Man drives his $2,700 electric car until it dies to see how far it'll go
Published on Sep 05, 2025 at 8:08 PM (UTC+4)
by Henry Kelsall
Last updated on Sep 08, 2025 at 8:36 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
A British man has driven his Nissan Leaf electric car, which cost $2,700, to see how far the EV would go before the battery died.
YouTuber Driven by Alex went out for a drive in his first-generation Nissan Leaf, which is 10 years old, and the car itself says it can do around 82 miles.
But at 10 years old and as an earlier mass-produced electric car, that range figure might not be accurate.
So Alex decided to put it through its paces and find out just how far a budget, second-hand EV can actually go.
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What are the rules for the $2,700 electric car?
Alex said in the video that he would set out with his Nissan Leaf fully charged and head West for 40 miles.
He would then turn back and see if the car could complete the 80-mile journey in one go.
That isn’t much for a modern EV like a Tesla Model 3 or Hyundai Ioniq 5.
But for a first-generation Leaf bought on a budget, that could be quite a challenge.
After 6.3 miles of driving, the car had 91 percent battery left.
It also said it had 70 miles of range.
That is a quick loss of battery, and it certainly pushes things close for the journey.
The second range update concerned the EV driver
A second update from Alex revealed the scale of his challenge.
The car had done 21.5 miles, but had just 47 miles of range left and 68 percent battery.
In theory, that is just under 70 miles in total, about 10 short of the distance of the drive.
Heading onto the British motorway in the Nissan, the battery just drains and drains, which is concerning for Alex.
With 25 miles left until he got home, the YouTuber saw he had just 18 miles of range in total, and 20 percent battery.
It perhaps won’t come as a surprise to learn that he got lots of warning lights nearer to home.
In the end, the car did run out of battery, having done 80.1 miles.
It wasn’t too far from home, but ultimately, this budget electric car didn’t quite make it.
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Henry is a content writer with nearly ten years experience, having written for various publications since 2017. Qualifying with a Sports Journalism degree from Staffordshire University, Henry loves all things automotive but has a particular soft spot for classic Japanese cars and anything Lancia. He also has a curious passion for steam locomotives.
