Why don’t you have an electric car?

66Mustang

66Mustang

I don’t have a driveway at my property.

I’m interested in peoples attitudes to electric cars.

Just wondering what the reason people don’t switch to an electric car is. If there is more than one reason choose the most prominent one and explain the other reasons in the comments section.

For clarity by “electric car” I mean fully electric. Not hybrid or plug-in hybrid.

Personally I am a big fan of electric cars and would love one however unfortunately I don’t have a private driveway where I can park the car to charge it. This leaves me stuck using public charging points which for me is too unreliable to be able to depend on.

For reference:

EV = electric vehicle

ICE = internal combustion engine (petrol, diesel etc.)

poppy123456

I don’t have a driveway at my property.

Having just recently collected my new motability car my first choice would have been electric if i had a driveway. I chose the next best thing instead, a hybrid and i love it.

janer1967

I don’t drive.

I no longer drive but no doubt couldn't afford one and when I did drive I used to travel long distance many days so the range would bother me and the additional journey time stopping to recharge 

My bf drives all over the country on a daily basis and could involve several recharge per day which would really add time on his working day 

Not enough charging points you kay end up waiting for ages while in queue to recharge 

66Mustang

I don’t have a driveway at my property.

@poppy123456 yes I’m the same about having a driveway. Out of curiosity what car did you go for this time?

poppy123456

I don’t have a driveway at my property.

66Mustang said:

@poppy123456 yes I’m the same about having a driveway. Out of curiosity what car did you go for this time?

Toyota Corolla 1.8 and i love it. Ordered in Mid Jan and collected it mid April. Fuel economy is amazing.

66Mustang

I don’t have a driveway at my property.

@poppy123456 that’s nice I was looking at those but the 2.0 as a potential for my next car if Mini are still not in the scheme when I need to renew. We have a Toyota in the family already and are very happy with it.

66Mustang

I don’t have a driveway at my property.

@janer1967 yes that makes sense to me thanks for posting

 @Teddybear12 thanks for answering, depending on how many miles you do the initial cost can be written off after x number of miles but if you do very few miles it might not be worth the investment.

poppy123456

I don’t have a driveway at my property.

66Mustang said:

@poppy123456 that’s nice I was looking at those but the 2.0 as a potential for my next car if Mini are still not in the scheme when I need to renew. We have a Toyota in the family already and are very happy with it.

It really depends what you want from a car. The 2.0 has less boot space but obviously more BHP, which would give less MPG. I wasn't bothered about the BHP and needed the boot space, which was one of the reasons i chose the 1.8. One thing i do find is it's the most comfortable car i've ever had the pleasure of driving.

66Mustang

I don’t have a driveway at my property.

Didn’t know about the boot space, thanks. I’m sure it will be fine as I currently have a Mini which has a tiny boot but I’ll have to check them out when the time comes. Good to know about the comfort as well because one of the named drivers I have on my cars really values smoothness above all else in a car!

poppy123456

I don’t have a driveway at my property.

@mustang67 my pleasure, happy to help i also know that they are updating them for 2023 and the BHP for both will increase slightly, as well as a few other things.

poppy123456

I don’t have a driveway at my property.

Biblioklept said:

The driver was saying he'd had a few near misses though because it was so quiet when he drives especially  early in the morning people aren't paying attention. I've been wondering if they hsould have artificial sound put in but I think that about all silent and quiet cars. 

If you listen carefully you'll hear a sound of an electric vehicle at lower speeds or when reversing, almost like the brakes are making a noise. You can't hear this from inside the car but you can hear it when outside, or if you've got the window open. The reason it makes this noise is to warn pedestrians there's a vehicle nearby.

My hybrid makes exactly the same sounds at lower speeds or when reversing.

66Mustang

I don’t have a driveway at my property.

@Biblioklept I don’t know if I should say as it might make you more nervous about travelling by internal combustion engine car but I’d say an engine has just as much chance of randomly going wrong than a battery/electric motor. If anything more chance as there are so many moving parts in an engine and just one of them can go wrong.

66Mustang

I don’t have a driveway at my property.

I think the lack of a driveway is my only hesitation really - the range is a very minor concern as a small electric car like a Mini only has a real life range of about 100 miles. However my car only gets used for long 100+ mile drives maybe once every few months and we have other vehicles in the family that could be used when that is required.