Definitely will help to remove a lot of the uncertainty over ownership. Personally I think I would prefer to finance (or pay cash), but if you think you're likely to upgrade every few years then the lease model may work best for you.
Unfortunately, the total lease cost is quite high due to the low resale value; for the Empulse R the 36 month total lease costs are 65% to 75% of the MSRP, depending on your financing rate.
Here's a look at leasing vs financing over the same time interval. "Resale" is the total payment difference between financing and leasing at the end of the term.
Vehicle | Term | Monthly Pmt | 0% finance | "Resale" | 3% finance | "Resale" | 6% finance | "Resale" |
Empulse R | 36 | $325 | $459.06 | $4,826.00 | $480.60 | $5,601.46 | $502.75 | $6,399.11 |
Empulse R | 48 | $299 | $344.29 | $2,174.00 | $365.79 | $3,206.01 | $388.11 | $4,277.45 |
Empulse E1 | 36 | $299 | $410.72 | $4,022.00 | $429.99 | $4,715.81 | $449.82 | $5,429.48 |
Empulse E1 | 48 | $269 | $308.04 | $1,874.00 | $327.28 | $2,797.35 | $347.25 | $3,755.98 |