having had an E.V. for a while now one thing i would say is that if youre thinking about buying an E.V. then watch a few videos on what actually happens when you run out of charge, people seem to think that the car is going along and just stops! It Doesnt !! Basically its really hard to run out of charge as the car warns you for ages then it restricts your speed, it does this with approx 30 miles of range so you can easily find a charging port
Easily? Really? I've watched videos of EV owners having to beg strangers to let them plug in at their homes to restore enough range to get to the next charging station. I've watched other videos of people who ran completely out of charge while waiting in line to connect to a charging station. In many areas there are no charging stations.
@@gaiustacitus4242 and i can show many more videos of people running out of petrol or diesel , and believe me there are a lot more charging ports now than when i first posted that comment !!
@@familyplans3788 Only an idiot runs out of fuel in an ICE vehicle, for refueling stations are conveniently located every few miles. The same is not true of EV charging stations. Even when you can find an EV charging station, many of them do not even work in cold temperatures.
@@gaiustacitus4242Not arguing your point, but fwiw, there are actually quite a few places even in America where you'll be driving 100+ miles between gas stations. everything gets further apart the further west you go, and interstates in particular will usually have a sign saying "last exit for 83 miles" or something. not a problem if you plan for it, but it catches people off guard when they're not used to it.
That was SO helpful. I'm renting an electric to go up to Portland OR (from Santa Cruz CA) and you gave me a good education on what to expect! Thanks a lot!
A lot of the charging tips are for older cars. Newer cars like mine MGZSEV SR have LFP batteries which are happy to be consistently charged to 100%. This is something that needs to be addressed more as a lot of reviewers fail to distinguish between the different battery chemistry available depending on the model and age of the car.
It is almost the end of 2023 and I have been contemplating buying an EV. Thank you so much for the advice; it is really helping my understanding and final decisions.
This was incredibly informative, and I really enjoyed the format and delivery of your list. Thank you for the time and effort you put towards making this video!
I've been talking to a co-worker who owns the Bolt and he's never regretted it. He says 2 yrs later and it owes him nothing. He even did a winter test at his place by letting it run as it were for a full hour. Using the heat and radio and such. He used one battery bar for the full hour. I am keeping an eye on things for the EV that I'd be into. Currently living in an apartment and talked to the property manager. They were intrigued at the cost(very little) with a standard plug in. I look forward to the day when no more gas, oil changes and any other maintenance that a regular car would need over the years.
Hey! Thank you for this, I just bought my first ever EV. I could not understand how one pedal braking works, until you explained it in much more simple terms. Thank you! And I’m also in Richmond!
my first time arriving at a tesla charger in my tesla i didn't know how to start charging, but thankfully 2 dudes were very helpful and explained to me how to add my card to my app then , it was as simple as unplugging the cord and connecting it to the car .
Very well explained, Lots of good tips and comparison to gas cars. We did a dealer trade today. Drove back EV with 80 percent charge. Like you say takes longer from 80 to 100. We drove to the next dealer and did a fast charge 25 minutes to get us back home. Range was 400 kilometers fully charged. this EV had Google maps and showed how much left on arrival 11 percent and ended up with 57 K left on charge. Driving for the first time was totally different. When you take your foot off accelerator it started braking, which really feels weird. Rather than charge again turned off the air conditioning to save. Plus put on cruise control. Like you mentioned you cant hear it running. Although you can hear a humming sound that's what I heard from another EV going by. Excellent video.
I’ve had a couple of commutes where my range actually went up after 20+ minutes of sitting in stop and go traffic. A lot of the energy used driving the car at highway speeds is spent pushing the air out of the way. When you’re moving slowly, less air needs to get moved out of the way, so better range. It’s a tough concept to wrap your brain around, when it’s the opposite for gas cars.
Gas cars still have to push the air around and so are less efficient at high speeds. But nothing is as inefficient as a gas car stuck in traffic. There is the gas car with the auto switch off and restart but I have heard that once the engine stops so does the AC. Or if the AC is on then it doesn't switch off. Different cars handle it differently. I am a bit old school and so whenever I hear a gas car cut out at the lights my first thought is that they stalled the car.😁
If by some freek of science they could make a motor generator that was 100 percent efficient, it would still take the same amount of electricity to start the car moving as it generated stopping it. But at present they are about 60 percent efficient!
I have talked with EV owners who were driving the early Toyota EV cars and they all said you can do a partial replacement of a dead battery cell for a low cost vs. the $$$ complete battery change at a dealer. And, the brake pads on EV's last for 100K to 160K miles compared to an average of 40K miles for low priced pads and city driving. Glad you made the EV particulars available to us.
Normally the cells degrade at similar rates but you can have a fault situation where individual cells can go bad and if replaced can restore battery performance. For the brakes, i think I will wear the ebrake/hand brake before the main brakes. I rarely use the main brakes. Especially if the car is in Economy mode where the regenerative braking is more aggressive. 😁
La première Toyota EV est très récente. La première Toyota HEV date de 1997 et les plaquettes se remplacent rarement vu qu'il y a un frein régénératif et la batterie tient 270000km environ.
@@jaseastroboy9240 using the ebrake or hand brake does nothing as far as wearing out brakes because the car isn't moving when you apply the brake... unless you use it to "drift" your car which swings out your rear! Lol
We recently bought a new Tesla model Y. we get 300 miles per charge. Thats on par with a gas powered cars range. But they way I explain it to people is, when you charge at home, image waking up every morning with full tank of gas. Just doing everyday running around ive only had to use an outside charger once in 6 months and thats because we didnt charge up for a few days. BUT the best thing about Teslas are their super chargers. You can charge from damn near a completely dead battery to fully charged in 20 min, if you want to . or you can get 25% Battery ( 1/4 tank of gas) in 5 min, and go home and charge over night. THE Absolute best thing about charging teslas with the super chargers is road trips. We have done a good amount of 400 mile trips from NY to the mountains of Vermont and when you enter your road trip destination the tesla map , automatically maps out all the tesla superchargers you will stop at for your trip. and it wont have you fully charge every time, no, you will charge maybe 5 min, which will get you enough to get to the next super charger on the route. Normally the NY to Vermont trip in my Dodge ram, I will have to Fill up before I leave and Fill up again 3/4 of the way there at $90 (now $130) to fill up. with the telsa we stopped twice for 5 -10 min both times and was maybe $10 to charge. I still have my Dodge ram, but the Tesla is now our main family car.
I've never owned an ICE vehicle that had only 300 miles of range per tank of gas. I've also never seen an EV that gets anywhere near the rated miles per charge when independently tested, even under ideal conditions that are atypical of normal driving conditions.
what will be your average driving speed at highway? your Tesla can only go max.about 150 miles or so at decent highway speed ( I am an EV owner as well). Let's stick to the facts. EVs so far away from a decent and relaxed highway driving at "reasonable highway speeds". Sure, you can make 300 miles if you ever drive at 50 miles an hour on highway staying on the right hand lane of a 5 lanes highway all the time. Also you can only use 60% of total USABLE battery charge once you are on the road. 20-80%. you may start the journey at 100% and you will only be using down to 15-20% level of battery and next charge will be up to 80% since charging top 100% will take so much time. Again let's stick to reality.
Really nice well done. I hope others get to see this. It is very refreshing to see you embrace the Leaf. We now have 2 EVs for our house. It started with a 2015 Leaf S. Had only 65 miles of range. I got the car due to work I did for a company. The owner wasn't able to pay so he was not using the car. So it was my payment. After 6 months of driving it. It really saved me a lot of money. I am a computer field tech. Now retired but still it started me in the right direction. I think you should also do one of these videos showing how you found the free charge. I use plugshare. Plus I have 2 Nissan dealerships within 6 miles. Plus many public transportation parking with Lvl 2 locations. Another one is local Harley Davidson dealers have CCS charging not super fast. But works. I have a 2021 Bolt now, and my wife drives a 2021 Leaf S Plus.
I also have a local Nissan dealership. But my experience was not very good with them. Before buying my current second hand Leaf I went to the local dealer. They had two new Leafs on the lot. When we asked to have a look at them the response was "Why would you want to do that, they are electric". The dealer then tried to talk us out of owning an electric vehicle. They also have an onsite DC charger, supposedly for Nissan customers. But they leave one of their electric vehicles parked there all the time so it is always blocked. Nissan built a great electric vehicle but it seems that not all dealerships are a fan of the electric car. Sort of makes sense as the dealership would get next to nothing in after sales revenue. Maybe Nissan should have sold them direct to the public instead. 😁
I have a very similar Leaf to the one in the video and looking at the service history (I am the second owner), the only items replaced so far is the 12volt battery and the cabin air filter. Service costs are tiny compared to gas cars which have a list of items that get replaced regularly, spark plugs, spark leads, engine oil, transmission fluid, fuel filter, oil filter, none of which are on an EV. Also the brake pads and rotors/disks are replaced regularly on a gas car but on an EV they are hardly ever used and so rarely wear out. Most braking is done using regenerative braking. Sort of like in the old days when Dad would down shift through the gears trying to save the brakes but instead of generating heat it generates some electricity that goes back into the EV battery. Another thing I noticed with moving over to an EV. When charging at a public charger, if there is somebody else there they will often get out of their car and have a chat. I have met so many nice people while charging. They seem to have such a hopeful/excited outlook on the future. Totally the opposite to refuelling a gas vehicle where it is like standing in an elevator. You are three feet away from another person and it is a rarity to see anyone speaking to each other unless it is to complain about the fuel prices.
@@terenceiutzi4003 Of course. Leafs have a well known design flaw in their battery system. They have no battery cooling which has greatly accelerated the degradation of their batteries. But even with degraded batteries the Leafs can be still used in situations where the reduced capacity is not a major issue. Plus this design flaw has given the anti-EV crowd something to point to and use as "proof" that all EVs are bad. So the Leafs are keeping all sorts of people happy. But for EVs with a proper battery cooling system the batteries are expected to last between 15 and 30 years before getting down to 70% capacity. For most original owners they would have sold the car long before that. Then the car will likely be sold as a secondhand vehicle to someone who is happy with 70% of original battery capacity. Or the battery could be replaced, Tesla expects a $3000 to $5000 price tag for a replacement battery at that time. But considering how few cars are still on the road after 30 years, it is likely that, like most cars, the car would have been scrapped before the 30 years is reached. Also when scrapped the EV's battery would have been recycled with better than 95% of the materials being reused, most likely to make new EV batteries. Oh, and to anwser the inevitable "lithium batteries aren't recycled" statement. Nothing is recycled on a commercial scale until there is a commercially viable amount of recyclable material available. With EV sales increasing by 55% from 2021 to 2022 and those two years totalling more than the previous 10 years. I think that by the time EVs that are being sold today need a replacement battery there will be a thriving battery recycling industry to supply the materials to enable low cost replacements.
@@terenceiutzi4003 Also Nissan has not helped the situation with no upgrade path for Leaf owners. So somebody with a 24kwh battery can not buy a 30 or 40kwh battery from Nissan. There are some aftermarket installers that can do the upgrade but as they can't get new 30 or 40kwh batteries they have to rely on getting replacement batteries from scrapped Leafs. This greatly limits an old Leafs options and so perfectly good vehicles will end up being scrapped or sitting unused in somebodies driveway. My Leaf is over 10 years old and doesn't have a single squeak or rattle, not a spot of rust anywhere. If Nissan would sell batteries then I would upgrade it tomorrow. But without new, higher capacity batteries being made available then my Leaf will continue to do the school run and shopping duties. No weekend road trips for it.
Great video Darwin, just bare in mind this video is being viewed all across the world and most of the globe uses 240v - it’s really only the states and some of Canada that use 120v so pretty rare actually.
Thanks for this video. As a fellow Leaf owner now for about 2 years, I agree with everything you're saying and would add a couple of things. Leaf owners should familiarize themselves with the timer under EV Settings, which allows you to choose when, and for how long your Leaf will charge. There's a graphic in the Leaf that will tell you how long it will take to charge to 50, 75 and 100 percent so you can set the timer accordingly. You should do a video on this, Darbin. Another thing to know is that longer and/or steep hills tend to run the battery down much faster than driving on level ground. Of course the battery will recharges bit going back down the hill, but it's not an equal exchange. a bit slower up the hill will help reduce the amount of juice consumed, so try not to be in a hurry. The faster you go, like in a ice-powered car, the faster the energy drain. I have the SV Plus model which has a range 230 miles, so it works for me. But if your car only goes up to 100 miles and you have to go up hill (mountains), it's something to consider.
As well as hills, a drivers driving style makes a huge difference in fuel consumption. I see most ICE drivers take off from the lights rapidly, accelerating hard to get to the speed limit even though they are accelerating towards the next red light. They continue accelerating until the last possible moment then brake hard to come to a stop at the red light. Then they repeat that pattern over and over. I find that on main roads the traffic lights are sequenced so that if you drive just under the speed limit then you will catch green lights nearly all the time. Probably done that way to deter speeding. Whereas the ICE driver that races to the red light has had enough time waiting for the red light that they decide to get out their mobile phone and check their social media status. So they end up sitting at the green light until somebody toots their horn at them. 🤣
good video. I had a 2013 S for my 30 mile commute and running around for work during the day. I would usually need a full charge by the time i got home. Luckily it would be fully charged by AM. The previous owner had a defective battery, so it was replaced in 2016. I bought in 2017 with 22k and a perfect battery. These things are money makers. I bought that for $9k. Got $5k cash refund from state. Sold it for $7500 after saving about $4000 in gas and maintenance. Net gain: $7500!! I have a 2020 S Plus right now with 20k. Could not refuse the great deal. Bought it new when dealers were desperate, basically got 50% off with all the incentives and available tax credits and state rebates.
This video was so informative. Thank you so much for covering all the bases. My daughter moved to another state and left her Leaf with me. I have no idea what to do with it and I have no experience with an EV car. This video really put a lot of my fears to rest. I can’t thank you enough ❤
im terribly sorry to have to tell you this, but unless you're looking for the smart features and slight acceleration boost of an ev, its the worst possible decision for the environment
@@JohnH242 the lithium used for the batteries damages the environment more than petrol cars for a few years, and require replacing too quickly for it to be a viable option. Not even considering most people don't even use the safe energy options so it's pretty futile
@@frostyflameff4003 We are in an early stage at the moment, but there are some advocates who say, once we get battery recycling going fully, the need for new lithium mining will decrease dramatically. (Redwood Materials is one of the better known startups specializing in recovering lithium & other valuable metals from batteries 10 years old or more.) We may also see alternative battery technologies in the next few years so there's hope for the future.
Really useful tips!, but I wanna add one thing for your viewers. I just got a 2015 Leaf, and for the one-foot driving you mentioned, I find it useful to keep it in "B" mode when driving around the city (which constitutes most of my driving). It makes the car slow down in a way that feels more like applying the brakes, and it purportedly transfers more energy to the battery -- I haven't had it long enough to know how much of an energy difference it makes vs. "D" mode in the city, but judging from the gauge, it's small. Still useful for city driving regardless of the battery savings, though. Thanks for the tips! Gonna check out your other content now 😊.
The Newer model Leaf has a true one pedal driving mode where it will brake proportionally to how much you let your foot off the accelerator and will switch to mechanical braking when moving too slow for regen braking and bring you to a complete halt. It also holds the car still while at rest. The "one pedal driving" mentioned in this video and by yourself is really not much different from engine braking in an ICE vehicle, it'll slow you down a bit but won't stop you and as such is not really one pedal driving.
Very nice summary of EVs facts. Just one small note: EVs do have transmission which goes connected to the motor and operates as a reduction box and a differential, while rear drive need a rear differential whenever the motor is at the front and after the transmission it takes the power trough a main axle. Some vehicles have direct drive motors hooked to the wheels, but these are not that common, but there are in fact. Transmissions and differentials require oil changes, not too frequently; more likely every 100,000 miles. However, new results seem to observe a better care of the gears and bearings when the oil is replaced every 50,000 miles...always using OEM spec. Regards from Costa Rica
I had this car (24KWh) for 8 years, great car. The video gives really a good idea of the reality, I never plugged the car in public charger, only work and home. The worst thing is to use the quick charger, it really kills the battery over the years...charging over night in L2 is the way to go. Great video!
Great video 👍 Thanks! We’re ready to buy our 1st EV and I’m doing all my due diligence. This video is perfect in so many ways for us newbies 🙌 I’ll share this video with my wife.
5:48 charging to 100% depends on the battery technology. LFP batteries are fine to charge to 100%, these batteries are in the new MG4 base model for instance. Tesla actually recommend you charge their LFP variant to 100% once per week to assist in battery balancing.
LFP is quite new, something around 2021 even for tesla. If her nissan leaf is second hand, I don't think it is on LFP. So is Na+ battery which only comes out in 2024.
@@egaskrad LFP batteries are actually old technology that was originally deemed unsuitable for use in EV's. Tesla turned to a variant of LFP technology for one reason, that being to reduce manufacturing costs.
About driving efficiently: In my car, you can switch what lifting off the accelerator does. Regen or coast. Regen is convenient. But if you are constantly alternating between regen and power, say when going down a slight incline, then simply coasting is more efficient.
Thanks for your time preparing all this information! I found it very useful for all those that are thinking to buy an electric car ❤ You explained it very simple
I absolutely love my 2023 Ford F150 Lightning Lariat extended range. EVs tend to cost more upfront, but they're so much less expensive because of both costing around 1/4 to drive and costing less than half in maintenance and I think people need to understand that. Don't let the sticker price put you off, it's going to pay for that upfront difference and more with all the savings in operational costs. So, the F150 Lightning is a regular pickup truck doing all the normal pickup truck things, but it also has the performance of a sports car with 0 -to-60 in 4 seconds, low center of gravity so it can corner fast, with independent rear suspension if floats over speedbumps and potholes, and in the Lariat I've got luxury too. Now that I've owned and driven my F150 Lightning I will never go back to anything else, it's the best vehicle I've ever been in, let alone owned or driven.
This is a great review. Many thanks for all of the practical tips. A big shout out too for many of the comments provided which I found to be really useful too.
I have a Kia Niro EV. Today the outside temp is 10 degrees and I did notice a bigger drop in range. I hear people talking about preconditioning the battery before driving in these temperatures. I came on your video because I hoped to find a good explanation about what that means. I really enjoyed your video. Another tip is to use heated seats in the cold if possible because the cabin heat takes a big bite out of the battery's range.
I think only Teslas’s can precondition the battery. Not all cars, especially not my Hyundai Kona EV, can precondition it. However since you have a Kia, go into the EV settings, and turn on “winter mode”. This won’t really help with the range, in fact it will take some range away, but it will help with protecting your battery from the cold temperatures so it doesn’t degrade fast over the years and it will keep your battery slightly warm.
EV owner for 2 years in UK here. I don’t/can’t charge at home and this seemed to be a big point in your video. I live in London so a house with a garage is not a thing. So _all_ my charging is public. Fortunately my local supermarket/grocery store has free AC charging and that’s accounted for about 40% of my ⚡️. So your mileage may vary, as they say! Good video though. Good list. Great to see older Leaves (Leafs?) still rocking!
One advantage for EV owners is also low maintenance costs as there is no oil change, no filter change, no spark plug change and no timing belt change required
Thousands of parts on an ICE car. Imagine the cost savings for Ford/GM etc with no more RD on beating emission standards, no more engine blocks, heads, valves, transmissions, water pumps, radiators, coil packs, fuel injectors, or fuel pumps. Think of all of the required maintenance for all of those items that is not needed with an EV. Dealers are in a panic with the EV migration as all of their profit is warranty work! I have only owned an EV since February/6k miles and I don't miss going to a gas station at all. 95% of our power is from home charging at $0.075 kw. Crazy how the talking heads say power is over 14 cents. Not if you check your billing and assume your connection fee is part of your house fee and not average it into your cars usage. Over half of our house fee is a flat rate charged here in NC but the actual rate is half of the average per KW rate you get by dividing your bill by the power used. Drill down on your billing to get to your actual rates.
@sandrahuntington1602 This is bullshit. (I'm driving EV's for 10 years now...as one of the first buyers. Also in such a leaf.) Degradation has more to do with charge cycles....Modern batteries will last 1000-1500 cycles or , with a niro/kona E64 at least 400000..up to 600000 km. Most petrol cars need another petrol engine or revision of the first one after such a distant. That's not cheaper than a battery replacement. (But the dealer will earn more on such a revision). You're 9 years are only valid when someone drives at least 45000 km each year....and even then the range is still 80% of those original 450 km (350 km) so a lot of people can use that car with this lower range.
@sandrahuntington1602total BS , our leaf is 10 years old, and still going strong, and that is a 1st gen leaf. Modern Ev batteries don't degrade nearly as much
Due to the weight of an EV and the high torque of the electric motors, EV tires last anywhere from 15K to 30K miles and 30K if you’re lucky. EV tires are low profile and have low rolling resistance tread, most of all they are very expensive. Your savings on oil changes etc. are out the window. Also, PA to start charging $290 a year for EV registration. In TX it’s a $400 one time charge when the EV is purchased, then $200 every year after.
@@pat5882 Basic education in physics will tell you that the high maximum torque of any EV does not matter for tyre degradation. The used torque will matter and that depensd on your right feet. Only if someone always accelerate at maximum possible energy the degradation of tyres will be as you assume. But that's no difference to any [petrol car...alwayd accelerating as fast as possible (and braking hard near traffic lights) will shorten the tyrelife to this amount of miles. My experience in more than 10 YEAR EV driving showed me that my EV tyres lasted longer than my previous ICE tyres. Maybe also to the fact tha regenerativ braking gives less degradation to tye tyres than the disc braking (on average) to petrolcar tyres.
That is a great video, beautifuly presented. I charge my EV almost entirely from the domestic power, as the slower charge is better for battery longevity, only using the home charger when needing the speed. Three more benefits - 1. your music sounds fabulous in a silent car. 2. It is not until you drive an EV that you realise how much fumes get into the cab of an ICE vehicle, I first noticed this when coming up behind an ICE and you notice the smel of their exhaust, something you raely noticed when driving an ICE. 3. Similar to 2, how fresh you feel after a long journey, I think the combination of no fumes and the loss of te constant vibration from the motor, you do feel great after a drive.
On a point of interest other than the potential safety concerns of Type 1 domestic charging ( for instance a 3 pin UK residential socket is not set up for any DC leak faults ) there’s the question of efficiency too the lower the charging current the more losses experienced. Also a modern EV has a built in lower end and upper end buffer to the battery so a 100% charge really isn’t 100% of the actually battery capacity only 100% of the available usable battery. Also most batteries have a number of charge/discharge cycles determining their life. So better to charge to high percentage and use fewer cycles! And modern day batteries have great thermal management to ensure battery longevity. If home charging using type 2 charge to 100% if you need it for your journey or 85-90% routinely -indeed if you are taking advantage of an EV domestic tariff you may only get 4-7hours per day of cheap rate electricity so may not be able to charge to a very high state of charge in one sitting anyway! 8 year/100000 miles manufacturer warranty on an EV battery is not uncommon showing the level of confidence the manufacturer has in their battery. So after that time some battery degradation some Tesla’s of this age have lost 10% range through battery degradation it’s really isn’t an issue a 10 year old ICE car could easily be 10% less efficient than when it was new!
Here in West Virginia, the public charging stations are always completely empty. We are considering buying a 2015 Nissan Leaf that has 10 bars left for 4800. We will charge at home level 2 nightly or occassionally at a public station. Thank you for video! Aloha!
I don’t think most people realize if they have an inverter that connects to their battery ($50-$100) they too can power things with their car during a power outage because and engine, alternator and inverter are basically all of a generator’s components.
Here in the UK Midlands we are paying around $6.88 USD per US gallon equivalent. Don't forget that oil and gas are cheap and that most of the value is in taxes. Once EVs become more commonplace expect taxes on electricity to be applied upwards. Here in the UK in the 1990s diesel cars started to become commonplace and the same thing happened to us here and now diesel is more expensive than gas instead of half the price when I got my first diesel car. Also expect free charging at a different dealer to the car make that you have will create friction and that free charging will end anyway.
For people who are cautious about jumping to a full ev car, a plug in hybrid is the best of both worlds. Purchased a 2022 Ford Escape plug-in hybrid and absolutely love it. Gets about 40+ miles on electric then the gas engine kicks in. It’s been 3 months since I filled up the tank and still have 172 miles to go on that fill.
Thanks for that info Brett, I’m keen for my wife’s next car to be a PHEV after really loving the Lexus hybrid that she has had almost four years. Her daily commute is a 22 mile round trip so I’m hoping to avoid her needing to buy petrol hardly ever. Kind regards.
Hay I hope you see this. Are you still enjoying it? Do you have to stay under a certain speed for the gas engine not to kick in? I’m torn between that car or the Kia Sportage. Thank you if you see this.
Loving it. You can be in full electric mode on the freeway doing 60 plus. If you have to (punch) it it will kick the gas engine on and sometimes it takes awhile for it to go back to ev mode. Have gone a little over 11k miles and if you take out the 3 week road trip from Portland, Or to Arizona we did back last March of 2022, we’ve filled her with gas only 4 times, gotta love it and we haven’t had to use gas from the 4th fill yet. Kia wasn’t available when we were looking but my son just bought the hybrid version and loves it, bigger than the Escape. Which ever one you pick you’re gonna love it as you wave at gas stations when you pass them,😂.
In my mind it's the worst of both worlds. You still have all the maintenance required from an ICE AND you have a battery that will eventually need replacement.
I've been driving a PHEV since 2021 and an EV since a few months ago. I like your video it is very informative, although including metric may widen your audiance.
I started out with a Leaf but then got frustrated with the short range and moved up to a real EV TESLA Model Y, like night and day. Love the sweet accent.
Another great thing in the UK if you have an EV you don't need to pay Road Tax (until April 2025 - £170). I have just sold my 15 year old Honda CRV which I had for 6 years and have purchased an EV. I paid £385 for the Road Tax this July and am grateful to be having £330 odd refunded to me. 👍
Very nice! One possible benefit you've overlooked is that, of you've taken advantage of federal and state team subsidies to install solar on your home, your practical energy cost is nearly zero (not to mention the savings on your home electric bill!). We charge our Bolt for $0.00, and our electric bill is $8.21 per month (access charge). Life on the bleeding edge can be very sweet indeed!
Here is another advantage of an EV vehicle, they don’t suck in air like a conventional car so driving in high elevations like Colorado the EV does very well and no added stress on the engine.
I'm close to getting my next car, and I think it's going to be a Leaf. Probably a newer used one. I live in SE Alabama, so it is certainly not common around here! 😅 Nice video!
Really informative, though we got our first EV about a month ago. We're loving our Nissan Ariya. An interesting difference between the Ariya and the Leaf is that we don't have one pedal driving... we have almost one pedal, but to come to a full stop, we do have to use the break. The "e-pedal" function on the Ariya will take it down to about 6 mph. I'm not great with most accents, but familiar enough that I had a feeling you're from Sweden or Norway (my partner is Norwegian, so I'm always curious), and when I checked the 'about' section, I saw you're in Virginia, like me! As I'm writing this, I hear you saying you're near Richmond hehe. I see you do a lot of DIY things, so I'll be checking out some of your other videos, too.
What a great video. So clear and to the point. This is one of the best that I have seen. Will help me buying my first ev. Thanks a lot. Also, you have a great speaking voice.
Good summary. I would add: EVs nowadays are great for daily use and home or work charging. You said that. I think it is also import to say that they are not good for traveling, unless maybe with a Tesla.
Thank you. I really appreciate this video. Actually, I just bought some shares into an EV station business and this will definitely give me another reason why i made a good decision.
The 4 plugs for the US are the J1772, Chademo, CCS, and Tesla. J1772 is for all non-Tesla EVs slow charging, CCS is fast charging for all domestic non-Teslas, and Chademo is only used for Nissan & Mitsubishi fast charge. There are many adapters available.
Nice video, I live in Los Angeles area costs are higher so savings are more. Given freeways are a way of life and we must use a lot of gas (today $7 a gallon for regular) there are quite a few EV's on the road, Tesla's are currently very popular. Should be an interesting next 10 years.
Thank you. Great tips! Especially for this Boomer who was driving since the late 1970's. If my next vehicle is an EV (instead of a HEV), I will have a home charger installed and since I currently do not drive over 200 miles/week, I'll charge once a week and really save $$$.
200 smi are around 320km. Deduct 100km of reserve, then you'll get an operating radius of 110km. Since roads are not straight, that's more like 90km on the map. You don't get very far without charging somewhere else. Even on a regular 500km daytrip you'll have multiple charging stops. And most people cannot easily charge at home anyway. Even if you can, chances are that in your next apartment you won't be able to do so. I would always suggest renting an BEV for a week or two and then doing a road trip with it so you know if you're comfortable with it before you actually buy.
Many thanks indeed. I already understood most of what you explained, but this is a must watch - especially for average citizens who have been dissuaded by all the FUD. One point, and perhaps not so trivial, is that the CHAdeMO charging standard is only ubiquitous in Japan. Further, moving forward, most makers intending to sell in North America are going to use Tesla's North American Standard (NAS) for compatibility with Tesla's supercharging network. Something to consider, if one is looking to purchase used, is whether adapters are going to be available in case the vehicle's fast-charge port is one of the outdated standards. Else, prepare to only ever charge as high as level 2.
Great video. Don't agree that free chargers are good. They tend to be hogged by jerks looking to save $3 on a car that cost them $80k. Pay your way, I say. Best part of the video was hearing the LEAF noises. I upgraded from a 2011 LEAF to a Model 3 early in '22 but I remember the LEAF noises fondly. Such a great car. I replaced just two tyres and the wipers in the 6 years I owned it.
Totally, EV opponents often point to the lack of battery recycling but nobody is going to build a recycling centre until there is enough used batteries to justify it. And once there is a thriving recycling process then this should reduce the cost of a battery replacement. The old battery will have a significant dollar value which will reduce the overall cost of replacement.
One note of caution: if you’re using Level 2 charging (240v) at a friend/relative’s home (or any location you’re not very familiar with), you may want to limit the amount of time you’re plugged in to
@@tomreingold4024 I’m sure it’s an “abundance of caution” kind of thing. But some UA-camrs have covered it (State of Charge covers all things charging for EVs, and he’s talked about it more than once - also Sandy Monroe) extensively.
This is actually a very good reminder, even for the existing/long time EV owners, may have overlooked this. How ever, you could always lower the in-car Amp input (available with Tesla’s, not sure with other manufacturers) to 80% or less to not overloading the 240v washers/dryers outlet. I live in CA and to take advantage of the lowest electricity rate, I start the charging at midnight; manually lowering/selecting 24A instead of the 30A for my only 240v outlet (80% of Amp input), it works out beautifully. The first week owning my Model S, i started charging at home and monitored the outlet and fuse box, also the RV extension cable, it’s not even warm and it works without any issues at all. To top off my model S, it stops charging at around 3-4:30am depending on how much I drove the day before. Thanks again for your reminder, hopefully more people will see your post.
don't think it is an issue. Most parts of the world do 240V on 40Amp in the box and your appliance limits to 13Amp. Then you have the heater and air-con which draws a huge amount of energy all day and night. And that is only the residential power system we are talking about. Industrial power system do worse, on a longer time span. Unless your house is 100 years old, continual draw should not be something you have to worry about. You box is designed to handle a lot more than that.
@@egaskrad As I understand it (and I’m only relaying information electricians have discussed) the issue with many of these melt downs and fires has been the actual plug the charger is plugged into. Many of them are the inexpensive sort which work well enough for short term uses (dryers, stoves), but don’t do as well for 3+ hour draws night after night. We had our electrician check out the 240v outlet that is in our garage prior to plugging the VW ID.4’s charging cable into it. He checked the fuse box, the wiring, and the plug. Everything was good but I felt better having an expert check it out. As for heating/AC, even though we live in Sacramento and 100degree (F) temps are not uncommon in the summer, our AC does not run for 3+ hours, even on the hottest days. It cycles on, then off for a period of time (i.e., cools down), then back on. Best wishes all!
One thing that sort of triggered me just a tiny bit - when talking about used ev cars - it's the state of battery that matters. From what I have read in internet (internet would not lie), batteries do have a lifetime determined by recharge cycles, i.e. haw many times it can be recharged until it's dead. And replacing batteries does cost an arm and a leg, so chose your used ev with that in mind.
It’s crazy how cheap it is for us in the north of Sweden. Renault Zoe 52kwh, only costs 52SEK to charge it fully which gives us 240-360km depending on weather. It is 100% worth it buying EV
Great review and observations. I just purchase a 2019 LEAF SL Plus a few weeks ago. My SIlverado, Nissan Versa and Honda motorcycle are all getting pretty lonely since I am almost always driving the LEAF instead. ;-)
I think you should've consider the cost of the respective car when comparing the regular Mustang to the Mach-E version. The issue for many people when it comes for EVs is being able to afford one, compared to lower priced gas cars. EDIT: Not everyone lives in detached or semi-detached housing where they can charge their EV. Many people live in urban areas where they have to treat charging the same as getting gasoline.
Certainly EVs are not for everyone, at least not yet. If I lived in an apartment, I wouldn't get one - charging at public chargers is either expensive or slow; every free public charger I've seen is a level 2 charger, which will take about eight hours (dependent upon your model of car) to go from 20% to 80% charge, so to my mind using them on a regular basis as your only charger is probably not practical. Level 3 charging is much faster - about 30-40 minutes to charge that same 20% to 80%. However, as pointed out in the video, you're going to be paying in the neighborhood of $0.50 per kWh, which doesn't come out all that cheaper than gas. So really, in my opinion, home charging is necessary for an EV to make sense. I also would not buy one if I took long (200 mile +) trips on a regular basis. Until Tesla's SuperCharger network opens to most EV brands in 2024, charging on the go is honestly a bit of a mess. Chargers are seemingly haphazardly placed, and there simply aren't as many in convenient places as Tesla's. Even when Tesla's network is open to other EVs, I still wouldn't have an EV if I did frequent long trips; the Achilles Heel of EVs right now is the time to charge - it simply isn't as convenient as a 5-10 minute stop at a gas station. A lot of EV proponents downplay this aspect, which I think does more harm than good to EVs because once someone gets an EV that doesn't suit their needs, they're going to be turned off to EVs forever, or at least a long time, and are going to be vocal about it. When we're discussing EVs, I think it's important to readily admit the downsides along with the many upsides. All that being said, I have been absolutely thrilled with my EV and honestly can't see myself ever returning to an ICE vehicle. Most people, myself included, don't take long trips on any sort of regular basis, and in my opinion the upsides of EVs far outweigh the downsides. While they definitely need to get more affordable in order to serve more of the market, there are a lot of great choices out there for EV vehicles, and range is more than good enough at this point to essentially be of no concern to most people.
Great advice for anyone thinking about purchasing an EV. I'm on my third Leaf. But was surprised to discover my dryer outlet won't work on my 2023 Leaf! Why? Because Nissan changed the plug.Its been difficult to find electricians willing to make the change so I don't have an estimate. In the meantime I'm using a 110 volt outlet. How's that working? With 77 miles indicated it took me 33 hours to full charge. Caution! If you change your 224 volt connector be certain to purchase a heavy duty receptacle. Mine cost $69. In summary I love my new Leaf even after paying $1800 over msrp
Tom, I'm sure you've upgraded by now, but I ended up buying a 16A cable because I had a 20A circuit to my mini-split AC next to where I park my car. Spent an hour installing a 10-30 receptacle, otherwise known as a standard dryer plug (instead of the 14-50 that the Leaf cable requires) to connect to the Lectron cable I purchased used for $100. I only charge at 3.8 kWh instead of the full 6.6, but it is much much faster than trickle charging on 120V. I get 12-14 miles per hour of charge now which is enough to fill her up overnight. 2023 Leaf SV Plus, in case that matters.
@@gdofred Thanks for describing your hookup. My electrician said he was walking away if I didn’t agree to an Industrial receptacle. Here’s why according to him. The standard dryer is usually plugged in and left there whereas EVs are plugged in and then unplugged. If that performed twice a week that over 100 times in a year. The danger microscopic metal gapes might form and electrical sparks might result and eventually create a fire. The industrial female plug was about $40. Thanks for your contact.
@@tommorgan1291 Sounds a bit like scare tactics. If the socket can't stand up to 100 insertion/removal cycles then I would be worried about the sockets reliability in general. Then again I am not in America where I am guessing this scenario is located. Maybe dryer sockets are a special exception and are overly delicate. In Australia the houses are all wired with the same 240 volt outlets throughout and I am sure I could plug and unplug ten times per day and it would be a 100 years before there was an issue. The manufacturers have no idea what each outlets use case will be (the same socket type is used for all outlets throughout the house) and so they all have to be designed to survive worst case scenarios. The builders just buy bulk packs of sockets and they are used for every outlet in the house. Dryers, washing machines, garage outlets, kitchen outlets, they are all come from the same bulk pack of outlets. The only exception would be very occasionally a house may have a higher amperage outlet, usually in the garage. 16 amps instead of 10 amps. But those sockets are backward compatible. The earth pin is a bit wider on the 16 amp outlets. Allowing 10 amp devices to be inserted into either 10 or 16 amp outlets but 16 amp devices have the wider earth pin and so only plug into 16 amp outlets.
Thanks for watching! Check out darbinorvar.com for more info on me and my shoppe!
just wanted to let you know that your video inspired me to get an EV. got my Kia EV5 delivered yesterday. loving it so far!
This was extremely helpful. I got my first EV yesterday. Thank you.
Hey, congrats! How’s it going for you?
having had an E.V. for a while now one thing i would say is that if youre thinking about buying an E.V. then watch a few videos on what actually happens when you run out of charge, people seem to think that the car is going along and just stops!
It Doesnt !! Basically its really hard to run out of charge as the car warns you for ages then it restricts your speed, it does this with approx 30 miles of range so you can easily find a charging port
Easily? Really? I've watched videos of EV owners having to beg strangers to let them plug in at their homes to restore enough range to get to the next charging station. I've watched other videos of people who ran completely out of charge while waiting in line to connect to a charging station. In many areas there are no charging stations.
@@gaiustacitus4242 and i can show many more videos of people running out of petrol or diesel , and believe me there are a lot more charging ports now than when i first posted that comment !!
@@familyplans3788 Only an idiot runs out of fuel in an ICE vehicle, for refueling stations are conveniently located every few miles. The same is not true of EV charging stations. Even when you can find an EV charging station, many of them do not even work in cold temperatures.
@@gaiustacitus4242Not arguing your point, but fwiw, there are actually quite a few places even in America where you'll be driving 100+ miles between gas stations. everything gets further apart the further west you go, and interstates in particular will usually have a sign saying "last exit for 83 miles" or something. not a problem if you plan for it, but it catches people off guard when they're not used to it.
@@gaiustacitus4242 It's easy to run out of fuel when your gas gauge is broken lol
That was SO helpful. I'm renting an electric to go up to Portland OR (from Santa Cruz CA) and you gave me a good education on what to expect! Thanks a lot!
Thanks! As an owner of a 2012 Leaf over the last two years (best commuter ever!) it's great having videos like yours explaining how it all works out.
Thanks so much Nick! 🙏
You are 100 times more generous than your username Nick you donated five dollars and your name is five cents🎉😂
A lot of the charging tips are for older cars. Newer cars like mine MGZSEV SR have LFP batteries which are happy to be consistently charged to 100%. This is something that needs to be addressed more as a lot of reviewers fail to distinguish between the different battery chemistry available depending on the model and age of the car.
LFP batteries are very old technology that was originally deemed unsuitable for use in EV's because of the lower capacity and rate of power transfer.
My tesla tells me when I should go to 100 %
It is almost the end of 2023 and I have been contemplating buying an EV. Thank you so much for the advice; it is really helping my understanding and final decisions.
This was incredibly informative, and I really enjoyed the format and delivery of your list. Thank you for the time and effort you put towards making this video!
I've been talking to a co-worker who owns the Bolt and he's never regretted it. He says 2 yrs later and it owes him nothing. He even did a winter test at his place by letting it run as it were for a full hour. Using the heat and radio and such. He used one battery bar for the full hour. I am keeping an eye on things for the EV that I'd be into. Currently living in an apartment and talked to the property manager. They were intrigued at the cost(very little) with a standard plug in. I look forward to the day when no more gas, oil changes and any other maintenance that a regular car would need over the years.
Hey! Thank you for this, I just bought my first ever EV. I could not understand how one pedal braking works, until you explained it in much more simple terms. Thank you! And I’m also in Richmond!
I pretty much knew everything Darbin was saying already, having owned an Ioniq 5 for six months, but I still enjoyed watching this.
my first time arriving at a tesla charger in my tesla i didn't know how to start charging, but thankfully 2 dudes were very helpful and explained to me how to add my card to my app then , it was as simple as unplugging the cord and connecting it to the car .
Very well explained, Lots of good tips and comparison to gas cars. We did a dealer trade today. Drove back EV with 80 percent charge. Like you say takes longer from 80 to 100. We drove to the next dealer and did a fast charge 25 minutes to get us back home. Range was 400 kilometers fully charged. this EV had Google maps and showed how much left on arrival 11 percent and ended up with 57 K left on charge. Driving for the first time was totally different. When you take your foot off accelerator it started braking, which really feels weird. Rather than charge again turned off the air conditioning to save. Plus put on cruise control.
Like you mentioned you cant hear it running. Although you can hear a humming sound that's what I heard from another EV going by.
Excellent video.
Excellent. As an owner of a 2019 Nissan Leaf SL+, this is the best video I have seen for non-EV owners.
Thanks William, so glad to hear you find it informative :)
I’ve had a couple of commutes where my range actually went up after 20+ minutes of sitting in stop and go traffic. A lot of the energy used driving the car at highway speeds is spent pushing the air out of the way. When you’re moving slowly, less air needs to get moved out of the way, so better range. It’s a tough concept to wrap your brain around, when it’s the opposite for gas cars.
Gas cars still have to push the air around and so are less efficient at high speeds. But nothing is as inefficient as a gas car stuck in traffic.
There is the gas car with the auto switch off and restart but I have heard that once the engine stops so does the AC. Or if the AC is on then it doesn't switch off. Different cars handle it differently. I am a bit old school and so whenever I hear a gas car cut out at the lights my first thought is that they stalled the car.😁
Really informative, thank you very much from the UK.
what really happened is that the computer recalculated the range based upon the slower speed less energy used
@@jaseastroboy9240EVs have to push the air around just like ice cars.
If by some freek of science they could make a motor generator that was 100 percent efficient, it would still take the same amount of electricity to start the car moving as it generated stopping it. But at present they are about 60 percent efficient!
I have talked with EV owners who were driving the early Toyota EV cars and they all said you can do a partial replacement of a dead battery cell for a low cost vs. the $$$ complete battery change at a dealer. And, the brake pads on EV's last for 100K to 160K miles compared to an average of 40K miles for low priced pads and city driving. Glad you made the EV particulars available to us.
Normally the cells degrade at similar rates but you can have a fault situation where individual cells can go bad and if replaced can restore battery performance.
For the brakes, i think I will wear the ebrake/hand brake before the main brakes. I rarely use the main brakes. Especially if the car is in Economy mode where the regenerative braking is more aggressive. 😁
The Prius is not an EV.
La première Toyota EV est très récente.
La première Toyota HEV date de 1997 et les plaquettes se remplacent rarement vu qu'il y a un frein régénératif et la batterie tient 270000km environ.
@@73av8r5thanks 🙏
@@jaseastroboy9240 using the ebrake or hand brake does nothing as far as wearing out brakes because the car isn't moving when you apply the brake... unless you use it to "drift" your car which swings out your rear! Lol
We recently bought a new Tesla model Y. we get 300 miles per charge. Thats on par with a gas powered cars range. But they way I explain it to people is, when you charge at home, image waking up every morning with full tank of gas. Just doing everyday running around ive only had to use an outside charger once in 6 months and thats because we didnt charge up for a few days. BUT the best thing about Teslas are their super chargers. You can charge from damn near a completely dead battery to fully charged in 20 min, if you want to . or you can get 25% Battery ( 1/4 tank of gas) in 5 min, and go home and charge over night. THE Absolute best thing about charging teslas with the super chargers is road trips. We have done a good amount of 400 mile trips from NY to the mountains of Vermont and when you enter your road trip destination the tesla map , automatically maps out all the tesla superchargers you will stop at for your trip. and it wont have you fully charge every time, no, you will charge maybe 5 min, which will get you enough to get to the next super charger on the route. Normally the NY to Vermont trip in my Dodge ram, I will have to Fill up before I leave and Fill up again 3/4 of the way there at $90 (now $130) to fill up. with the telsa we stopped twice for 5 -10 min both times and was maybe $10 to charge. I still have my Dodge ram, but the Tesla is now our main family car.
That sounds pretty ideal!
I've never owned an ICE vehicle that had only 300 miles of range per tank of gas. I've also never seen an EV that gets anywhere near the rated miles per charge when independently tested, even under ideal conditions that are atypical of normal driving conditions.
what will be your average driving speed at highway? your Tesla can only go max.about 150 miles or so at decent highway speed ( I am an EV owner as well). Let's stick to the facts. EVs so far away from a decent and relaxed highway driving at "reasonable highway speeds". Sure, you can make 300 miles if you ever drive at 50 miles an hour on highway staying on the right hand lane of a 5 lanes highway all the time. Also you can only use 60% of total USABLE battery charge once you are on the road. 20-80%. you may start the journey at 100% and you will only be using down to 15-20% level of battery and next charge will be up to 80% since charging top 100% will take so much time. Again let's stick to reality.
Really nice well done. I hope others get to see this. It is very refreshing to see you embrace the Leaf. We now have 2 EVs for our house. It started with a 2015 Leaf S. Had only 65 miles of range. I got the car due to work I did for a company. The owner wasn't able to pay so he was not using the car. So it was my payment. After 6 months of driving it. It really saved me a lot of money. I am a computer field tech. Now retired but still it started me in the right direction. I think you should also do one of these videos showing how you found the free charge. I use plugshare. Plus I have 2 Nissan dealerships within 6 miles. Plus many public transportation parking with Lvl 2 locations. Another one is local Harley Davidson dealers have CCS charging not super fast. But works. I have a 2021 Bolt now, and my wife drives a 2021 Leaf S Plus.
I also have a local Nissan dealership. But my experience was not very good with them. Before buying my current second hand Leaf I went to the local dealer. They had two new Leafs on the lot. When we asked to have a look at them the response was "Why would you want to do that, they are electric". The dealer then tried to talk us out of owning an electric vehicle.
They also have an onsite DC charger, supposedly for Nissan customers. But they leave one of their electric vehicles parked there all the time so it is always blocked.
Nissan built a great electric vehicle but it seems that not all dealerships are a fan of the electric car. Sort of makes sense as the dealership would get next to nothing in after sales revenue.
Maybe Nissan should have sold them direct to the public instead. 😁
VERY HELPFUL. I CAN HARDLY WAIT TO GET AN EV!
I have a very similar Leaf to the one in the video and looking at the service history (I am the second owner), the only items replaced so far is the 12volt battery and the cabin air filter. Service costs are tiny compared to gas cars which have a list of items that get replaced regularly, spark plugs, spark leads, engine oil, transmission fluid, fuel filter, oil filter, none of which are on an EV. Also the brake pads and rotors/disks are replaced regularly on a gas car but on an EV they are hardly ever used and so rarely wear out. Most braking is done using regenerative braking. Sort of like in the old days when Dad would down shift through the gears trying to save the brakes but instead of generating heat it generates some electricity that goes back into the EV battery.
Another thing I noticed with moving over to an EV. When charging at a public charger, if there is somebody else there they will often get out of their car and have a chat. I have met so many nice people while charging. They seem to have such a hopeful/excited outlook on the future. Totally the opposite to refuelling a gas vehicle where it is like standing in an elevator. You are three feet away from another person and it is a rarity to see anyone speaking to each other unless it is to complain about the fuel prices.
Funny, a friend of mines dad loves EVS, and he has three scrap leafs in his drive they all need batteries, and a new car was cheaper
@@terenceiutzi4003 Of course. Leafs have a well known design flaw in their battery system. They have no battery cooling which has greatly accelerated the degradation of their batteries. But even with degraded batteries the Leafs can be still used in situations where the reduced capacity is not a major issue. Plus this design flaw has given the anti-EV crowd something to point to and use as "proof" that all EVs are bad.
So the Leafs are keeping all sorts of people happy.
But for EVs with a proper battery cooling system the batteries are expected to last between 15 and 30 years before getting down to 70% capacity. For most original owners they would have sold the car long before that. Then the car will likely be sold as a secondhand vehicle to someone who is happy with 70% of original battery capacity. Or the battery could be replaced, Tesla expects a $3000 to $5000 price tag for a replacement battery at that time.
But considering how few cars are still on the road after 30 years, it is likely that, like most cars, the car would have been scrapped before the 30 years is reached.
Also when scrapped the EV's battery would have been recycled with better than 95% of the materials being reused, most likely to make new EV batteries. Oh, and to anwser the inevitable "lithium batteries aren't recycled" statement. Nothing is recycled on a commercial scale until there is a commercially viable amount of recyclable material available. With EV sales increasing by 55% from 2021 to 2022 and those two years totalling more than the previous 10 years. I think that by the time EVs that are being sold today need a replacement battery there will be a thriving battery recycling industry to supply the materials to enable low cost replacements.
@@terenceiutzi4003 Also Nissan has not helped the situation with no upgrade path for Leaf owners. So somebody with a 24kwh battery can not buy a 30 or 40kwh battery from Nissan. There are some aftermarket installers that can do the upgrade but as they can't get new 30 or 40kwh batteries they have to rely on getting replacement batteries from scrapped Leafs. This greatly limits an old Leafs options and so perfectly good vehicles will end up being scrapped or sitting unused in somebodies driveway.
My Leaf is over 10 years old and doesn't have a single squeak or rattle, not a spot of rust anywhere. If Nissan would sell batteries then I would upgrade it tomorrow. But without new, higher capacity batteries being made available then my Leaf will continue to do the school run and shopping duties. No weekend road trips for it.
Great video Darwin, just bare in mind this video is being viewed all across the world and most of the globe uses 240v - it’s really only the states and some of Canada that use 120v so pretty rare actually.
Level 1 in most of the world is over 2kw.
You really nailed it. You answered all my questions. We're looking at an ev as our next car. Thanks so much.
Great video! I've had mine for 2 weeks now and so far no complaints!
Get my first EV next week. Your video is excellent, thank you.
Thanks for this video. As a fellow Leaf owner now for about 2 years, I agree with everything you're saying and would add a couple of things. Leaf owners should familiarize themselves with the timer under EV Settings, which allows you to choose when, and for how long your Leaf will charge. There's a graphic in the Leaf that will tell you how long it will take to charge to 50, 75 and 100 percent so you can set the timer accordingly. You should do a video on this, Darbin.
Another thing to know is that longer and/or steep hills tend to run the battery down much faster than driving on level ground. Of course the battery will recharges bit going back down the hill, but it's not an equal exchange. a bit slower up the hill will help reduce the amount of juice consumed, so try not to be in a hurry. The faster you go, like in a ice-powered car, the faster the energy drain. I have the SV Plus model which has a range 230 miles, so it works for me. But if your car only goes up to 100 miles and you have to go up hill (mountains), it's something to consider.
As well as hills, a drivers driving style makes a huge difference in fuel consumption. I see most ICE drivers take off from the lights rapidly, accelerating hard to get to the speed limit even though they are accelerating towards the next red light. They continue accelerating until the last possible moment then brake hard to come to a stop at the red light. Then they repeat that pattern over and over.
I find that on main roads the traffic lights are sequenced so that if you drive just under the speed limit then you will catch green lights nearly all the time. Probably done that way to deter speeding.
Whereas the ICE driver that races to the red light has had enough time waiting for the red light that they decide to get out their mobile phone and check their social media status. So they end up sitting at the green light until somebody toots their horn at them. 🤣
good video. I had a 2013 S for my 30 mile commute and running around for work during the day. I would usually need a full charge by the time i got home. Luckily it would be fully charged by AM.
The previous owner had a defective battery, so it was replaced in 2016. I bought in 2017 with 22k and a perfect battery.
These things are money makers. I bought that for $9k. Got $5k cash refund from state. Sold it for $7500 after saving about $4000 in gas and maintenance. Net gain: $7500!!
I have a 2020 S Plus right now with 20k. Could not refuse the great deal. Bought it new when dealers were desperate, basically got 50% off with all the incentives and available tax credits and state rebates.
This video was so informative. Thank you so much for covering all the bases. My daughter moved to another state and left her Leaf with me. I have no idea what to do with it and I have no experience with an EV car. This video really put a lot of my fears to rest. I can’t thank you enough ❤
im terribly sorry to have to tell you this, but unless you're looking for the smart features and slight acceleration boost of an ev, its the worst possible decision for the environment
@@frostyflameff4003 Why do you say that? Will you back up that statement with facts?
@@JohnH242 the lithium used for the batteries damages the environment more than petrol cars for a few years, and require replacing too quickly for it to be a viable option. Not even considering most people don't even use the safe energy options so it's pretty futile
@@JohnH242 I will however hands down say go for hydrogen
@@frostyflameff4003 We are in an early stage at the moment, but there are some advocates who say, once we get battery recycling going fully, the need for new lithium mining will decrease dramatically. (Redwood Materials is one of the better known startups specializing in recovering lithium & other valuable metals from batteries 10 years old or more.) We may also see alternative battery technologies in the next few years so there's hope for the future.
Excellent compilation in perfect depth and length. ❤
Really useful tips!, but I wanna add one thing for your viewers. I just got a 2015 Leaf, and for the one-foot driving you mentioned, I find it useful to keep it in "B" mode when driving around the city (which constitutes most of my driving). It makes the car slow down in a way that feels more like applying the brakes, and it purportedly transfers more energy to the battery -- I haven't had it long enough to know how much of an energy difference it makes vs. "D" mode in the city, but judging from the gauge, it's small. Still useful for city driving regardless of the battery savings, though.
Thanks for the tips! Gonna check out your other content now 😊.
The Newer model Leaf has a true one pedal driving mode where it will brake proportionally to how much you let your foot off the accelerator and will switch to mechanical braking when moving too slow for regen braking and bring you to a complete halt. It also holds the car still while at rest. The "one pedal driving" mentioned in this video and by yourself is really not much different from engine braking in an ICE vehicle, it'll slow you down a bit but won't stop you and as such is not really one pedal driving.
Il existe aussi des régulateurs de vitesses adaptatifs qui vont jusqu'à l'arrêt complet et il n'est même pas utile d'appuyer...
Very nice summary of EVs facts.
Just one small note: EVs do have transmission which goes connected to the motor and operates as a reduction box and a differential, while rear drive need a rear differential whenever the motor is at the front and after the transmission it takes the power trough a main axle.
Some vehicles have direct drive motors hooked to the wheels, but these are not that common, but there are in fact.
Transmissions and differentials require oil changes, not too frequently; more likely every 100,000 miles. However, new results seem to observe a better care of the gears and bearings when the oil is replaced every 50,000 miles...always using OEM spec.
Regards from Costa Rica
Great video. I am well versed in the EV culture, and I enjoyed the overview so I can share this with others that are having questions.
I had this car (24KWh) for 8 years, great car.
The video gives really a good idea of the reality, I never plugged the car in public charger, only work and home.
The worst thing is to use the quick charger, it really kills the battery over the years...charging over night in L2 is the way to go.
Great video!
Great video 👍 Thanks! We’re ready to buy our 1st EV and I’m doing all my due diligence. This video is perfect in so many ways for us newbies 🙌 I’ll share this video with my wife.
5:48 charging to 100% depends on the battery technology. LFP batteries are fine to charge to 100%, these batteries are in the new MG4 base model for instance. Tesla actually recommend you charge their LFP variant to 100% once per week to assist in battery balancing.
LFP is quite new, something around 2021 even for tesla. If her nissan leaf is second hand, I don't think it is on LFP. So is Na+ battery which only comes out in 2024.
@@egaskrad LFP batteries are actually old technology that was originally deemed unsuitable for use in EV's. Tesla turned to a variant of LFP technology for one reason, that being to reduce manufacturing costs.
About driving efficiently: In my car, you can switch what lifting off the accelerator does. Regen or coast. Regen is convenient. But if you are constantly alternating between regen and power, say when going down a slight incline, then simply coasting is more efficient.
Thanks for your time preparing all this information! I found it very useful for all those that are thinking to buy an electric car ❤
You explained it very simple
I absolutely love my 2023 Ford F150 Lightning Lariat extended range. EVs tend to cost more upfront, but they're so much less expensive because of both costing around 1/4 to drive and costing less than half in maintenance and I think people need to understand that. Don't let the sticker price put you off, it's going to pay for that upfront difference and more with all the savings in operational costs. So, the F150 Lightning is a regular pickup truck doing all the normal pickup truck things, but it also has the performance of a sports car with 0 -to-60 in 4 seconds, low center of gravity so it can corner fast, with independent rear suspension if floats over speedbumps and potholes, and in the Lariat I've got luxury too. Now that I've owned and driven my F150 Lightning I will never go back to anything else, it's the best vehicle I've ever been in, let alone owned or driven.
This is a great review. Many thanks for all of the practical tips. A big shout out too for many of the comments provided which I found to be really useful too.
I have a Kia Niro EV. Today the outside temp is 10 degrees and I did notice a bigger drop in range. I hear people talking about preconditioning the battery before driving in these temperatures. I came on your video because I hoped to find a good explanation about what that means. I really enjoyed your video. Another tip is to use heated seats in the cold if possible because the cabin heat takes a big bite out of the battery's range.
Le preconditionnement a de l'importance surtout lors des recharges électriques ...
I think only Teslas’s can precondition the battery. Not all cars, especially not my Hyundai Kona EV, can precondition it. However since you have a Kia, go into the EV settings, and turn on “winter mode”. This won’t really help with the range, in fact it will take some range away, but it will help with protecting your battery from the cold temperatures so it doesn’t degrade fast over the years and it will keep your battery slightly warm.
@@JoeyDNetsfan Thank you, I will do that. Hoping for a mild winter near Lake Erie.
Such a good and comprehensive video. Thank you
EV owner for 2 years in UK here. I don’t/can’t charge at home and this seemed to be a big point in your video. I live in London so a house with a garage is not a thing. So _all_ my charging is public. Fortunately my local supermarket/grocery store has free AC charging and that’s accounted for about 40% of my ⚡️.
So your mileage may vary, as they say!
Good video though. Good list. Great to see older Leaves (Leafs?) still rocking!
One advantage for EV owners is also low maintenance costs as there is no oil change, no filter change, no spark plug change and no timing belt change required
Thousands of parts on an ICE car. Imagine the cost savings for Ford/GM etc with no more RD on beating emission standards, no more engine blocks, heads, valves, transmissions, water pumps, radiators, coil packs, fuel injectors, or fuel pumps. Think of all of the required maintenance for all of those items that is not needed with an EV. Dealers are in a panic with the EV migration as all of their profit is warranty work! I have only owned an EV since February/6k miles and I don't miss going to a gas station at all. 95% of our power is from home charging at $0.075 kw. Crazy how the talking heads say power is over 14 cents. Not if you check your billing and assume your connection fee is part of your house fee and not average it into your cars usage. Over half of our house fee is a flat rate charged here in NC but the actual rate is half of the average per KW rate you get by dividing your bill by the power used. Drill down on your billing to get to your actual rates.
@sandrahuntington1602 This is bullshit. (I'm driving EV's for 10 years now...as one of the first buyers. Also in such a leaf.)
Degradation has more to do with charge cycles....Modern batteries will last 1000-1500 cycles or , with a niro/kona E64 at least 400000..up to 600000 km. Most petrol cars need another petrol engine or revision of the first one after such a distant. That's not cheaper than a battery replacement. (But the dealer will earn more on such a revision).
You're 9 years are only valid when someone drives at least 45000 km each year....and even then the range is still 80% of those original 450 km (350 km) so a lot of people can use that car with this lower range.
@sandrahuntington1602total BS , our leaf is 10 years old, and still going strong, and that is a 1st gen leaf. Modern Ev batteries don't degrade nearly as much
Due to the weight of an EV and the high torque of the electric motors, EV tires last anywhere from 15K to 30K miles and 30K if you’re lucky. EV tires are low profile and have low rolling resistance tread, most of all they are very expensive. Your savings on oil changes etc. are out the window. Also, PA to start charging $290 a year for EV registration. In TX it’s a $400 one time charge when the EV is purchased, then $200 every year after.
@@pat5882 Basic education in physics will tell you that the high maximum torque of any EV does not matter for tyre degradation. The used torque will matter and that depensd on your right feet. Only if someone always accelerate at maximum possible energy the degradation of tyres will be as you assume. But that's no difference to any [petrol car...alwayd accelerating as fast as possible (and braking hard near traffic lights) will shorten the tyrelife to this amount of miles. My experience in more than 10 YEAR EV driving showed me that my EV tyres lasted longer than my previous ICE tyres. Maybe also to the fact tha regenerativ braking gives less degradation to tye tyres than the disc braking (on average) to petrolcar tyres.
That is a great video, beautifuly presented. I charge my EV almost entirely from the domestic power, as the slower charge is better for battery longevity, only using the home charger when needing the speed. Three more benefits - 1. your music sounds fabulous in a silent car. 2. It is not until you drive an EV that you realise how much fumes get into the cab of an ICE vehicle, I first noticed this when coming up behind an ICE and you notice the smel of their exhaust, something you raely noticed when driving an ICE. 3. Similar to 2, how fresh you feel after a long journey, I think the combination of no fumes and the loss of te constant vibration from the motor, you do feel great after a drive.
On a point of interest other than the potential safety concerns of Type 1 domestic charging ( for instance a 3 pin UK residential socket is not set up for any DC leak faults ) there’s the question of efficiency too the lower the charging current the more losses experienced. Also a modern EV has a built in lower end and upper end buffer to the battery so a 100% charge really isn’t 100% of the actually battery capacity only 100% of the available usable battery. Also most batteries have a number of charge/discharge cycles determining their life. So better to charge to high percentage and use fewer cycles! And modern day batteries have great thermal management to ensure battery longevity. If home charging using type 2 charge to 100% if you need it for your journey or 85-90% routinely -indeed if you are taking advantage of an EV domestic tariff you may only get 4-7hours per day of cheap rate electricity so may not be able to charge to a very high state of charge in one sitting anyway! 8 year/100000 miles manufacturer warranty on an EV battery is not uncommon showing the level of confidence the manufacturer has in their battery. So after that time some battery degradation some Tesla’s of this age have lost 10% range through battery degradation it’s really isn’t an issue a 10 year old ICE car could easily be 10% less efficient than when it was new!
Great summary. I’m now considering a used Leaf.
Here in West Virginia, the public charging stations are always completely empty. We are considering buying a 2015 Nissan Leaf that has 10 bars left for 4800. We will charge at home level 2 nightly or occassionally at a public station. Thank you for video! Aloha!
I don’t think most people realize if they have an inverter that connects to their battery ($50-$100) they too can power things with their car during a power outage because and engine, alternator and inverter are basically all of a generator’s components.
Here in the UK Midlands we are paying around $6.88 USD per US gallon equivalent. Don't forget that oil and gas are cheap and that most of the value is in taxes. Once EVs become more commonplace expect taxes on electricity to be applied upwards. Here in the UK in the 1990s diesel cars started to become commonplace and the same thing happened to us here and now diesel is more expensive than gas instead of half the price when I got my first diesel car. Also expect free charging at a different dealer to the car make that you have will create friction and that free charging will end anyway.
We just bought a 2022 Leaf and we loooooooooooove it!!!
Great Video! It's the most I've learned in a single video that was not boring. Thank you!
For people who are cautious about jumping to a full ev car, a plug in hybrid is the best of both worlds. Purchased a 2022 Ford Escape plug-in hybrid and absolutely love it. Gets about 40+ miles on electric then the gas engine kicks in. It’s been 3 months since I filled up the tank and still have 172 miles to go on that fill.
Thanks for that info Brett, I’m keen for my wife’s next car to be a PHEV after really loving the Lexus hybrid that she has had almost four years. Her daily commute is a 22 mile round trip so I’m hoping to avoid her needing to buy petrol hardly ever. Kind regards.
Hay I hope you see this. Are you still enjoying it? Do you have to stay under a certain speed for the gas engine not to kick in? I’m torn between that car or the Kia Sportage. Thank you if you see this.
Loving it. You can be in full electric mode on the freeway doing 60 plus. If you have to (punch) it it will kick the gas engine on and sometimes it takes awhile for it to go back to ev mode. Have gone a little over 11k miles and if you take out the 3 week road trip from Portland, Or to Arizona we did back last March of 2022, we’ve filled her with gas only 4 times, gotta love it and we haven’t had to use gas from the 4th fill yet. Kia wasn’t available when we were looking but my son just bought the hybrid version and loves it, bigger than the Escape. Which ever one you pick you’re gonna love it as you wave at gas stations when you pass them,😂.
You may eventually exceed the use by date (shelf life) of the fuel. 😃
In my mind it's the worst of both worlds. You still have all the maintenance required from an ICE AND you have a battery that will eventually need replacement.
I've been driving a PHEV since 2021 and an EV since a few months ago. I like your video it is very informative, although including metric may widen your audiance.
very well presented; I enjoyed it and quality of the technical information.
Just bought a 2020 Mini Cooper SE thanks for the videos great tips 👏👏
I started out with a Leaf but then got frustrated with the short range and moved up to a real EV TESLA Model Y, like night and day.
Love the sweet accent.
Another great thing in the UK if you have an EV you don't need to pay Road Tax (until April 2025 - £170). I have just sold my 15 year old Honda CRV which I had for 6 years and have purchased an EV. I paid £385 for the Road Tax this July and am grateful to be having £330 odd refunded to me. 👍
Very nice! One possible benefit you've overlooked is that, of you've taken advantage of federal and state team subsidies to install solar on your home, your practical energy cost is nearly zero (not to mention the savings on your home electric bill!). We charge our Bolt for $0.00, and our electric bill is $8.21 per month (access charge). Life on the bleeding edge can be very sweet indeed!
@GeeDeeBird where do you live and what company you used to install solar system at home?
@@sinharakshit I live in Santa Fe. Affordable Solar.
Here is another advantage of an EV vehicle, they don’t suck in air like a conventional car so driving in high elevations like Colorado the EV does very well and no added stress on the engine.
I'm close to getting my next car, and I think it's going to be a Leaf. Probably a newer used one. I live in SE Alabama, so it is certainly not common around here! 😅
Nice video!
Good video. It's hard for someone that's only used gas cars to understand what's so different.
Really informative, though we got our first EV about a month ago. We're loving our Nissan Ariya. An interesting difference between the Ariya and the Leaf is that we don't have one pedal driving... we have almost one pedal, but to come to a full stop, we do have to use the break. The "e-pedal" function on the Ariya will take it down to about 6 mph.
I'm not great with most accents, but familiar enough that I had a feeling you're from Sweden or Norway (my partner is Norwegian, so I'm always curious), and when I checked the 'about' section, I saw you're in Virginia, like me! As I'm writing this, I hear you saying you're near Richmond hehe. I see you do a lot of DIY things, so I'll be checking out some of your other videos, too.
Thank you for this good information! Was lovely to hear the wood thrush singing in the background too. :)
What a great video. So clear and to the point. This is one of the best that I have seen. Will help me buying my first ev. Thanks a lot. Also, you have a great speaking voice.
Good summary.
I would add: EVs nowadays are great for daily use and home or work charging. You said that. I think it is also import to say that they are not good for traveling, unless maybe with a Tesla.
Polestar2 ioniq5 ioniq6 ev6
I had a Model S EV, and got rid of it and exchanged it for a hybrid Ford CMax; which I completely adore!
I knew most of these, but still learnt something, so, thank you for a very professional presentation of the facts. JM. Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Thank you. I really appreciate this video. Actually, I just bought some shares into an EV station business and this will definitely give me another reason why i made a good decision.
How did you do that
Thank you. This was extremely helpful.
The 4 plugs for the US are the J1772, Chademo, CCS, and Tesla. J1772 is for all non-Tesla EVs slow charging, CCS is fast charging for all domestic non-Teslas, and Chademo is only used for Nissan & Mitsubishi fast charge. There are many adapters available.
Nice video, I live in Los Angeles area costs are higher so savings are more. Given freeways are a way of life and we must use a lot of gas (today $7 a gallon for regular) there are quite a few EV's on the road, Tesla's are currently very popular. Should be an interesting next 10 years.
I like the illustration of regenerative braking.
this was soo informative thank you, very detailed in explaining things
Thank you. Great tips! Especially for this Boomer who was driving since the late 1970's. If my next vehicle is an EV (instead of a HEV), I will have a home charger installed and since I currently do not drive over 200 miles/week, I'll charge once a week and really save $$$.
Great video thank you so much for your wonderful advice.
200 smi are around 320km. Deduct 100km of reserve, then you'll get an operating radius of 110km. Since roads are not straight, that's more like 90km on the map. You don't get very far without charging somewhere else. Even on a regular 500km daytrip you'll have multiple charging stops.
And most people cannot easily charge at home anyway. Even if you can, chances are that in your next apartment you won't be able to do so.
I would always suggest renting an BEV for a week or two and then doing a road trip with it so you know if you're comfortable with it before you actually buy.
Many thanks indeed. I already understood most of what you explained, but this is a must watch - especially for average citizens who have been dissuaded by all the FUD.
One point, and perhaps not so trivial, is that the CHAdeMO charging standard is only ubiquitous in Japan. Further, moving forward, most makers intending to sell in North America are going to use Tesla's North American Standard (NAS) for compatibility with Tesla's supercharging network. Something to consider, if one is looking to purchase used, is whether adapters are going to be available in case the vehicle's fast-charge port is one of the outdated standards. Else, prepare to only ever charge as high as level 2.
Great video. Don't agree that free chargers are good. They tend to be hogged by jerks looking to save $3 on a car that cost them $80k. Pay your way, I say.
Best part of the video was hearing the LEAF noises. I upgraded from a 2011 LEAF to a Model 3 early in '22 but I remember the LEAF noises fondly. Such a great car. I replaced just two tyres and the wipers in the 6 years I owned it.
This was excellent thank you so much
Ty for this video. I want an EV but I’m nervous getting one because I don’t know much about them. But I really want to get away from gas.
Thanks! This is a good intro for someone thinking of getting an EV.
Thank you so much! 🙏 Really appreciate it 😁
one of the best videos, very helpfu asim just purchasingmy first EV. cheers
Great tips. Thank you!
Not mentioned, but important: Current solar panels and batteries are more than 90% recyclable. That number is getting better over time!
Totally, EV opponents often point to the lack of battery recycling but nobody is going to build a recycling centre until there is enough used batteries to justify it. And once there is a thriving recycling process then this should reduce the cost of a battery replacement. The old battery will have a significant dollar value which will reduce the overall cost of replacement.
One note of caution: if you’re using Level 2 charging (240v) at a friend/relative’s home (or any location you’re not very familiar with), you may want to limit the amount of time you’re plugged in to
I had not heard that. I will bear it in mind.
@@tomreingold4024 I’m sure it’s an “abundance of caution” kind of thing. But some UA-camrs have covered it (State of Charge covers all things charging for EVs, and he’s talked about it more than once - also Sandy Monroe) extensively.
This is actually a very good reminder, even for the existing/long time EV owners, may have overlooked this. How ever, you could always lower the in-car Amp input (available with Tesla’s, not sure with other manufacturers) to 80% or less to not overloading the 240v washers/dryers outlet. I live in CA and to take advantage of the lowest electricity rate, I start the charging at midnight; manually lowering/selecting 24A instead of the 30A for my only 240v outlet (80% of Amp input), it works out beautifully. The first week owning my Model S, i started charging at home and monitored the outlet and fuse box, also the RV extension cable, it’s not even warm and it works without any issues at all. To top off my model S, it stops charging at around 3-4:30am depending on how much I drove the day before. Thanks again for your reminder, hopefully more people will see your post.
don't think it is an issue. Most parts of the world do 240V on 40Amp in the box and your appliance limits to 13Amp. Then you have the heater and air-con which draws a huge amount of energy all day and night. And that is only the residential power system we are talking about. Industrial power system do worse, on a longer time span. Unless your house is 100 years old, continual draw should not be something you have to worry about. You box is designed to handle a lot more than that.
@@egaskrad As I understand it (and I’m only relaying information electricians have discussed) the issue with many of these melt downs and fires has been the actual plug the charger is plugged into. Many of them are the inexpensive sort which work well enough for short term uses (dryers, stoves), but don’t do as well for 3+ hour draws night after night.
We had our electrician check out the 240v outlet that is in our garage prior to plugging the VW ID.4’s charging cable into it. He checked the fuse box, the wiring, and the plug. Everything was good but I felt better having an expert check it out.
As for heating/AC, even though we live in Sacramento and 100degree (F) temps are not uncommon in the summer, our AC does not run for 3+ hours, even on the hottest days. It cycles on, then off for a period of time (i.e., cools down), then back on.
Best wishes all!
Far in, in the U.K. our fuel is costing approximately $8 dollars an imperial gallon in your money..
One thing that sort of triggered me just a tiny bit - when talking about used ev cars - it's the state of battery that matters. From what I have read in internet (internet would not lie), batteries do have a lifetime determined by recharge cycles, i.e. haw many times it can be recharged until it's dead. And replacing batteries does cost an arm and a leg, so chose your used ev with that in mind.
It’s crazy how cheap it is for us in the north of Sweden. Renault Zoe 52kwh, only costs 52SEK to charge it fully which gives us 240-360km depending on weather.
It is 100% worth it buying EV
I feel weird hearing your nordic accent but using imperial units.😀 thanks for these tips!
Using one pedal driving via regenerative braking greatly reduces the wear on conventional brakes creating more savings on basic vehicle maintenance.
Le régulateur de vitesse adaptatif qui va jusqu'à l'arrêt total du véhicule permet aussi cela.
@@valleyofiron125 Which EV are you referring to? I would be interested in seeing exactly how that works, especially if the battery is fully charged.
I watched all of this thank you so much
Excellent video, good information and advice. Thank you very much.
2:36 Can confirm, I have never charged on a public charger since i got my ev in 2019, always just plug it in overnight in the garage at home.
Great review and observations. I just purchase a 2019 LEAF SL Plus a few weeks ago. My SIlverado, Nissan Versa and Honda motorcycle are all getting pretty lonely since I am almost always driving the LEAF instead. ;-)
I think you should've consider the cost of the respective car when comparing the regular Mustang to the Mach-E version. The issue for many people when it comes for EVs is being able to afford one, compared to lower priced gas cars. EDIT: Not everyone lives in detached or semi-detached housing where they can charge their EV. Many people live in urban areas where they have to treat charging the same as getting gasoline.
Certainly EVs are not for everyone, at least not yet. If I lived in an apartment, I wouldn't get one - charging at public chargers is either expensive or slow; every free public charger I've seen is a level 2 charger, which will take about eight hours (dependent upon your model of car) to go from 20% to 80% charge, so to my mind using them on a regular basis as your only charger is probably not practical. Level 3 charging is much faster - about 30-40 minutes to charge that same 20% to 80%. However, as pointed out in the video, you're going to be paying in the neighborhood of $0.50 per kWh, which doesn't come out all that cheaper than gas. So really, in my opinion, home charging is necessary for an EV to make sense.
I also would not buy one if I took long (200 mile +) trips on a regular basis. Until Tesla's SuperCharger network opens to most EV brands in 2024, charging on the go is honestly a bit of a mess. Chargers are seemingly haphazardly placed, and there simply aren't as many in convenient places as Tesla's. Even when Tesla's network is open to other EVs, I still wouldn't have an EV if I did frequent long trips; the Achilles Heel of EVs right now is the time to charge - it simply isn't as convenient as a 5-10 minute stop at a gas station. A lot of EV proponents downplay this aspect, which I think does more harm than good to EVs because once someone gets an EV that doesn't suit their needs, they're going to be turned off to EVs forever, or at least a long time, and are going to be vocal about it. When we're discussing EVs, I think it's important to readily admit the downsides along with the many upsides.
All that being said, I have been absolutely thrilled with my EV and honestly can't see myself ever returning to an ICE vehicle. Most people, myself included, don't take long trips on any sort of regular basis, and in my opinion the upsides of EVs far outweigh the downsides. While they definitely need to get more affordable in order to serve more of the market, there are a lot of great choices out there for EV vehicles, and range is more than good enough at this point to essentially be of no concern to most people.
you can set the 80% limit on most Leafs. With very few not having this option
Electricity is currently about 40c a kwH in the UK. But luckily for the comparison gas is about $7.50...
Some great tips you've listed here. Thanks Darbin!!
11:56 and general, due to one-pedal driving or regen braking, there's little to no wear on brakes.
Great advice for anyone thinking about purchasing an EV. I'm on my third Leaf. But was surprised to discover my dryer outlet won't work on my 2023 Leaf! Why? Because Nissan changed the plug.Its been difficult to find electricians willing to make the change so I don't have an estimate. In the meantime I'm using a 110 volt outlet. How's that working? With 77 miles indicated it took me 33 hours to full charge. Caution! If you change your 224 volt connector be certain to purchase a heavy duty receptacle. Mine cost $69. In summary I love my new Leaf even after paying $1800 over msrp
Tom, I'm sure you've upgraded by now, but I ended up buying a 16A cable because I had a 20A circuit to my mini-split AC next to where I park my car. Spent an hour installing a 10-30 receptacle, otherwise known as a standard dryer plug (instead of the 14-50 that the Leaf cable requires) to connect to the Lectron cable I purchased used for $100. I only charge at 3.8 kWh instead of the full 6.6, but it is much much faster than trickle charging on 120V. I get 12-14 miles per hour of charge now which is enough to fill her up overnight. 2023 Leaf SV Plus, in case that matters.
@@gdofred Thanks for describing your hookup. My electrician said he was walking away if I didn’t agree to an Industrial receptacle. Here’s why according to him. The standard dryer is usually plugged in and left there whereas EVs are plugged in and then unplugged. If that performed twice a week that over 100 times in a year. The danger microscopic metal gapes might form and electrical sparks might result and eventually create a fire. The industrial female plug was about $40. Thanks for your contact.
@@tommorgan1291 Sounds a bit like scare tactics. If the socket can't stand up to 100 insertion/removal cycles then I would be worried about the sockets reliability in general. Then again I am not in America where I am guessing this scenario is located. Maybe dryer sockets are a special exception and are overly delicate.
In Australia the houses are all wired with the same 240 volt outlets throughout and I am sure I could plug and unplug ten times per day and it would be a 100 years before there was an issue. The manufacturers have no idea what each outlets use case will be (the same socket type is used for all outlets throughout the house) and so they all have to be designed to survive worst case scenarios. The builders just buy bulk packs of sockets and they are used for every outlet in the house. Dryers, washing machines, garage outlets, kitchen outlets, they are all come from the same bulk pack of outlets. The only exception would be very occasionally a house may have a higher amperage outlet, usually in the garage. 16 amps instead of 10 amps. But those sockets are backward compatible. The earth pin is a bit wider on the 16 amp outlets. Allowing 10 amp devices to be inserted into either 10 or 16 amp outlets but 16 amp devices have the wider earth pin and so only plug into 16 amp outlets.
@@jaseastroboy9240 What counts is that you are satisfied
Super informative. Thanks for the info!