Potential Game Changer

Always a case of when not if with improvement in battery technology. Hydrogen still some way off.

I have never understood the EV craze unless driving is limited to short journeys and in towns.

Expensive to buy, expensive to insure, tyres wear 20% higher, range poor, drip feed charge takes hours unless you stick to 80% which affects range, fast chargers damage batteries over time. Cap it all in cold weather dramatically reduces range as does motorway driving and stop/start traffic.

Depreciation in the first 3 years is fine but expected to be far worse with age and potential battery replacement in effect making a car a write-off due to age. And of course inevitable improving technology.

It’s a myth about fires however when they do occur EV cars are difficult to extinguish and the fumes hugely toxic. Don’t get me started on the environmental stuff

Changing on the go can be more expensive than petrol so you need to change at home to get the low cost.

The sooner better battery technology emerges the better. Scrap yards will be full of old EVs nobody wants.

I'm an EV driver, so here's my thoughts:

Expensive to buy, expensive to insure, tyres wear 20% higher but if you are able to buy through a company, the combination of salary-sacrifice and almost zero company car tax actually makes it quite cheap. High tyre wear is always mentioned - I can only go from my experience of just handing my old car back after 3 years/33,000 miles on its original tyres with still 2-3mm of wear before they become illegal

drip feed charge takes hours unless you stick to 80% which affects range but if you are able to use a home charger, just plug it in overnight and you wake up with 100% charge

Changing on the go can be more expensive than petrol so you need to change at home to get the low cost. Completely agree. A couple of years ago, charging on-the-go was still cheaper that petrol/diesel, and there were always vacant charging points. That's all changed now.

We are fortunate enough to be a 2 car household, the other car being a non-EV. We would always use the non-EV for long journeys (200mile+) these days. But in 4 years of EV ownership there's never been a single day when both my wife and i need to separately go on long journeys, so the EV has always been fine for one of us on any given day.

But most of all, EVs are an absolute blast to drive. Great acceleration, and so relaxing to drive. And pre-heating/defrosting your car from the comfort of your bed makes the North East winters slightly more bearable!

Yep. I read that and its true, some insurances have gone up, especially for younger drivers of EV. Shortage and cost of parts etc.

Love the Porsche! No point in driving it in London with speed bumps and 20mph zones. My ev is much better suited.

I barely touch the brakes with the ev switched to regenerative braking. 👍

I have a hybrid and, around town, l try to never use the friction brake and maximise the re-gen and make use of the kinetic energy I've already paid for and overcome the inertia of starting off with it.

Hybrids take a fair bit of study to make them work but l find it engrossing. First questions... How do the PAB and PAS work when the motor isn't running? How does the trans know which gear to select when it transitions between EV and petrol? Then you start thinking about never using clutch slip if you can manage things suitably. I'm on a quest to get a set of brake pads last ten years and a clutch to last the lifetime of the vehicle.

I could get a hobby l s'pose 😁

Some reasonable points there of course, but however you slice it EVs are more expensive and for the average Joe that is significant.  You have to do a lot of miles at reduced cost to make it worth while. points often ignored are the extra cost of finance, if that route is taken.  Paying cash means the loss of compound interest of the sum should you invest, given current high interest rates. That could lose you another few grand but is rarely factored in, but very material.  £2,000 loss of income!  A hidden cost of an EV.

The insurance and tyre wear is based on current opinion.  The insurance in particular due to parts shortage and huge battery costs.  Last week a guy in Edinburgh was billed £17,000 for a new battery, his current one getting wet.  Not difficult to see why insurers get nervous.  

Totally agree, if your life revolves around lots of short journeys that mean home charging every night the electric is cheaper. But we are seeing an increase in pedestrian risk for those EV users who run cables across pavements or up and over then Down road signs to charge outside their house.  Bummer if you need to park a short distance away.  Not everyone has a Convenient point to pay for and install an expensive charging point.

I’m in no way anti EV.  But for a huge number of reasons the time is not right.  The technology will be obsolete in a few years.  But for some right now, personal preference.

Leasing reduces the risks for sure. Mainly because they are owned by someone else who will have factored all this in the cost.

The money I save by avoiding the congestion charge every day, coupled with the tax saving and the savings I make on it being electric, all of that means owning this car actually saves me money - the car comes for free.