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

[MyHeartyBlueShaker]

You’d think there would be more incentives - cheaper parking, easier charging access, or some kind of priority. But in reality, it often feels like there are just extra costs and hassle. What are the actual rewards?

Are your needs greater than everyone elses op?

I was impressed when my friend wanted to park his car in a tight spot. He got out whilst the car was sticking out the space and reversed it whilst standing in the car park!

Because none of the things you’ve mentioned are a typical experience for an electric car driver. ? Home charging does make a big difference, using an EV tariff overnight gets us a full charge of around 220 miles, newer cars range is increasing all the time. The one your husband drives at 100 miles really isn’t great ! I think we pay around 7p per kWh must admit I haven’t looked lately as it’s so good !
I find the range pretty accurate, put destination into satnav and it tells you the mileage and what % it will be when you arrive. Obviously you don’t risk it getting to 1% or something, but then you wouldn’t let a petrol car run in the red either, in fact I find the EV more accurate.
Just done a 500 mile return trip with no problems at all, love it !

You don't want to hear that the level of pollution where I live has drastically reduced over the last five years? That I'm not wheezy from walking to the (electric) bus stop? That since air pollution from vehicles became something that was important to governments and manufacturers, I'm no longer having to cleanse thick black grime off my face?

OK, then.

I pay £100 pm for electricity and £0 in fuel. And drive a minimum 40 miles a day. That’s a pretty big benefit. I’m on a cheaper energy tariff that’s only available if you have an EV.

I can also get a cheaper local council parking pass for driving an EV. It used to be free but now it’s £150 instead of £350.

There used to be a lot of perks to incentivise take up, but they’re being stopped now - I expect because there are so many on the roads now, we could do with slowing down people buying them until infrastructure is improved.

That said, I wouldn’t buy anything but another electric car now.

They’re so much nicer to drive!

So bored of the anti EV people. You’re tedious. Don't get one.

Just leave us EV drivers alone.

Absolutely yes !! Something to do with torque apparently, whatever that is !

Very little to go wrong in electric cars

lol my neighbour has one.

it’s always going wrong, and is always very very expensive.

last was some sort of alarm on the boot. Kept going off every couple of minutes. £1k to sort it.

puts me off as it’s always the electrical components seem to go wrong and be tough to fix. I have a very old ICE with very little in the way of flashes and bing bongs and it’s had a much longer life span.

they’re getting rid.

I feel like there's some sort of smear campaign against EVs 😂 These threads are popping up non stop at the moment!

Don't get one then! The rest of us will enjoy our super cheap travel 😎

I don’t mean reward as in a prize for driving, I’m talking about practical incentives. For a technology that’s being pushed as the future, you’d expect things like easier infrastructure, reduced costs or smoother access - not just higher prices and constant planning. It’s less about entitlement and more about whether the benefits actually outweigh the drawbacks in day to day life.

One perk I've not seen mentioned yet is ULEZ zones. Don't have to pay, don't have to worry about fines for inadvertently driving into one.

As well as the already mentioned ease and quietness of driving, fabulous torque & acceleration, free milage from our solar panels, and being able to pre-heat or cool from the app (including defrosting windscreen and mirrors without having to step out of the house).

My dh has a company car that’s fully electric. His perk is that he can charge it for free at his office. I’m sure if we actually bought one it’d be a different story. Though I’ve looked at replacing my petrol car with a similar model in electric and it’s more than twice the price. I’ll pass thanks.

We just did a round trip up the M1/ A1M from Northampton to Durham. The car was on 100% when we left, we stopped once for about 40.mins each way and the car charged while we ate. It was pretty easy really. Cheaper than filling up with petrol and so much nicer to drive.
Going off the beaten track might be more difficult but we have found the infrastructure to be pretty good for major towns and cities.

I’ve got an Audi etron and it’s beautiful to drive

Not at all… I’m just questioning whether the wider infrastructure and real-world experience of owning an electric car actually reflects the push to get people driving them. If EVs are being promoted as the future, then it’s fair to ask where are the incentives or practical benefits that make switching feel worthwhile for everyone - not just me?

Much cheaper to run. Don't have to go to petrol stations. Almost never charge away from home (only on very long trips). Tax benefits it bought through company scheme. Lower road tax. Feel like a nicer human.

I have nothing against electric cars - well apart from the fact that lots of them are really very ugly. But at the moment the downsides outweigh the benefits. My tiny Smart Car costs me £20 a year to tax and about £35 a month in fuel. Then servicing, MOT and insurance costs which last year totalled approximately £425. It’s fully paid for so no car payments.

I live in a flat with no charging points and no plans to install any. By the time you factor in car repayments and using public charging facilities, it makes no financial sense for me to swap.

The shortage of technicians with specialist training to carry out repairs.
After 8 years, an EV is essentially worthless. Who would want to buy the car when the battery warranty is expired and a replacement costs around 7k. The lack of charging capability. Not everyone has drive ways. Some large workplaces currently have only two charging ports. Others, none. There's a long way to go. I won't get one until it's the only option available .

Constant planning? I put my journey into the satnav, it tells me where all the chargers are along the route and at what point I'll need to use one. I can add preferred charging networks, and set the battery level I don't want to drop below.

And the EV electricity tarrif doesn't just give you cheap power for the car - you get cut price electricity for everything overnight, so can run washing machines, dishwashers etc for much less.

• Cost pence to recharge at home
• 8 year warranty on two year old car
• I can pretend I'm in Knight Rider or Tomorrow's World
• It's so fast, fun to drive and so comfortable
• Smug halo of superiority

To sum up:
It appears that the vast majority of EV drivers here absolutely love their electric cars and wouldn’t swap.
A lot of people who don’t have one can only see problems which in real life aren’t a problem.
There may be certain circumstances where an EV might not suit someone, and that’s ok, don’t buy one !

You just blasted someone who is agreeing with you!

Best car I've ever driven.Would never go back to petrol.And don't miss smelly petrol stations. We do have solar panels and home charging but have never had a problem charging or reaching destination.

The problem is surely the grid itself? I used to work for a business that did a lot of electrical stuff and were branching into selling EV installs. All the electrical engineers said the national grid is a long way short of being able to cope with the potential increased load.