How To Chose Right Electric Car
1. Property Type: It is very important to identify where you live as it can effect the overall cost & safety. If you are living in a block of flats or a place where charging is difficult than you need to plan to charge ahead before you go home. Overnight charging is free in many places or cost less in some places but make sure to also check the parking restrictions and safety concerns.
2. Range: It is the most common cause people hesitating in buying or using EV cars. It is not a major factor now compare to few years ago as infrastructure has improved and will always be improved in the future. Although infrastructure should be the first thing before introducing EV cars but some people paid heavy price for vehicle purchase and helped in many ways to improve the EV charging network. Identify your daily range commute and leave 30 to 40 miles minimum before going to the nearest EV charger, fog and weather conditions can drop the range very quick. If you drive long range quite often than go straight for higher range. Higher range vehicles can be between 200 miles to 400 miles. Always check default Mode when buying. If default mode is ECO than normal mode or power mode range will be less. Default mode can be normal or Eco. Some cars default mode is Eco so that’s the maximum range you can get and you will be disappointed later as range drops very quick on motorways / Highways if you use power mode. Some cars starts in Normal mode so you will get 20 or 30 miles extra if Eco mode is turned on.
3. Budget : This is something which is Individual choice. Always ask for free Home Charging Installation or any other offers with the dealer.
4.Maintenance : Maintenance cost of Electric cars is very cheap as they don’t have Engine so there is no Engine Oil, No oil Filter, No exhausts, No engine coolant, No engine issues or piston issues. Even Plug-In-Hybrids have Engine so maintenance is still high in PHEV.
5.Warranty: Although manufacturer’s warranty comes with the vehicle but always check the warranty is valid if buying used vehicle or buy extended warranty. Make sure that warranty covers the battery.
6. After Buying: Make sure alongside other basic accessories, you get 3 pin charging cable and some dealers can also give you Type 2 to Type 2 or Type2 to Tupe1 Charging cable as well.
7. Vehicle Type: Most of the small cars with bigger batteries are better but again it all depends upon the shape of the car and many other factors. Compact aerodynamic shaped SUV’s with bigger batteries and efficient AI are better overall.
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I am thinking very seriously to change my car to electric car. But I don’t know which one to choose, I am looking something between 10 to 15k dollars with 400 kilometers range driving.
Is the range of the driving drops with weather change?
What about the maintenance, I mean is there a time to change batteries and does it cost too much?
Thanks for the review, I guess i will look at your website more often because you have good information for EV.
Hi
Really good questions. The cost you mentioned, It is very difficult to get the range you looking for as manufacturers are still in a process to Shift there production line. Maintenance cost is extremely low. No Oil filter, No engine oil, No exhaust or piston issues or engine coolant. Companies give long time warranty so check warranty with manufacturer as it is very important but some other companies have also started giving extended warranty on battery. Range in bad weather or fog or if AC is on can drop by 20 to 30 miles suddenly but it is same like petrol or diesel consumption also go high if AC is used for long period. Better start looking for charger at 40 to 50 miles range left. Battery can last upto 100K TO 120k miles. Changing the battery at the moment cost high but soon will be cheaper.
Thanks for asking these critical questions
Hi, hope you are well.
Wow, yes Electric Cars. Certainly a likely future for us all. I predominately ride a bicycle though. I don’t actually think I have driven for over a year now lol. I have to say in our country the prices of EC’s are insane. The prices of these cars are way out of reach for any family. If people do not currently meet the lending criteria for a house how on earth are they going to get one of these cars? You have to also wonder about the validity of saving the planet, in 20 years time we’ll have an excessive amount of homeless batteries! Maybe there is some type of recycling plan in place already. I wonder how one situation is better than the other?
Shelley
Hi Shelley
Thanks for taking time to comment. Battery recycling plan is already in place. Regarding the cost: Low range cars upto 100 miles are available in very affordable price. But for people using longer commute or for driving jobs even higher range cars are a bit struggle as not enough rapid chargers increasing waiting time & journey time. They also need to increase parking duration in Motorways as sometimes people have to wait long. For those in houses with there own drive, it is very beneficial at the moment.
Regards
Thank you very much for this valuable detailed post about Electric Car. I really like electric cars. I am looking forward to getting one. Because now the world’s fossil fuels are decreasing. Therefore, the best alternative is an electric car. How long does a battery last in this electric car? Keep posting like this.
Thanks for comment
Batteries can last upto 120K miles depending upon manufacturers. Also battery health matters so you need to use fast and slow chargers combination alternatively as continuous use of fast charger can decrease the life. On top of that extended warranty is also very useful if battery using used EV car.
Regards
We have been considering getting an electric car for town driving, so these tips are very helpful, specially to use the Eco mode to get more miles. In what way can weather. like fog, affect the range that one gets? Are there other factors that can also affect the range that one needs to be aware of?
You mention a Type 2 charging cable, but what it is? Are there different types of charging cables that it is important to have the Type 2 charging cable? Thank you.
Hi
Good to receive your views. Key factors that effect the range is cold weather which can drop the range even if no heating is turned on but depending upon your budget as some cars have overcome this but cost is very high.
As standard you get 3 pin charging cable which can be used from home outdoor waterproof socket. But make sure it covers correctly. There are 2 types of cable to buy or sometimes seller supply like Smart cars as 2 types of connectors are coming. Peugeot uses Type2 to Type 1 and some cars used Type 2 to Type 2. This wire can be used to charge slow in many free charging spots or Type 2 charging spots. It is always good to keep it always in car.
Regard