We’ve been made aware a list of the ‘top ten’ internet searches related to Electric Vehicles, there’s a few funny things in there so we have decided to give some replies based on our experiences.
1. Can electric cars go through the car wash?
Yes! Just the same as every other car, just pull in and let the machine do its job, even better if you have kids in car – always a treat for them!
2. Are electric cars safe?
Yes! Some electric cars have even set new records for passenger safety.
3. Can I charge my mobile phone?
Yep, that’s a real search apparently! EV’s come with all the outlets that you expect on a modern car.
4. Are all-electric cars automatic?
Yes, they are, and judging from the conversations that we have people very quickly learn to love the smooth and relaxed driving experience.
5. Will the air conditioner ruin my battery life?
Lucky for us on the Isle of Wight we don’t often get stifling weather, but when the sun does come out we all like to be comfortable, and yes air-con does use a bit more battery, but with the distances we do locally you’ll barely notice.
6. Are electric car charging points free to use?
No, or more precisely not often anymore, whilst there were some free options nearly all chargers have now moved to paid business models.
A better question these days would be “is it more expensive to charge rather than ‘fill up?” and the answer to that is, almost certainly not. There have been some circumstances where charge prices have tipped above 80p per kWh (which is about the point that mile for mile cost parity is reached) but that’s only for rapid chargers on the motorways, regular public chargers tend to be about half that cost and home charging a quarter of conventional prices – or even less.
7. Can you drive through standing water?
Yes, and with no exhaust pipe you might even be better off in an EV! There are videos on YouTube of electric Nissans going through 70cms of water, which is a staggering amount, all the way to the top of the wheels!
8. Can an electric car cause electric shock?
There is no evidence that we can find of EV’s giving people shocks, at least nothing more than the odd bit of static which is mostly related to our clothes and fabric covered seats!
9, What if I don’t have a driveway?
Some people that we know love their EV’s so much that they get by without their own charge point, but we are not going to lie, having a driveway (or other private parking) is very handy for EV owners, having said that with the upcoming roll out of 40+ public chargers on the island things will get much easier for all owners soon.
10. How safe are electric car batteries?
According to some sources incidents involving batteries are even rarer than problems with fuel tanks in conventional cars, and considering the technology is young that situation will only improve.
Well that was that ‘top ten’ that was found on the net, but here’s a number 11 just from us.
11, Are electric cars really ‘greener’ than conventional cars?
Yes, even taking into account all the materials that go into the cars and the electricity needed to power them day-to-day they are without a doubt ‘greener’ over the medium to long term, and that has been demonstrated in study after study. And apart from the ‘big picture’ of the planet there is a obvious absence of air pollution in our streets that is not only unhealthy, it can also be pretty unpleasant.
If you have any other questions we’d be very happy to answer them, because we are sure that Going Electric is a better experience for all.