To think there are no real perks to driving an electric car?

It's very lovely for you that you can afford those choices.

79p a kWh is more like 20p a mile, and forms, at best, 5% of most peoples charging. The rest, even at standard rate at home not a cheap overnight rate, is only 6p a mile. That's a combined 6.5p a mile. You'd need to do 100 miles a gallon in a petrol or diesel car to beat that.

Even if half your charging is at a fast charger you're at 13p a mile. Theres also no way a large petrol SUV does 40 mpg; diesel, maybe...but you're a pariah if you use that sort of fuel nowadays ;)

Not everyone has shitloads of money to do this though. If you are on a budget then spending thousands extra is not in your lexicon. A couple of quid for better food maybe, a few thousand for an ev less so

Most evidence suggests we have around 1/4 of the charging points we need and nowhere near the electricity production for everyone to charge. Some areas don’t have the phase of electricity needed either. We are way behind target in terms of infrastructure.

Save what exactly because EVs are more expensive than ICE to buy.

People go on and on about how cheap the fuel costs are, neglecting the fact that the car probably cost them a good few more K in the first place to buy because of the cost of the battery.

EVs can be cheaper. But you need 2 things. One is the ability to charge using your own electric. The other is relatively high mileage so you can actually recover the fuel costs. Spending £5K more on a battery powered car to save on fuel makes no sense if you are only doing 10 miles a week.

Range anxiety IMO is largely rubbish. Yes there are probably a vanishingly small number of people for who relatively low ranges and relatively long charging times become a serious issue and time sink. But for the vast majority of people they are largely irrelevant. People complaining about range because they have to do one 300 mile trip to the seaside once a year are largely talking nonsense.

Everyone in the UK could survive with an electric car. I am pretty sure if we ran out of petrol tomorrow then it wouldn't decrease the number of cars on the road. People would transition to electric and still use cars. The switch would inconvenience some people and cost some more money than others.But a society run completely on EVs is perfectly possible and a relatively minor inconvenience. Norway is actually getting closer to that point.

Not everything in life I solely about cost. I choose to pay more for some things in my life because they are better quality, an improved experience, taste nicer, better welfare etc, depending on what it is I am buying. Choices that are better for the environment will come in that category for some, even if it costs a bit more. Our EV does cost a fraction of the cost to run of our ICE, but it is so much nicer to drive that even if it cost more, I would still choose it.

For me, the user experience is a massive issue. Which is why I love my EV so much and wouldn't go back to petrol. The tiny inconvenience of having to think a bit more about long journeys (which I rarely do) is negligible when compared to the inconvenience, cost and other general random disadvantages to a petrol vehicle.

My car is comfortable, easy to drive, I have one pedal driving so rarely need to use the brakes, I can ensure it's warm to get in on cold mornings and cool when it's hot. Charging it costs peanuts at home and the very rare fast charge at a commercial charge has been a minimal inconvenience compared to the need to go to a petrol station every 10 days in a petrol car.

I do understand what you're worrying about, if you can't see the benefits yourself, but truly, can't you see that for the vast majority of us, EVs represent a far more superior car owning and driving experience and we're 100% not self-sacrificing anything in choosing them.

Free driving (solar panels). In the last 5 months I've charged twice at public chargers and everything else at home. 5000 miles covered.

Love the car and would never ever go back.

There is no way I would consider buying one if I didn't have a driveway to charge on. I wouldn't want to rely on an on street charger either even outside my house because other people may be using it.

Still not going to encourage people to pay more up front them have to find public chargers and not even save any money. There's no incentive there to use the EV

@Youneverknowwhatyourgonnaget ”and then having the battery put in landfill after 10 years”

The batteries get recycled. They never go to landfill.

I missed a word out.
In the 42% of cases (using public chargers) that are not cheaper, some will cost the same as an EV. They will not all automatically be more expensive, as PP suggested
Either way, in 80% and increasing, of all scenarios, EV are cheaper.

@EilishMcCandlish How can you say the research is not true? Most research on costs is saying the same thing. Some public chargers, plus the cost of buying the car and possible depreciation do make them on a par or even more expensive. Some of us are in a great position to own one or get one via work. Where owners are using their own £, ownership is stalling and incentives are being taken away.

'In today’s economy, where every pound counts, it is essential to recognise that the real cost of owning an EV is far more competitive than many car buyers realise.'

Also this: So where consumers cannot charge at home, in 42% of scenarios EVs are more expensive. Is not true. In those 42%, the costs will be the same as an ICE. But, other benefits such as the environmental ones, will still exist.

@Gogogo12345Yes. Many areas are very short of chargers or they are very expensive. As petrol isn’t too expensive at the moment, public chargers are not cheap enough. Lots of articles been published about there being no financial advantage of having a Ev.

The other big issue is cost of new EVs and private buyers not buying them new. Companies buy them but private buyers are not increasing their purchasing. Depreciation can be huge and it’s way better to buy secondhand - if you can find what you want. That’s the growth market. Then there’s the tax for EVs that are over £40,000 list price. That’s lots of family sized EVs. Certainly many cars not made in China. The incentives for buying EVs are not there unless you can charge cheaply at home.Although plenty seem to like gizmos on this thread, the majority of private buyers are not persuaded.

EVUK recently published a report on the cost of EVs. Here are some paragraphs from This Is Money because I'm not downloading the whole report to my phone - it's 17 pages.
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/electriccars/article-14443813/Electric-cars-cheaper-four-five-UK-drivers-says-industry-report-heres-says-you-save.html?ico=comment-anchor

"It considered total cost of ownership for 50 different EVs across 480 scenarios representative of living and driving situations for motorists across the country.
...
However, not all instances showed EVs to be the cheapest option.
For motorists living in properties without off-street parking, the saving benefits of running an EV is 'not always enough to offset the higher cost of public charging,' the report said.
...
It added: 'In 90 per cent of scenarios, consumers who can charge at home save by switching to an EV, compared to 58 per cent of scenarios where drivers rely entirely on public charging.'"

So where consumers cannot charge at home, in 42% of scenarios EVs are more expensive.

The document itself is called 'Cost Of Driving Electric 2025'.

Just put of interest I had a look at the zap map. In my town of well over 20k residents there are precisely TWO public chargers. They charge 79 p a unit

That means it's not really financially viable for those who have to use public chargers all the time then. If both cars worked out at 19p a mile to run why would someone pay thousands more for an electric version?

Interesting.

Oh and in the winter I lose about 80 miles when it’s cold…ridiculous

I have one on lease through my company. I would never buy one. It is lovely to drive but I just don’t think they make much sense. The cost of replacing the battery alone would put me off buying one. The replacement battery could cost more than the cars worth. Also I have had a few instances of charging my car and the nx morning the electric has tripped and I have no charge which would be a nightmare if you had to say get to a airport and havnt got time to charge. We drove to London last year and couldn’t find a charger on the way home which made my anxiety go through the roof. Finally found one, there was 2 chargers and only one available luckily otherwise we could of been there hours then we had to go and have a coffee while we waited which we didn’t want we just wanted to get home. And I think the whole saving the planet argument is ridiculous and is a massive con. People don’t mind kids mining for lithium for the battery and importing them from china and then having the battery put in landfill after 10 years as long as they feel virtuous driving them! I’m not convinced

@mafsfan Probably some bargain basement thing. I doubt it was a whisper quiet Range Rover.

I found my 2 hybrids and now EV are not heard by anyone. We are around 15-20 mph here and no pavements. No obvious “engine” noise. A bit of a whine maybe. Have got back from our day trip with 96 miles spare. So we need to stop to get to Cornwall. I would not get to the Lake District either.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/04/16/electric-cars-breaking-down-more-than-petrol-vehicles-aa/

"Motoring association says belief in better reliability of EVs is a ‘common misconception’

Electric cars break down more often than petrol and diesel vehicles, the Automobile Association (AA) has warned.

Jakob Pfaudler, boss of the breakdown service, said electric vehicles (EVs) were prone not only to punctures and flat batteries, but also to a host of specific problems such as jammed charging cables and technical glitches.

He said: “There’s a common misconception that electric vehicles break down less frequently than petrol and diesel vehicles.

“Currently, at least, that is not the case. The breakdown rate is, in fact, slightly higher for electric vehicles than for internal combustion-engine vehicles.”

Edmund King, AA president, added that EV drivers were often flustered by the technology and respond to warning lights by immediately shutting down their cars on the roadside.

That is unlike petrol motorists, he said, who were more likely to drive to the nearest garage when confronted with an oil pressure alert.

However, Mr King added that around 90pc of breakdowns involving EVs could be dealt with at the roadside versus 86pc for regular cars, with technicians able to fix problems such as computer glitches through a simple reboot.

Instances of EVs catching fire because of issues around their lithium-ion batteries were also rare, he said, while call-outs for vehicles running out of charge have fallen from 7pc of AA’s total to around 2pc. That is largely thanks to the increased roll-out of chargers across the UK, although the percentage is still twice the amount for conventional cars running out of petrol or diesel.

The AA said it had been forced to spend more than £10m over the past two years to train its 3,000 employees to a level where they can assist EV drivers and deal with the cars’ high-voltage equipment.

The firm has also invested in a programme analysing data and software from EVs to better understand issues surrounding the health of motors and batteries.

However, Mr Pfaudler said he was reluctant to commit too much money to EVs given the recent drop in sales.

He said: “EVs still don’t have a very high penetration in the UK. We need to make sure we don’t train people with something they will only apply once in a blue moon.”

Dealing with EVs that cannot be fixed at the roadside is also a headache, since the vehicles have no neutral gear and cannot be towed.

An AA technician invented what the organisation called a free-wheeling hub, which can be fitted to the rear wheels and allows them to turn.

The weight of EV batteries also means some cars cannot be moved using the AA’s standard towing trailer, which is limited to a two-tonne load. It has forced into investing in upgraded equipment capable of towing a 3.5-tonne vehicle as a result."

-They weigh over 2 tonnes and will destroy the roads and your driveway (eventually)
-Your house (even with a charger attached) may still not create enough current to fully charge your car due to your local grid.
-The infrastructure for charging E cars is appalling which leads to further range anxiety
-There is NO WAY you are only paying £3 for 250 miles..
-Its a national scandal, do you bit by going Hybrid but self charging only.
-Thanks

Love mine. It’s really nice to drive and quiet. Only ever charged at home. It’s easy and cheap to charge just plug in on drive. Don’t miss having to go to petrol station. I don’t do much mileage. Been further in husband’s and charged on go with no issue (Scotland and Lakes)