Driving Electric – Six Months In

so we have had the Zoe now for just over 6 months. During that time we have covered just over 4,000 miles and to be honest, this would be a lot more if it wasn’t for the stupid decision we took when purchasing to limit the mileage to 8,000 per year.

So as I know a few readers are interested in the whole user experience, a few key notes:

  • I estimate that we have probably spent under £50 on electricity at home during those 4,000 miles. It does help that I can charge in work so I assume others will find their home power bill does increase.
  • The longest journeys I have been on have been to Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports, between 120-160 mile round trips. Both were done quite easily with the charging network although no scottish airports have off-site (read cheap) parking with EV facilities.
  • I haven’t really had any ‘range anxiety’ although I have noticed some EV drivers hogging the chargers. Specifically the two charging points down at the Harbour in Arbroath as there are always Leafs there charging for 12+ hours. Must be locals who have decided to just park and charge their rather than outside their homes – annoying for people who need to charge though!
  • I have had two issues with the car. The first was a fault that was with the car when I picked it up but fixed very quickly under warranty. The second was when it wouldn’t start one day after parking up for a few hours however leaving it locked for 10 minutes to let all the relays and motors completely power down and reset seemed to fix it and I haven’t seen it again.
  • It is comfortable and actually quite fun to drive. Sure it is an auto but with an electric motor all the torque is there constantly so you can really shoot away at the lights and annoy the hell out of BMW/Audi/Nova GTI drivers. They tend to catch up around 30-40mph but the initial acceleration is great.
  • During the winter I could probably get 70 miles from a full charge with careful driving. As it warmed up I could probably get over 100.
  • Tailgating a lorry on the motorway seriously reduces the battery usage! The range meter (which is pretty inaccurate) can actually go up!

Given the costs of the payments on the Kia that I traded in, along with fuel and tax costs, I have probably saved £900 over the first six months against when I was driving the Kia (£100 a month fuel, £15 a month tax, £30 a month loan payments).

EV’s. Highly recommended.

Now I just need to get a promotion so I can afford a Tesla 🙂

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