Which Used EVs Will Meet My Needs?

 Which used EV you choose depends in large part on your budget, daily driving needs, and your charging options (especially at home).  If you have a garage already wired for 240v (such as for an electric dryer), then you can install a level-2 charger at home and get the car with the largest battery you can afford.  If you only have access to 120v plugs at home, it won’t be the battery size that limits you as much as how much charge you can add to the battery each night.  In this case, you can focus on price and get a slightly older used EV with a smaller battery.  What follows is a list of different EV models and what you can expect from charging them.

For this table, I will recommend using a 1.2KW EV home charger rather than the standard charger that came with your vehicle when charging via a 120v outlet.  This will provide you with 20% more charging range each day.  The miles-per-10-hours-charging figures assume this outlet is used.  Prices here are based on a cursory search of cars.com.  For the used range, I give a range based on 70%-85% of the original battery capacity, which is typical of EVs seven years old or more.  For level-2 charge time, I assume a charge from nearly 0 to 100%.  Note that nearly all of these cars can charge 10% to 90% in about 45 minutes or so using DC fast-charging, so I omitted those numbers.  Ideally, most of your charging will take place at home.

This list is hardly exhaustive, but does provide some decent and capable examples.

Model	Cost used (x1000)	Range New/Used (miles)	Level-2 charge time	Miles per 10 hours charging
Small Battery Cars
Fiat 500e	$6-$10	84/59-75	4h	54
BMW i3 2014-16 2017-18 2019-21	$6-$10 $10-$14 $15-$23	84/59-75 114/80-97 154	3.5h 5h 7.5h	54 54 54
Chevy Spark	$5-$7	82/57-70	7h	53
Chevy Bolt	$11-$19	231/162-196	10h	56
Hyundai Ioniq EV 2019-2021	$11-$15 $15-$17	124/87-105 170/119-146	4.5h 7h	56 56
Kia Soul EV	$7-$10	93/65-79	4.5h	42
VW eGolf 2017-2019	$7-$11 $10-$15	83/58-71 125/88-106	4.5h 5.5h	43 43
Large Battery Cars
Ford F-150 Lightning	$33-$54	230 320	10h-14h 13h-18h	29 29
Hyundai Ioniq 5	$21-$36	245 318	5h-8h 7h-11h	53 50
Hyundai Kona EV	$17-$27	200 261	7h 9h	50 49
Kia Niro EV	$15-$24	185 239	7h 9h	50 49
Polstar 2	$19-$31	249	8h-11.5h	36
Tesla Model 3	$18-$32	272 363	8h 11.5h	57 53
Tesla Model Y	$27-$37	277 337	8.5h 11h	55 52
Volkswagen ID.4	$18-$25	209 291	9h 11.5h	39 42

Note: I omitted the luxury EVs because they cater to folks less concerned about the practical aspects of the vehicle.

Say you drive about 30 miles each day, six days a week.  That amounts to 9,000 miles of driving each year.  In a mid-sized SUV, you would average 23 MPG, and at $5.00 per gallon, you would spend about $1,950 on fuel.  In a VW ID.4, you would average 3.56 Miles Per KWh, and at $0.36 per KWh, the same distance traveled would cost $910, for a savings of $1,040 (per year).  On top of the fuel savings, you avoid 2 oil changes per year and the costs of smog checks.  If gas reaches $7.50 per gallon, the fuel savings double ($2,040 per year).

Similarly, suppose you drive a pickup truck 15,000 miles a year.  In a Ford F-150 V8, you’ll average 19 MPG, and at a cost of $5.00 per gallon, you would spend about $3,940 on fuel.  In a Ford F-150 Lightning EV, you would average 2.45 Miles Per KWh, and at $0.36 per KWh, the same distance traveled would cost $2200, for a savings of $1,740 (per year).  And you skip the oil changes and smog checks.  If gas reaches $7.50 per gallon, the savings become $3,720 (per year).

Gas prices in San Jose April 2026

Will gasoline prices reach $7.50 per gallon?  I can’t tell you.  I have read that the damage to middle eastern oil fields is extensive and could take as much as three years to repair or rebuild once the fighting ends.  Do these savings mean it is economically advantageous to add an EV to your garage?  Not by themselves.  It may take longer than three years to break even.  If you sell/trade your gas car for an EV, then the EV numbers start to work in your favor.  You can use the savings to rent a gas car for the occasional long road trip.

Home solar can increase your savings further by generating your own power (and relieving any strain your EV might add to the grid).  And, by driving an EV, you are helping to keep the price of gas down by lowering demand for gas.  The other advantage is by driving an EV, you won’t be adding tailpipe emissions to the air we all breathe.  (Did I mention they run quietly and are a kick to drive around town?)