They’ve come a long way in the last 10 years and they’ll be going even further in the next thanks to ever increasing battery reliability and range.
But jokes and puns aside, these beautiful, green vehicles are as quiet as they are comfortable and even the low end models tend to offer exciting performance thanks to the inherently responsive nature of the electric motor.
Further to this, the relatively compact nature of said motor when compared to a combustion engine leaves plenty of extra room to be incorporated into cabin space, meaning even the small models are surprisingly roomy.
Team all of the above with features and specification that would generally be reserved for higher end marques and it’s no surprise to hear that electrical vehicle uptake is on the rise in certain markets.
If you’re yet to experience the magic of driving without gears and pulling away in near complete silence, then we suggest you book yourself a test drive in something that fits your budget. If you remain unconvinced, see how you feel once you reach the bottom of this page where we cover two important topics, Charging and Apps!
Three Ways to Charge:
The rate of charging depends on the KWH output of the electric supply. Generally speaking though an EV driver will be met with three different options, these are:
Rapid Charging – a high power output that can provide an 80% top up to many models in just 30 minutes. Generally this sort of power can only be found at service stations. It’s important to note that this isn’t a cheap way to charge although membership schemes can save you money.
Fast Charging – this is the output type you’ll most commonly see and the sort that you can have installed at your home or office. There are different power ratings available but most of the chargers will fully charge an electric car in 3-8 hours.
Trickle Charging – this is the snail paced three pin option. It’s excruciatingly slow but can provide an emergency top up on those occasions that a battery has been allowed to run very low. A savvy EV driver will always travel with the three pin wire in their boot – you just never know when you’ll need it or even if a good samaritan will allow you to plug in… Consider it part of the adventure. As me mentioned, this slow speed of charging will take around 12 hours to charge a vehicle.
Cool Apps:
Electric cars tend to have premium infotainment systems. This is handy generally, but especially so on those occasions when you find yourself sitting in the vehicle waiting for it to charge. At such times Tesla owners will appreciate being able to open up popular entertainment apps such as Comedy Central in order to pass the time a little faster.
Certain brands are now offering phone mirroring technology so that you can enjoy any of the apps found on your mobile phone mirrored on the central big screen – perfect for enjoying a few spins on a casino game, whilst waiting for the car wash!
If you’re thinking of taking the leap to electric vehicle ownership in 2021, we hope we’ve given you a little food for thought in this post.