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Information and learnings about EVs.

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# Electric Car

Information and learnings about EVs from Jeff Geerling.

This README contains the 'story' of my EV experience, but I will also be posting individual issues / struggles / learnings in the [Issues](https://github.com/geerlingguy/electric-car/issues).

## 2023 Nissan Leaf SV Plus (bought used in 2025)

I bought a used 2023 Nissan Leaf in 2025, my first 'new' car in 15 years. The above photo was taken by the dealership; apparently their social media team likes to post photos of all purchasers.

I test drove a Tesla in 2012, and quickly realized my mistake. No gasoline-powered car (outside of supercars, maybe? Never drove one of those) could match the feel of pressing the throttle on an electric.

I started out with a used minivan, which I drove into the ground. Then I bought a used Olds that I drove into the ground. Then I bought a used Camry that I bought before we had kids, when I had a 16 mile commute.

Fast forward about 15 years, and I found myself with a very short commute, only driving a few miles a day, and a family minivan we use for nearly all the 'driving around the kids' stuff.

So I wanted a smaller car (get back a foot or so of garage space...) that was also more efficient.

### Equipment and Add-ons

Before I go further, I thought I'd mention some of the things I've added to my Leaf to make the EV experience a little nicer (some links are Amazon affiliate links. I earn for qualifying referrals):

- [Grizzl-E Level 2 Charger](https://amzn.to/4k0tHwX) for the garage (see [Issue #5](https://github.com/geerlingguy/electric-car/issues/5))
  - [Lectron L1 J1772 EV charger](https://amzn.to/3HIt2Tx) for a more portable charger, when I just need to top off the car for a few hours
  - [J1772 Wall mount for cable and plug](https://amzn.to/4l8f4ct) - I was going to 3D print one, but figured the metal product would hold up better in a garage in the midwest
  - [NACS to J1772](https://amzn.to/3T1PQjw) AC L1/L2 charging adapter
  - [CCS1 to CHAdeMO](https://a2zevshop.com/products/ccs1-to-chademo) L3 DC Fast charge adapter (see [Issue #9](https://github.com/geerlingguy/electric-car/issues/9))
  - [CarlinKit 5.0 Wireless CarPlay/Android Auto adapter](https://amzn.to/3SW9AVH) because the Leaf only supports wired CarPlay by default
  - [VIOFO A119 Mini Dashcam](https://amzn.to/4n8HqEB) with the [VIOFO HK4 Hardwire Kit](https://amzn.to/4mip1DX) (see [Issue #3](https://github.com/geerlingguy/electric-car/issues/3))

### Monitoring the Battery

If you're considering a used Leaf, or if you have a Leaf already, it's a good idea to keep tabs on the battery health, especially since the meter on your dash is painfully basic in how much data it provides.

Individual cell charge, 'State of Health' of the overall battery, and much more are available through the car's OBD-II port.

Soon after I bought my Leaf, I ordered a [LeLink 2](https://amzn.to/45GYUls) ($35) and bought the [LeafSpy Pro](https://leafspy.com) App for my iPhone ($20).

I plugged the LeLink 2 into the OBD-II diagnostics port under the steering column, and fired up LeafSpy Pro.

Battery metrics over time, as reported by LeafSpy:

| Date | SOH | Hx | Cell voltage variance | Odometer |
| :-- | :-- | :-- | :-- | :-- |
| 2025-06-25 | 93.16% | 77.85% | 14 mV | 36,358 mi |
| 2025-09-15 | 93.29% | 74.70% | 17 mV | 37,802 mi |

> - SOH: State of Health
> - Hx: Conductance
> - Odometer: as reported by LeafSpy. There's about a 10k mi discrepancy between that and what I see on my dashboard...

See [Issue #8: Document battery health](https://github.com/geerlingguy/electric-car/issues/8) for all my notes monitoring my own Leaf's battery.

### Why buy electric?

I overanalyze most things, so had been researching this purchase for about a decade now.

With EVs there are tradeoffs. Even in my situation, only driving a car a few miles a day, I _do_ take my car on one or two regional road trips every year.

Having the ability to hop in at 6 am and be in Chicago or KC by late morning is nice. Having to plan a long break somewhere halfway to charge is not.

But if I only take that trip once a year, I can either (a) rent a gas car that gets me there a little more quickly, and ensures I don't have to find a spot in the destination city to do a full charge before the return trip. Or (b) plan for an extra X hours total during the trip to ensure I have padding for charging.

Charging infrastructure's improving in the US (and in many parts of the world), but it's nowhere near as ubiquitous as gas stations.

Hopefully this improves over time, but for now, I plan on using the electric car for local travel, likely only going more than 100 miles or so in a day once or twice a year.

### Why buy Leaf?

Price.

That's mostly it. And I drove a Nissan Sentra rental on a recent trip, and realized Nissan isn't half bad. They seem to not require an Internet connection for their cars, they offer basic lane following and adaptive cruise control, they have CarPlay/Android Auto...

The Leaf ticks all the little 'convenience' checkboxes, but is also not 'extravagant'.

And the later model years also aren't "look at me I drive an EV" ugly (though they're not amazing-looking, either).

But I drove a minivan, an olds, and a Camry, so obviously I'm function > form when it comes to my car!

Because of the smaller battery (and up until 2026, a battery with no active cooling), combined with the use of a DC fast charging connector (CHAdeMO) that's going out of style in the US, used Nissan Leafs are priced _considerably_ lower than competitors.

Well, all except maybe Teslas around a year or two older right now. But Teslas don't have native CarPlay. And I'm not a fan of how Tesla is trying to turn the car into some kind of appliance, RoboTaxi, self-driving thing, versus it being a transportation vehicle that I can do what I want with.

No judgement on Tesla owners, the used Tesla market was enticing at the time I bought the Leaf.

I also looked a lot at the Hyundai Ioniq and Kona; both were just a _little_ bit too large for my liking, but they could've worked. The problem was used models in good condition were a lot more expensive than I was willing to pay.

So back to the Leaf: Nissan's probably not the _best_ right now when it comes to EVs and features, but they're certainly the _cheapest_. And 'good enough' is fine by me.

_She's got it where it counts, kid._

### Gripes about my Leaf

There are a few things that baffle me about the Leaf, some that have been frustrating from the first test drive; others that are more subtle:

- **There is no 'play/pause' button.** At least not on the steering wheel or the display area. You have to go into the music section on the entertainment display, _then_ press the software play/pause button. Otherwise you can press the 'Power' button on the audio volume knob, which doesn't make sense to me, but works the same as a play/pause button.
  - **Going into 'Neutral' is an exercise in frustration.** I thought you just put your foot on the brake and move the shifter knob to the left. But you have to _hold it in Neutral_ for up to 3 seconds before it actually shifts to Neutral. Otherwise you can turn off the car, turn it on, then immediately shift to Neutral, if your foot is on the brake.
  - **There's no way to open the tailgate short of pressing the release button.** At least as far as I'm aware. There's no button in the cabin or key fob to unlatch it. The manual says the other way to open it is with a screwdriver, from inside the car, pushing on the latch (lol). [I'm not alone here](https://mynissanleaf.com/threads/leaf-doesnt-have-an-interior-trunk-release.5026/). At least there's a button on the remote to open the charge port.

## The joy of electric

I don't care about engine noise. I appreciate it, though. My brother had a 1992 Forumula Firebird. And I nearly owned it after he moved away, instead of my Olds! (But I'm a boring-car person, so I think I was happier with the Olds).

The nice things about electric vehicles that swayed me in their favor, in descending order:

- **One pedal driving** Seriously, why doesn't every EV have this mode? It makes driving one feel SO much better than any gas car, in terms of connection between driver and car movement.
  - **Sprightly torque**: Outside of exotic tiny gas cars, you're not going to get the same zip even a cheap EV like a Leaf gives you—smash the accelerator in non-Eco mode and any passenger will giggle, every time.
  - **Blissful quiet**: Though some cars have annoying noises (Nissan calls this VSP, or "Vehicle Sound for Pedestirians") they play at low speeds.
  - **Lower maintenance requirements**: I hate every time I have to jack up my car and change the brakes, or take it in for oil/fluid changes. EVs (usually) require less maintenance, besides maybe tires.
  - **Conveniences**: Like running climate control to cool down/heat up the car prior to hopping in, even while it's in the garage! Or plugging it in to charge at home, and not having to stop by a gas station.
  - **Long-term economics**: in _general_, charging with electricity, at least here in St. Louis, is cheaper than filling up with gas, on a dollar-per-mile basis.

## The pain of electric

All that said, I knew going into this there would be some pain. Maybe in 10 or 20 years these things will get solved, but off the top of my head:

- **Price**: The Leaf (especially used, right now) is the cheapest, but it is by no means _cheap_. It takes a few years to break even with a similarly-specced gas car. But buying a gas car, you have a lot more options on the low-low end.
  - **Range Anxiety**: Yes, it's overblown, but no, it's not non-existent. The day I _bought_ my used EV, the dealership (which doesn't sell many EVs, even new) didn't have a 'Level 3' DC fast charger—and they had only charged it to about 16%. Letting it top off at L2 while I was dealing with finance, we got to 23%. I wasn't quite sure I'd make it home off the lot! Luckily I did, with 12 miles of range remaining. Road tripping or day trips require more planning when driving an EV.
  - **Lack of standards**: For 'L3' DC Fast Charging, the Leaf has a CHAdeMO port. Teslas and many newer EVs have NACS. Then there's CCS1 and CCS2. And charging stations are run by multiple vendors with multiple apps and payment methods. It's not like gas stations, like with Shell, BP, Buckee's, etc. where you just drive up, stick the gas nozzle in your tank, and squeeze. Even adapters can be complicated and annoying, and many EV charging stations only support one or two standards—and some may only have _one_ CHAdeMO plug, and that plug may have been ripped off the unit to be scrapped by a copper thief!
  - **Lack of standards, part 2**: For L1/L2 charging, some cars use J1772, some use NACS... and then wall charging units are all over the board with supporting 6, 12, or 16 Amps for L1 (they shouldn't do 16 on a 15A circuit but it seems like some do!), or various different amperages for L2. Some of these units require apps to configure them, others have dip switches, and yet others are not configurable, and don't list their exact specs in an easy-to-find location. Usually forum posts from users who _buy_ the chargers offer more information than product manufacturers' own websites!
  - **Being an EV**: For some reason, most EVs look like... EVs. I honestly was holding out hope Tesla would just make a Corolla, but an EV version. All the cheap EVs like the Bolt, i3, Leaf, etc. just look... sorta ugly. Subjective, sure, but at least my Olds looked kinda sleek. Even if it was an Olds. EVs stand out, and that I don't enjoy. I want an EV that looks like a Camry. Just blend in and don't stand out.
  - **Cables and chargers**: The Leaf has slightly less trunk space than my slightly-larger Camry. I didn't realize how big L1/L2 charge cables are. Even L1-only cables (which charge at a very anemic pace, like 10 miles / hour of charge) are fairly thick, bulky affairs. About 1/10 of my trunk is devoted to my charging cable. And on a road trip, I will likely carry my [NACS to J1772](https://amzn.to/3T1PQjw) and [CCS1 to CHAdeMO](https://a2zevshop.com/products/ccs1-to-chademo) adapters. And the latter adapter includes its _own_ battery (that has to be charged) and firmware (that might need to be updated)!

## Further Reading

Be sure to check the [Issues](https://github.com/geerlingguy/electric-car/issues) in this repository for more of my EV adventures.

I don't plan on becoming an EV advocate by any means; I don't think they're a good choice for many (if not most) people yet, especially considering the price disparity and infrastructure requirements that exclude large swaths of the population!

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