The majority of cars on the road are powered by gasoline, and that’s not likely to change for a long time. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t alteratives, like other combustible fluids, or electricity. Today we’re going to take a look at two small hatchbacks that don’t use a drop of gasoline between them.
We looked at a couple of low-mileage sedans yesterday, and it was no contest at all. The green Ford Taurus simply ran away with the vote. It’s not that the Mazda 323 was a bad car at all, but it wasn’t presented well, and its potential for greater reliability and better gas mileage wasn’t worth the extra price. If it were cleaner, or a manual, it would have done better, from the sounds of it.
I saw a lot of those Tauruses when they were new, and they were of absolutely no interest to me then. I got pretty sick of seeing them, frankly. But looking back at them now, I have a more sympathetic view of them; they’re nice, comfortable, handsome cars. I’d happily drive this one. I’m a huge Mazda fan, and have been for years, but that 323 is just outclassed here.
Gasoline took over as the dominant fuel for automobiles early on, but that doesn’t mean cars haven’t been powered by other things. Diesel fuel has never been as popular in the US as it is in Europe, except in full-size trucks, but it definitely had a moment in the late 1970s and early ’80s, when gas prices were high. And in recent years, thanks to advancements in battery technology, electric cars have gome from weird experiments to viable transportation. Today, gasoline is off the menu; we’re going to take a look at an old diesel survivor, and a modern mass-produced EV, available for the same low price.
1982 Chevrolet Chevette Diesel – $2,500
Engine/drivetrain: 1.8-liter OHC diesel inline 4, five-speed manual, RWD
Location: Hillsboro, OR
Odometer reading: 116,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives great
This rare little number was posted in Slack by Brian, and as soon as I saw it, I knew where it was. I’ve seen this car street-parked in Portland before – unless there’s another diesel Chevette running around with blue Panasport-style wheels on it. I suppose it’s possible, but unlikely. These little T-cars are getting really rare these days, and the diesel-powered ones were never common to begin with.
If the standard gasoline-powered Chevette is just too powerful for you, this is your car. In place of the standard 1.6-liter pushrod engine, this car features an Isuzu-built 1.8-liter diesel engine making all of 51 horsepower. A five-speed manual comes standard to make the most of the meager power band, but believe it or not, Chevy offered this car with an automatic. I can’t even imagine what that’s like. This one has the five-speed, and the seller says it runs and drives great, thanks to a lot of recent work. It just completed a road trip from Portland to Tacoma and back, averaging 50 miles to the gallon, according to the seller.
Inside, it’s typical malaise-era GM: shoddy construction, bleached plastics, and probably squeaks and rattles galore. The seller doesn’t give us a clear view of the front seats, which is probably telling. It looks like they’re wearing cheap covers, and they’re probably not in great shape unerneath. But it’s all there, and the seller says everything works.
It has been painted flat gray on the outside. It was originally light blue, and in fact, I think it was still blue when I saw it. I’m not sure why it was painted; it’s not rusty. Maybe the seller just didn’t like it in blue. It has louvers on the rear window, and a homemade spoiler that looks like garden edging. The upturned exhaust pipe is silly, but I’m curious to hear what it sounds like.
2013 Nissan Leaf – $2,500
Motor/drivetrain: 80 kilowatt electric motor, single-speed gear reduction, FWD
Location: Alameda, CA
Odometer reading: 113,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives great
There has to be a first for everything, and as far as mass-produced all-electric cars goes, that honor goes to the Nissan Leaf. Nissan wisely didn’t stray too far from typical small-car architecture or feel for the Leaf; it’s just a little hatchback that happens to have an electric motor and lithium-ion battery pack in place of an engine, transmission, and fuel tank.
The problem with used Leafs is range; the old battery packs can degrade and lose range, reducing the car’s usefulness to almost nil. This Leaf’s range isn’t quite as bad as David’s old one, but it isn’t great either; the seller claims a typical range of about 60-70 miles on a full charge. It runs and drives well, though, and really, 60 miles of range is enough for most people to do some running around. I know that would get me to Costco and back, anyway.
One of the nice things about the Leaf is that it is just an ordinary car with an electric motor. This looks not unlike a Nissan Versa inside, except for the lack of a shift lever and the video game instrument panel. There’s no everything-on-the-touch-screen minimalism bullshit here. It’s in good condition, too.
It’s in good condition outside too, and it’s the best color for a Leaf. I always liked this blue. I still think the styling of the first-generation Leaf is weird, and apparently I’m not alone; the second generation was much more conservatively styled, so much so that it could be mistaken for a Versa. There’s no mistaking this car for anything else.
Can you get by without gasoline? Sure. Would you want to, if these were your only alternatives? I’m not so sure I would; I think either of these would have me missing my V8 in no time. But a V8 isn’t an option for you today – you’ve got an early ’80s diesel or an early EV to choose from. Which way are you going?
The first ever burnout I did was in a Leaf, on accident, while trying to get up the drive-on lift at my auto tech school. Everyone saw it, and everyone that didn’t sure heard it, the tires were rotting.
I love manual cars, but Leafs absolutely rip. Maybe I should go to Alameda, it’s not far…
Holy crap. There’s someone just down the street from me with not one, but two Isuzu I-Mark Diesels. I am, of course, in Portland. One of them (the one they’ve had longer) is an automatic. They have half a block and a two car driveway filled with (mostly) automatic shitboxes from the 80s. About six months ago the second I-Mark showed up and I was pleased to see it was a stick. I know what that person would vote for.
That leaf’s dash is what I want from a modern EV.
We upgraded a couple of months ago from a ’14 to a ’20. I love the dash in the new one – analog speedo, actual volume knob and seperate heater controls.
Take the leaf, cut it up (but not the battery with a chainsaw), and repurpose the parts in a toecutter-style aerodynamic shell and it could possibly work for my commute
With a true Toecutter swap that battery could get you over 200 miles in a charge.
My wife had that Chevette’s clone when I met her. The 4FB1 is (in my experience) indestructible. The body dissolved around the drivetrain. At around 170,000 miles it just wouldn’t inspect anymore. We sold the engine and trans for $400.00.
You won’t get there fast, but you will get there. Every time.
I’ve already owned and driven 160K+ miles in a far superior diesel (’01 Jetta TDI 5M) and have less than zero interest in the Chevette. A Leaf would make a decent around town car, but I only have room for one car in my garage.
Wow it’s 6 grand for a re-man battery pack that will give you 120 miles range on the Leaf. Way better to buy a used Tesla 3 I’d think. Isuzu diesels are long lived so run it til the Chevette part dissolves completely then swap the motor into an old tractor.
It’s a tough choice rare weird diesel or higher mileage good condition leaf.
The leaf is the right color kinda shocking millage for a leaf and if it’s really has 60 or 70 mi of range not terrible price. It’s a nicer place to be for sure and battery replacement the only thing that really goes wrong with those isn’t terrible as the charger is fixed in those years I would go leaf.
That Leaf is very near me. Luckily I don’t need another commuter beater, as that would work ok for me, would have to charge every other day though.
Chevettes. Ugh. There was a lime green (gasoline) one running around as a “community” car for a while in the late 80s-early 90s amongst some friends. The one thing I can really remember about it, other than it having to be fixed every so often, was that when it was revived yet again after sitting for a while, it turned out to have what appeared to be thousands of black widow spiders under the hood (So.Cal.). Ack. Not that worried about spiders as long as they aren’t too toxic, but still. General consensus was that it was a cheap hunk of junk, but had its uses.
I have a very short commute, so I’d make like a tree and Leaf.
I recommend you “log” off after a joke like that.
Which turd would I rather step in? I chose the leaf, just so I could tie it up 310 votes to 310.
It just completed a road trip from Portland to Tacoma and back, averaging 50 miles to the gallon, according to the seller.
And it only took a week and a haf!!
Once again, The Autopian proves itself as the best site for automotive education on the interweb. Here I though that there was no car ever made that was shittier than the Chevette, but now I know that the Chevette diesel actually existed!
Going with the Leaf here. One NIssan’s electric powertrain engineers used to live on our block, and I remember that he was fairly proud of that 1st gen car, mostly because there was no other full-on EV available in that price range and it was a solid car for those who didn’t need to drive too far on a charge.
Both are useless to me as cars, but hmm, a project to repurpose the Leaf batteries as house batteries? I’d have to do some more research.
One of my high school teachers told us a story about renting a Chevette diesel and getting a speeding ticket for something like 70 in a 55. She plead not guilty, went to court, and her only argument against the ticket was “Your Honor, I was driving a Chevette diesel.” Case dismissed immediately. She wasn’t a car person, but she knew a shitbox when she saw (or slowly drove) one.
My daily commute is 12 miles round trip, so theoretically I could drive the Leaf to work all week on a single charge. Fridays might be rather exciting though…
Leaf for me. I would drive it as-is until the battery wore out.
Chevettes suck ass.
4 different Chevettes went though my family in the 1980s. They were all shit.
And a diesel Chevette would be even worse because it would be even slower and some parts/service would be more difficult or unobtainium.
If anyone is interested, here is a collective review I wrote up years ago that summarized what I observed and experienced with these 4 shitboxes:
http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/chevrolet/chevette/1987/page-2/
I enjoyed your review. Expressing outrage with dignity is a lost art.
I still recall that when I wrote it, I was most proud of this paragraph:
“Yes, even the 1987 model sucked. I saw someone write that the 1987 models (their last year) were the best of the bunch. This is like saying that you own the best pile of poo out of all the piles of poo.”
Thanks, I learned that there was a 1987 Chevette. I much preferred my 1987 Chevy hatchback, a Chevy Sprint Turbo. How could both cars be made at the same time and sold by the same dealership and feel decades apart?
“How could both cars be made at the same time and sold by the same dealership and feel decades apart?”
Oh that’s simple… they did it while selling a THIRD small affordable car that was the FWD Chevy Nova (basically a Corolla)… AAAAAND a FOURTH small affordable car called the Chevy Spectrum (Isuzu I-Mark/Gemini).
No product overlap there… no-sir-eee
I was around when Chevettes were new, and I didn’t want one then, and I still don’t want one. I have several friends who dive Leafs, and they like them. You still need a gas powered car for long trips but for running around town or a short commute they work just fine. No gas, and they rarely need anything more than tires. I’d have to go with the Leaf on this one.
Given that my commute is 62 miles round trip and there’s no charging at work, the Leaf would be useless to me. Chevette it is then!
I live on an almost flat island with a 40 MPH speed limit. The Chevette would be perfect here.
The Leaf makes a great near-zero operating cost commuter, and when I get sick of the low range I’ll retrofit an aftermarket battery and get 300+km out of it.
Love the Chevette but voted Leaf, got a short commute to and from work for which it’d be perfect.
I reluctantly went with the Leaf. Nothing against it but that range is a little annoying but would work for my daily commute. Beyond that I would definitely get range anxiety but I’ve got 3 other cars I could use for longer drives.
I always hated the Chevette. Friends had them as 3rd family cars or their first cheap beater. They were garbage and drove like it. I also didn’t care for the late 70’s early 80’s diesel. So the combination of both leaves me cold. Esp. with the stupid paint job and exhaust and whatever else dumbassery exists in that car. So today I’m going with the Leaf I guess.
The Chevette might be the better long-term purchase, but also a curse? The Leaf is probably closer to worth its price, but I wouldn’t keep it. Really, it’s a neither day.
I actually owned a Chevette diesel back in the 80’s and can confirm it was preposterously slow. 65 on the highway was the flat-out foot mashed against the firewall top speed. Likewise it was noisy, uncomfortable, had electrical issues galore, and somehow the f-ing driver’s door always closed on your legs. The last part was just icing on the cake and served as a reminder that the thing hated the driver as much as the driver hated it.
I picked it up because I had about $300 to my name and need some kind of transportation. It beat walking, so i’ll give it that. I would say it kept me out of the rain too, but a crappy door seal disproved that.
This anecdote should be a positive but isn’t: it once got me out of a speeding ticket. I was on a back road near my home and the road ran down one hill and up the other. it was a 35mph road, iirc. So in the Chevette i had to floor it on the downhill section to get up the uphill section. A state trooper crested the hill just as i was at the ebb and going all of 45 mph, but he still lit me up and pulled me over. I explained the situation (Chevette diesel) and he didn’t believe me so he had me start it. Once he heard the clacking (it is a REALLY crude diesel) he began laughing, returned my license to me without ticket and said “you have a diesel Chevette, you’ve got bigger problems than a ticket” and then went on his way. Yes, he really said that. A friend was with me at that time and he didn’t let me live that stop down for a long time. I’d have much rather had that ticket.
Great story John. It made me laugh and feel slightly better about voting for the Leaf.
Ooh, an exact tie as of my vote!
I picked the Chevette mostly because I’m imagining bringing these cars back to Pittsburgh. That’s a trip that would be effectively impossible in the Leaf, but could actually be a pretty fun road trip in the ‘vette, taking backroads (I don’t think I’d want to spend much time on 70 mph interstates being pulled by a scant 50 horses) and going shockingly far between fillups. A good old American piece of crap. Sign me up!