Is EV right for me?

UKEV Director, Tracey Wond, reflects on her journey into EV life.

When we were thinking about taking the leap into electric vehicle ownership I had so many questions. Where can I charge? What do I need to charge? Will I not be able to drive too far? Will I regret buying an electric vehicle?

After 5 months I've never been happier with a car. I'll try to break down the answers to the key questions I had here.

Where can I charge?

ZapMap was/is a lifesaver. It's an app with a map of local chargers and you can easily filter by connection types etc. It turns out there's quite a lot of places you can charge - and more all the time. As a Tesla owner, you can also search for Tesla charging points in the car.

My favourites when I'm away from home apart from the Tesla Superchargers are those at Morrisons supermarkets - usually 50kw chargers so nice and quick (the last time I used one it was throwing about 350-499miles of range an hour - enough to fully charge whilst doing some shopping! I try to use any charger I can find though (even locally) as they tend to be quieter spaces (less door dents!).

What do I need to charge?

My first time out with the car I bumped into an old gent with an EV van and a really old phone - NO APPS. He couldn't download the app to charge his car and so was stuck at the Services! A smartphone and some data is therefore a must. Some public charge points require you to have account credit too (such as BP Pulse). If you're prepared you might want to look at ZapMap for chargers you're likely to use and download the apps in advance - otherwise it'll take a few minutes to get the app and setup an account whilst you're at the charger.

You'll also need to ensure you have your charging cable with you - most cars should come with this (although ours was hidden somewhere in the car until we found it!). Tesla superchargers have their own cables attached. It does feel a bit strange dragging your cable out of the boot and connecting it (the world seems to be wireless these days).

Distance

This depends on your car. We've a long-range Tesla Model 3 and get over 300 miles on a charge. We've done several long distance trips and not found the need to charge too inconvenient - if you're going far the chances are you'll need a lunch stop so the car will charge whilst you recharge! For someone whizzing around the countries with few breaks this might be a little more inconvenient.

Will I regret buying an electric car?

For me, I have no regrets. I love that I press the accelerator and instantly go - no lag at all. I love not having to stop at the petrol stations and getting that gas smell (electric charging just feels like VIP parking).

However, I do notice that pedestrians can be absolutely oblivious to the super-quiet electric vehicles so I'd advise caution there!