We just bought a 3 year old Kia Optima Plug in Hybrid, and in the
process test drive several EV and PHEV's that were 1-3 years old. I
wrote up my impressions here:
https://www.summet.com/blog/2020/12/19/1-3-year-old-electric-vehicle-and-plug-in-hybrid-ev-shopping-impressions-in-2020/
Full text below if you don't want to follow the link:
1-3 year old Electric Vehicle and Plug in Hybrid EV shopping impressions
in 2020
Posted on December 19, 2020
Today we went shopping (at OffLeaseOnly Orlando) for an new commuter
vehicle for Val (replacing her 2015 Nissan Leaf, which will become my
vehicle.) We wanted an EV with significantly more range than the Leaf
(which is around 80 miles now), or a Plug in Hybrid that could do most
if not all of Val’s 20 mile commute on battery power, but use gas for
longer trips. I was most focused on the Chevy Bolt EV or Chevy Volt
Plug in Hybrid, of which OffLeaseOnly had multiple units in stock, but
we were lucky enough that they also had several other options to try out
on the 1-3 year old used “off lease” market. [Because the uncomfortable
drivers seats of the Bolt & Volt knocked them out of the running.]
All of the plug in hybrids we drove had almost no charge in their
batteries when we took them off the lot for a test drive, so we got to
hear/experience their gas engines relatively quickly. The Bolt & Ioniq
EVs had enough charge for a test drive, but were at the lower (20-40%)
end of their capacity. (Off Lease Only had 4 EV chargers on their lot
that we could use to test the J1772 Level 2 charging port, or top up any
EV we decided to buy while we did paperwork.)
Presented below are brief notes about the vehicles we test drove (rank
ordered by how likely we were to buy them).
2017 Kia Optima Plug in Hybrid – Kia’s come with a 5 year warranty (of
which almost two years remained for this unit). The Optima Plug in
Hybrid was a clear winner over the Chevy Volt in interior comfort. The 9
kWh battery with 25-30 all electric miles is enough for Val’s commute,
and the option of using gas for long road trips makes it a good 2nd
vehicle to our older 2015 Leaf. Features like electric seat (with driver
memory), auto-folding mirrors, heated seats & steering wheel won us
over. (Our 8 year old also loved the “hidden compartment” (drink holder)
that folds down from the middle rear seat, and the fact that the rear of
the vehicle has its own set of directional vents from the HVAC system,
and power plugs for his tablet.) Rear seat space is very good compared
to the other offerings, but with a smaller trunk (non-hatchback, no pass
through) the cargo space is the most serious negative when compared to
the Bolt/Leaf/Volt hatchbacks. [The Honda Clarity had much better truck
capacity plus the ability to fold down the seats with a pass-through.]
At $16,000 it was the same price as a 40 kWh Nissan Leaf SV and only
$1,000 more than the Chevy Volt.
We ended up buying the Kia Optima Plug in Hybrid. Factors in our
decision were the existence of almost 2 more years on the manufactures
basic warranty, a nicely appointed interior, ability to go on long (gas
powered) road trips, and relative cost among the competitors.
2019 Hyundai Ioniq EV – Very nice pure EV, substantially roomier than
the Nissan Leaf. Back seat is better for 3 kids. Trim levels in general
felt nicer than the Leaf. It was only one year off lease, 10K miles. At
$17,500 it was the second most expensive option we looked at, but with 4
years remaining on the manufacturers warranty and such low millage, it
was our 2nd choice. However, it only has a 28 kWh battery and 124
miles of range, which isn’t much of an improvement over our existing
2015 Leaf. [The only downside with this particular car was a significant
amount of rust on the brakes (owned in NY previously) which might also
translate to rust on other parts of the body.] Our 8-year old did
comment that the rear seat-belt receiver in the back was “too high”, and
it did look a bit higher than normal, but this was after several test
drives, so he might have just been getting tired.
2019 Nissan Leaf SV EV – (We have a 2015 Leaf EV with a 24 kWh battery,
this is the 2nd generation with a 40 kWh battery and different external
styling, but otherwise felt very similar inside.) We were also
concerned about battery capacity loss over time in the Florida heat due
to passive cooling on the battery. At $16,000 it was more expensive
than the Chevy Bolt, but with less range and reasonably comfortable
seats. The choice between this updated Leaf and the Hyundai Ioniq would
be tough. The Leaf has more battery/range, while the Ioniq had a nicer
interior. Both seemed slightly over priced for the value they deliver.
2017 Chevy Bolt EV– Great range with a large 60 kWh battery. “Cockpit”
is nicely laid out. Only major downside is the very uncomfortable seat.
The seat belt receiver presses into the drivers hip on the right side,
and you can feel a hard ridge of plastic on the left side of the seat
which hits your hip bone. Val really liked everything but the driver’s
seat, but decided that she couldn’t buy the car because it was too
uncomfortable to sit in. This is a shame, because at $14,500, it was a
very good deal for the 60 kWh battery capacity / 200 mile range. If you
test drive one and can deal with the seat (or are willing to replace the
seat) I think this would be your best “bang for the buck” for a pure EV.
2018 Chevy Volt PHEV – Good fully electric range (40-50 miles) plus gas
range extending engine. Rear “bench” seat is bad for picking up 3 kids,
with the center “seat” very much an uncomfortable shoe-horned in
afterthought. The drivers seat is slightly uncomfortable, but 50%
better than the Bolt. The seat-belt receiver still presses into the
drivers hip (but the outer edge was more comfortable than the Bolt), so
you can turn sideways to get away from the seat belt receiver on the
right. The $15,000 price was less expensive than the other PHEV’s we
tested.
2018 Honda Clarity Plug in Hybrid – Since we were considering Plug In
Hybrids, we test drove the Honda Clarity as well. Best interior out of
the lot (except for the infotainment display that felt “old school”).
The most comfortable to drive out of the lot. Leather interior was very
nice. But, the gas engine was exceptionally loud and revved up and
shifted very frequently and nosily. It had excessive road noise, and at
45 mph had a reverberation effect that made us think a helicopter was
flying by. The acceleration (with a low hybrid battery) was sluggish,
and it was out of the 36,000 mile warranty period. It was also the most
expensive car we tested at $19,000. The road/air noise + high cost
combined to make this our last choice.
Hopefully this will help others who may be shopping.
Jay
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