Battle Of The Power Sources: 2001 BMW 525iT vs 2011 Nissan Leaf

Happy Friday, Autopians! Today we’re looking at a pair of cheap used cars that are the same color, close to the same price, and hold roughly the same amount of stuff, but differ in how they put the power to the road. Have we reached the era of the electric shitbox, or do we have a ways to go yet? You be the judge.

I’m honestly a little surprised that yesterday‘s final tally was so lopsided. I expected the Suzuki to put up a better showing. Was it the grubby interior? Or the faded paint? Or simply the fact that an Astra is actually a pretty nice little car, whatever badge it wears?

Personally, I’ve never driven an Astra, but I did put several hundred miles on its smaller sibling, the Corsa, many years ago while on vacation in the UK, and I really enjoyed it. If the Astra is more or less the same thing only bigger, then it would be my choice as well – especially since I know I don’t like the Aerio’s dashboard.

Now then: EVs are here, and they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. And at some point, older ones are going to become just plain old used cars. It won’t happen anytime soon, but eventually, based on the sheer numbers of them sold, I’ll be able to feature a $5,000 Tesla Model 3 on this column.

But will anyone want it? Battery degradation is real, and while the technology is way better than it was, and improving all the time, the fact that an EV loses effective range over time while an ICE-powered car does not is going to have an effect on their value. So today, we’re going to look at one of each, within a hundred dollars of each other in price, and weigh the pros and cons of each.

2001 BMW 525iT – $1,700

Engine/drivetrain: 2.5-liter dual overhead cam inline 6, five-speed automatic, RWD

Location: McHenry, IL

Odometer reading: 147,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives, but has a check-engine light

There is nothing more expensive, the old line goes, than a cheap German car. German engineers tend to design things with a high level of precision and complexity, and then expect a degree of fastidiousness about maintenance that doesn’t really exist outside of the owner’s manual. When removed from the cold environment of a CAD program and subjected to typical road conditions and owners’ casual attitudes, German cars have a maddening and expensive tendency to fail, or at least make you keenly aware of every warning light on the dash.

This wouldn’t matter if they weren’t so damned nice. If BMW’s E39-chassis 5 Series were any less wonderful to drive, we could simply ignore it and let it fade into the mists of automotive history, along with Hyundai Excels and Ford Tempos. But that smooth, powerful inline six, powering the rear wheels of a wonderfully balanced chassis, makes it worth putting up with all the German car bullshit. Sometimes.

This 525i is powered by the smallest engine offered in America in the 5 Series, a 2.5 liter six making 192 horsepower. It drives the rear wheels through a five-speed automatic. Yes, of course, a manual would be more fun, but even with an automatic, a BMW of this era is a nice car to drive. This one runs and drives well, but it has a vacuum leak that causes a stumble in the idle sometimes, and the Check Engine light is on. It also burns a little oil. It does, however, have new catalytic converters, new brakes all around, and some other recent work.

Unfortunately, however, this is a Midwestern car, and we all know what that means. Rust has had its way with the underside of this car, notably in the jack points, which will eventually make future repairs much more challenging. I once had to junk a Honda Accord that needed nothing but new rear brakes, because it was too rusty to jack up safely. This one is nowhere near that bad, but unless you have welding skills and a lift, know that its days are numbered.

2011 Nissan Leaf SL – $1,800

Motor/drivetrain: 80 kW AC electric motor, single-speed gearbox, FWD

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Odometer reading: 66,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives great – for short distances

It’s hard being a pioneer. Blazing a trail for others to follow means inventing whole new ways of doing things, failing to meet expectations even though you didn’t have those expectations yourself, occasionally dying of dysentery … it’s not easy. Nissan’s Leaf hatchback was the first EV produced in serious numbers, and as such, nobody quite knew what to expect of it. When it was new, it was compared to ICE cars, and not always favorably. Now, the first-generation Leaf gets compared to newer, better EVs. Poor thing can’t catch a break.

The Leaf’s battery is a 24 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion pack, good for about 75 miles of range when it was new. This one, thirteen years and 66,000 miles later, is down to about 35 miles of range around town, and less than half that on the highway. Newer Leafs use a lithium-iron-phosphate battery, which suffers from a lot less degradation, but that doesn’t help this poor car. It does run and drive flawlessly; you just can’t stray too far from home.

It looks like it’s in really nice shape inside, at least from the one photo we’re given. The Leaf was panned for being “cheap” inside when it was new, but that’s because reviewers were comparing it to other cars at the same price. This is an economy car; it was just an expensive one. Now, as a cheap used car, it’s fine.

Outside, it’s fine, except for one crunched fender. But I lived in Los Angeles for a couple of years, and I remember what the traffic was like. A little body damage on a cheap used car isn’t necessarily a disadvantage; it’s more like a warning to other drivers: “Look what happened to the last person who wouldn’t let me merge.”

Buying a cheap used car is always a gamble, and it’s always a compromise. Do you look for something dull but sturdy, or something that’s more fun but occasionally might not make it home? In this case, the compromise is potentially high maintenance costs, or the need for a reeeeally long extension cord. Which way are you going to go?

(Image credits: Facebook Marketplace sellers)