Why the Nissan Ariya is a great buy … in 2030: Our hit-list of the EV bargains you need to start saving for (but only a little bit)
I’m looking forward to second-hand EV shopping in 2030.
Must be because I love a unicorn.
There are cars we didn’t warm to and barely bought during their on-sale era, yet they can become strangely alluring over time.
They pop up in the classifieds, you do a double-take and go: “I remember those!’ Then you recall they struggled to sell because they looked awful, had a major deficiency, far better rivals, or were woefully overpriced.
Really special ones managed to tick all the above boxes.
READ MORE: Bargain spotting: $40,000 new and used EV buying guide for Aussie shoppers.
READ MORE: 2025 Nissan Ariya review: It’s late, but has it been worth the wait?
READ MORE: Confirmed! While used EV sales rose in Australia in 2024 resale values fell … by a lot!
We’re enjoying a rich vein of such cars now, as legacy brands dip their toes in EV world.
Take Nissan’s Ariya medium SUV.
It’s been in right-hand-drive UK since 2022, but only landed in Australia a couple of months ago. Thus it already feels like old news and, sadly, a bit behind fresher opposition.
It’s managed a few dozen sales each month since arriving, but you know it’ll ultimately be as much trouble to the scorers as England’s tail end on a scorching Ashes day at the Gabba.
Cheapest Ariya is $60,000 to drive-away.
The same money (give or take a few grand) buys the newer, faster, rangier, smarter, easier to charge and far larger Tesla Model Y.
Understandably, many of you will eschew the Tessie due to the Madness of King Elon, but the stats don’t lie. Last year Aussies bought over 20,000 Model Ys and 17,000 Model 3s; the kind of EV popularity Nissan could only dream about.
Thing is, there’s much about the Nissan Ariya I prefer over the Tesla Model Y: how it looks, the beautifully designed cabin and its more composed ride quality.
In short, things that’d make me actually want to live with one.
The range-topping Ariya 87kWh e-4orce Evolve is particularly appealing.
It may cost $75k on the road, but range of 487km, lusty 600Nm from its two motors, 0-100km/h in 5.6 seconds and Nappa leather combine to make it resoundingly lovely to have as your daily driver.
Okay, it sports a humble Nissan badge, but its shape shows far more design flair than a Model Y and the bulk of homogenised Chinese EV SUVs, including the strong-selling BYD Sealion 7.
I’m quite partial to the Ariya’s two-tone Akatsuki Copper body colour with contrasting black roof, so can first buyers please option this so I’ve a few to choose from five years from now?
Come 2030, I’ll cruise the boulevard of broken sales dreams, as the classifieds offer up electric vehicle rarities I may not be able to resist.
There’ll be a glut of five-year-old Model Ys and Sealion 7s up for grabs, making it a buyer’s market. Prices for these will plunge, and the lesser-spotted EVs must surely follow.
I’ll be chasing a copper Nissan Ariya, but also have other targets… and these will be your EV bargain rarities.
How about Peugeot? It’s only recently suspended electrification plans for Australia, having had its French fingers roundly burnt by slow e-2008 sales.
These gorgeous-looking small SUVs had a list price of $59,990, but for a time their sticker was slashed to $39,990 on the road.
There’s a 2023 example with only 18,000km showing up for $30k already. What’ll they be listed for in five years’ time? $15k? I’d jump on that for a second car as urban runabout.
Others only currently shifting a few hundred per year include the Renault Megane E-Tech, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Jeep Avenger, Skoda Enyaq, Subaru Solterra, Cupra Born and Toyota bZ4X.
Scour the classifieds and 2023 and 2024 examples have already seen mega price plunges, including ones with barely any mileage.
A 2023 Megane E-Tech with 1850km is $38,990. Calendar year 2024 Jeep Avengers with under 100km travelled are at $35,000 drive-away, while Cupra Borns can be had for the same with around 20,000km showing.
Toyota’s first EV effort – the bizarrely named bZ4X – is a decent if uninspiring offering, but an AWD example with 12,800km is up for $42,900. It’s a $74,900 plus on-roads car if bought new.
Give it five more years and these must surely be sub-$20k EVs.
Come 2030, I reckon used Fiat 500e city cars will be closer to $15,000. These little funsters are already shedding value: I’ve spotted a 2023 ex-demo with 13km travelled (not many demos requested, it seems) for $32,990 drive-away. These things have a list of $52,500.
Look at the unloved Mazda MX-30 E35 Astina which arrived here in 2021. Overpriced, under-ranged and dealers lumbered with cobweb-gathering non-sellers.
Today, low-kilometre versions are up for $24,000, but I reckon a cheeky $15,000 offer might secure one. Peek inside and you’re getting an innovative, luxurious, high-spec cabin up there with Mazda’s best.
The Hyundai Ioniq 6 has challenging looks, but they’re damn lovely inside, peachy to drive and offer mighty 614km range.
A 2023 example’s listed for $31,000, so give it five more years and these are $15,000 EVs. Very tempting.
The underrated and lovely-to-live with Hyundai Kona Electric is already five years old. High-spec 2020 Highlanders with 557km range are already under $25,000, and there’s lots of haggle room.
What about the Kia Niro? The first-gen one is best swerved, but a 2022 second-gen is a spacious family EV, luxurious in GT-Line trim and already hovering around $30k used.
A 2024 Smart #1 or #3 looks a shoo-in for sub-$20k used prices in a few years as they’re already at cut-price $40k drive-away with demo kilometres showing.
How about some luxe? A 2023 Lexus RZ Sports Luxury with only 12,000km is up for $72,000 on the road. These are sizable EVs and gorgeous inside, and compared to new, that drive-away price has already been cut in half.
Give it five years and that Lex could be grabbed for $25k, and I’d be a grabber.
But I won’t be greedy. I reckon that humbler Nissan Ariya will do me. Not least with its 10-year/300,000km warranty if the first owner keeps servicing with Nissan.
For we who can’t resist hunting for once unloved models, 2030 can’t come quickly enough.
