Yeah, 7 miles to work would be perfect for an electric car, even a short range car like the first generation Leaf. You can buy the older Leafs for under $5000 now and they are super cheap to operate. A 7 mile commute would be a piece of cake even if the battery was degraded some.

It costs me $3 to charge at home or $5 to charge at a public charger. Lots of places now offer free charging to employees or guests so that is another option.