Wow, great tip! Thanks!

Car dealers are a well-known, hugely influential lobby.

Right, set too low (imho). And not a graduated phase out either. And the market for these cars are going to be people typically past the income limit. My instinct tells me that people below the income limit ($75K/$150K) probably aren't really in the market for an EV. They are probably just trying to keep their regular gas vehicle running. An EV is almost a second/third car for a lot of people, commuters trying to offset their gasoline costs.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR-DXc1voovS8nhAvccRZhg

Jeff Geerling. Also the owner/author of the site we're discussing in this thread.

Jeff is a treasure! https://youtube.com/@jeffgeerling

I think you are misreading?

> $17k minus an extra $2k added to my Camry's trade-in value

This says the dealer paid a premium for the Camry to secure the deal on the Leaf. The Camry's full trade-in value was not given.

I haven’t had the alignment problem and our roads are probably worse than yours. Potholes, gravel, dirt, mountain switchbacks, etc.

I found that America’s Tires charges $200 less per set than the dealership, but I get steering wheel vibration at around 75-80mph. With dealership install, there’s no vibration up till the electronic limiter hits at 93mph. I’m not sure if handling the same and sounding the same at 65 and 93 mph is a feature or a bug though. :-)

This is the only car that they couldn’t align + balance prop Our local mechanic gets the balance to work up to about 85mph. Maybe have the dealership fix the alignment?

We know some people with an old leaf. On certain points in their commute the ADAS emergency brakes every single day. It’s particularly bad if someone is tailgating them as they approach that spot, though it can’t be good for the tires either.

Used i3’s are going for way under $17K these days, fwiw. I was actually shopping for a used leaf, and ended up with an i3.

I just took mine on a fairly long trip, around 370 miles. I used the hold charge feature once the battery reached 75%. It was fun to drive through a hilly region, the battery got me up the hill, then the engine plus regen charged it back up to the set point on the way down the hill. I liked that I didn't have to touch the brakes.

The fuel tank is quite small, but it doesn't take long to fill.

Overall fuel consumption was around 6-8 gallons for the trip.

Sho you right

I thought not having Carplay was a dealbreaker, then I tried shopping other brands and they wanted $15 to $25 per month for remote start, so I went with Tesla. Plus Tesla had dash cam recording, which somehow no one else has yet? And of course, don’t have to deal with a stupid dealer with Tesla, just bought sitting on the couch at home.

Anyway, not having CarPlay has not been an issue. Although, it would have been nice to have.

CarPlay is trash tho. Had a rental again last weekend. It’s core feature - google maps wrapper - is just barely useable. Sure it does other things, but it’s not worth the hassle.

Tesla parts are notoriously cheap and you aren’t forced to use Tesla service.

The 2026 Bolt moving to the Ultium platform may also improve some of the interior quality (because the battery platform will be cheaper again). It is probably a couple months still before we can easily test drive one to get a good feel, but I am curious to see what they do with the new model, especially because GM is especially returning it to be their cheapest EV.

I drove both before I bought the Bolt. The Leaf does have a nicer interior. While I wouldn't say it's a huge gap, it was noticeable. But the Leaf also felt heavier and more sluggish. In the end, the extra range, the CCS charge port, and the better driving feel (at least to me) made me prefer the Bolt.

I’m wrong about CCS, can’t edit this long after so replying here to myself to clarify.

I’m dumb, of course I always see CHAdeMO because my charger app is set to that for DC fast. Duh … a friend said unset filters and yeah there are more CCS DC fast.

The Bolt EV has 100 miles more range and IMO a better interior.

NHTSA crash ratings for the Bolt are slightly better than the Leaf. I don't know about the HEPA air filters.