Yes, sadly. I can’t believe I am writing this, but quite honestly I have found more arguments against owning an electric vehicle (EV) than for.

Let’s forget they cost a years wages, because when you start looking around at the deals available and the amount of money being thrown at us by the government to encourage us all to go green, they become very affordable. But wait, rewind. What has it taken to produce this brand new shiny, all singing, all dancing EV and just how far can you realistically expect to drive before recharging. I have found out many facts and figures, but I am wary of repeating what I have read on the internet. There are going to be battery building plants in this country which is good, but the components needed, will still have to be sourced and shipped from other countries, some of which do not care too much for the environment. Unless your new EV is made in the same country in which you intend to drive it, it will have to be shipped to you and have a carbon footprint before you even turn it on.

It’s all about the battery. A lithium-ion battery, actually a lot of little batteries, like the ones in your phone, all encased in a metal box. It has a lifespan of maybe ten years. It’s all a bit, wait and see really. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, so they say. Not until we have used these cars for our day to day travel needs will the real figures be known. These batteries contain a lot of precious metals. Which are recyclable, but the process is not ideal, so another solution must be found. It has come in the form of energy storage for wind farms etc. Stack up all the used car batteries and store the energy created, for your own house, your street, maybe even your whole town, because let’s face it after ten years there’s going to be one hell of a lot of these batteries around. They will increase year upon year untill maybe the storage space needed for them will, by area, be bigger than your town? Now do you see why I can not sleep at night? By solving one problem, another is created.

If the Prime Minister’s climate change spokesperson won’t drive an EV, as she drives long distances and doesn’t want to stop to charge her car, why should the rest of the country be bothered? The thing is, we are all assuming that we just pull into a service station, plug in for 45mins whilst eating our warm egg sandwiches and off we go again. Well no, think about it. How many times have you pulled into the services and had to search for a parking space? The queue for the toilets is bad enough, think how long the queue for the charging station is going to be. Suddenly we are all equal, no advantage will be gained from weeing in a bush, we all have to wait our turn at the charger. How will we know it’s our turn though, will we no longer bother to park, but just join on the end of the queue, or will we take a ticket and wait to be called? The reality is no one knows.

In the few weeks I’ve been researching EVs, I have gone from being an excited super fan, gushing forth praise, to a rather glum bystander forever saying, ‘Oh, I didn’t know that,’ as I discover yet another negative point. I know I will have to make compromises if I do trade in my huge gas guzzler for a green vehicle, but why can’t I expect these expensive cars to have leather seats, adjustable head restraints and heated steering wheels? Why only AC not climate control, but mainly it is the boot space that disappoints, at 740ltrs my boot is big, but so is my dog. I drive an SUV as it is big, but also compact, not long like an estate car, but it is heavy. Ideally EV’s should be small and light to compensate for the weight of the battery. Too much weight will cause extra wear and tear on the tyres causing tyre dust, which in itself is another pollutant.

The whole ethos of driving an EV is different to that of a car with a traditional geared engine. It’s all to do with the revs, which are higher in an electric car. It doesn’t need gears, nor a gear stick. Just a couple of buttons to go forwards or backwards. I’m still getting my head around keyless entry and no hand brake. Then there’s Eco mode, slow pull aways to allow everything to settle itself, charging when it slows down, extra wear on the tyres, because the batteries are seriously heavy and sunroofs are back….yes, that surprised me too. Every time it is explained to me, I get a little more confused. Ideally you need to be able to charge your car at home, overnight to take advantage of cheap electricity. Is that really a possibility though, not all of us live in properties where this is possible. Installation charges are about £500 with the government giving a grant for some of it. It is locked to you by an app on your smartphone, so again not ideal for everyone. The cost is about £10 for an overnight charge giving you a range of up to 200miles maybe, although the salesman I spoke to was quite truthful and said he only got about 140miles out of his, if you hit a traffic jam, or a normal day on the M25, you will lose about 8 miles if you have the AC on, are streaming music etc. You will lose more in winter as the batteries don’t like the cold. With this range, I’ll be lucky to get north of Watford!

I don’t know anyone with an electric car, but I was shown a report by someone who did a trip of 1100 miles. It took 10 stops, because 5 chargers were faulty, 27 hours and cost £50 more than it would have in a diesel. Not very encouraging. The guy who showed me the report drives a Toyota Auris Hybrid and reckons he can go from London to Scotland and back for a tenner. Now there’s food for thought.

All in all, my dream of an all electric future will not be happening yet. I am told to wait for the Hydrogen cars, but that’s another ball game altogether. Why though, why after all the hype, with successive governments talking the talk are we driving headlong (sorry) into owning EVs when clearly the infrastructure needed is not yet in place?

All thoughts, opinions and assumptions are mine alone. They are not official figures. Almost every day a new EV is launched. There are national programs in place to provide charging points along every major road available to the public 24/7. The word on the street is EVs are great for driving around town and short journeys, if you have a home charging point. Maybe not so good for venturing far from home❤️