I owned a Leaf for 2 years. "Winging" it really, really, sucks. Especially when you have your family with you, who don't share your enthusiasm for electric vehicles. :D
But I think the larger point is still valid: the charging infrastructure is still not nearly as widespread as gas stations and charging still takes longer than re-fueling. For us, the compromise of a range extender is still the best of both worlds. We can run electric most of the time, but we can still use the Volt as a "regular car" for road trips.