Good morning! For this week’s Friday matchup, we’re going to conduct a little thought experiment. I’m going to show you a boring but competent “compliance”-type electric vehicle, and a boring but competent conventional gasoline car for half the price. We’re going to see if low-end used EVs are cheap enough to consider yet.
But before we get to that, we’ve got some land yachts to put in dry dock. It will come as no surprise, I guess, to hear that the Marquis de Avocado ran away with this one. Green cars are just cool, even when they’re very uncool. It was pointed out that this might not actually be a “Grand” Marquis; I had forgotten that they were available in a less grand style for the first few years. As such, it might have that puny little 255 V8 instead of a 302. I don’t care. It’s green.
Not that there’s anything at all wrong with that Buick. For a while I owned a LeSabre of this era, with the Olds 403 V8 in it, and it was one of the better $500 cars I ever bought: Comfortable seats, cook-you-medium-rare heater and Antarctica-cold air conditioning, and a fantastic exhaust note. It served me well for the time I had it, and I remember it fondly. But I still pick the green Mercury.
Now then: For a long time, electric vehicles were mainly a pipe dream, or at most woefully inadequate glorified golf carts with windshield wipers. That all changed in 2012, when the great big red-tape-loving state of California required six automakers to offer an EV, or not be allowed to sell cars in California at all. The automakers in question modified existing compact and subcompact models to satisfy the new rules. The “compliance car” was born.
These cars are now starting to reach the low end of the used car market. Battery life and condition are still questions, and in some cases seriously curtail their usefulness. But if you don’t plan to leave town, the idea of buying a cheap car and never visiting a gas station again is attractive. But is it more attractive than a nice simple gas car that can be had even more inexpensively? Check out these two, and then you tell me.
2014 Chevrolet Spark EV – $5,000
Engine/drivetrain: 97-kilowatt electric motor, single-speed gear reduction, FWD
Location: East Lansing, MI
Odometer reading: 50,000 miles
Operational status: Daily-driven
Chevy’s Spark was a happy little car from GM’s South Korean partner, Daewoo. Most Sparks were powered by a 1.2 liter four-cylinder engine and either a five-speed manual or CVT transmission. Not this one. For four years, in a few states, Chevy sold the Spark as an EV, with a 97-kilowatt motor and a simple gear reduction in place of the engine and transmission. Providing power to the motor, in this 2014 model, is a 21.3-kilowatt-hour lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4 for short)Â battery pack, giving the car an EPA-rated 82 miles of range.
This Spark has 50,000 miles on it, and is used daily. The seller says it has 60-70 miles of range in practice, which means it’s holding up pretty well. LiFePO4 batteries tend to have a longer lifespan than lithium-ion batteries, which is what the Nissan Leaf uses – thousands versus hundreds of charge/discharge cycles. The drawback is that it loses a lot more range in the cold, not a problem in California where most Spark EVs were sold, but this one has found its way to Michigan, where there is real winter.
It looks like it’s in pretty good shape, inside and out, especially for a daily-driven commuter. I mean, with only fifty thou on the odometer, it should still be nice and clean, but we all know how some cars get treated. What I like about the Spark EV is how normal it looks inside; it’s identical to the gasoline-powered Spark, including a perfectly ordinary shift lever, not buttons or a dial.
It’s just too bad it’s so bland on the outside. The Spark was available in a whole range of really fun colors, and I assume those were available on the EV as well. Why choose white?
1994 Dodge Spirit – $2,500
Engine/drivetrain: 2.5-liter overhead cam inline 4, three-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Lynnwood, WA
Odometer reading: 92,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives great
I chose this car very deliberately to compete against that Spark. It’s a dull, uninspiring car in very good condition for exactly half the price. The Dodge Spirit, and its sister model the Plymouth Acclaim, were the final iteration of the Chrysler K-based cars. It’s a more refined version of the same old idea: an overhead cam four-cylinder (now displacing 2.5 liters) driving the front wheels through a Torqueflite. It’s nothing fancy, but it gets the job done.
This is a base-model Spirit, and its option list is short: I see buttons for air conditioning and cruise control, but it has crank windows and almost certainly manual locks. It’s in quite nice condition, though. It only has 92,000 miles on the clock, and it’s a six-digit odometer, so we know it hasn’t gone around. The seller says it runs and drives great, and the transmission shifts smoothly.
This also appears to be the “flex-fuel” version of the Spirit, able to run on M85 fuel, which is 85% methanol and 15% gasoline. This is unusual; most flex-fuel vehicles can run on E85, which is 85% ethanol. And no – the two are not interchangeable. M85 is not generally easy to find, so it’s a good thing this car will run on regular unleaded.
The $2,500 price difference is enough to buy you about 625 gallons of gas, at $4 per gallon, which is about average right now in my neck of the woods. This car gets 25 or so miles per gallon, so that’s 15,625 miles of driving in this car for the same price as the Spark – plus the ability to, you know, leave town if you want or need to.
Is it worth it to buy a cheap EV yet? I think the answer depends on what you need a car for. If you’re looking for a second or third car to use as a runabout, and you already have a longer-range internal combustion car for long trips, then cutting out fuel stops and oil changes might make it worthwhile. For an only car, I can’t see a compliance EV being enough. But maybe it would work for the right person. So, take the weekend to think about it, discuss it in the comments, cast your votes, and we’ll see how it all shakes out on Monday. Have a great weekend!
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
I love cheap EVs (I am one of the world’s few Nissan Leaf enthusiasts and I currently drive a cheap ex-rental Tesla) but I am going with the Spirit.
While I voted for the Spirit, I don’t actually want it. It is the embodiment of automotive ennui. The thought of driving it makes me sad. It looks like it could be reliable-ish transportation, though. You can’t always get what you want, but for $2500 you might find you get what you need if you buy this car. That is enough to earn it a vote in today’s contest.
I am also concerned about future (present???) parts availability for the Spark. I usually don’t worry about catastrophic battery failures in used EVs, but old low volume compliance EVs are an exception. If your Leaf’s battery fails, new and used replacements are available (also, it is apparently possible to retrofit a Leaf 2.0 battery to an OG Leaf so upgrades might be a realistic possibility). If your Spark’s battery fails, it is unclear replacement parts will be available at any price. I did a quick google search about Spark EV battery replacement and the results weren’t encouraging. While it will likely be reliable short-distance transportation for years, you are probably SOL if something major fails.
If you want a used EV and have $5000 to spend, scour Craigslist and/or Spacebook for a 10+ bar leaf sold via private sale. Those cars are available and are a much better purchase. That being said, if you can talk the seller of the Spark down to $3000, this car might be a solid choice.
the short range evs are perfect city cars to for all the bullshit errands in life and actually fun in stop and go. easy call vs a k-car
Took the Dodge. 60-70 Mile range would not suffice for me at all. Not because I drive farther than that, but I can’t charge at home at all. No way in hell could you pay me to sit at a public charger every day to use this thing. If it had about 200 miles of range, then one stop a week at a charger is doable.
I’m going to have to pick the Spirit. Owning any EV just isn’t feasible for me. I can’t charge at home and there aren’t any public chargers in the stores I most frequently go to either so I can’t just only charge while I’m running my normal errands. I’d have to eat up a few miles of range going up to the nicer parts of the area where public charging is easier to come by just to charge it and when the usable range is only 60-70 miles, it doesn’t make sense to take that hit.
I guess we both decided to write the same thing at the same time.
Definitely the Spark EV, GM was still learning and didn’t know compliance cars shouldn’t do 0-60 in less than 8 seconds. That’s a great little hot hatch for around town driving. The Spirit doesn’t even have overdrive, similar to the automatic Neons that came out the next year, and that’s just sad.
That’s an exceptionally clean Spirit, in a nice color, but I already own a car—that thing would provide no added value whatsoever. But that Spark would free me almost entirely from gas—other than taking my kid to/from college, I take 1-2 trips a year that couldn’t be done by the Spark. Which would have the added benefit of prolonging the life of my they’ll-never-make-it-again manual Alltrack.
As for the exterior, I know some artsy people. Just call that white a blank canvas. Or put my company logo on the door and write the whole thing off ????.
Spark, as it is cheap enough and, for my use case, sufficient for the majority of my city driving. No offensive to the Spirit, but I suffered those back when they were new, and I’d rather not do that again for a base model – R/T only.
Having driven a rental spec Spirit years ago, I’m going to go ahead and say I’d rather take my old Schwinn. It was automotive sadness made real.
I’ll take the little Spark for around town duty, especially at that price.
The gasoline version of the Spark is one the worst cars I have ever driven, and that is saying something. I got one as a rental car and it was the definition of a penalty box. Loud, no power, uncomfortable, and ugly.
I voted for the Spark because a K-car is worse.
Not including road trips, I average 40 miles a week.
Spark EV. No brainer. 5G is basically fuck it money these days.
Yup, my commute right now is 12 miles round trip. And this sucker has a LIFEPO4 battery? Heck yes. And maybe they could get talked down to $4,500.
I am quite pleasantly surprised by the LFP. There may be a lot more life left in the battery pack than people realize.
Even though I’m very pro-BEV, that Spark is basically an orphaned compliance car. Only get it if you live near an independent BEV specialist.
And since I’m not aware of any specialists near me that would service this thing, my vote goes to the Dodge.
Am I the only person here who pays for electricity? Everything we see an EV it’s all about never paying for gasoline. However nothing is ever said about paying for electricity. In my neck of the woods electricity is expensive over 10 cents a kilowatt. My trips are less than 82 miles but I make several a day that add up to more than 82 miles. Granted only being able to run one errand a day will certainly open up my free time but for those who have wives let’s do a poll on how long sorry honey can’t do anything more on honeydo list the EV needs charging, will work.
That’s because the cost of the electricity is practically nothing compared to what we spend on gasoline.
I spend alot more on electric than gas already. But I any case the cost needs included to be realistic
Yeah but what you spend on electricity for everything else doesn’t count. We are just talking about the portion of electricity that would be used for changing a BEV… and the gasoline you wouldn’t be buying.
And if you live in Toronto, you can sign to a 4 tier electricity rate plan where your electricity rate between 11pm and 7am is just 2.8 cents per kwh.
And at that rate, I figure that with something like a Telsa Model S replacing my Honda Fit, my $200-$250/month spend on gasoline would get replaced with just $20 in electricity spend.
I get that but you also have the cost of the Tesla.
Well that’s with any car. And I’m not talking about getting a Tesla to replace a perfectly good car.
I’m looking at replacing my Fit because it is now 16 years old, has over 300,000km, has advancing rust and other issues.
So I’m gonna be spending $$,$$$ getting another car anyway.
Now that’s how you do it.
69 cents vs. $4.20? Are these numbers a coincidence? I think not.
Deleted, my math sucks. Nevermind.
10 cents per kWh is pretty cheap. This Spark at full capacity would have gotten 4.3 miles/kWh. For the average driver, their commute is 30 miles per day. That’s 6.97 kWh or 69 cents per day. Whereas that commute using an ICE car averaging 25 mpg would consume 1.2 gallons. At a rate of $3.50/gallon, their daily commute would cost $4.20. So in this case, it would be almost 84% cheaper to commute a normal range on electricity.
However, in certain cases, like yours, an EV with a small range might not make sense. Could we maybe recommend a BMW i3 with REX? https://www.theautopian.com/ive-been-driving-the-cheapest-bmw-i3-in-america-for-5-months-and-i-remain-amazed-how-is-this-car-so-perfect/
If I could get the deal DT did I would become an exclusive dealer.
At 10 cents/kWh, it costs me $1.45 to travel 40 miles in my Volt (while it’s running on electricity). The ’93 Cadillac it replaced would currently cost about $8.00 to go the same distance.
Okay but I would still be leery based on the amount of times I come downstairs in the morning with my toaster oven, stove, and microwave clicks blinking due to loss of power for who knows how long. Do we really need clocks on every device we own? And why not something like a thermometer on a fridge/freezer?
If that Spirit had been a V6, I would have voted for it immediately.
Then I considered trying to live with an EV with that short of range comparing to living with an EV that has 300 miles of range and I had to pick the Spirit again. There are too many outside factors on range that I just couldn’t justify it. I have a 42 mile round trip commute, but I know what the winter will do to range on an EV and there’s no way I could feel confident in driving that in Michigan, which is probably why it’s currently for sale.
And after another year where will range be? Every year they get cheaper but they get a year older and less capable.
Well the used Teslas I’m looking at that are around 6-7 years old typically have 80-90% of their rated EPA range when new.
But I won’t touch one of these compliance car BEVs. They’re basically orphans and only get one if you live near an independent BEV specialist
Now on the flip side, battery tech has been getting better. And as a result, if you have the knowhow or are near a BEV specialist, it’s often possible to replace the oem packs in these with something superior to the original
That’s already happening with 1st gen Nissan Leafs.
If I could afford a second car, and had a place to charge it, I’d go straight for a second hand EV to cover the 90% of my trips that are less than 30 miles.
Taking a middle route though, I notice that second-hand Priuses are down to the £4-3k range now. Battery for most of my trips, but petrol for long distance would be the perfect compromise for me.
Ok, I voted Spark conditionally. That being I would buy the Spark only if there was an aftermarket battery replacement available. Otherwise, no way. If I get an electric ,even with 3 ICE cars in the garage, I want a little more range. Maybe the 200+ range of the Bolt.
As for the Spirit (not really too many more ironic names for a K car than Spirit or Acclaim), I think the neighbors would start asking me if the wife had left and I lost my job if I started rolling around in a 30 year old K car.
70 mile range + 80 mile commute = no.
My workplace offers free charging for employees and I have 4 ICE vehicles so Spark it is.
Aside from occasional trips across state for work, I already only buy 1 tank of gas a month for the Civic, might as well try and make that 1 tank every three. I’m very fortunate that my work commute is walking downstairs to my office, and most of my driving is less than 10 blocks from home, so it would actually work pretty well for my lifestyle, and I could wrap it in a fun color without worrying about resale value.
Think of how long that $2,500 would last with such little driving. Say $50 a tank, that’s 50 tanks, that’s over 4 years of gas before you have what you paid for the Spark. I doubt either of these will last more than 4 years without $$$$$. BTW anyone ever get an electric surge while charging an EV? I suppose they have surge protectors?
It’s even worse, gas is cheap enough here that a full tank in the Civic is around $40. But having the Spark means I could tackle bigger projects on the civic without worrying about how I’m gonna get coffee tomorrow.
If you started making your coffee at home you could probably save enough to buy both cars. That burnt brown bean is expensive
I do, I ran out of beans yesterday, and my ADD riddled brain forgot until I went to make coffee this morning. Grocery shopping is HARD.
I love the cars everyone hates and despises so I’ll take the not so spirited Spirit and through those god awful wheel covers in the trash. Oh and uh, we have zero EV infrastructure out here anyways.
If you’re using “EV Infrastructure” with a Spark EV you are doing it wrong. These are cars you can charge exclusively with a normal household outlet.
I voted for the Spark, though I’m not crazy about paying $5k for it. I’m still not convinced of the longevity of EVs. But in the short term, I think it could be a fun around-town ride. Nothing about the Spirit is fun. I’m not a K-car hater, but they’re not known for longevity, even with the low mileage on this one.
I’m an EV guy but still chose the Spirit.
GM has discontinued building replacement Spark HV batteries. I was thinking about buying a Spark EV for a while. Once I found out that replacement batteries didn’t exist as either OEM or aftermarket, I decided against it. I found a couple of people posting about how their Spark battery failed while still under warranty. GM bought the cars back because they couldn’t honor the warranty.
Knowing full well the Spirit ‘o Dodge is the more useful of the two, I did convince myself to go with the Spark with the help of the CPI inflation calculator and the thought that there’s some negotiation room on that 5K.
I already own the gas version of this car – mine is also a 2014 in the same appliance white, only with a 5-speed. I bought it in 2018 with 47,000 miles via FB marketplace for just $3500. Talk about a car nobody wanted. Having the electric version to match the gas one would just be fun and I already have a level 2 setup in the garage for my Volt. However, there’s no way I can bring myself to pay more for this E-Spark than I did for my ICE-Spark.
With that in mind I decided to see what $3500 really is today. According to the Internet, it’s about $4400, and I’m pretty sure the seller would not turn down that cash offer if I was standing there fanning out the hundred-dollar bills in person.
Spark EVs are hilarious to drive. There is a Sport button to make it EVEN TWITCHIER. Press it!
I am really struggling to come up with a more depressing car scenario than driving a 1994 Dodge Spirit in 2024.
The White Spark, only I feel like you could do a decent pastiche of the Italian Job Mini Cooper pursuit with a fleet of Sparks more easily than the Spirit.
Presumably peppy due to instant torque at wheels, quiet, inoffensive-looking… why not?