Author Archives: lukefrugalev

Avid readers of this blog will note that I have a strong personal bias towards the first. E.g. buy a gently used car instead of financing or leasing a new one. But I must admit I get quite tempted by the wonderful new EVs that are starting to enter the market. Charging speeds well inContinue reading “Buy, Finance or Lease”

About 80 km North-East of Toronto, you will find Lake Scugog, and on its shores Port Perry. Its a cute town well worth a visit, offering ample food for both the car and driver. I enjoyed some wonderful cup-cakes as I strolled through the town, learned some of the local history (some of it toContinue reading “Port Perry”

As winter sets in, a youtube video surfaced of people testing out the Tesla Model 3 cabin heat system on a very cold day, getting little if any cabin heat as the car sat there (source). Well, I hopped in my Leaf on a very cold day, and sure enough I had plenty of heat.Continue reading “EV Cabin heat in the Cold”

As extensively discussed, charging availability (or lack there of) is a big concern amongst EV shoppers, less known, is that a similar fate might be in store for gas-cars. According to industry reports, the number of gas stations is dropping, particularly in large metro-areas as developers eye gas stations for their next condo project. ForContinue reading “Is the gas station doomed?”

Just east of Toronto sits Brimacombe, for those of us living in the east end of the city, you can get to the hill in as little as half an hour. For me its about 90 km, but its proximity is hard to beat, for the “close-to-the-city” ski-hills, it has one of the bigger verticalsContinue reading “Brimacombe”

When shopping for a new (or a new to you) EV, range appears to be top of mind for many shoppers. However, looking at long road trips, charging speed is much more important in determining how long it will take to go from here to there. Eventually your battery will run low and thus someContinue reading “Why charging speed is more important than range”

Situated a little north of Barrie, horseshoe resort is easily reached from Toronto, even in an older EV. Its quite a treat located only 120 km or so North of Toronto. There is ample charging along the way, I did this trip in my 2015 Nissan Leaf, so I stopped for coffee in Aurora, andContinue reading “Horseshoe resort”

I got a set of roof-racks on my 2018 Nissan Leaf, mostly as a cheap way to make the kids more comfortable on our adventures. Recently I found myself driving a rented “mid-size” SUV, family skis and all. To my surprise, the ski’s proved just as awkward to place inside the SUV as my trustyContinue reading “Why are roof-racks a good idea?”

Ferris Provincial park sits in the town of Campelford about 190 km east of Toronto. Its an easy drive that I have done in both my 2015 Nissan Leaf and 2018 Leaf. A lovely summer camping trip over a weekend, with plenty to do. Hiking in the park, paddling and exploring the town of CampelfordContinue reading “Ferris Provincial Park”

Electric vehicles (EVs) generally have a much simpler transmission than traditional gas cars. So much so that usually very little maintenance is required. Even so, changing the reduction gear oil is a simple project that can net about a 10% improvement in efficiency. I recently changed the reduction gear oil in my 2018 Nissan Leaf,Continue reading “Reduction gear oil change”