Electric Cars  have become increasingly popular in recent years due to their environmental benefits, and cost-saving potential. While electric cars have several advantages, there are also some drawbacks.

Pros

Electric cars are efficient, quiet, and torque-rich. They can also be expensive, tend to be heavy, and are plagued by a limited public charging infrastructure—something we expect will get better in the coming years. There are a number of benefits to choosing some level of electrification in your next vehicle, but some tradeoffs do apply.

Electric cars have many advantages over traditional petrol or diesel vehicles. One of the most significant benefits of electric cars is that they have zero emissions This means they do not release harmful pollutants into the air, such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which are both major contributors to air pollution.

Tax credits

When you drive an electric car, you can benefit from tax credits. This is one of the government incentives for electric cars, where if you drive a fully electric vehicle that meets the, governments requirements, it’ll be tax free  thanks to its zero-emission status.

Save on fuel costs

When it comes to electric vs gas prices, you’ll be pleased to know that you can save even more money by cutting fuel costs if you drive a hybrid car, and of course no fuel costs if you drive fully electric. With fuel prices rising and at a record high, switching to an electric vehicle could save you money, not to mention fewer trips to the petrol stations to fill up the tank!

Less maintenance

Electric car maintenance is easier than a traditional petrol/diesel vehicle. With an electric car, you won’t need to get it serviced as often for conventional services, such as oil changes or changing car parts as often. However, battery problems in an electric car can often be expensive to repair if you aren’t covered.

Performance

In terms of electric car performance, you can enjoy a quiet ride on board an electric vehicle. They offer a smoother ride due to the lack of internal combustion engine vibration, and the battery provides instant power to the wheels.

Charging an electric car

Want to start each day with a ‘full tank’? Charging each night at home will provide all the daily driving range the average driver will need.

You can charge using a regular domestic three-pin socket, but a dedicated home EV charger is a much better – and faster – option.

Dedicated EV home chargers typically deliver around 7kW of power. In contrast, most vehicle manufacturers limit the current drawn from a standard domestic 3 pin socket to 10A or less, which equates to a maximum of 2.3kW.

A 7kW home charger therefore delivers approximately three times as much power and is approximately three times as fast as using a domestic socket.

We’ve got a full guide dedicated to charging an electric car at home, so head there for more information.

Cons

Whilst there are plenty of benefits with driving electric; it’s also important to be aware of some potential drawbacks:

Higher cost

Although the maintenance cost of driving an electric car is considerably lower than a traditional petrol/diesel car, the purchasing price of an electric is, on the more expensive side. The upfront cost of buying an electric carcan be considerably higher than a traditional vehicle.

Range anxiety

If you’re looking to travel long distances, you may find another problem of electric driving is its range. The first models of electric cars could only drive around 100 miles on a full charge. Newer models can drive for longer ranges, but depending on your day-to-day driving and lifestyle needs, we recommend checking the maximum range before purchasing.

Fewer charging stations and more charging time

Having fewer EV charging stations and more charging time is another downside of electric cars. This means that it can be difficult to find a charging station when you need one, and when you do find one, you may need to wait a long time for your car to charge. This can be especially inconvenient if you are in a hurry or if you are travelling long distances.

High cost of battery replacement

As the technology of electric cars continues to evolve, so does the cost of the battery. Batteries are expensive to replace depending on the model and type of electric car. The battery replacement cost can also factor in the resale value of electric vehicles, as the battery will need to be replaced at some point during the car’s lifespan.

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