I own a 2014 Nissan Leaf that I purchased new in April 2014. So I've owned it for about 7 years now. I've put about 46,000 miles on it in that time, but it would probably be more if not for the pandemic since I've been working from home for the last year now. So that 46,000 miles is really about 45,000 miles in 6 years time (about 7500 miles per year). So I don't do a lot of driving since my work commute (when I'm in the office at least) is only about 15 miles round trip. However, when driving around our county with the family, we do usually take my car as opposed to my wife's (an ICE car) to avoid using gas. So it does see the majority of driving on the weeks for family and friend visits, etc.
Prior to purchasing the Leaf, I was concerned about range (my model only gets about 80 miles per charge in ideal conditions). So what I did was for a full year prior to making the purchase, I kept a calendar and marked any days of the year where I would have driven more than 80 miles in a day. What I found was that I only did so for about 5 days that year and all but one of those scenarios we could easily have taken my wife's car instead. So that eased my concerns about range and whether or not the Nissan Leaf could fulfill my needs. Obviously you aren't probably looking to purchase a year out from now, but that certainly helped me feel more comfortable in purchasing a car with an 80 mile range. Ultimately, since it is charged to full every night, it would only be those few days that the Leaf wouldn't meet my needs. As you said, just like in your case, for longer trips, we just use my wife's car.
I haven't really had much range anxiety in it. After driving it for a while you begin to understand and know how far you can go with it and whether it will get you to where you need to go before you even go out in it. So it isn't like I ever am in a situation where I'm stuck out with a dead car. The car is pretty decent at telling you the state of your battery and how far you can go as well. My Nissan Leaf is pretty much the very base model you can get. It doesn't have the fancy computer on the dashboard or anything like that. So all it has is a simple range calculation on the dash screen.
As a side note, since purchasing it, about 2 years in I switched jobs and my new work place even has charging stations at work where I can charge up for free. So that is an awesome benefit that allows me to basically commute for free. But other than that, for the most part, a vast majority of my charging has been done at home on a regular 120V home outlet. I never had a charging station put in and I just use the mobile charging cable that came with my car. Your charging needs ultimately are determined by your driving habits/needs. Since my commute isn't very far each day, simply charging it on a 120V outlet each night is enough for it to be a full charge when I wake up.
From a total cost of ownership perspective, not much beats the Nissan Leaf (and EVs in general). I live in a colder climate (Northeast US) so that certainly helps with battery longevity, but after 7 years of ownership, my battery hasn't seen a bit of degradation and it still holds a full charge. So that is awesome, maybe I'm lucky there. IDK. But I don't see myself needing a new battery even after 10 years of use. In the 7 years I've owned it, I've only needed to change my tires and brakes. That's it. Not a single thing else has needed maintenance (oh, wiper fluid, does that count? lol). Again, maybe I am lucky there, but given the lack of total moving parts in an EV, I would say I'm probably more typical than not. There really just isn't as much maintenance required in an EV. I just drive where I need to and it gets me to where I need to go and I plug it in when I'm done. And I charge up at home or at work, so it is nice not ever having to drive out of my way to refuel.
Winter times really do hinder the range. As the previous post mentioned, my range gets cut by 30-40% in colder temperatures. It is a combination of the extreme cold temperatures and the need to use the climate control that hampers the range. I find that right around freezing temperature is where range starts to really decrease. Once you get in to sub-freezing temperatures, you'll really need to adjust your range expectations. Also, another big factor in how far you can drive is the speed at which you drive. If you're cutting it close in how far you think you can go, getting off the highway and taking side roads, even if it isn't as direct of a route, can often give you a much greater range by driving slower. Driving at 65+ mph in any conditions will definitely not get you the advertised range.
I also like the hatchback design of the Leaf. You can look it up on the internet to see other similar experiences, but I can really haul a ton of cargo with the hatchback design of the Leaf with the back seats that fold down. Each spring I'll easily fit 12+ bags of mulch and plants and other large loads like that with ease. So that is another benefit of the Leaf versus something like the Camry.
For me personally, after owning an EV, I don't see myself ever owning another ICE car again. I feel like it would be going back to a flip phone after owning a smartphone for so long. As long as your expectations are set accordingly, IMO, an EV is hands down a better car than an ICE. But like anything, it isn't a good fit for every situation or for every person/driver.
If you have any questions about the Leaf or EV driving in particular, let me know. I hope that helps.
