Electric vehicles (EVs) are more popular than ever in the UK, making up a fifth of all new cars registered in according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). But that doesn’t mean they’re right for everybody, and there are lots of questions you need to be able to answer before you put money down on an EV.
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In this guide, we take you through the basics of what an EV is to what practical considerations you’ll need to make before choosing.
Read on to find out everything you need to know.
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For this article, our definition of an electric car is what is sometimes known as a battery electric vehicle (BEV). This means it’s a car powered entirely by batteries and must be plugged in to charge.
There's no engine, instead the car has one or more electric motors that drive the wheels. Rather than a fuel tank, there’s a bank of batteries – typically under the floor of the car. And instead of a fuel filler inlet, there’s a plug socket.
Otherwise, electric cars are physically quite similar to traditional petrol or diesel cars. There are differences in how they feel to drive (more on this later) but inside, the features are much the same as a fossil fuel car.
Before settling on an EV as your next car, ask yourself these five crucially important practical questions.
One big advantage to owning an EV is that, if you can charge at home, running costs should be lower than petrol or diesel cars.
When charging at home, you’re going to be paying the domestic rate for electricity with none of the extra costs that charging at a public charger incurs. See our guide to home charging to find out more.
Also think about your home energy use. Do you have a smart meter? Can you change your electricity tariff to one that will make charging your car cheaper overnight? If the answer is yes, you can save even more money.
If you don’t have a dedicated parking space at home, that doesn’t mean you should eliminate the idea of an EV entirely.
For example, if your workplace has a place to charge and offers discounted rates for employees, you’ll spend less on your EV’s battery than you would on petrol, albeit likely more than if you were charging at home.
If you can’t charge at home or at work, you’re likely to spend more on electricity than you would on fuel for a petrol or diesel car. Very efficient EVs could be cheaper to run than a typical petrol or diesel car even if you use the public charger network, but most won't be.
As you'll be reliant on the public charging network, you will have to plan ahead for when and where you’re going to charge your car, even if you have a charging point on your street. Read more about how to use public charging points.
This question is particularly important if you can’t charge at home. If your weekly journeys tend to be short, you may go weeks without needing to charge your car.
On average, the new EVs we’ve tested have 245 miles of range and almost all can manage at least 180 miles in our tests.
It’s therefore worth thinking about your average week and how many times you’re likely to need to charge in a given month. That will help you figure out how much money you’ll save each month on fuel. And how many times you’ll need to deal with the public charging network in your local area (if you can’t have a home charger).
With the long journeys you know you're going to make, consider the reality of having to stop for around 40 minutes to charge your car to finish your trip.
If you’re driving so far that you empty your battery part-way there, you might consider taking a break as something you’d do anyway. Equally, you might not appreciate an enforced break, especially if you're in a rush. Of course, this is a personal preference and should be balanced with the other questions above.
If there’s a journey you know you’re going to take, see what the route might be like and where you’d consider stopping for a charge.
Keep in mind that many newer EVs will help you plan a route that takes charging stops into account so you won’t have to spend ages figuring things out.
Lots of newer EVs can tow, but usually only larger models. Even then, their towing capacity is often less than a typical petrol or diesel car, so it's important to check before you buy.
See the towing section in our electric SUV guide for more.
Previous governments have been playing with a complete ban on the sale of all new cars that use fossil fuels. However, the rules now state that full hybrid and plug-in hybrids cars can continue to be sold after , alongside EVs. A complete ban on hybrids will then come into force in . The government also made it easier for manufacturers to meet their zero-emission cars sales targets.
While this doesn't affect your choices right now, it does mean that car manufacturers are now under less pressure to sell EVs and thus discounts on the purchase price of EVs are likely to be less common than they were previously.
In short, electric cars are typically more expensive than an equivalent petrol/diesel or hybrid car.
This is partly due to the fact that electric power has been reserved for mid-range to high-end cars, with only a smattering of low-cost models. But there are some obvious cases where opting for an electric powertrain adds a lot to the price of a car.
For example, the Vauxhall Corsa is available in petrol, hybrid and EV guises. Buying directly from Vauxhall’s website, these are the prices for the cheapest of each model at the ‘GS’ trim level.
Prices are a representative example and last checked in February .
While the Corsa is just one example, it shows that even on a comparatively cheap EV, you’re still paying a premium over a petrol car, or even a hybrid. It’s therefore important to factor in your expected charging/fuel costs when weighing up what car to buy next.
More generally, the table below shows you the average price for the base versions of cars we’ve tested that are available to buy new. We’ve split this into the four classes where we have enough samples to create a good average. Although this isn’t representative of the entire UK car market, it still makes for interesting reading.
Car classAverage petrol/diesel price*Average electric priceMedium cars£28,146£29,243Large cars£50,019£60,911Small SUVs£25,889£33,764Medium/Large SUVs£47,831£51,242Data from February . Average price based on the average cheapest price for all cars available to buy new. *Includes mild hybrids.
It's hard to assess the environmental impact of cars due to the different ways they impact the environment; local and global emissions are very different, as are social issues such as poor working practices.
Below we've highlighted a few key points to consider when thinking about the environmental impact of EVs, but this is an area where more research is undoubtedly needed.
EVs are better for your local environment due to the fact they don’t produce any tailpipe emissions. If all cars were EVs, air quality in urban areas would be improved.
However, there are other parts of EVs where there are certainly issues. A common complaint about EVs is that their batteries rely on rare earth metals (also known as critical minerals). These materials are mined from the ground, which is a dirty and dangerous process that has supply chain issues including slave labour.
Keep in mind, though, that drilling for oil from the ground – while an established norm – is also terrible for the environment, has a dirty supply chain and also has questionable working practices.
So while it’s fair to say that the metal mining industry could certainly be cleaner, this doesn’t change the fact that fossil fuels – from the well to the tailpipe – are environmentally damaging.
Other issues raised about EVs include the fact that they tend to be heavier and thus cause more air pollution from their tyres and brakes.
There is evidence that the issue around tyres is true, but media coverage of a major study into the effects of brake dust mostly does not take into account the fact that EVs use their brakes a lot less. EVs are typically slowed by regenerative braking, where the magnets slow the car to recover lost energy; with no parts rubbing together – and thus, no brake dust emissions.
Another issue with EVs is the process of disposing of/recycling batteries. Currently this process is energy intensive and can be polluting.
However, the majority of EVs on the road aren’t particularly old yet, so the problem of recycling vast quantities of batteries won’t be a huge issue until the first generation of EV batteries start to reach the end of their useful life in large numbers.
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EV battery warranties usually last eight years and there’s no evidence yet that this is the ultimate lifespan of a battery – that’s just the point at which carmakers stop guaranteeing their performance. See our story on EV battery degradation for more.
Electric motors contain much fewer moving parts than petrol or diesel-powered engines, so you’d expect them to go wrong less frequently.
However our annual reliability survey has found repeatedly that EVs tend to have more faults than petrol and full hybrid cars, but fewer than diesels and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) in their first four years.
According to our latest survey, EVs made between and tend to suffer from more faults than most other types of cars of the same age – aside from PHEVs, which rated the same. Worse, when an EV does go wrong it tends to spend longer being fixed than most other types of car.
On average, a faulty EV that’s less than four years old will spend 5.3 days off the road being repaired, above the average of 4.8 for all cars that age. Older EVs aged 5-to-9 years are worse for this; they spend 5.7 days off the road when faulty, compared to the average of four days for cars of this age.
Our reliability figures show that generally, it isn’t features specific to EVs that tend to cause faults. The motors and main batteries themselves rarely have issues, according to our data.
The most common faults for newer EVs are software issues, followed by issues with the 12V battery, air con and cooling.
Older EVs do seem to have issues with suspension parts, though; 10% of faults on 5-to-9-year-old EVs are with the suspension, rising to 18% of faults on 10-15-year-old EVs. Suspension issues are uncommon on other types of car.
While the above shows general trends, your experience does depend on the car you choose. See our guides to the most reliable car brands (including major brands’ EV offerings) and most reliable cars for more information about the specific models you’re considering.
In our tests, the average range of all electric cars available to buy new is 245 miles. The biggest range we’ve seen is a colossal 382 miles (a large SUV) while the lowest is just 96 miles (a city car designed for short trips).
Around a fifth of EVs on our website have ranges of less than 200 miles, while only eight of those have a range of less than 180 miles. Cars with the highest ranges tend to be larger, more luxurious cars or SUVs since there's more space in these vehicles for lots of batteries.
Also, don’t mistake range for efficiency. Many electric cars with long ranges have large batteries are very inefficient with how they use electricity, often due to their size and weight. And since a bigger battery costs more to charge, the efficiency of an EV has a direct impact on how much you’ll spend on charging.
Keep in mind too that some EVs have an attractive base price, but to actually get the range you want you’ll probably need to pick a trim level with a bigger battery. This might also force you to add other features you don’t need.
There’s also a reason we quote our own figures and not those of the manufacturers: it’s rare for a manufacturer’s official range to give you the real picture.
Our tests go further and are a more realistic set of scenarios. They include having sidelights/daytime running lights switched on as well as the climate control set to 21ºC on a simulated mixed driving cycle of urban streets, motorways and country roads.
On average, our tests show a range difference of around 19% compared to official, industry-standard ‘Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure’ figures (WLTP).
If you have a dedicated parking spot at home, you should definitely consider buying a home charger (also referred to as an EV wallbox). Getting one installed means empty-to-full charge times go from days to hours and you can charge most EVs overnight.
There are various options you can choose from, but you should be looking at a 7.4kW charger to get the most out of your investment and benefit from reasonable charging times. Our guide to charging an electric car at home has all the information you need.
If you don’t have a dedicated parking space, all is not lost as there are some solutions that allow you to run a cable from your house to your car. But there can be a lot of council and highways-related paperwork involved (although some companies claim to be able to deal with that for you).
How easy it is to charge at public charge points depends on where you are.
The rollout of chargers in the UK seems to be increasing at pace but, according to government stats, most charging stations are classed as ‘destination’ charging stations, such as at service stations. Just 37% are on-street chargers.
The bulk of chargers are found in cities and towns (as you’d expect given the population density). Only around 13% are located in more rural areas.
In short, don’t buy an EV based on the promise of future access to charging facilities, be it at home or in your local area. Instead, choose to buy an EV based on what you’re prepared to put up with right now. Any improvements to your situation will simply be a bonus.
If you can charge at home, running an EV is extremely cheap compared to petrol and diesel models. With an off-peak tariff, it can cost less than £10.
You save a lot less if you charge at a public charger. If you only ever filled up at a public ultra-rapid charger, you would likely end up paying more per mile of driving than with a similar petrol or diesel car.
Our guide on the costs of EV charging goes into more detail.
As a guide, when using rapid or ultra-rapid charging stations (such as at a motorway service station), allow around 40 minutes to charge from 20% to 80% capacity. However, bear in mind charging time varies with the charging station and the car.
We’ve often found that while cars have extremely fast peak-charging capabilities, they don’t tend to maintain those speeds for very long.
This is done to protect the battery. The faster a battery is charged, the faster it wears out so the car will slow things down to help the battery last longer. Some cars have a setting to unleash the full charging power for longer.
For more on this, head to our charging guide that includes charging times.
EVs are exempt from paying to enter all clean air zones in the UK. However, policies on clean air can change rapidly so always check the area you’re planning on driving in beforehand. Go to the government’s Clean Air Zone checking tool for more information.
The London Congestion Charge Zone, which covers central London, is technically free for electric cars, but only if you sign up for the £10 per year Cleaner Vehicle Discount Scheme. This unlocks a '100% discount' on all journeys over 12 months. This scheme is ending at the end of , though.
While the scheme is still operational, if you drive into the zone without registering, you’ll need to pay the £15 daily fee or incur a penalty charge. Again, these rules can change so check Transport for London’s website for the latest info.
As with shopping for any kind of vehicle, you should choose a model that you can afford and meets your essential needs. Is the passenger compartment sufficiently roomy to transport your family and/or friends in comfort? Is there enough cargo room in the trunk or rear hatch to facilitate a typical trip to the grocery or warehouse store? Where is the nearest dealership where you can get the vehicle serviced?
Perhaps the most critical electric vehicle buying consideration is how many miles a given model can be driven on a full charge. Many of the latest EVs can run for more than 200 miles, while older models in the used market may be limited to around 80 miles. More is better in this regard to stem so-called range anxiety, but depending on your driving habits you may not have to pay top dollar for a longer-range EV. If your daily commute is nominal and you have close access to shopping and recreation, an EV having a modest operating range may suffice. Range can be less of an issue if you also own a conventionally powered vehicle that you can drive worry free over longer distances. Be aware, however, that an electric car’s range can be adversely affected by factors like ambient temperature (especially extreme cold and hot weather), use of accessories (primarily the heater and air conditioning), and your driving habits (an EV uses more energy at highway speeds than it does around town).
Choosing a new electric vehicle ensures you will be getting the latest features and technology, the automaker’s full warranty, and perhaps a longer operating range on a charge than with an older model. On the other hand, used EVs are especially affordable due to a combination of circumstances. Older limited-range models are downright cheap and can prove to be an economical alternative to a gas-powered car for getting to and from a commuter rail station and running local errands. Newer used EVs are often sold as certified pre-owned models that come with an extended warranty and other perks. You’ll find an extensive inventory of pre-owned EVs listed for sale here on MyEV.com.
A large percentage of electric vehicles are leased for two or three-year periods rather than purchased outright and financed. While this guarantees you’ll be making perpetual car payments, leasing does have its advantages. Monthly outlays and down payments are typically lower with leasing, and you simply return the car to the dealership at the end of the term. This ensures you won’t be saddled with a hard to sell EV with what could be dated technology down the road. On the down side, leases come with strict mileage limits with excessive penalties for exceeding them. If you return a leased EV in less than excellent condition, you’ll be charged “wear and tear” fees. And leases are difficult and costly to get out of should you become unable to make the payments or decide you want a different vehicle. If you’re financing, be sure to shop around for the lowest rates and see what the automaker's financing division is offering. But keep in mind that the best lease and financing deals are typically restricted to those having excellent credit.
Most electric vehicle charging is done at home where it’s cheapest and most convenient. While it’s possible to charge an EV via standard 110-volt house current, it does so at a snail’s pace. It can take anywhere from 12 hours to more than an entire day to fully replenish a drained battery, depending on the model. You’ll want to consider spending a few hundred dollars to have an electrician install a dedicated 240-volt line and outlet, like those used for heavy-duty electric appliances. Called Level 2 charging, it roughly cuts the time to fully replenish a battery in half. Check with your energy provider to see if they offer lower off-peak rates for nighttime charging. You should also think about buying a dedicated wall charging station for added safety and convenience. You can purchase either of three popular units from supplier ClipperCreek directly from MyEV.com via a link embedded in any of our used-EV listings.
Take stock of where public charging stations are located near where you live, work and shop, as you never know when you may need a fresh jolt of kilowatts away from home. Most EVs can now take advantage of what’s called Level 3 charging (also known as DC Fast Charging) via public stations that can bring the state of charge up to 80 percent in around 30 minutes, depending on the vehicle. A number of websites, including PlugShare.com and PlugInAmerica.org feature interactive maps that show the locations of public charging stations, what type of charging they support, and even whether or not they’re currently in use. Many take credit or debit cards, while some require you to join the provider’s charging network and enable a unit via a special card or a smartphone app.
Unless you plan on using an EV strictly for commuting and short haul use, you’ll need to do some homework to determine whether taking an extended road trip is viable. Here again you’ll need to determine where public chargers are situated along a given route from each other to ensure you won’t become stranded along the way. Importantly, you’ll need to figure out how far away they are from each other to ensure they’re comfortably within your vehicle’s range.
Most new electric vehicles are eligible for a one-time $7,500 federal tax credit. Be aware, however, that you won’t be able to take advantage of the full amount if you owe less than $7,500 in taxes. If you’re leasing an EV, the credit will typically be figured in as part of the deal. The exceptions here are Tesla models and General Motors’ Chevrolet Bolt EV. Their credits are being phased out since the automakers sold 200,000 electrified vehicles, which is a provision of the legislation that created them. Some states sweeten the deal with financial incentives of their own. Your local power company may offer a rebate to help cover the cost of having a home charging station installed. Also check automakers’ websites to see if they’re offering cash rebates and/or cut rate financing or lease deals to further cut your costs.
As with other vehicle types, electric cars and crossovers come with a warranty and their terms vary from one automaker to another. A comprehensive (also called "full" or "bumper-to-bumper") warranty covers most repairs except for wear-and-tear items. A separate powertrain warranty pertains to the electric motor, transmission, and other major components. Coverage is in effect for a set number of years or miles driven, whichever comes first. Most automakers also throw in roadside assistance services for a specified period. Automakers cover an EV’s battery pack separately for 8 years/100,000 miles or longer, and it transfers automatically to subsequent owners. You’ll want to go over a given model’s warranty terms carefully via the automaker’s website to check the terms and exclusions.
Never buy any vehicle whether new or used, gas or electric without giving it a thorough test drive. Make sure any EV you’re considering is sufficiently comfortable and that its performance meets your expectations. Put the vehicle through its paces in local traffic and on the highway, paying close attention to how it accelerates, brakes, and takes the curves. Get a feel for how easy it is to park. Ensure you can easily read the instrumentation and work the audio system and climate control while driving without undue distraction. Keep an eye on the state of charge indicator to get an idea of how quickly it consumes battery power.
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