[ev2020]

I'm really interested in buying an EV, and feel the time is right to move away from the traditional ICE we have all been used to..

Having looked into various Brands etc. I feel overwhelmed with the level of detail, and would really appreciate some guidance from EV owners, to understand what are the factors to actually consider when deciding which EV to buy & live with on a day-to-day basis.

My initial thoughts are:

• Why did you choose to buy an EV? What was the main reason for switching, as there seems to be conflicting news stories around whether they are better than ICE cars?
• Overall cost vs ICE - is there any way to get a true comparison, as often the price to buy EV is greater than ICE counterpart, however fuel savings must make for interesting comparison. Do you end up with a better overall deal buying an EV?
• Range of EV - how have you managed to deal with range anxiety? Is it easy to find and access chargers when you're out and about?
• Dealerships - what was the experience like in Dealerships? Were staff able to answer these types of questions, or am I better doing the research online myself?
• Safety - do you have any safety concerns when using the electric charger? Did the sales person explain how to use the charger or are you left to find out yourself?
• Home charger - how do you know what the best home charger is? Are they actually any that are better than others?

Any guidance/ advice from EV owners would really help me making my decision

Thanks

 

[IanRM]

Is this another survey! . Depends entirely on what your expectations are, how far you drive and how much money you have. Watch the “Maddie goes electric” series on the Fully Charged channel.

 

[IanRM]

....if I was starting out again I would wait till later this year and see how things develop, especially to see how the reviews for the VW id3.

 

[Fenix]

Can definitely recommend the Maddie videos. Really helpful.

 

[ev2020]

Is this another survey! . Depends entirely on what your expectations are, how far you drive and how much money you have. Watch the “Maddie goes electric” series on the Fully Charged channel.

Thanks - i'll give them a watch!

 

[ev2020]

Can definitely recommend the Maddie videos. Really helpful.

Thanks

 

[M C Williams]

I may be different than most people on this site.

1st decide on how much you want to spend on the car.

2nd This is where I differ from most, I would look for the model with the most range on a single charge.

3rd Watch a review of cars available, a good place to start is to look at the thread “EV news rides again!” on this site by henryv henryv

4th And then narrow it down to what you want in a car, number of seats, boot size for your needs. Things like that.

5th myself, I am waiting for the details of the VW ID.3, that will have the range I want, also I think it will be in the price range I want.

 

[HandyAndy]

There's still a rather limited choice in some ways; suppose you want to be able to tow a small trailer to the tip with garden cuttings - oops, very few Evs can tow! Do you want an estate? Not many of those either. But the choices are increasing, with MG importing from China, VAG getting started etc.

 

[BornAgainEcoWarrior]

• Why did you choose to buy an EV? What was the main reason for switching, as there seems to be conflicting news stories around whether they are better than ICE cars?
• Assuming we’re talking about environment EVs are more efficient. The data says EV total emissions from manufacturer to disposal will be less than an ICE anywhere in the EU. How much less depends on the source of electricity. In the UK we have relatively low carbon electricity. It’s better by a clear margin and as the grid is decarbonised it gets cleaner.

• Overall cost vs ICE - is there any way to get a true comparison, as often the price to buy EV is greater than ICE counterpart, however fuel savings must make for interesting comparison. Do you end up with a better overall deal buying an EV?
• How are you with excel? Electricity cost per mile is low 2-5p per mile. Services are relatively cheap. No road tax. So far depreciation is not an issue - we can only guess what our cars will be worth in a few years time however.

• Range of EV - how have you managed to deal with range anxiety? Is it easy to find and access chargers when you're out and about?
• Local journeys it isn’t an issue. For longer trips my relatively old 30KW car needs s 35 min charge at about 90 miles. That’s pretty close to when I want a coffee and a bio break anyway.
• New EVs with 40-50 kw will all go further. If you can live with taking a break after 2 hours it’s not a big issue. If you need to go even further without a break there are cars with bigger batteries capable of that but you will pay more.

• Dealerships - what was the experience like in Dealerships? Were staff able to answer these types of questions, or am I better doing the research online myself?
• Dealers... I won’t be recommending any of my local dealers but I spoke to some great knowledgable people further afield. Talk to specialists.

• Safety - do you have any safety concerns when using the electric charger? Did the sales person explain how to use the charger or are you left to find out yourself?
• No concerns. Charger installer took care of any questions and made sure I was happy before he left.

• Home charger - how do you know what the best home charger is? Are they actually any that are better than others?
• Maybe but I didn’t spend a great deal of energy thinking about it. I got s 7KW charger installed. There are many available. I picked a company based on how responsive and professional there were to deal with. There were no features that made me want one more than another. Smart does not mean much by the way. The chargers are mostly quite dumb.

 

[BornAgainEcoWarrior]

Duplicate

 

[davidtm]

• Why did you choose to buy an EV?
  • Primarily, it is a fantastic level of gadgetry to play with, plus I really do want to reduce my carbon footprint. The driving experience improvement is a major added benefit for me - so responsive and SMOOTH!
• Overall cost vs ICE -
  • Higher cost up front, with much reduced cost for fuel and service. So, if you can afford the upfront cost, it's worth it. Pre-owned EVs are becoming a more significant option to save costs.
• Range of EV -
  • I have not yet experienced range anxiety, but am anticipating my first "road trip" next month that will involve rapid charging. Home charging really eliminates range anxiety in my day-to-day experience.
• Dealerships -
  • I have no experience with that as yet, but am expecting it to be every bit as disappointing as any experience at the dealership. They were somewhat reassuring in informing me (pre-purchase) that service would be available, even though I had to purchase out of state. Kia had determined that EV service was necessary in what they said was a "green area" (whatever that is/means) here.
• Safety -
  • None. I feel like there are many safeguards designed into the car's systems.
• Home charger -
  • I purchased a Juice Box Pro 40A charger, as I had an unused 50A 240 V circuit in my home (USA). 40A was probably overkill, as 32A would suffice for the 7kW internal charger, but I felt like future proofing, and the circuit could easily handle it.

Thanks

 

[andydsmith]

I'm really interested in buying an EV, and feel the time is right to move away from the traditional ICE we have all been used to..

Having looked into various Brands etc. I feel overwhelmed with the level of detail, and would really appreciate some guidance from EV owners, to understand what are the factors to actually consider when deciding which EV to buy & live with on a day-to-day basis.

My initial thoughts are:

• Why did you choose to buy an EV? What was the main reason for switching, as there seems to be conflicting news stories around whether they are better than ICE cars?
• Overall cost vs ICE - is there any way to get a true comparison, as often the price to buy EV is greater than ICE counterpart, however fuel savings must make for interesting comparison. Do you end up with a better overall deal buying an EV?
• Range of EV - how have you managed to deal with range anxiety? Is it easy to find and access chargers when you're out and about?
• Dealerships - what was the experience like in Dealerships? Were staff able to answer these types of questions, or am I better doing the research online myself?
• Safety - do you have any safety concerns when using the electric charger? Did the sales person explain how to use the charger or are you left to find out yourself?
• Home charger - how do you know what the best home charger is? Are they actually any that are better than others?

Any guidance/ advice from EV owners would really help me making my decision

Thanks

Decided on an EV because they are better for the environment and are the future. Went for a Leaf because they're readily available second hand and liked the car on a test drive.

You need to work out your own costs based on your mileage, what you pay for fuel and what you would pay for electricity. If you have a company car there are also tax savings, so everyone's costs will be different. I reckon the EV is about £130 cheaper to run per 1000 miles compared with a petrol car, but it won't save us money overall as we don't do enough miles to cover the extra purchase cost. Savings would be less if you do a lot of rapid charges.

Range is not a problem for us. The EV replaced a second car which is normally only used for local trips. When we have used it for longer trips we have had no problems finding chargers, but experience of this is limited so far. We are about to get a second EV to replace our main car and this may become more of an issue, but we don't do many longer trips even in this car.

I think I knew more than the dealers.

Absolutely no worries at all about safety or operation of a charger.

Went for a charger for the cheapest price. I didn't know much about them at the time and still don't, but it's basically a plug socket and I don't see why you would pay more for extra features.