Questions about electric cars.

When we changed our car three years ago we looked into getting an electric car. The cheapest at the time and closest to our budget for a new car was a Renault Zoe and we were considering it until we found that you have to lease the battery at around £50 a month. We don’t spend that much on petrol, even with the recent price rises, so we decided against it. Hopefully they will become more affordable in the future.

karmalady We didn’t choose a Tesla because of their small battery (being dual fuel) and because Tesla chargers are 60p/kilowatt hour plus they fine you if you stay on the charger once the battery is full. We have met two fellow motorists one was fined £30, another £100.
Electric charging points are social centres. Drivers chat to each other and pass on hints.

Chestnut

My daughter has a dual fuel car which is electric but also runs on petrol for longer journeys. Is that what they all do?

No Chestnut ours is an electric car. Others can be dual fuel.

Thanks Karmalady that’s interesting to know. We only know the good things about electric cars. My DH was thinking of one next time, but I’m always reluctant to try new things!

We have a hybrid -Toyota Corolla. We are very pleased with it and it is economic to run.

My SiL has a fully electric car (via motorbility). He is delighted with its economy. His house has cheap electricity due to the panels in their roof they had installed about ten years ago. So, charging at home costs very little.

When we had a family couple of days outing and he needed to charge to get us home, he used a fast charger at a Motorway service station. Took about half an hour, whilst we got ourselves a cup of coffee and cost him £7.00

Its normal range is approx 250 miles.

It also has the advantage that there is no vibration in the steering wheel - so he is able to drive it for longer, this was a problem with cars for him due to his very severe arthritus.

My daughter has a dual fuel car which is electric but also runs on petrol for longer journeys. Is that what they all do?

my sil has a tesla, range on a full charge has dropped to just 70 miles. Batteries degrade over time and do not hold a charge. Driving in winter runs down the charge very rapidly, heating, wipers, de-misting, lights. The stated range for a new car is the range in theory, on a summers day with a clear run on a track

He also has great difficulty in finding charging points and quite a few, in car parks, tend to be broken/in use or vandalised. EVs are most definitely not the holy grail

Charging at home especially with off peak tariffs makes for very cheap motoring, but at present EV are considerably more expensive so a private owner is not saving money. The real benefit is for company cars where the tax advantages are massive and EVs are much cheaper to own

Don’t expect those concessions to last as we approach 2030 when all new cars will be EVs they will disappear, in the meantime make use of them if you can.