1 day Ago By Jack Mortimer
Electric cars are the future. It's a bitter pill for some to swallow, but car manufacturers are putting an ever-increasing focus on EVs whilst the Government brings the ban on most new petrol and diesel cars forward to 2030 once again. In the past few years, great strides have been made towards making electric models affordable for all.
Today, the difference between the cheapest new petrol car and the cheapest new EV is around £250, with many mainstream car brands set to introduce sub-£20,000 electric cars in the next few years. Since working for the Express, I've been lucky enough to drive many of the latest models, which have ranged in price from around £15,000 to £185,000 and came in all shapes and sizes. I had ferried these cars around my town and on scenic drives to get an idea of what they are like to drive.
However, up until recently, I had yet to experience what they were like to use on a long road trip . So, as the powertrains in new electric models become more sophisticated and claimed ranges increase, I decided to take a trip from the West Midlands to Surrey. This is a 220-mile round-trip that I make fairly regularly to catch up with friends.
It typically takes around two-and-a-half hours either way, factoring in a short break, and costs about £35 in my petrol-powered Smart ForFour. Taking to the dual-carriageway A-roads and motorways, my first impression was how staggeringly smooth electric cars are. Without gears or a clutch to operate, they glide away from a standstill and have enough torque to hand to pull away like a sportscar.
However, whilst petrol and diesel cars tend to get their best fuel economy figures on the motorway, where the engine can run at a low and steady speed in a high gear, electric cars use up more energy when using these roads. As a result, I soon found myself pulling into a service station for a 'refill' - and that's where the problems began. I knew that I would likely have to stop to replenish the battery at some stage of the trip, and arrived to the services I had hoped to use with 27%left.
However, I quickly found that the four charging points featured were rather busy. Pulling into a space as soon as it became free, I was quickly told by another driver that only two of the chargers were working. Having set up an account with the charging company, which involved me sharing my name and home address, it turned out he was correct.
Not wanting to run the risk of running out of charge by crawling along to the next service station, I patiently waited for one of the working chargers to become available; and whilst it replenished my car's battery at a surprisingly quick rate, it wasn't the only issue I would encounter during the trip. Heading home after the weekend, I decided to stop off in Basingstoke to charge up once again. Whilst I knew that there are plenty across the city, it turned out that precious few did what I wanted them to.
The first set listed on my sat-nav didn't seem to exist, the next set belonged to a hotel that had since closed down, the next set charged at a glacial rate of 7.4kW, and when I finally found a fast-charger, it was broken. In all, it took me about 45 minutes and a good 10% of my EV's battery to find a working rapid charger.
And this isn't just an issue in Basingstoke. Charging in Coventry, I had to visit three charging sites, all owned by different companies, before I could find one that worked. Please don't get me wrong.
I absolutely love electric cars. In addition to not polluting their cities, they're smooth, silent and almost always powerful and incredibly enjoyable to drive. The Citroen e-C3 I was using for the journey, for example, kept me comfortable and entertained throughout my time behind the wheel.
However, everything that is required to keep an electric car running on the UK roads is painstakingly lacking. In a 220-mile round trip that would have seen me fill my petrol car's tank once, I had visited nine charging points, gave all of my information to four companies, spent nearly £50, and added around an hour either way to my journey. For drivers who are able to fit a home charger and simply want something to use for commuting or the school run, an electric car is a superb choice.
For those who need something to travel up and down the country in, I for one would think long and hard before making the switch..
