prob 45-50 mph average, with stops every mile or two.
Our long term (seasonal) average eff is 3.6 miles/kWh. This is about 86 miles to empty (0% state of charge, SOC), but we seldom want to drop the SOC below 15%, so its more like 70 miles usable to 20% SOC. The meter shows 86± in the summer when 100%SOC.
I suspect she is getting 4 mi/kWh in the warm weather, and 3 mi/kWh when it is close to or below freezing with snow tires on. So, maybe 80 usable miles in warm weather, 55-60 miles in the dead of winter. She/we are sparing with the cabin heater in winter...just enough heat (60° and low fan setting) to keep the windshield clear, and use of heated seat and steering wheel.
She LOVES the car. It is quieter than most luxury cars, so she listens to audio-books on her commute, and can really enjoy them. Driving as a family, I think we can all talk in a normal inside voice, instead of yelling at each other. Surprisingly relaxing and pleasant.
It is a great winter car...starts right up, no slow grind below freezing and worrying if the old bird will turn over. Press a button, it sings to you and you are off. The electric heat (and heated seats and steering) are fast to heat up. Wth snows the handling in excellent on ice/snow and can climb our steep driveway much better than other 2WD sedans with all-seasons.
The car is deemed slow on a 0-60 basis (like 9 seconds I think) but feels sportier than any ICE car I have driven (mostly toyotas), because it has a respectable 0-30 time (I think <3 seconds), lots of low end torque, and the power is instant (no throttle lag) and silent. I drive the thing pretty sporty and have a lot of fun with it. You can test drive and see what it can do.
We have seen NO change in battery capacity or range in 26000 miles and 3.2 years of driving. WE might be down a few percent and not have noticed. The car lives in our tuck-under garage, which is 50°F in the winter, and maybe 75°F in the summer, so the battery temps are pretty well controlled.
WE installed a 30A, 240V L2 charger in the garage, b/c I wanter her to be able to get back to full charge shortly after she got home, in case she wanted to go out for errands, to drive into town, etc. $700 for DIY install. She plugs in when she gets home from her 35 mile commute, and is at 100% SOC in 90 minutes.
We like it so much, we want another, but are holding out for the longer-range, restyled MY 2018 LEAF. We extended our lease for a fourth year (discounted) to get there.
You prob know the battery chem was changed in early 2013...and the earlier ones sucked in terms of durability. We got a good one (late 2013). There was also a recall on the 2013s related to the AC system leaking....our indeed lost all its refrigerant in 8 mos and was fixed under warranty.
Budget for tires....my ecopias are almost shot at 18,000 miles (the other miles are on my xi3 snows).
Pro tip: You get 5-10% more range (and even wear) by keeping the tires >40 psi rather than the 36 psi on the door label. The tires are rated for 44 and the car is HEAVY.
