My journey from petrol and diesel to full electric and what I’ve learnt along the way

I must admit that I’ve grown to love cars. Living on rural Anglesey means that a car is a necessity as public transport can be a little hit and miss at times. Since I was 18 I’ve driven a car – my mum’s “Mini Metro” to start off with and then a bright blue VW Beetle which I shared with my brother – what a machine. I progressed through a variety of different cars over the years all of which I enjoyed driving. Be they diesel or petrol, there was something about all of them that I loved.

Of course, driving a petrol BMW convertible became expensive and it’s at this time that I started to think about electric vehicles. Could it work for me?  Was the infrastructure in place? Would I be able to rely on it to get me to and from places without re-charging halfway. I’d also changed jobs and was working at M-Sparc, an organisation focussed on energy and net zero, and felt that I wasn’t a very good example driving a gas-guzzler.

Before signing up to driving an EV, we also made the decision to improve energy consumption and reduce our energy costs at home. We installed solar panels and a large battery which prompted us to also install an EV charging point to do a little more to reduce our carbon footprint and environmental impact. Berwyn had bought a PHEV (plug in hybrid electric vehicle) and was convinced electric driving was the way to go. 

My changing to an EV was one way of getting around more sustainably whilst also being more responsible about the impact that I was having on the planet and if I could do one small thing to make a change, then this was my chance. And of course, living in a rural area means that we’re not blessed with regular public transport links running at convenient times.

My first experience of EVs

My first test drive was quite an experience – the silence, the whoosh of the car as it moved forward, no gear noises, no purr of a V8 engine, instead there was something quite calming about it. It took time to get used to the regenerative braking and maintaining speed to get optimum performance out of the battery.

My first foray into driving an EV was a Peugeot E2008 – a practical car, with everything I needed in it. Even though the range was less than I’d expected (estimated mileage was 208 miles per charge), it was manageable due to the fact that we had a home charging point and I was able to top it up regularly. To be honest, I wasn’t doing long distances so there was plenty “in the tank” for the journeys that I was doing. You learn to adapt your way of driving, and the quietness of the driving experience can be quite calming. As with any car, travelling at a higher speed means that you use more “juice”. Slow it down and adapt to the conditions and you’re saving on battery charge. Winter driving can also have a slight effect on the range as you’ll have the heating, the heated seats and heated steering wheel on and the battery will need to warm up. In reality I get slightly less mileage from a charge in winter and again this can be affected by your driving style but it doesn’t affect my confidence in the range. 

I now drive a car with a range of around 320 miles and recently had a trip to and from Anglesey to Manchester Airport on one full charge with no anxiety and everything that I needed switched on in the car.

Cost and convenience

Driving my last petrol car, I was probably spending around £75 per week on petrol. Now that we have the kit at home to charge the car, we’re probably spending around £35 per month to charge 2 cars and when the sun comes out, we take advantage of the opportunity to charge the car during daytime hours, costing us nothing or very little. Our normal charging time is midnight until around 4am when electricity is at its cheaper rate.

I love the calmness of the drive, it’s a conversation starter and I’m often talking about my experience with friends who are wondering why I would change to an EV. Some people will ask you “what if you want to drive to Scotland?” My response more often than not is “how often do you drive to Scotland?” and their answer is always “Never”.    

I would plan any journey in advance be that in a petrol/diesel car or an EV. I often check to see if there are charging stations around about the halfway point of my journey just to top-up. What’s great is that charge stations are more often than not found near a café, garden centre, service area so you can have a coffee and a short break, as you would if you were on a long journey in any other car. I’ve used apps such as ZapMap to find nearby charging stations, the sat nav in the car often picks up on some charging locations and more and more are appearing – although there are still pockets within Wales that could do with more fast chargers.     

Has it been worth the switch?

Yes, most definitely. Yes, there was a learning curve, and I’m probably learning something new every day, but I can’t ever imagine going back to driving a petrol car. The savings, the calmness of the drive, the environmental impact – it all adds up. Try it for yourself. You won’t regret it.

Want to know more?

Sustainable transport expert Sara Sloman answered your most asked questions on EVs here.