When does an EV suit you?
When does an EV suit you?
Thinking about changing your car to an electric vehicle (EV)? If you are, that’s great news, but you'll likely have some questions around the practical considerations of such a swap. After all, vehicles are one of the most expensive items you’ll likely buy in your lifetime, second only to your house, so you want to make sure an EV will fit your needs and you won’t regret making the switch.
In this post you’ll find questions and answers to some of the most asked questions around EV, giving you everything you need to consider if you’re on the cusp of EV ownership.
Your day-to-day mileage
One of the most important things to consider about an EV is the miles per day you would typically travel in your vehicle.
The average mileage for UK drivers is fewer than 20 miles a day. This is well within the capabilities of even the oldest EVs, and certainly the more modern ones – even entry-level models can do 180-220 miles on a single charge.
If you’re driving more than 200 miles a day, then you may need to consider an EV purchase more closely, or narrow your search to vehicles within the 350+ mile range. If you’re travelling up and down the country for work, for example, you’d need to factor in stops in your journey to charge your vehicle, which could add a new level of complexity that might not work for you.
In reality though, bearing in mind your average number of miles driven per week, it’s likely you’ll only need to charge your EV once a week.
Planning for longer trips in an EV
You may have concerns about how an EV will cope with any longer trips you undertake, such as going to see family in a different part of the country, or heading to your favourite holiday destination.
It’s likely, however, that an EV will work brilliantly for you 99% of the time, giving you efficient and reliable car driving for your day-to-day needs, and you’ll only have to plan your journey around charging for a few trips per year.
Charging an EV on the go
If you are doing a longer journey, you’ll need to be stopping for breaks anyway, as it’s not advisable for safety reasons to drive for longer than three hours without a break. So even if you’re doing a solid 70mph for this time you’ll still easily be able to do this on one charge, and them combine your break with charging your EV.
With EV chargers available at almost all motorway services, and many of them now rapid charging, there’s ample opportunity to factor in charging. Rapid chargers can add 200 miles to an EV’s range in fewer than 20 minutes, with even slower ones giving up 100 miles more range in half an hour.
There’s no denying that topping up your EV’s charge does take longer than putting in petrol or diesel into the tank, but you can start charging the minute you arrive at motorway services. By the time you’ve walked to the main building, used the facilities, got some refreshments and walked back, at least 15 minutes will have passed and your charging will be nearly complete.
You can also fully charge your EV at home before you leave, so you’ll set off with a full charge. This isn’t something you can do from home with a petrol or diesel car!
Charging an EV at home
Home chargers make EV ownership very easy. Just as you plug in a mobile phone to have a full battery in the morning, you can charge your EV overnight using a home wallbox – this charges your EV four times faster than plugging into a three-pin socket.
If home charging isn’t an option due to living in a more urban area without off-street parking, you’ll often find great public charging provision. This will need more planning, and factoring in time including the walk to and from the charging point, but it still makes EV ownership possible.
Is an electric car for you?
Ultimately that’s for you to decide, but unless your driving circumstances are truly exceptional and you're a really high mileage driver, there’s no reason not to make the switch. You will need to make some changes here and there to your driving habits and motoring lifestyle, but for most people these changes don’t present an issue for EV ownership.
This post originally appeared on the Pike + Bambridge blog.
For honest advice and helpful information, book your personalised ICAS member fact find with Pike + Bambridge’s concierge team to find out more about EVs. This experienced team offers a tailored service to help you get the right vehicle for your needs.
