Electric car here’s the pros and cons In 2022, EVs aren't quite like gas-powered cars, and here's my first hand take.
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| Image credit: Shutterstock |
Earlier this year, after needing a new car, I decided to make a change. I was going to go ahead and buy myself an electric car. It would no longer be subject to the machinations of the oil industry and the ever-fluctuating price of gasoline.
I spent almost a year driving my 40 kWh Nissan Leaf and noticed a lot of changes, both good and bad. Personally, I have no regrets at all for my decision to switch and have no plans to go back to fuel. That's not to say that there aren't some things you'd rather be different about, and it's important for anyone considering using electricity to make an informed decision.
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So, here are the pros and cons of switching to an electric car:
Switching to an electric car Pros
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Electricity is cheaper than gas
Gas can be quite expensive, and like most fossil fuels, it will only get worse. How much you pay depends entirely on where you live, but no matter what a gallon of gas costs, electricity is still the cheapest option.
In fact, the US Department of Energy has even developed a unit called the "eGallon" that allows you to better compare the price of a kWh of electricity to a gallon of liquid gasoline. A tool on the Department of Energy's website also compares the average cost of gasoline to equivalent amounts of electricity, revealing that electricity is significantly cheaper in all 50 states.
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| Image credit: Energy.gov |
To top it all, several studies have confirmed that EVs end up costing less than an equivalent gasoline car over their lifetime. This applies to both cheaper refueling and lower maintenance costs.
Electric vehicles don't need as much maintenance
Compared to the complexities of the internal combustion engine and all of its moving parts, EV engines are relatively simple things. And that simplicity is reflected in the fact that you don't need to do as much maintenance on an electric car.
Gasoline cars need all kinds of work, including oil changes, replacement of various filters, new spark plugs, filling of coolant and transmission fluid, checking emissions, etc. Electric vehicles have none of that, although they do need regular service (every 18,000 miles or 12 months for my car) to ensure that all the large parts, like the suspension and brakes, are working properly.
Speaking of which, regenerative braking can also reduce your reliance on brake pads to some degree, as the mechanism can recover some of the energy that would otherwise be wasted as heat during the braking process. That in turn reduces wear on the brake pads, which means they don't need to be changed as often. Even more so if you have a one-pedal drive system like the one found in a Tesla or Nissan Leaf.
In fact, during my year with my electric vehicle, the most demanding maintenance I've ever had to deal with is refilling the windshield washer fluid and changing a flat tire.
EV engines are always ready to go
There are many differences between a motor and an electric motor. One of the key things to consider is time. No matter what you do or how powerful your car engine is, it always takes longer than an engine.
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| Image credit: Future Studios/Drive |
There is always a delay between the moment you put your foot on the ground and the starting of a gasoline engine. This is because the engine has to start burning more fuel, and however fast you can start this process, it still takes a little while to start. Electric vehicles are all about the transfer of electricity, which by comparison is instantaneous, and means the car will start as soon as your foot hits the ground.
Of course, that's a pretty small plus point in the bigger picture. But it is one of those advantages that it is very easy to appreciate as soon as you start driving. At the very least, it gives you an advantage over other drivers if you are waiting at a stop sign or traffic light.
High tech features
Even before automakers began to take a serious interest in electrification, electric cars often came with some of the best and newest high-tech features. While gasoline-powered cars haven't been ruled out, electric vehicles still come with the best new car features, including autonomous driving systems.
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| Image credit: Mercedes/Geely |
Furthermore, as automakers phase out gas guzzlers in favor of electricity, we will reach a point where the best and most exciting new features will be exclusive to electric vehicles. So if you want to experience the car of the future, you will have to buy an EV.
Less noise and no pollution.
Electric vehicles aren't quiet but compared to internal combustion noise, they might as well be. There is no controlled explosion to keep the car going, no loud ignition, or a racing engine that can disturb passers-by. In fact, the only noise an electric vehicle will make is that of the engine running and the noise that the tires make on the road.
It even got to the point where the EU stepped in and forced automakers to add noise-emitting devices to electric and hybrid cars, to activate them when driving below 20km / h or in reverse. The idea is that silent cars are a danger to others, especially the blind or visually impaired.
Also, since no fuel is burned, electric cars produce zero emissions. This means cleaner air for everyone, especially if it can be recharged with renewable energy.
Also read: 24 Best exciting electric vehicles in 2022
Switching to an electric car: Cons
The prohibitive cost of entry
The biggest problem with electric cars is that they are very expensive relative to gas-powered equivalents. To the point where I bought a two-year-old used Nissan Leaf for more than it would cost to buy a brand new Nissan Micra — a gas-powered car with an identical design.
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| Image credit: Ford |
And that's not just a problem at Nissan, as EV prices are more expensive overall. The Ford F-150 starts at $ 29,290, while the F-150 Lightning starts at around $ 40,000, and the cheapest Mini in the US starts at $ 22,900 from the Mini Electric's $ 29,900 starting price.
Well that the consensus is that the electrical vehicles have lower running costs and end up being cheaper over time, in particular in regard to nutrition, it does not change the fact that a higher initial price will discourage people. Even if you factor in financial incentives.
Cheaper electric vehicles have less autonomy
These days, it is not too difficult to get a long-range electric vehicle. You can easily find a car with 250+ miles of range, and some top models even come with 400+ miles on a single charge.
Electric vehicle batteries are what makes their relative prices so high. The largest batteries may have the longest range, but they also have the highest prices. There's no better example of this in action than with the Nissan Leaf and the Mini Electric, America's two cheapest electric vehicles.
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| Image credit: Mini |
Those cars only come with a respective range of 149 miles and 114 miles, which isn't great. The Leaf's 62kWh battery configuration can bump that figure to 226 miles, but it costs an extra $ 5,000. Meanwhile, the Lucid Air Dream, which offers 520 miles of range, starts at $ 169,000.
There is a middle ground in which you can balance the price and the maximum range. But the fact is, cheaper electric vehicles and long-distance driving are not a great combination. No, unless you are willing to make regular stops on fast chargers.
Range estimates are just a figure at best
The most important thing to remember about the EV range is that the advertised figure is usually what you could expect to get in top condition. The driving range you get depends on how you are driving. Much like how your mileage will vary if your car runs on gasoline or diesel.
Driving at high speed is the real battery killer, and the faster you go, the more power it will consume in a short amount of time. Therefore, when driving long distances, you must deliberately limit your speed. 60 MPH is often cited as the maximum you need to do to balance speed and power consumption. While that can add to the time of your trip, it could be the difference between having to charge and arriving at your destination with energy to spare.
Similarly, things like heating and air conditioning, as well as the actual weight of all the people and belongings in your car, increase your energy consumption and reduce your overall range.
You need a convenient place to recharge
Most electric vehicles charge at home, because most of the trips you will take are not enough to completely drain your battery. However, not all houses are suitable for installing electric vehicle chargers, either because you live in an apartment building, you have to park on the street, or there is simply nowhere to safely park for several hours with a power cord. load plugged in.
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Gas stations are everywhere and you can fill a tank in a few minutes. Electric vehicles don't have that luxury, and that means you need to know where they will recharge, especially if you drive a lot. For many, it can be as simple as installing an electric vehicle charger at home or plugging it directly into an electrical outlet. But if that's not possible, you need to find out something before you commit to buying.
Reloading takes time
As much as the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles has improved, it is still something of a drag, especially when compared to filling a tank with gas. Even the fastest EV chargers can take up to half an hour to fully recharge. In some cases, recharging with a nearly empty battery means you could be waiting for about an hour.
That problem can be exacerbated if other people recharge in the same place. Some charging networks can share a connection between their chargers, and using multiple chargers means that power must be shared, slowing down the speed of recharging in the process.
Most people will do their usual charging at home, which means this is not a problem. But if you're on a long-distance trip, stopping to turn it on can be an incredibly time-consuming endeavor.
Batteries need care
Filling a gas tank is easy. It is a tank that fills with liquid and you don't need to think about anything more than that. Batteries are more fickle, and if you want your EV to run as long as possible, you need to take proper care of them. Because a poorly maintained battery will lose capacity over time, which in turn reduces its overall autonomy. Nobody wants that.
This means that prospective EV owners should avoid super fast chargers if possible, as faster charging produces more heat, which can accelerate battery degradation. Likewise, you'll want to keep your charge level between 20-80% whenever possible, as anything beyond that can also cause battery health to decline faster over time.
My first year with an EV: Bottom line
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| Image credit: Tesla |
I don't regret buying an electric car, but that doesn't mean the experience was all sunshine and rainbows. After all, the range has been a sore subject from my first long-distance electric trip to my brother's wedding. Seeing the battery level go down faster than I had anticipated came as a bigger shock to the system than any cup of coffee.
But, for me, the benefits of driving an electric vehicle far outweigh the cons. Especially considering that I can recharge for a fraction of the cost of buying a tank of petrol, something that proved incredibly useful during the recent UK fuel shortage. You may need to keep the battery in good condition, but that's the only thing I have to worry about.
Also, given that the future of the car is electric, it was very nice to start with a head start. Hopefully, some of these downsides get better as the most exciting electric cars of 2022 are released.
