EV First Impressions Review
We recently got a used EV. It’s a 2018 Nissan Leaf. Now that we’ve gotten to know the car, here are my first impressions.
FIRST, why did we get an EV??
Well, we needed a new car. Our previous vehicle was a 2011 Nissan Versa, and it finally bit the dust. Way too expensive to repair. So we looked at the available market and assessed our needs. We decided we needed another small hatchback mainly for city commuting. After a tough search, we found this preowned Leaf at an affordable price, and it’s the right car for our needs.
Now let’s talk about our first impressions!
This Nissan Leaf is our first EV, and as a 2018 base model, it’s pretty basic. The driver’s seat and steering wheel configurations work for both of us; I'm over 6 ft tall, and Rebecca is shorter. The trunk has plenty of space for grocery store loads. Our carseat fits in the back seat. Modern safety features. Climate control and Bluetooth connectivity are good and definitely better than in the old 2011 car!
Charging
We do Level 1 charging at home. We got a charger (EV supply equipment, or EVSE) and a spare, one from Amazon and one from Lowe’s. Level 1 charging is the simplest and cheapest way to recharge. I literally just plug one side into a wall outlet and the other into the car.
Level 2 and Level 3 charging are faster. SAE J1772 plugs and CHAdeMO plugs and 3-prong plugs aren't that hard; we're accustomed to navigating gas pump complexities. More info about all that later.
We use our parked time to our advantage as value-added time. It takes a few hours when the car would be parked anyway. So we're using the car for more hours that would otherwise be just idle time. It’s super cheap. I’m still calculating the actual costs; check back for more info.
I do not miss relying on gas stations.
Braking
I’d heard about regenerative braking. Feeling it was a new experience.
Friction brakes grab the wheels and dissipate motion energy into heat. That’s driving energy, just gone. You can usually feel the calipers and rotors moving.
When I touch the brakes in this car, it takes motion energy from the wheels, routes it through the electric motor, and feeds it back into the battery. Automatic recharging. And it feels like the whole car is cooperating to slow down.
Dashboard
I really like the driver’s display. I set it to mainly show speed, go power, and slow power. One gauge shows the equivalent of RPMs, plus braking power.
The display also shows how full the battery is. It’s just like my laptop or phone battery gauge.
I ignore the miles estimates. More about that later.
Now let’s talk about some FAQs!
Common Questions.
- One is basically about range anxiety. The question is “How far can it go?” or “Could it drive from City A to City B?” or “How many equivalent miles per gallon does it get?”
- Well, those are curious questions for a new thing. But can you tell me right now how many miles your car can go on 1 tank? We also have an ICE car and I don’t really know what its ultimate maximum range is.
- After driving this EV around for a while, I have found that range just isn’t really a problem. The battery size matches our needs. We mostly do in-town short trips and city commutes, and it works great. Whoever is driving it just plugs it in for a couple hours when they get home. Sound familiar for phones? Use it at grocery + hardware store + work + visiting friends, then plug in at home.
- I’m measuring the actual battery usage and life for this car. In city driving, we use (very approximately) around 15%-25% battery per hour of driving. I'll report more data on that later.
- Question 2 is basically about battery degradation. In your phone or laptop, your lithium-ion rechargeable battery ages and eventually loses energy storage capacity. In all cars, lead acid batteries wear out and get replaced every few years. So what should we expect for EV batteries?
- The short answer is I’m not worried. The info display shows battery health. This is a 2018 vehicle, so after 4 years of consumer use, we see that it is still at 100% full health.
- If you WANT to wear out a lithium battery as fast as possible, you should take it from 100% to 0% charge real fast, then recharge it from 0 to 100% real fast, and repeat that pattern again and again and again. No one drives like that!
- Question 3 is about noise. “Aren’t EVs dangerous because they’re silent and no one knows you’re there?”
- Next time you’re driving, pay attention to how many cars you hear because of their engines. Pretty much zero. You mostly hear tire noise and wind noise. The exceptions are big trucks and old cars with bad mufflers. And – if having a loud car with rumbly exhaust and high revs is really important for you, like a classic muscle car or monster truck, then an EV may not be the right choice for you. 😊
So far, so good! It's really a fun little car.