What’s it like to drive an electric car?
If you’ve never driven an electric car, the best way to find out what it’s like is to book a test drive, borrow a friend’s (with permission and always fully insured on public roads) or go electric next time your lease is up for renewal.
But suppose you’re looking for an initial idea of what it’s like to drive an electric car. In that case, this guide should help you to understand the basics, including some of the main similarities and differences between electric and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
The Basics Of Electric Cars
First of all, are electric cars different from driving? No, not really. The way the power is delivered to the wheels, and the use of an electric motor in place of an ICE, means there are some differences in terms of how the vehicle itself operates. Still, it shouldn’t feel too unfamiliar to most experienced motorists.
One of the biggest differences is whether you are used to driving a manual or an automatic ICE. Electric cars are more like automatic ICEs, as there’s no need to change gear. As such, you usually won’t find a clutch pedal or a gear stick on an electric car.
Electric Cars Are Easy To Drive
All of the above means that driving an electric car, like driving an ICE car with automatic transmission, is easier for many people than driving with a manual gearbox. If you’ve always found gear changes hard to master, there’s a good chance you’ll love driving electric.
With no clutch pedal, you’ll usually just have an accelerator to speed up, and a brake to slow down. That means one pedal for each foot – and one foot for each pedal – so this makes electric cars a natural fit for the driver.
What Is Accelerating Like?
Accelerating in an electric car is just a case of putting it into drive and pressing down on the accelerator. The electric motor can deliver maximum torque immediately, without needing to select a gear, so you get full acceleration throughout the vehicle’s entire range.
Because the car takes care of delivering the power, accelerating is always efficient. It’s not possible to be in the wrong gear, so there’s less wear and tear on the car under acceleration, and you get more miles per kWh of charge than if you were able to drive less efficiently.
What Is Braking Like?
The braking process is the same as on any other vehicle, except that most electric cars – especially new electric car models – are fitted with systems that recover kinetic energy during braking and use it to top up the battery.
As a result, every time you slow your car by braking, you’re putting energy back into the battery and very slightly extending your remaining range in miles without costing you a penny.
What’s The Drive Like?
Modern electric cars are not milk floats. They have high-power motors and large-capacity batteries, and can draw on the full potential of that power at any time. The battery’s position even gives the car a low centre of gravity, improving handling.
Electric cars come into their own in urban driving conditions and heavy traffic. The high responsiveness means you can pull away as soon as there’s a space to do so, and the regenerative braking is most effective under the stop-start driving of a congested city centre road.
What’s The Interior Like?
Finally, it’s not all about the engine (or motor, in the case of an EV). If you drive regularly, you’ll want a comfortable interior with extras like air conditioning, car radio, CD player, etc.
Electric cars can offer all of this and are every bit as comfortable as their ICE predecessors, with a smoother ride, reduced engine noise and fewer noxious fumes. Never again will you face the fishy aroma of a burnt-out clutch or the scorched smell of an engine oil leak.
The move to electric cars is inevitable, with the sale of new ICE vehicles prohibited from 2035. But if you’ve been delaying the switch due to concerns about what it feels like to drive an electric car, now is the time to book a test drive or speak to your leasing provider about hybrid and all-electric options, next time your lease renewal is up.
