There is a learning curve in switching to an electric car, but if it works for your situation, I highly recommend it. There is a growing amount of research from those who already own EVs and who choose to contribute via resources like Flip The Fleet. For us as a family, we were spending enough on petrol per week to pay for this Leaf over 5.5years, and as petrol prices keep going up (every 3c cost us an extra $1 per week) and as our transport needs increase (2 year old will be off to daycare next year), it will pay itself off even faster. It is also far easier to budget $3 for an extra trip into town and back (30+kms for us) than the $15 in petrol it was costing. And, once we get a night-rate from our electricity supplier (soon), it'll pay itself off even faster (with our daily running reducing to between $1.80-$3). Someone who lives closer to their work/school could get a cheaper Gen1 and it would likely pay itself off just as fast. There are still questions re: what to do when the batteries are no longer good enough, but I have confidence in those working on this technology that options will be varied and affordable enough by the time we have to worry.

Great car, so far.