finally got fast charging

You should consider if this is actually a requirement for you, lots of people with EVs find that slow overnight charging gets them enough charge per day. If you commute a long distance or plan to do road trips it may matter more. Do your own research though, I don’t know your situation.

Been driving a 2019 Leaf for a while now, and it’s a good car; I like it a lot. If you’re planning to drive long-distance a lot, the chademo port issue might be a problem, I suppose, but if your driving is mostly within the just-over-200-mile range, the J1772 port is all you need. Level 2 charging will get it back to full overnight; it adds about 8.5% charge per hour at the full 6.6 kW power.

Can’t speak to the importance of liquid cooling. I live in New England, so it never gets too too hot out, and while my driving is sometimes a bit spirited, I’m never driving it like I’m on a track, so the battery is generally not being worked too hard. As such, I’ve never felt like there was anything missing as far as cooling goes, but you may have different considerations.

Edit: I see you’re looking to do road trips. Honestly, given your desire not to pay for a late-model EV, your best bet is either a used Tesla, as another person said (although I have heard the occasional horror story about Tesla’s unpleasantness towards owners after the first one, especially as regards the Supercharger network), or a used Prius. The Prius has the advantage of very quick refueling on the road, something even a Level 3 charge can’t do (at least in the US; apparently China has made some impressive strides on charge speed).

I will also note that every Prius owner I’ve spoken to has loved the car.

i think hybrid might be the way to go, ive heard they are more reliable since car makers have been making them for a while now. might want to confirm that somewhere but typically buying a model that is brand new tends to not have been refined yet.

if you are legitimately looking to do road trips where you need fast charging, pucker up a bit more money and get a swasticar OR an ioniq 5/6. bolt fast charging is mostly inadequate for road trips unless you want to spend an hour charging every 180 miles.

otherwise, if your commute is under approx 50 miles round trip and you have home charging (a 120V plug will do), you will prob save a lot of headache and money buying a plug-in hybrid like a honda insight or chevy volt (dont get that one unless ur prepared for stuff like valves randomly dying and your car failing to shift from park)

I’ve started toying with the idea of doing an electric conversion on an old VW bus.

The electric golfs can be had cheap, right? Are you open to an electric with gas assist, like the Volt or bmw i3?

At that price Tesla is probably the best bet. Slightly more money, I’d recommend the Ioniq 5 or 6. I’m not sure how prevalent the ICCU is after 2024/2025. I thought it was resolved under warranty but I may be wrong.

I’ve had a 2017 Chevy Bolt for a couple years now, it’s been pretty good so far. Mine has the optional “fast” charging, limited to about 50 kW, whereas the new 2027 Bolt can charge at 150 kW. For the older Bolts, look for an orange plug cover below the main charging port, that means it’s equipped with DC “fast” charging.

With a budget of $20k, you could probably find a new Polestar. They’re on a clearance sale right now because new regulations on Chinese-owned companies are making them illegal to sell in the USA. I believe that you still get a warranty, and they can be serviced at Volvo dealerships. More here: https://archive.ph/iO9bn

Reposting a couple comments from earlier:

The only thing I’ve had to replace so far have been tires and windshield washer fluid. Eventually I’ll have to replace the coolant, transmission fluid, brake fluid, 12V lead-acid battery, shocks and struts, etc. but I never have to deal with oil changes or timing belts or any of the usual engine stuff. The main battery was replaced under a recall before I got it, with a warranty. I used a fuel savings calculator before I bought it and figured out that I’d be saving about $1,000 per year by not buying gas, and that was when gas was about $3.50 per gallon. So including maintenance costs compared to my old car, it’s saving me around $2,000 per year, and will pay for itself in about 4 years of driving.

I think you can buy a used one for less than $10,000 nowadays, not counting any still existing state tax rebates. The motor and battery are very well engineered, they were mostly built by GM Korea (formerly Daewoo) and LG. It’s one of the fastest EVs for the money, and has decent range, because it was built to compete with the Tesla Model 3. The chassis and suspension are based on an old Daewoo design, although they’re a little more basic, so the ride and handling aren’t the greatest. Neither is the interior comfort, which can be blamed on GM USA. The early years had a battery issue that should be fixed with a recall, although some cars slipped through the cracks. So most cars have a battery newer than 2021, although you should check to make sure.

Pretty much any modern EV with a liquid-cooled battery will be more reliable and will last longer than an equivalent gas car. I’d stay away from the first generation Nissan Leaf, unless you get a really good deal and have a short commute, because range degrades quickly with those. You also might also look at a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) like the Toyota Prius Prime, Ford C-Max, or Chevy Volt. In some states they also qualify for EV tax credits. Also, check if your electrical utility company has rebates or incentives for installing a level 2 charger in your garage, or charging at certain hours.