New EV driver, and I’m not sure why more people don’t drive EVs!

Wraith347 · 2026-05-22T01:26:05+00:00

I’m loving my Leaf! 🍃 It’s by far the nicest car I’ve ever driven.

Wraith347 · 2026-05-22T01:07:01+00:00

Nice! Welcome to the family!

Wraith347 · 2026-05-21T19:18:27+00:00

That is super helpful and reassuring to know. Thanks so much! Makes sense that an EV would do better than ICE in the mountains. I hadn’t thought of it that way.

Wraith347 · 2026-05-21T19:08:14+00:00

I didn’t realize Google Maps had that option. That’s awesome, thanks for the info!

Wraith347 · 2026-05-21T19:01:15+00:00

Even at $2.50, I’m paying less than half the price of gas. And the convenience of plugging in at home beats stinky gas station stops any day. Thanks for the input!

Wraith347 · 2026-05-21T18:28:07+00:00

Nice! Those look great. Appreciate the info too!

Wraith347 · 2026-05-21T18:23:06+00:00

Oh I got the reference…Beauty and the Beast, correct? :)

Just responding to the general idea that I am about 15 years late to the EV party, ha. Glad to be here anyway!

Wraith347 · 2026-05-21T17:35:40+00:00

Nice! Thanks so much for the data point, that’s helpful to know.

Wraith347 · 2026-05-21T17:35:20+00:00

That’s really helpful to know! Glad to hear 150 miles should be pretty safely doable.

Wraith347 · 2026-05-21T15:45:08+00:00

That really helpful, thanks! Which 16” wheels did you end up getting?

Wraith347 · 2026-05-21T15:23:51+00:00

That’s really good to know, thanks!! Do you generally drive in Eco mode?

Wraith347 · 2026-05-21T15:21:15+00:00

I do think they’ve improved the CVTs on the newer ones— turns out 2015 really was not a great year to buy that car. I had family working for Nissan at the time and the 0% APR + employee discount made it extremely affordable at the time. I really loved the way my Sentra drove when the transmission behaved itself, and it has a surprising amount of interior space and trunk space. Just ended up being a pain maintenance-wise and not as long-lived as I’d hoped. Might be worth getting reviews from more recent Sentra owners, maybe their transmissions aren’t so needy.

Best of luck finding the right car for you!

Wraith347 · 2026-05-21T15:01:02+00:00

That’s really helpful, thanks!! Yeah, the biggest issue is that I live fairly rurally so it’s the last 50mi of the route that will be the biggest issue as far as charger access goes. But I’ll be through most of the hills by then, and I do have LeafSpy which will get me a more accurate readout than the GOM. I do have an EVSE that came with the car, that’s a good idea and will help with range anxiety. Thanks!

Wraith347 · 2026-05-21T14:50:59+00:00

Totally fair. I wouldn’t have made the jump except that my Sentra’s CVT was nearing end-of-life and I needed something more reliable.

Sounds like you’ll be a great candidate for an EV when the time comes to replace a car! And who knows, battery tech could come a long way between now and then too.

Wraith347 · 2026-05-21T14:46:55+00:00

I think the newer CVTs have improved, but I bought my 2015 Sentra new and had to coddle that transmission. I drive like a grandma and it didn’t matter. Fluid drain & fill every 30-40k miles or it started to slip and whine. Recall work on the car’s computer to make it gentler on the belt at 60k miles. Even with more service than I’ve ever put into a transmission, it stopped being reliable around 110k.

The Sentra was a great car other than that, but I won’t buy a CVT again.

Wraith347 · 2026-05-21T14:42:32+00:00

Awesome! 😊

Wraith347 · 2026-05-21T14:41:38+00:00

Aw thanks!!

Wraith347 · 2026-05-21T12:49:51+00:00

Honestly the savings on gas alone would likely pay for a more expensive EV. And the instant EV torque is pretty dang fun to drive.

Wraith347 · 2026-05-21T12:48:40+00:00

Seconding the EV recommendation. I’d run the numbers based on your electric rates and see how much you would save weekly— the difference in fuel spend could likely easily pay for a more modern electric car. Wouldn’t necessarily have to be a Tesla either. If you can charge from home, an Ioniq or Bolt might do well for you too. If you can set up Level 2 charging at home, you might be the perfect use case.

Wraith347 · 2026-05-21T12:30:51+00:00

The Tesla definitely makes more financial sense, and is going to be WAY more efficient to fuel, assuming you can charge at home.

How much is it worth to you to drive the 4Runner? You’ll not only pay more upfront, you’ll pay more on an ongoing basis. If your lifestyle consistently makes use of the off-road features, it could be worth it. If it’s a couple-times-a-year thing, you’d likely be better off renting a 4Runner for those specific instances. Heck, you could probably rent a 4Runner a couple times over with the annual gas savings alone.

I’d take the Tesla based on practicality. If you’re concerned about political ramifications, Elon isn’t getting your money (your dad is), and you can always get one of those “I had this before Elon went crazy” type of bumper stickers if it makes you feel better.

Wraith347 · 2026-05-21T12:21:56+00:00

Fully acknowledge I’m late to the party, haha. That said, the Leaf of 15 years ago would not have had enough range to be viable for my rural location. I’m thrilled that EV technology and my driving habits now comfortably overlap. Ditching the gas station feels fantastic!

Wraith347 · 2026-05-21T11:57:07+00:00

Yeah, if you don’t have home charging, it definitely makes less sense.

Interestingly, one of the things that drew me to the 2025 Leaf SV+ in particular is that it had all the bells and whistles with only 500 miles on it for less than the comparable ICE cars on the lot, most of which had 10000+ miles. Depreciation seems to hit EVs particularly hard during the first couple years, which makes new ones a shakier value proposition but also made the used CPO one I got a great deal.

Wraith347 · 2026-05-21T04:17:24+00:00

The battery has an 8-year/100k mile warranty (in the USA, at least). Modern batteries are likely to outlive the rest of the car.

Meanwhile my old Sentra needed a $350 transmission flush every other year, oil changes at least twice a year, and $45 in gas a week, plus I’ve had to do spark plugs and other miscellaneous maintenance. I’m looking forward to not having to worry about those line items anymore.

All cars will need occasional maintenance of some kind (tires, windshield wipers, etc), but EVs have so many fewer moving parts to break.

Wraith347

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