- No petrol!
Ok, this is the big, obvious one. Not having to pay for petrol…ever…is fantastic! With prices for gasoline where they’ve been for the last 12 months, it is a huge savings. I don’t see the price of petrol ever going down significantly, so I think there will always be a big savings here.
- Charge at home
The convenience of being able to charge at home cannot be understated. Having a fully charged vehicle every morning means I don’t have to allow for trips to the petrol station during my morning commute or…anytime. We only use Superchargers when we are road-tripping and travelling long distances. If everyone is charging at home, we will no longer will we see major intersections with gas stations (or charging stations) on the corner. Home charging will completely change the landscape for ‘service centers’ in the future as very few will be required in the city and more will be needed on major routes and remote destinations.
- One pedal driving
This is probably the most dramatic difference of driving an EV compared to an ICE vehicle. Having the vehicle brake as soon as you take your foot off the accelerator, does take a little getting used to. After only about 10 mins, I found this to be easy to manage and actually quite intuitive. After 12 months of driving, it is not only intuitive, but enjoyable and I much prefer it. The other advantage, of course, is that this method utilized regenerative braking, which charges the battery a little every time you stop, and it also reduces that about of wear on the brakes which reduces maintenance costs.
- Acceleration
The acceleration of an EV was a big surprise for me…I was not expecting it to be so quick. The high torque of electric motors and linear power delivery allows these vehicles to accelerate quite quickly despite their heavy weight. This can be useful in certain situations on the road to get out of dangerous situations…but always obey the speed limit!
- Reduced pollution – idling
For our family, there is a considerable amount of time spent waiting in the car…like waiting at school pick-up, or waiting for training to finish…being able to run the air-con, heater, etc. without idling an engine is not only great for the environment, but is saves money too. Any we never have to worry about draining the battery!