It's back-to-school time and some families want electric cars.
Last week, we asked our Twitter followers which plug-in car they might choose to send their kids back to school.
Options ranged from the relatively affordable Nissan Leaf that offers great lease deals, to a plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt, to a not-so-cheap used Tesla Model S.
What plug-in car would you send your kids back to school in?
— Green Car Reports (@GreenCarReports) August 14, 2018
Our largest response came from families among our Twitter followers who opted for the Leaf. New models have plenty of hatchback space for a dorm room full of supplies and can go 151 miles on a charge. This month, Nissan is offering affordable lease deals of $219 a month for 36 months with $3,979 due at signing. Total discounts on the Leaf S amount to more than $10,000 off sticker price.
Following the Leaf, our respondents tied in their next two choices, with 27 percent each choosing the Chevy Volt, with its range-extending gas engine to alleviate range anxiety, or a used Tesla Model S.
READ THIS: The 7 best plug-in cars for students going back to school
Chevy offers lease deals of $234 a month on the Volt in California and Oregon with zero down. It has the longest electric range of any plug-in hybrid to minimize gas use, yet can still let your kid come home to visit—or to do laundry.
We found a few Tesla Model S's available for less than the price of a new Model 3. Most are short-range Model S 60s or 70s, but some are all-wheel-drive 70Ds with as much as 240 miles of range. The biggest advantage may be that they can access Tesla's Supercharger network to get kids back and forth to some leafy New England college town.
Brown 2013 Tesla Model S60 listed on Autotrader, Aug 2018, for $37,975
Only 10 percent of respondents chose the Chevy Bolt EV. It could be the perfect car to take back to school, with its long 238-mile electric range, its widespread dealer support, and its roomy hatchback. Still, compared with the other models on our list, Chevrolet isn't really making deals on the Bolt EVs and the cars in short supply in many areas.
Several other electric models could also make great cars to take back to school, such as the Hyundai Ioniq Electric or the VW e-Golf, but Twitter only gave us room for four choices.
As always, remember that our Twitter polls are unscientific, because of low sample size and because our respondents are self-selected.
