A friend sought advice on purchasing an EV but prefaced the statement by saying he cannot afford a Tesla. This post is my attempt to answer his question of what EV to buy if not a Tesla.
Assumptions:
- Both used and new vehicles are possibilities
- Must be available for purchase now in the DC area.
- 150 miles of EPA-rated range or more (explanation below)
- Focus on Battery-Electric Vehicles (BEV). As much as we love our Volt, I think the era of PHEV is over.
- Obviously, the question from my friend implies that any EV of similar or greater price to a Model 3 or S would likewise be off the table.
Before I go into detail about reasoning and resources, the five recommendations for my friend are:
************UPDATE ************************
Just a few days after this post was published, Tesla announced the availability of the $35k Model 3 and an approximately 6% price reductions across all Tesla models. A $35k Model 3 puts a Tesla in the range of a vastly greater percentage of consumers. The base Model 3 can be had for as little $26,250 after rebates in some states (like Colorado).
Check out this Transport Evolved video highlighting key aspects of the base Model 3.
Cleantechnica published a great comparison article of the Tesla Model 3 to 21 competitors, including some of the most iconic fossil-fuel based cars. The chart below is from that post, which you should read.
Nissan also unveiled the pricing and availability for its long-range Nissan Leaf Plus (caveat, the Plus still doesn’t have active thermal management on its battery).
The statement that EVs (and specifically Teslas) are too expensive is really no longer a valid argument.
*************END UPDATE ************************
- Hyundai Kona Electric: Maryland is a ZEV state so it may be possible to get your hands on one if you live in the DC area. Car and Driver recently compared the Kona Electric to the Bolt and preferred Hyundai in an article titled “2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV and 2019 Hyundai Kona Electric Battle to Find the Best Alternative to the Tesla Model 3”. Like most manufacturers other than Tesla, Hyundai is struggling to deliver EVs in any substantial volume. Price: $29,995 (after $7,500 tax credit).
- Chevrolet Bolt: The biggest gripe I hear about the Bolt is its seats, but otherwise it is widely praised in the press and by people I know who own one. The Bolt is widely available via almost any Chevrolet dealer. Price $29,995 (after $7,500 tax credit). However, don’t delay because, like Tesla, Chevrolet has sold more than 200,000 EVs so that the tax credit will begin its year-long wind down in April.
- Used Tesla Model S: A Model S will last a long time and older used models are getting relatively cheap. EV-CPO is currently showing 58 vehicles from $30,300 to $40k, and 11 vehicles with Autopilot 1.0 and battery packs of 70 kWh or larger! These are Certified Pre-Owned, which means you can likely find used Model Ss even cheaper on the open market. I bought CPO and would not hesitate to buy a high-mileage used Model S, especially via CPO. Keep an EVspecifications.com tab for Tesla open while perusing the options. Used Model Ss continue receiving over-the-air updates from Tesla but older cars can’t support all of the latest capabilities like dashcam and Sentry mode. With that said, my 2014 model did get the upgraded maps and V9 of the user interface.
- Tesla Model 3: The mid-range Model 3 with no frills is $42,900 before the $3,750 rebate. Autopilot can be added later if desired, and Teslas remain the only vehicles with over the air updates. With Model 3 having the latest hardware, it will receive virtually every update available and I hear they continue to roll regularly. Even though $42,900 seems like a lot of money, there is a reason Tesla has such high customer satisfaction…their cars are just amazing. There is this concept called the Tesla Stretch. I did it with the purchase of my Model S and I only know one or two people who regret making the stretch. Tesla has already begun its year-long tax rebate wind-down, so the $3,750 rebate will be halved again in April.
- Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV): The PHEV market offers a wide diversity of vehicle types with a dizzying array of EV-only range. In the PHEV market, you can get minivans, crossover SUVs, SUVs, luxury cars, sedans, and more. The downside is that PHEVs are more complex having all of the mechanicals of traditional gasoline car plus EV components. See InsideEVs comparison charts for a list of all makes and models.
The rest of this post includes
- Background and explanation of my assumptions
- Why I can’t recommend the Nissan Leaf
- Resources for finding and understanding EVs
Background and explanation of my assumptions
New or Used. Unless you are the type of person who must have a new car, used EVs are the best bargain in the automotive world as EVs, except for Teslas depreciate faster than other vehicles. Vehicles like Nissan Leafs and Chevrolet Volts are prevalent in the used market and amazingly cheap. Keep in mind the following:
- Ensure you understand what you are buying. The EV world is moving extremely quickly and a Nissan Leaf from four years ago is a very different animal from a 2019 Nissan Leaf. A website called EVSpecifications.com is an excellent resource for understanding the ins-and-outs of how the most prominent EVs have changed over the years. Google for reviews of that model year vehicle to see what it can do.
- Ensure you know the condition of the battery pack when buying used. Ask questions like “What is the 90% charge range?” and “How much has the battery degraded?” EV batteries generally hold up well. There are many examples of Teslas with more than 200,000 miles on their original batteries, but if the owner hasn’t taken care to charge prudently or the battery doesn’t have active thermal control, like on the Nissan Leaf, the battery may have significant degradation. If possible, see if you can take the car for a drive and experience how the battery behaves.
- Ensure you can get the EV from the seller’s location to yours. Many EVs have limited range so make sure you know how you’ll get it home if you do buy it.
- Ensure you know how you will charge it at your home, business, or other location.
Must be available now. The world is still at the dawn of the EV revolution. Announcements for new vehicles occur weekly, and new models arrive on the market virtually every few months. Like with smartphones, EVs get better every year. You have to make decisions based on what is available now. I love what Volkswagen is planning with their MEB architecture, but it doesn’t exist on showroom floors yet, and I cannot wait for Rivian to bring their all-electric R1T (pickup) and R1S (SUV) to market in late 2020. The R1T is packed with innovation that leverages an all-electric design and should be a huge hit. But, it isn’t here now so can’t be on the recommended list. I cannot wait for 2021 because I believe that will be another milestone year in the transition to electrified transportation.
150 miles of EPA-rated range. This assumption is subjective but based on driving over 90,000 miles of electric driving in our Volt and Model S as well as with discussion with many owners of 90-mile Nissan Leafs. The Volt has 38 miles of EV range, and my Model S has 265. We drove the Volt for almost three years before getting the Model S trying to stretch every trip so as not to engage the fossil fuel engine. It is trivial to travel 100 miles in DC if your job ever requires visiting different locations, and an EV can lose 30% of its range on cold days. I have several friends with 90-mile Nissan Leafs and commutes that require virtually every mile of that range and they’ve told me of days where they had to find charging along the way to make it home. Many people live successfully with less than 100 miles but my friend often makes day trips from his office to other locations. Based on these experiences, I conclude that 150 miles of rated range is the bare minimum for a professional working in the DC area if they have to ever drive more than to/from work.
If you also expect to go on road trips with your EV, the minimum range increases in my view to at least that of the Bolt, which is 238 miles, and also must include rapid charging of some type (Tesla superchargers, CCS, CHAdeMO). See my 2017 post, “The Reality of Charging an EV on the Road” for more background on road tripping.
BEV as the focus. Fully electric vehicles advanced so much over the last five years that I believe there is little reason to buy the increased complexity of two forms of propulsion. All major manufacturers are or will be delivering all-electric vehicles with 150 miles or more of range and the prevalence of rapid charging across the United States is growing rapidly. The only way to achieve the dramatically lower operating costs of an EV is to go all-electric. Without a fossil fuel motor, you avoid oil changes, timing belt problems, muffler and exhaust failures, and the list goes on and on. BEVs are much simpler and the maintenance savings over years of operation is worth a lot of money.
Price. Given the nature of the question, I did not include several amazing EVs in this recommendation because of their price tags, including the Jaguar I-Pace, Audi e-tron, and Porsche Taycan. If you have the resources and desire for a high-end EV but hate Tesla, you should definitely check out the Jaguar and Audi if you can find one.
Why I can’t recommend the Nissan Leaf
The current 2018 Nissan Leaf with a 40 kWh pack meets my 150-mile range requirement but it lacks active thermal management of its battery. Sadly, the upcoming 2019 version with a 62 kWh pack also lacks thermal management. Omitting active thermal management makes the car cheaper but leaving the battery pack unable to protect itself from extreme heat or extreme cold doesn’t make sense to me. Lithium-Ion hates extreme hot and cold. With that said, Leafs are not experiencing the same level of problems as the early cars but that doesn’t mean all is well. Yes, you can get a Nissan Leaf for only $23,375 new after rebate but is it worth it? I’m very confident my Tesla battery will last 200,000 miles or more and it has only lost five to seven miles of range over 90,000 miles of driving. I have no such confidence a Nissan Leaf battery would hold up similarly well.
Resources
- InsideEVs’ comparison chart is an unparalleled tool for seeing key specifications and costs for every EVs on the market in an easily digestable table.
- Curious about the relative sales volume for each EV? InsideEVs has you covered. See their Plug-in Sales Scorecard and archive of EV sales.
- EV-CPO.com is the best tool for finding Certified Pre-Owned Teslas. You can search and filter for free and for a modest annual membership, you can set up alerts to be notified when cars meet specific criteria.
- EVSpecifications.com provides breaking news and a comprehensive overview of specifications by year for all of the most prominent EVs.
