Kia Electric Vehicles

What’s it like to drive an electric car?

A lot more fun than you might think. Electric cars are more responsive than their combustion cousins, and handling is often better due to the lower centre of gravity.

Speed isn’t an issue, either. Electric vehicles can produce maximum torque at any time, so there’s no need to worry about moving through the gears to get going. The new e-Niro gets up to 60mph in around 7.8 seconds.

Talking of the new e-Niro. As far as efficiency goes, nothing really comes close. It can go up to 282 miles on a single charge. If you consider that the average UK commute is just 10 miles, that means most people could go a full two weeks without needing to recharge.

Taking charge

One of the biggest worries for people considering a switch to electric is the need to charge the vehicle regularly. It takes longer to charge an electric car than it does to fill a petrol tank, of course, but charging times are decreasing rapidly as new technology comes on to the market.

With the ability to fill up at home and at over 7,000 public charging points in the UK, an electric car is arguably more convenient than a petrol or diesel.

The majority of ‘destination’ charging points in the UK can be used for free – at supermarkets, retail parks and multistory car parks, for example.

Most motorway service stations now have rapid charging points, but given the large amount of electricity they dispense in a short space of time, these tend to be quite expensive. Just like with a petrol car, filling up at a service station should be a last resort!

Costs: is an electric car really cheaper?

It’s certainly cheaper than people think.

Let’s take the Kia e-Niro as an example. The WhatCar? 2019 Car of the Year can be purchased with a £2,500 Plug-In Car Grant from the government, making the cash price comparable to that of a similar combustion engine car.

You can also receive £500 towards the cost of installing a home charging point, meaning you’ll only actually pay between £200-300.

Electric cars really start to save you money after you’ve bought them, though. They’re exempt from road tax, saving you as much as £500 across the first three years. You’ll also be able to avoid charges in Congestion Zones or in one of the many Clean Air Zones which are being enforced in cities across the UK.

Companies can benefit from switching to electric, as well. Benefit in Kind (BiK) tax currently stands at 16%, but that drops to 0% for any company which goes electric.