Drive Electricity

Why should I buy an EV?

The Good:

You wouldn't be here if you weren't interested in electric vehicles, so here are the good parts of EV ownership:

Full range every Morning.

If you a install a level 2 charger (see Charging ), you can enjoy a full 'tank' of electrons every morning, giving you full range every single day without having to worry about trips to the gas station.

Instant Torque/ Driveability

I was a huge petrol head before I owned an EV, I had a V8 powered Westfield Lotus 7 replica in the UK before I moved to California, and a Mini Cooper S before I bought my Chevy Bolt and my Tesla Model Y Performance. Although the light weight of my petrol powered (known as ICE - Internal Combustion Engine) vehicles made them fantastic to throw around corners, the EVs can't be beat for their instant acceleration and throttle response, making for an almost as fun experience. If Chevy had a better suspension on the Bolt (the rear suspension leaves a little to be desired), it would easily give the Mini a run for it's money - it's so much fun to drive, especially in traffic.

Low Running Costs

First off, let's put to bed the myth that EVs have no maintenance . There's still suspension components and shock absorbers that need replacement from time to time - the basic driveshaft/suspension design is the same. EVs also possibly go through tires a bit more often, although my Bolt did 50k miles before needing a new set of boots so that's not always true. 

On the good side: No oil changes to worry about, brake wear is MUCH less on the EV thanks to regenerative braking, electric motors and the drive inverter are incredibly reliable (I used to work in the industry and motor failures were almost unheard of). The only real maintenance is cabin filters and tire rotation. That's about it! It's pretty incredible, and a huge cost and time saving.

Even better: In most places, electricity is cheaper than gas. Even in Hawaii and California, the price of electricity is such that running a Chevy Bolt  is about the same cost as running a 30-40mpg vehicle if you use public chargers - which are the most expensive  way to charge your vehicle. If you charge at home, or even better have solar on your home, it's almost a no brainer to look into an EV , or at the very least a plug-in hybrid, if you're looking at buying a new vehicle. 

That said, if you don't have access to home charging, it's seriously worth thinking about running the numbers and figuring out how much it will cost to charge. Charging away from home can be more expensive (about the same as running a 40 mpg vehicle) , is more inconvenient (there are less chargers than gas stations currently), and simply an overall more stressful experience than plugging in at home.  With electricity prices constantly on the rise, it can mean that running a hybrid vehicle is cheaper and more convenient than an EV in certain areas  - like Hawaii as previously mentioned.

One pedal driving.

One of the most pleasurable aspects of driving an EV is one-pedal driving. An EV can  use it's own momentum to slow down and recharge it's battery by simply telling the vehicle to decelerate. What this enables is a way of slowing the vehicle down rapidly by simply lifting off the accelerator! It's effectively like having a crazy powerful engine braking but the energy goes into the battery instead of being wasted. The other awesome thing is that you'll get about 60% of the energy it took to go up a hill on the way back down! (No energy recapture is 100% efficient sadly).  Using one pedal driving is an incredibly satisfying way of driving, once you get used to it. (That said, it does have its downsides (see Cold Weather Driving for more information ).