EV on the eye
The demand for electric cars is set to rise, whatever naysayers think, with many manufacturers plugging in,
An electric future is slowly creeping in. If Government deadlines are to be believed, in the not-too-distant future we’ll only be able to buy cars powered by electricity, yet the race to be the king of the EV hill is very much upon us already. As ranges rise, more manufacturers jump on board the EV train, and prices sink, there’s a chance that your next family transport could well be electric.
Previously, EVS have been attacked over their sweat-inducingly low ranges. While a 110-mile range from a lengthy charge was once the peak of tech, that’s no longer the case. For just shy of £33,000 you can grab a Kia e-niro and its 282-mile range, while further up the prestige scale Audi’s £71,490 e-tron will crack 248 miles of compressed dinosaur-free cruising.
Renault, Nissan, Hyundai, Jaguar and many more offer electric vehicles in all shapes and sizes. In fact, the choice of EVS out there has never been greater, and it’s
only going to get better. Jaguar’s next XJ will be an EV, Porsche is planning electric models, and Lagonda, Rolls-royce, Bentley, and others have teased an electric future. Volkswagen is on the cusp of launching its ID range of electric vehicles as well.
However, we’re at a strange point in the EV’S development. Manufacturers are churning them out at record pace, but there currently isn’t an infrastructure to match. Tesla’s supercharger network is grand if you’re a Tesla owner, but other independent networks have been known to be a pain to use in the wild.
With access to a driveway, a power point can be installed at home so you can keep your motor charged up as and when you need it, which is ideal for people who use EVS day to day. Those without a drive will have to trail a cable over the street from their front door, or rely on public charge points to keep their batteries topped up. How long you need to leave your car charging depends on the type of charger you have access to, but we’re still talking about lengthy charge times. One day it’ll likely be possible to grab a full charge in the same time it takes to brim a tank, but we’re not there just yet.
There will still be people shouting about range, or lack thereof, in EVS. However, think sensibly: with a 200-mile range to play with you’re not likely to need to charge more than once per working week, and doing so will cost a few quid a “tank” rather than the megabucks required for an internal combustion engine car.
Considering almost every EV out there is capable of fitting a family and its associated things on board, unless your average journey is truly epic and devoid of chargers, there’s no reason why an electric vehicle isn’t for you. The car-buying public agrees, with 31,000 EVS sold in the first seven months of 2019. Change is happening, and it’s happening fast.
One day it will be possible to fully charge in the same time it takes to brim a tank