Getting a second hand EV

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guttix

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#318486 22-Jan-2025 22:21

We have an old Gen2 LEAF, and it is time for an upgrade to something newer. Just looking to see what people think around what sort of EV to get? We are a family of 4, and it would be our 'second' car. Live about five minutes out of town...so it does drive in 80-100kmph speed zones daily, as well as around town

Best buy for around 30K...what do we consider? Brand? SoH? Range?

Any thoughts would be awesome...or even recommendations of what you might get for that kind of budget.

BYD Atto 3?

MG4?

CYaBro

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#3334592 22-Jan-2025 23:09

Love our gen1 MG ZS EV and my parents have the gen2 model and they love it too.
You can pick one of those up for under $30k now.
Ours gets about 240km and parents about 320km, on a full charge.

We’re about 25km inland from Oamaru and drive into town pretty much every day, often more than once and get by with the standard 3 pin charger.

I also just relocated a friend’s gen1 ZS EV from Whangārei to Oamaru for them.
No issues with the drive of just over 1500kms over 3 days.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

Stu

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#3334594 22-Jan-2025 23:30

Consider a Kia Niro 'Light' trim, or if you can stretch it, the Water trim. 460km WLTP. They've got pretty good room for a family car. Loving the Water after opening it for a couple or three months. From North Waikato we've been south to Turangi, and just been over to Whitianga with our adult daughters in the back seats, and they were impressed with the comfort and amount of room. Our first EV and really happy with it.

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

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Scott3

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#3334597 23-Jan-2025 00:18

Amusing that we are now considering the second generation leaf (which went into production in late 2017) an old car.

EV market has shifted a lot in the last couple of year. an ~30k budget now gives a great selection.

If you like what you currently have, you could step up from the 40kWh leaf to the 62kWh version. They get a boost in motor power from 110kW to 160kW, and a boost in range. Same reliability, ride comfort & decent interior / boot space as in other leaf's. They start at about $23k.

Otherwise run a trade me search like the below, and scroll through the 9 pages until something catches your eye (stripped out leaf's as there are so many, not because there are anything wrong with them):

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/electric/search?search_string=NOT%20Leaf&sort_order=motorspriceasc&price_min=20000&price_max=35000

Things that jump out to me:

Brand new GWM ora @ $27k

2023 Opel Mokka SRI @26k

2022 MG ZS EV (post facelift) @26.5k

2022 Peugeot e02008 @27k

New LDV eT60 @$30k

2022 Niro (Pre refresh) @28.5k

2023 Niro (post refresh) @33k

2020 VW i.d.3 @32k

2020 Tesla model 3 @32k

New MG4 excite @35k

2023 Lexus UX300e $35k

2022 BYD Atto3 Extended range @36.5

2022 Ioniq 5 Long range @39k (be carful with this one, these are not a common car to be imported used, so there might be a fishhook).

2023 Mach-e @41k

2023 Niro Plus @31k

Last one is mislabeled as a regular Niro, but the it is the plus version. Plus version is a special version targeted at the taxi / ride hail market, with a raised roofline, more rear seat legroom & height, and more cargo space. Ideal if you want both great second row legroom and still a smallish car for city parking etc.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/kia/niro/listing/5133276647

Given your needs for this vehicle, it largely comes down to taste and personal preferences. Unless you are planning on taking it on long trips, stuff like range & fast charging speed / plug type don't really matter. But your budget absolute can fund a long range road trip capable EV if that is what you want.

Note that CHAdeMO is fast becoming the less common fast charge port. Other than the leaf and UX300e, everything else on the list should be CCS2 (but check as some ex japan used imports have CHAdeMO on cars that you would expect CCS2).