Everything You Need to Know About Switching from a Traditional to an Electric Vehicle

Sales of electric and hybrid vehicles are slowly increasing, as price points come down and the accessibility of charging points increases. In fact, nearly 25% of new car registrations are now electric vehicles, and there’s a growing market for second hand cars too. The Teslas and BMWs might make the headlines, but the majority of these electric vehicles are small, reasonably priced, family cars used for everyday trips. Electric vehicles fall into two main categories: BEVs (battery electric vehicles) and PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles), the latter of which have both petrol engines and electric batteries.

There are a few different reasons why people switch to electric vehicles. They produce fewer emissions while driving (none for BEVs) and are subject to cheaper road taxes and refuelling costs. Many owners also enjoy the additional technology included, especially in the higher end vehicles. But if you’re thinking an EV is exactly the same as a traditional vehicle, just a bit quieter and less gassy, there are a few things that you should know.

What Stays The Same?

Many of the non-driving functions of your car will be the same in an EV. Stereo, air conditioning, adjustable seats, etc don’t need to change. There might be batteries instead of an engine, but this has very little impact on the design features in the interior of the car, and it certainly won’t impact on your legroom.

You might think that the tires you need won’t change either, but batteries are heavier than a traditional petrol engine – and remember that PHEVs carry both – so you need to make sure that you are using a tire size that will support the extra weight. Use a reliable tire brand such as General to replace your tires like-for-like to get the best performance from your vehicle.

A Different Driving Experience

The first thing you’ll notice is missing from your EV is the gearbox. Electric cars don’t need to shift when accelerating or decelerating so the stick and clutch pedal are redundant. If you’ve never driven an automatic vehicle before it can take you a few journeys to get used to, but this ultimately means that there is one less thing to need maintaining.

Range Issues

One of the most commonly cited drawbacks to electric vehicles is their issues over long-range. But unless you’re planning on crossing the country on a weekly basis, most EVs can comfortably cope with the range of daily driving between home, work, school etc. However, if you do have to make regular trips of more than 200 miles, you’d better get used to planning stages around charging points and taking longer breaks because refuelling an EV isn’t as quick as pouring in a tank of petrol.

Charging

Most EVs will charge off a regular home socket, but the low voltage means that it will take all night. Many workplaces, especially those that offer an EV car scheme, will have charging points to use during the day, and you can also find them at many stores and leisure complexes across the country. Charging away from home will be faster, but it will cost you almost double. Getting a charging point fitted to your home is the most effective way of charging your EV and they aren’t too expensive to install.

In Conclusion Switching to an EV isn’t as scary as it might sound. They might be a little more expensive to purchase, but this is offset by the lower running costs. It’s worth doing your research to find out where charging points are available in your local area, just as you would look for gas stations. You can start driving an EV without paying for a home charging point, but it’s probably worth looking into having one fitted in the long run, for the convenience as well as the reduced charging costs.