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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to not want an electric car?

318 replies

Elevenfourteen · 04/04/2022 19:57

I know IABU for asking such a dull question, but my Dh wants to buy an electric car and I’m not convinced.
I guess they’re better for the environment so that’s one thing. But are we set up for them properly yet? Do all garages have charging points? Do you have to hang around the garage for ages while they charge? I just can’t imagine how they can be a practical option.
Driving to work and back and charging at night is fine, but what about going on holiday?

Do any of you have electric cars and can you reassure me?

OP posts:
BuanoKubiamVej · 04/04/2022 20:03

If you're not convinced then push for getting a plug-in hybrid. I have a non-plug-in hybrid, it mostly uses petrol but the energy from braking and going downhill gets recaptured as electrical energy to supplement the petrol energy. A plugin hybrid can function as a fully electric vehicle and only uses petrol if it can't meet your needs in terms of speed or distance via tge battery. My parents have a plug in hybrid and throughout the last 2 years have spent less than £100 on petrol and that has included some long distance journeys.

It's good to be ahead of the curve by a little bit if you can so do consider this. Petrol is only going to get more and more expensive.

MurmuratingStarling · 04/04/2022 20:06

YANBU. Hell will freeze over before I get an electric car. And no WAY will everyone in the UK have one by 2030. Stupid, unrealistic goal that is.

Do the Government not realise that the VAST majority of UK citizens do NOT have £30,000 to buy a bloody electric car?! Hmm

Also, having an electric car as your main/only car is untenable long-term. And the infrastructure is not even 10% of the way to being ready for it.

AFineBalance · 04/04/2022 20:07

We have a plug in hybrid and I love it.

What are your most regular journeys? Do you visit friends and family where you could plug in?

FiveForAPound · 04/04/2022 20:08

We've got two and I've only had an issue once where I couldn't get charged at a service station on a long drive. I should have charged it before I left though.

They vary quite a lot in range so that's what you need to look at. We charge at home 99% of the time. We've taken one on uk holidays and had no problems charging but I don't know if that will always be the case as they become more popular.

PastMyBestBeforeDate · 04/04/2022 20:12

The target is not for everyone to have them Starling. All new cars will have to be electric. People will be able to drive their old cars. And it only applies to cars so vans, lorries etc will still have combustion engines.

alwayswrighty · 04/04/2022 20:13

I do 4k or less in miles per year in my car. I genuinely cannot justify selling it (worth 5k) and spending another 30k on an electric which hasn't got the range to get to my Mums 360 miles away. The torque is incredible on them, and they have instant power, that's about as excited as I can get.

Amelion · 04/04/2022 20:13

@MurmuratingStarling

YANBU. Hell will freeze over before I get an electric car. And no WAY will everyone in the UK have one by 2030. Stupid, unrealistic goal that is.

Do the Government not realise that the VAST majority of UK citizens do NOT have £30,000 to buy a bloody electric car?! Hmm

Also, having an electric car as your main/only car is untenable long-term. And the infrastructure is not even 10% of the way to being ready for it.

Well, ‘everyone having electric cars by 2030’ is not and has never been the goal, @MurmuratingStarling.

The government is aiming to ban sale of new diesel and petrol cars by 2030. Hybrids can still be sold beyond 2030. And there will obviously be many diesel and petrol cars sold pre-2030 on the streets for many years after 2030.

Whether that’s realistic or not is still a massive question, but it’s nothing like aiming for all cars on the roads to be electric by 2030.

carefullycourageous · 04/04/2022 20:14

I think yabu, to be honest. The environmental aspects are really big.

We are car-free but when we need one we use an electric hire car and have found it really nice to drive and pretty easy to charge up. There are rapid chargers on motorways.

alwayswrighty · 04/04/2022 20:14

There may still be petrol/diesels on the road but the cost of those fuels will sky rocket.

TooManyPJs · 04/04/2022 20:15

@MurmuratingStarling

YANBU. Hell will freeze over before I get an electric car. And no WAY will everyone in the UK have one by 2030. Stupid, unrealistic goal that is.

Do the Government not realise that the VAST majority of UK citizens do NOT have £30,000 to buy a bloody electric car?! Hmm

Also, having an electric car as your main/only car is untenable long-term. And the infrastructure is not even 10% of the way to being ready for it.

That's not what the target is. The target is just for new cars.
pearandsausage · 04/04/2022 20:15

I've had one since last summer and I love it.

Most of my journeys are local - less than 10 miles so I nip around on electric.

It has about a 180 mile range (unless is gets a bit cold) and I charge it every week/10 days overnight)

I had a charger installed on the drive for convenience.

Longer journeys take a bit more planning, I tend to choose a service station with a quick charger (50kwh) and have a coffee whilst waiting. Only had an issue once where the first service station's chargers weren't working. I have a toddler so we have to stop for the toilet etc anyway.

DH is waiting for a Tesla via work - their charging infrastructure is currently head and shoulders above everyone else's - it'll make longer journeys even easier.

Charging points are popping up everywhere so I think it'll get easier and easier to charge out and about.

It was expensive but the differential between electric and petrol is huge (at the moment anyway, we're in a fixed rate for energy until the autumn)

PastMyBestBeforeDate · 04/04/2022 20:16

Amelion I think Hybrids are included from 2030.

Orangeteddy · 04/04/2022 20:16

I have an electric car but it all depends on your circumstances. If you have your own driveway and can install a home charger it’s relatively easy to charge. You can also get an EV tariff from some energy companies to get cheap overnight charging if you have a smart meter.

Holidays needs a bit more planning but more and more rapid chargers are being rolled out every week at service stations, tourist attractions, supermarkets and McDonald’s so it’s about combining a snack/toilet pit stop with a charge. Rapid chargers will charge your car in about an hour, slower chargers will take a few hours but tend to be at destinations where you’d park your car for a few hours. Sometimes they’re busy or out of service then you need a plan B but apps like Zap Map show the location of all chargers.

I probably wouldn’t advise getting an EV yet if you can’t charge at home unless you have chargers at work or local chargers within walking distance (eg many Tescos have free chargers).

EV’s are more expensive but there’s some cost savings currently in terms of zero road tax, no congestion charge, free parking in some towns and cheaper to run than fuel (unless you rely solely on public rapids)

EngTech · 04/04/2022 20:17

Have you factored in the electrical works needed at home if you want to charge at home?

Amelion · 04/04/2022 20:20

@PastMyBestBeforeDate

Amelion I think Hybrids are included from 2030.
@PastMyBestBeforeDate no, hybrids can be sold until 2035 if they meet certain criteria.
TheVolturi · 04/04/2022 20:21

We've had full electric cars since 2016. They have really come on since then. My current one has over double the range that my first one had. My husbands car has almost double the range that mine does now. Its more than doable to go on holiday in one, I mean, how far do you go without stopping anyway, and how often do you do cross country journeys?
They are amazing to drive effortless really, and they are so smooth, acceleration is amazing. My car won't let me crash it either, thankfully 🤣

Fcuk38 · 04/04/2022 20:23

@MurmuratingStarling

YANBU. Hell will freeze over before I get an electric car. And no WAY will everyone in the UK have one by 2030. Stupid, unrealistic goal that is.

Do the Government not realise that the VAST majority of UK citizens do NOT have £30,000 to buy a bloody electric car?! Hmm

Also, having an electric car as your main/only car is untenable long-term. And the infrastructure is not even 10% of the way to being ready for it.

The target isn’t for everyone to have an electric car by 2030- it’s just that new car and vans sales of diesel and petrol will be banned. It will take years to get rid of second / third hand cars out the market.

In answer to the original question: no we are not geared up electric yet. However, the government has just published the ev infrastructure strategy. It some to increase chargers on a roads and motorways. However it also looks at local charging options, so there have been trials of chargers in lamp posts for example. Added to this the private sector Eg retail car parks are increasing Massively the number of chargers they are installing. Tesco for example offer free charging in their car parks .

In answer to you question about speed of charging. If it’s what we refer to as destination Charing then it will be rapid chargers that take 20 mins for a full charge. Home charging take hours because of course they can be charged overnight.

Personally I wouldn’t have a electric car atm because they are so expensive and I don’t see why we should have to pay extra for being green.

MissyB1 · 04/04/2022 20:24

Got mine last week - I love it! So lovely to drive.

MrsBertBibby · 04/04/2022 20:25

I have a Renault Zoe, and I bloody love it. It'll be 3 years old this summer, and I will have to decide whether to pay it off or trade it. It has 180m capacity, the new Zoe is more like 250. It accelerates like a rocket, it's a dream to drive.

Never had trouble finding charging spots on the rare occasions I have needed to charge away from home.

gogohm · 04/04/2022 20:26

Is it going to be your only car? If so a plug in hybrid is more flexible. I share your concerns

FuzzyPuffling · 04/04/2022 20:26

I've never driven an automatic in my long life. I'm not sure I want to learn that now.

LetsGoCrazyPurpleBanana · 04/04/2022 20:28

Engtech we have just got a home charger installed. All in it was £1000 but we had £350 off with grant which has stopped now. Home chargers vary between £450 to a couple of grand.

SwanBuster · 04/04/2022 20:28

There is only one electric car make that’s reasonable currently imho for totally replacing an ICE vehicle if you do serious mileage- and still giving more or less an Ok experience - and that’s a Tesla.

That’s Because of the supercharging network - although they might be opening that up to other makes, which will mean it might become swamped.

The crème de la crème of electric cars worth having is a Tesla Model S - or an X - if you can somehow find one of the very few available with free transferable unlimited supercharging. These stopped in very early 2017 (the free transferable supercharging bit), and honestly - if you have one it’s an immense vehicle. Charging stops are not a problem on long journeys, they naturally tally with rest breaks for the most part. The range is more than acceptable.

You have to be very careful though buying one. The free charging only transfers if the car hadn’t been through Tesla.

And did I mention free charging? I do 20k miles per year and it cost me around £300 in charging too ups at home and work. Otherwise I using the superchargers. That’s 1.5p per mile!

SwanBuster · 04/04/2022 20:30

If you don’t mind paying for ‘fuel’, then a Kia Ev6 currently looks like the best all round new vehicle. But the supercharger network is such a boon it’s difficult to stay away from Tesla.

LetsGoCrazyPurpleBanana · 04/04/2022 20:32

Well said swanbuster. Love our Tesla :)