Buying your first EV: everything you’ve been afraid to ask

The Government’s announcement that there’s to be a new grant scheme for buyers of new electric cars might have you considering taking the plunge. Electric cars require some adjustment, but most new EVs are good to drive, have enough range to be usable every day and are practical enough for family use – even the low-priced ones that will qualify for the new electric car grant of up to £3,750.

But changing to a fully electric car might seem intimidating if you’ve spent the last few decades driving petrol or diesel. Where will I charge? What happens if I break down? How much will it really cost me? We’ll answer all these questions and more in this guide.

The Carwow team knows a thing or two about EVs – we test all of the latest models and some of us even own one as an everyday car. You can read more about how we test cars, but scroll down for your EV questions answered.

If you’re taking the plunge on your first EV, you can buy brand new or used right here on Carwow. And you can sell your car, too. We’re here to help you through every step of your car-changing journey.

Choosing and buying an EV

1. Is an EV right for me?
2. What’s the difference between a BEV, PHEV, REV and hybrid?
3. Are electric cars more expensive to buy?
4. Do EVs save money in the long run?
5. What government grants are available?
6. Is it worth waiting for newer tech or models?

Driving and using your EV

7. What’s different about driving an EV?
8. Are all EVs automatic?
9. How far can I actually drive on a full charge?
10. Can I take an EV on a long road trip?
11. How do EVs handle winter or bad weather?

Charging and power

12. How easy is it to charge at home?
13. What if I can’t install a home charger?
14. Where do I find public chargers?
15. How fast can I charge on the go?
16. How much does charging really cost?

Ownership and running costs

17. How much maintenance do EVs need?
18. What does an EV battery warranty cover?
19. Is insurance more expensive for an electric car?
20. Do I need to think about resale value?

Choosing and buying an electric vehicle (EV)

1. Is an EV right for me?

For the vast majority of drivers – yes. The first generation of EVs might have been suitable for early adopters only, but the latest models can slot effortlessly into everyday life for a huge number of people.

There are limitations. Ideally, you should be able to charge at home – more on that lower down. If you regularly undertake very long journeys, then most EVs won’t have the charge to support you. And there may be a disparity between what you want to pay and the capability you need. The good news is that we’ve reviewed all of the latest EVs here on Carwow, so you can easily find the best car for your needs.

2. What’s the difference between a BEV, PHEV, REV and hybrid?

Electric cars are rife with jargon, buzzwords and initialisms. BEV stands for battery electric vehicle – you may also see just ‘EV’ – and this means a car that’s fully powered by electricity.

PHEV stands for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. These cars have large battery packs and can usually do anywhere between 20-70 miles on a charge (depending on the model) but have a petrol or diesel engine as well. They can run on their engine, their electric motor, or a combination of the two.

REV is a range-extending electric vehicle and means an electric car with a petrol engine. Unlike a PHEV this engine acts purely as a generator to top up the battery.

Hybrid simply refers to any car that has a petrol or diesel engine as well as an electric motor.

3. Are electric cars more expensive to buy?

Generally, yes, but with manufacturer discounts, the new electric car grant, and the general shifting of prices, the gap is narrowing. Take the Vauxhall Corsa as an example – with Carwow discounts, the electric version costs around £20,000, just £3,000 more than the petrol model.

You might also find that you can save money by leasing an EV, running one as a cost-effective company car, or purchasing through a salary sacrifice scheme.

4. Do EVs save money in the long run?

If you choose your EV sensibly and charge it at home on relatively cheap electricity then yes, it’s difficult not to save money running an electric car. The exceptions would be if you chose one that cost a significant amount more than the petrol or diesel car you’d otherwise have considered, negating the savings, or if you run it without home charging and regularly use pricey public charge stations.

5. What government grants are available?

The UK government has just announced a scheme offering up to £3,750 off the price of a new electric car – provided it costs less than £37,000 to buy and the manufacturer commits to a specific set of environmental targets.

There’s also a scheme enabling you to get up to £350 off the cost of a home charger installation if you’re a tenant or live in a flat.

6. Is it worth waiting for newer tech or models?

Not really any more – EVs are mature enough now that you can buy a car and be sure it won’t feel too outdated in a few years time. The next big step-change in EV technology is likely to be solid-state battery tech, and that’s still many years away.

Driving and using your EV

7. What’s different about driving an EV?

An electric car feels quite different to a petrol or diesel car. For a start, they’re very nippy. Even a low-powered EV feels fast off the line because electric cars can deliver all of their power instantly, though the flip side is that the power tends to tail off as you approach motorway speeds. If you tend to set off rapidly, you might find an electric car spins its tyres where a petrol or diesel car wouldn’t.

To drive an EV effectively you need to get au fait with regenerative braking – this is where the electric motor acts as a brake, recuperating some energy. All EVs have different levels of this, sometimes customisable, and sometimes it’s strong enough to take you down to a full stop without ever needing to touch the brake pedal.

The powertrain in an electric car is basically silent, so to help out pedestrians – particularly those who are blind or partially sighted – electric cars play a noise through a speaker at low speeds. Some of them also chime while reversing.

Despite these changes, EVs do have familiar controls – you won’t have to worry about the steering wheel, column stalks or pedals being any different. The exception is the gear selector, which for an electric car is often on the steering column or buttons on the dashboard.

8. Are all EVs automatic?

Technically, EVs don’t have an automatic gearbox because they don’t really have gears to shift. But functionally, they operate exactly like an automatic car – you get two pedals, the usual Drive/Neutral/Reverse gear pattern, and you’re not required to shift gears yourself.

9. How far can I actually drive on a full charge?

This depends on the car. Manufacturers publish their range figures according to the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure – or WLTP – a standardised measurement that all vehicle manufacturers submit to. You’ll find these figures at the top of any EV’s Carwow review, or on the manufacturer website.

The truth is that this figure is usually pretty optimistic. We’ve done several range tests with electric cars and found that very few cars even get close to their claimed number, especially if you factor in bad weather or motorway driving. Take 25% off the manufacturer’s claimed range and you’ll be much closer to the truth for most cars. If range is really important to you, we’ve rounded up the longest-range EVs on sale.

10. Can I take an EV on a long road trip?

Absolutely – but it might not be the easiest. Plenty of EVs can now do well over 200 miles on a charge, after which point you’ll probably want to stop anyway for a toilet break and a coffee – so it’s no great hardship having to charge the car either.

Depending on where you are in the country, though, the public charging network can be spotty. An EV road trip requires more planning than one in a petrol or diesel car, and the stops will probably last longer. Coverage of chargers on major routes is improving rapidly, though.

11. How do EVs handle winter or bad weather?

EVs are quite good to drive in bad weather because they put their power to the road very smoothly. Many of them have specific winter drive modes to make it even easier.

On frosty mornings, the majority of EVs can be pre-conditioned – you can set the heating from the comfort of your home and come out in the morning to an already heated and defrosted car.

In cold weather, though, EVs lose a little of their range due to battery inefficiency. Using the heater can also use a lot of battery power, so look for an EV with an energy efficient heat pump to minimise this.

Charging and power

12. How easy is it to charge at home?

There are two ways to charge an electric car at home. The first way is through a standard three-pin socket – this is only recommended for emergency use because it charges very slowly, adding just 6-8 miles of range per hour, and the socket can get very hot, becoming a fire hazard if overused.

The best way is to install a dedicated home charger. These usually cost around £500 – £1,000, but often are included with the purchase of an electric car. They take the form of a fairly discreet box on your wall and are wired directly into your home’s power supply. They can charge twice as fast as a standard household socket, and will top up a normal electric car – such as a Volkswagen ID3 – overnight with no trouble. You can read about the top 10 best home EV chargers if you’re considering an installation.

13. What if I can’t install a home charger?

If you can’t install a home charger – perhaps you’re renting your home, or you live in a house with no dedicated parking – then you can use the public charging network. This is much more expensive than charging at home, but if you’re savvy still works out significantly cheaper than running a petrol or diesel car. Many workplaces have also installed charging stations for their employees.

14. Where do I find public chargers?

You can use the EV charging station map right here on Carwow, or download a phone app such as ZapMap or Open Charge Map. Public charging stations are also available through your car’s sat-nav or on Google or Apple Maps.

15. How fast can I charge on the go?

There are a variety of different charging options, and their charge speed is displayed in kilowatts (kW). A ‘slow’ public charger will provide around 50kW, capable of charging a car like an MG4 from 10-80% in a little over an hour.

Most newer public chargers now offer around 150-200kW, which is about the maximum most EVs can take. This would take a car like a Volkswagen ID4 from 10-80% in around 30-40 minutes.

The fastest stations can provide up to 350kW, good for an 18-minute charge from 10-80% in a Kia EV6 – or so the manufacturer says. Bear in mind that public charger speed is limited by the rate your car can accept, the outdoor temperature, and sometimes how many other people are also charging at the same time. You can read more in our electric car charging guide.

16. How much does charging really cost?

It depends on a huge range of factors – how big your car’s battery is, the speed or brand of public charger you’ve selected, whether or not you have an account with the company, and of course how efficiently you’ve been driving. Our guide to electric car charging costs goes into more detail.

Ownership and running costs

17. How much maintenance do EVs need?

An EV should be serviced according to the manufacturer schedule, which is about as often as a regular petrol or diesel car – after all, EVs still have suspension, tyres, safety systems and all sorts of other things that need regular checking and maintenance.

However, with far fewer moving parts than a petrol or diesel car – and fewer consumables, such as engine oil – EV servicing is rather simpler than on a combustion car. That’s reflected in the servicing costs, though you may not notice much difference at a main dealer network.

18. What does an EV battery warranty cover?

The vast majority of electric cars have a separate warranty for their batteries, usually covering 8 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first. This protects you against battery failure as well as degradation of the cells, guaranteeing that the car will retain at least 70% of its capacity over that time. The good news is that most EV batteries seem to be lasting very well.

The rest of your car is covered by the standard manufacturer warranty.

19. Is insurance more expensive for an electric car?

Data shows that, yes, insurance for an electric car is more expensive. This won’t apply if you’re buying your EV through a salary sacrifice scheme, or a manufacturer finance agreement that includes insurance, but you should factor it into your calculations otherwise.

We compared prices for a Vauxhall Corsa petrol vs a Vauxhall Corsa Electric and found that the latter was around £50 more expensive – more than a 10% increase. Check the prices on a comparison site before you buy.

20. Do I need to think about resale value?

It depends how you’ve bought your car – if it’s leased, or on a finance agreement with the option to just hand the car back at the end, then no need to worry. Ditto if you’re planning on keeping the car for a long time – depreciation affects you less the older the car becomes.

However, it’s a real issue if you’re buying the car outright and don’t want to hang onto it forever. Some electric cars, particularly premium models, lose a shocking amount of value in the first couple of years. On the plus side, if you’re buying used, you could snap up a bargain at someone else’s expense…

Car change? Carwow!

Looking for a new set of wheels? With Carwow you can sell your car quickly and for a fair price – as well as find great offers on your next one. Whether you’re looking to buy a car brand new, are after something used or you want to explore car leasing options, Carwow is your one stop shop for new car deals.

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