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I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

jeffgeerling.com

51–60 of 683 posts

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#51
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is, as the title mentions, the cheapest EV. It's really old. It did not have tech that pretty much all EVs have nowadays. Nowadays you don't have to do this. You can. Just like with your phone or laptop.

> It's really old. Funny, how 2 years old car is really old. For combustion engines, old is like 15+? EVs will have the same problems as mobile phones. Maybe manufactures want that. But software will define the age of your car and I don’t like it. What if the car requires internet connection and the company dies?

ZE1 Leaf(2017) was electronically a big minor update over ZE0(2010). IIRC so much so that ZE1 battery packs almost work on ZE0 body with only minor hack efforts.

So they're basically 15 years old, technologically older than the Model S. Windows 7 was 1 year old when its basic systems shipped.

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#52
post #3

EV's look like EV's because they don't have the same constraints on space that ICEV's do. There is no engine in the front/back, no water pump, no oil pump, no water cooled radiator, no starter motor... so on so on. There's also a great big battery under the floor pan and no gas tank. They are also heavier, so need different set ups in order to handle decently. But, that's why they look so different.

This is just what the contemporary Nissan ICE cars looked like.

The first gen leaf got a lot of commentary about this "EV look" and the contemporary Nissan Note had a similar front end. And then both got 2nd gens that evolved similarly.

Their Juke could be an overinflated Leaf at a glance etc.

Wikipedia photos:

1st gen:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Note#/media/File:2005_N...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Leaf#/media/File:2017_N...

2nd gen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Note#/media/File:Nissan...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Leaf#/media/File:Nissan...

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#53
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is, as the title mentions, the cheapest EV. It's really old. It did not have tech that pretty much all EVs have nowadays. Nowadays you don't have to do this. You can. Just like with your phone or laptop.

> It's really old. Funny, how 2 years old car is really old. For combustion engines, old is like 15+? EVs will have the same problems as mobile phones. Maybe manufactures want that. But software will define the age of your car and I don’t like it. What if the car requires internet connection and the company dies?

To add to what others said: back in 2017 40kWh was the standard, now people scoff at 55kWh. Cars also charge faster, which greatly increases their highway driving potential.

> What if the car requires internet connection and the company dies?

That's not a problem specific to EVs and with Chinese combustion car brands coming and going all the time, it's obvious.

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#54
How can you write "I bought the cheapest EV" in the blog title, and have a section called "Why buy Leaf?" followed by a one-liner zinger aphorism "Price." without writing... the price you bought your used Nissan Leaf for? Someone might want to reference how much it cost back in 2025 a few years down the road.

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#55

> Lack of standards: For 'L3' DC Fast Charging, the Leaf has a CHAdeMO port. Teslas and many newer EVs have NACS. Then there's CCS1 and CCS2. And charging stations are run by multiple vendors with multiple apps and payment methods. It's not like gas stations, like with Shell, BP, Buckee's, etc. where you just drive up, stick the gas nozzle in your tank, and squeeze. Afaik in Europe, CCS2 is the standard (and mandator…

Anyone who follows Jeff will know he's US-based, but I still really felt he could've highlighted that fact more in that charging port standards section. The fact that both J1772 & CCS2 are 100% universal in Europe is huge. So much so even Tesla switched to CCS2. This doesn't help Jeff but certainly one less problem for many readers of his article.

> Anyone who follows Jeff will know he's US-based

That was obvious from the article but given they specifically mentioned CCS2 bundled with the mess that is US charging I thought important to point that (anecdotally) the situations are quite distinct. Both in terms of charging hardware and payment.

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#56
> and I found myself with a very short commute, only driving a few miles a day, and a family minivan we use for nearly all the 'driving around the kids' stuff. > > So I wanted a smaller car (get back a foot or so of garage space...) that was also more efficient.

All this to say what he really needs was an electrically assisted bicycle instead of a huge and heavy energy wasting vehicle.

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#57

> Lack of standards: For 'L3' DC Fast Charging, the Leaf has a CHAdeMO port. Teslas and many newer EVs have NACS. Then there's CCS1 and CCS2. And charging stations are run by multiple vendors with multiple apps and payment methods. It's not like gas stations, like with Shell, BP, Buckee's, etc. where you just drive up, stick the gas nozzle in your tank, and squeeze. Afaik in Europe, CCS2 is the standard (and mandator…

Anyone who follows Jeff will know he's US-based, but I still really felt he could've highlighted that fact more in that charging port standards section. The fact that both J1772 & CCS2 are 100% universal in Europe is huge. So much so even Tesla switched to CCS2. This doesn't help Jeff but certainly one less problem for many readers of his article.

Go to your local Mitsubishi dealership in Europe and you will find the 2025 Outlander PHEV with a CHAdeMO plug. And I believe if you buy a pre-2019 Tesla Model S or Model X, you will have to deal with Tesla's own plug.

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#58

Looks like you bought a faulty computer which happens to have 4 wheels buddy. The neutral and parking brake issues: that just by itself should make Nissan stocks plummet. 2025 and we have these issues? It definitely looks an involution to me. Things we humans are still lame at: adapters. Power adapters, cable data adapters. Why do we have bazillions adapters? Can't we just design one adapter for the whole world that…

EU solved it years ago by mandating CCS2. Even Tesla in EU uses that plug and reportedly just works, except Tesla have no access to DCFC without carrying an adapter because they adamantly reject Combo2. I believe China does the same, only stricter, and some of Model S/X in China reportedly has fuel doors to fit the port.

As if regulations work. They seem to have very strange situations over there.

Re: I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

#60
post #5

You should never purchase EVs, only lease them. That's what I did. This saves you from the terrible depreciation they have. The only time it makes sense to buy an EV is if it's used. Edit: He bought used.

From a purely economic point of view, buying a new car is always a bad idea, regardless of the drivetrain technology.
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