Why EVs Are Better
I have been driving an EV for the past 2 years and in that time I have come to realise just how much better an EV is over a conventional petrol/diesel car.
The advantage most often promoted is that they are better for the environment, but I bought mine primarily for its hi tech features.
Yet I found that EVs have many great features above and beyond saving the environment and hi tech.
So these are the good things about EVs that I have found while owning and driving one.
I should also add that my comments apply only to modern pure electric EVs (not hybrids).
The Acceleration
All modern EVs provide a liquid smooth, very quiet and intoxicating amount of acceleration. And intoxicating is the correct word. After a short time you get used being able surge forward to take advantage of a gap in the traffic, or rapidly merge onto a highway, or even take off from the traffic lights ahead of everyone else.
In fact, if you see an EV waiting at the front of a traffic light queue, watch what it does when the lights turn green. Often it will take off and rapidly reach cruising speed leaving the rest of the traffic behind. That is someone who is enjoying the quiet, intoxicating acceleration of an EV.
In a car with an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) you get used to the delay as the power builds and the loud noise as it jumps though the gears. But it doesn't have to be like that. You might even think that your petrol car is especially smooth but it is nothing like the smooth power of an EV.
Some EVs are dual motor and they have an acceleration rivaling an expensive V8 sports car, but even the single motor EVs have plenty of acceleration and can put the standard 4 cylinder cars of today to shame.
Convenience of Charging
Another feature of an EV that I did not appreciate before I bought the car is the ease of charging. With a petrol/diesel car you typically wait for the tank to be almost empty before driving to a service station to fill up. With an EV and a home charger it only takes a few seconds to plug in, so you tend to do this regularly, even though you have only used a small proportion of the car's charge.
I have a home charger installed where I park the car so it is convenient to plug in when I return home. Then, over a few hours, the car will be fully recharged. As a result I rarely see the car with a charge of less than 60%... and there is no such thing as range anxiety.
Even better, in Western Australia I can get a low electricity tariff for an EV. So, for me the cost of a full charge (0% to 100%) is about $8 (Aust). Compare that to filling up a similar sized petrol or diesel car which can easily run to $100. Even if you cannot access a super low tariff like I have, the cost of a "fill up" will still be about $30… not bad.
In the past 2 years of owning an EV I have never visited a service station, I have not been asked to pay a ridiculous amount of money to fill up, and I am very happy.
This is all fine and dandy if you have a power outlet available where you park the car. However, if you must park on the street or are doing long road trips, you will have to seek out a public DC fast charger, which is still OK, but not as cheap and convenient as charging at home.
Low Maintenance
We have got used to the many maintenance requirements of an internal combustion engine. The various oils, the radiator, the filters, the spark plugs, the fuel injectors and so on. All need replacing or regular attention resulting in a typical 12 month maintenance cycle that is quite expensive. In an EV there is none if this… zip… nada. The electric motor is sealed for life and does not need to be touched, ever.
I have a Hyundai Ioniq 5 and it has a 2 year maintenance cycle, and nearly all of the actions are simple inspections. The only real maintenance jobs are replace the cabin air filter ($20) and check/replace the brake fluid. Other than this you need to flush/replace the coolant fluid after 10 years . And that is it, nothing else is required.
More Space
You might not realise this but another great feature of an EV is the amount of space inside the car. The electric motor is a fraction of the size of an internal combustion engine and it does not need the extra space for a radiator, drive shaft, rear differential, etc. Also, the battery is hidden under the floor, so this gives a smart engineer who is designing an EV from the ground up plenty of room to layout the interior for the comfort of the driver and passengers.
As an illustration, most EVs have far more leg room for the rear seat passengers than a similar sized petrol/diesel car. Even a tiny EV designed for city/urban use will easily take 4 to 5 people with plenty of room for each.
More Tech
This is was the primary motivation when I decided to buy an EV - smarter and more capable technology like a large touch screen, surround view cameras, semi-automatic driving, great in-car entertainment, electric everything and even, full hands off automated self-parking.
Admittedly modern petrol/diesel cars are beginning to get these features but even an entry level EV will have them, and the tech is fun.
Luxurious
This is a subtle point, but all luxury cars try to be as quiet as possible, and with an EV you automatically get the super quiet feature. Even though your EV may not be a luxury brand it feels like luxury as you smoothly waft down the road with just the sound of the wind and road.
Disadvantages
Obviously there must be some disadvantages to owning an EV and for me, the primary one is the lack of drama. My previous car was a 5 litre V8 Mustang and taking off from the lights was full of drama with the engine bellowing as it raced through all ten gears. Silently sliding down the road in my new EV is not the same, even though it has a similar acceleration to the fire breathing V8.
More seriously, limited charging opportunities outside of the home garage is the biggest negative for an EV. The rollout of public chargers is accelerating but they have a very long way to go before they reach a level that can be considered convenient. As a result, you need to do plenty of planning if you go for an out of town road trip. And even when you do find a fast charger you may encounter a queue to use it, or even worse, a broken charger.
For someone who lives in an apartment or does not have a convenient power outlet the situation is difficult. To charge you must drive to the nearest EV charger and sit around for 30 to 45 minutes while your car "fills up". If you cannot charge at home I would not recommend buying an EV.
Even worse, there are virtually no EV charging facilities in central Australia. Even a little way from the cities and main routes there is nothing. So, stick to a diesel 4WD if you are planning on visiting Birdsville or Cape York.
However, an EV is great if you live and work in a city and have a handy power socket near where you park.
Myths and Misconceptions
There are a few reasons why people shy away from buying an EV, and the biggest seems to be that batteries are viewed as unreliable and cost a huge amount to replace when worn out.
But this is wrong. The battery in an EV is very different from the lead-acid battery used in petrol/diesel cars, which is possibly where this misconception comes from. These were developed over 150 years ago and are the dinosaurs of battery design. The battery in a mobile phone is more modern but it is designed to be tiny and lightweight. Neither are expected to have a long life.
The battery in an EV is different, it is designed to be rugged, heavy duty and last a very long time. I won't go into the technical details but there is a wealth of information on the internet related to this subject if you want to seek it.
Broadly speaking there are two reasons why you should not be concerned about the battery. Firstly the battery management system in an EV is very sophisticated and it manages the charging, discharge and temperature with precision. This is designed to not let the battery suffer any damage or stress, regardless of what you might do. The second is that the battery construction and chemistry is specifically designed for power and a long life. Lithium chemistry is a well known science and there is a lot of experience in designing these batteries to last a long time.
Replacing an EV battery is expensive but that should never be required. Battery degradation does happen over time but it is not noticable in normal use and there are many EVs with over 500,000 kilometres on the clock still running on their original battery. In fact, most experts will tell you that the battery in an EV should outlive the car itself.
