I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf

Summary

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. Video and GitHub EV Project If you don't like reading blog posts (why are you here?), I also posted a video going over most of this, with a little more color, on my YouTube channel: Also, this blog post is also the centerpiece of my new GitHub project geerlingguy/electric-car, where I detail all the steps on my nascent EV journey. 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): 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 ($35) and bought the LeafSpy Pro App for my iPhone ($20). I plugged the LeLink 2 into the OBD-II diagnostics port under the steering column, a...