Early this summer, my wife and I had an inconvenient realization: we may need to be in two places at once. An urgent doctor appointment could conflict with YMCA day camp pickup, or our kids would get invited to two birthday parties on the same morning at godforsaken activity centers in separate towns. There was no doubt we needed another car. A big ticket purchase seemed unjustifiable when we don't know what eggs will cost next month — and my search for an aftermarket Prius within my budget was strangely fruitless. As it turns out though, now might be the best time to grab a used EV.
During my search, I saw BMW i3s (those freakish go-kart looking EVs) and VW e-Golfs selling for around $15,000, both of which are more fun to drive and have better tech features than older Prii. Couple those low prices with the soon-to-be-expired EV tax credit — which can get you up to $4,000 off certain used EVs and plug-in hybrids (PHEVS) — and some cars could cost $10,000 or less! Meanwhile, I couldn't find a decent 2015 Prius below $17,000.
Long story short, I settled on a boring-yet-secretly-fun option: A 2018 Nissan Leaf. It has a range of 150 miles and a hatchback design that looks less funky than the original bug-eyed sub-compact. It accelerates quickly, it's relatively engaging to drive and it also has premium leather seats, radar-assisted cruise control and a decent Bose speaker system. Not bad for something close to $15,000 with only 33,000 miles!
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Even though it's worth far less than our stately Volvo XC90, I genuinely have more fun zipping around town in the Nissan Leaf. There's the magic of the instant torque you get from its electric motor, the convenience of one-pedal driving (Nissan calls it "e-pedal") and its cherry red paint lets me pretend I'm having a mid-life Miata crisis like my middle school rhetoric teacher. Plus it can easily fit a large toddler car seat and a booster for my six-year old, and it has enough trunk space to deal with massive grocery hauls. Thank god I didn't get a Prius.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
Why are used EVs so cheap?
Many EVs just don't hold their value — you can blame the fast-evolving EV components and consumer uncertainty for that. But that also means you can find gently used models for far less than their list price. If I was less responsible and pushed my budget a bit higher, I'd absolutely consider a recent Hyundai Ioniq 5 for around $25,000. It's well-reviewed, and it looks like an '80s retro-future hatchback. What's not to love?
(And yes, you could also look for used Teslas if you want. I can't vouch for the quality of that brand, and personally I wouldn't recommend getting stuck in its ecosystem.)
You can find even deeper discounts for less popular cars, like the Polestar 2 (which would honestly look great in my driveway next to its Volvo cousin). That luxury EV started at $61,000 at launch — but now it's easy to find used Polestar 2s for around $25,000.
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