Electric or Petrol? 3 Steps to a Smooth, Green Driving Decision
For the last couple of months, I’ve become aware of every mile in my petrol car. I’m aware that each choice contributes to the future of the environment. So, as you can see in my previous blog, I drove less, walked more, carried veg back from the market and took the bus. But I still needed a car and my gut wanted electric. But I — like many — was concerned about the mile range, charging of electric cars and how long the battery would last. My gut knew what I wanted to do, but my brain had to work through my obstacles to get to the right decision for me. What I didn’t know — and my friend today said I should mention — is that you get a near silent drive, it’s smooth, less tiring, automatic, with a flick of the ‘gear’ button to get going, you can heat the car up remotely — and you get guilt-free driving!
I have learnt lots and wanted to share this with friends, family and anyone else, for when they come to making that decision. The future’s electric, so we all need to think about it at some point. There’s a lot of info here, but it’s what I learnt. Am no pro, but here goes…
The first 3 stages took me through making the decision. Some might only use one, but that’s my analytical brain! 3 and 4 are extra information, for once you buy:
- Petrol, hybrid or electric?
- Lease or buy, since it is new tech?
- Size of battery and then specific car
- How to charge and installing a pod at home (Of interest now, but bookmark and come back to this once you decide re 1,2 and 3!)
- Driving a car to get more miles — Nah I will do that in another blog. I mention a couple of things here, enough for you for now! It’s also a post purchase thing.
Petrol, hybrid or electric… which shall I get?
So my car needed replacing. But my concern was that the cars with a bigger mileage range, were the newer, more pricey ones — but I never buy new cars. So I wondered whether to get a petrol for a couple of years, until the new electrics are older and more affordable. But when I looked on autotrader, prices of second hand electric cars were not that much different to many second hand petrol cars I was looking at — among the Nissan Leaf and Renault Zoe electrics I saw.
And yet I understood there is £0 road tax on electric cars of £40,000 and less and it costs about £4 to charge one to about 100 miles. So, say my audi did 350/400 miles, that’s about £12–15 fill cost on electric, versus £75/80 on petrol. So the costs then didn’t seem as high, as I would save at least £1000 a year for my small motoring amount a year. Petrol would do more range, but puts emissions into the environment every single time I put my foot on the accelerator and drive — and has higher running costs.
I looked at hybrid. This is what I understand to be the case with hybrid. These have been a great way of people reducing the amount of petrol used and therefore Co2 emissions as an interim until electrics have come on. Most of them are still filled with petrol however. They don’t charge from a charger, like an electric does — nor do they charge on their own. They use the petrol and regenerative braking and other technology to use less petrol. But when I looked on auto trader, they still were emitting 90-100g/kg Co2 versus the electric 0, so for me that was a concern, so I didn’t see a huge gain — at this point in time.
The other option with hybrid is ‘plug-in hybrid’. These allow you to plug in to electricity and I think in general give you about 20/30 miles (some do more) of electric and switch to petrol after that. So it’s a good back up if you’re nervous of not having the miles, but great way to be electric on small local runs. Someone I met the other day uses electric most the time and uses charge points etc and the petrol is just there as back up. But for me, the small range of the affordable ones just didn’t make sense.
So then there’s electric. This is what my gut knew I wanted to do, however inconvenient or relatively new — although Nissan has been selling them since 2011 in the UK. These are 100% electric and have ZERO emissions. I understand there are about 80 new electric models on the market — from most major brands. They all have started pushing them, since government announced they can no longer sell petrol and hybrid in the UK after 2035. Those that are one or two years old can do 150/200/250 miles on one full battery, depending on which car you go for. Unfortunately many are very expensive, but it’s impressive how the technology is coming on. Older models of say the Nissan Leaf — which has been selling in the UK since 2011 and made in Sunderland — of a 2014 model would be around £8,000–10,000. They started new at £27k roughly, so it’s a far more reasonable offering and compares with many petrol cars of the same age — but remember no road tax and limited electricity costs.
The mileage range of the Nissan Leafs (the one I focused on, but must be similar for others), depends on the size of battery. So there is 24kwh, 30kwh, now 40kwh and even 62kwh. The real range I believe of the 24kwh is 60–80 miles. The 30 is about 80–100/110. The 40 and 60 go up from that. I saw someone on the user group getting 200/220 on his new 60kwh! Fine for most trips hey?! With electrics, how many miles you get on a full charge varies depending on how you drive them (less acceleration, more foot off accelerator to brake, driving in ‘eco’ mode gives more miles, driving at 60 rather than 70), the weather (cold, rain gives a lower range and using heaters and air con) and the strength of the existing battery. So if you see someone driving annoyingly slowly and reducing speed at roundabouts, Keep Calm, it’s an EV Driver working on maximum ranges ;-)
You are not meant to charge a battery to 100%, nor empty and then leave it sitting, so keeping it beween 20 and 85% is I believe optimum — though this information changes. The Renault Zoe, another in the affordable range, also has different size batteries and I know someone in a 2018 model who gets 130–180 miles. The first figure in winter, the second in summer.
So, I decided I wanted electric. I couldn’t drive around in petrol for another couple of years, feeling bad for each emission I put out. I just had to overcome the risks and costs concerns I had. The range, I felt I could live with, by popping a chill pill. When people first moved onto motor cars, I doubt they could do as much range, nor speeds and I doubt you could fill up everywhere, as few people used them. People switched from horses to motor cars and look where we are now. We just have to be patient while we all get used to the change. Some people on a user group said, think what mileage you do 80% of the time and buy according to that. If you really want to do longer miles on the rare occasion, you can always use another car for that, or borrow, or hire. We often think of the worst case scenario, not the everyday.
Buy or Lease?
I normally buy. I like to buy second hand and just keep running it until it collapses, as with my 19 year old car. Many like to lease. I looked into it, with a view to doing it for a couple of years, by which time there might be more with a wider mileage range on the market that are then second hand. To me, if you lease, particularly if you are a 2 car family, electric is a no brainer, as the car isn’t yours, you get a newer model with more range and you reduce your running costs. And you feel good for the environment. I also think if you are a 2 car household, the second can easily be electric. But for me, the costs were high compared to buying, plus I’d have to worry about every scrape and extra mile.
My concern with buying however, was the whole battery life issue. Electrics are relatively new, compared to the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE). Leafs have sold in the UK, since 2011. Many of us are concerned about the battery life, as the battery is huge and costs a lot to replace. In a Leaf, I understood that to be around £5/6k for an entirely new one, but you can just part replace some cells, which costs less I believe. The 24kwh models had a 5 year manufacturer warranty on the battery, so anything older than 2015 and for me I felt was a risk or unknown, yet hearing from users and Nissan dealers, there don’t seem to be lots of issues. The Nissan dealers I spoke to had seen about 1 or 2 cases of a battery needing to be replaced in 200/300 models. How true that is, who knows.
With the 30kwh model, they gave an 8 year manufacturer’s warranty on the battery. They came out in 2015/16. So you’d still have 4 years’ manufacturer’s warranty on the battery. With the Renault Zoe, they decided to lease the battery for many, but not all of them. So, to take away the stress, you pay £70 a month to lease the battery and if anything goes wrong, you’re covered. I just didn’t fancy the extra payment, but it works for many.
So I decided to buy! And was excited to have made the decision!
Size of battery and which car?
Having looked at the costs of leasing versus buying, the risks and hearing from owners that seem delighted with their cars, I decided to go for a Nissan Leaf, 30kwh, with 4 years manufacturer’s warranty on the battery and a slightly larger mileage range than the 24kwh, but less than the newer ones, but I’d just have to live with that. And I found one — and am now an electric car owner and driver, as of one week! With the Nissan Leaf, you have 12 bars that indicate how strong the battery is. I checked that this one had all 12, and it did. Something to be aware of if buying second hand, whatever type. Lovely drive, light steering. I can’t wait to get in the car whenever I can! And enjoy the guilt-free drive!
I am now into the whole world of having decided which charging pod to put in (I went for a PodPoint charger but installed by another company), and it’s coming next week. That means I can use a 7kwh charge rather than the 2.2 kwh you get on the 3 pin plug. Something to be aware of, when you buy the car, that the Leafs can have some at 3.3 kwh on the battery and some with 6.6. Check all of that and what you can charge on a 7kwh as I’m aware I am fine with my 6.6 on a 7kwh but not sure about less.
The way I see it is this. It’s a change. And if you make the jump, it’s a mindset modification. The alternative if you want to be super green, is train and busses, which is very green. But that is more work than an electric, where you have to stop and charge periodically when doing more than the car’s range. I have popped a crossword book in my glove compartment and will try to remember to take a chill pill, should things hot up..! ‘Keep Calm, You are Doing it for the Environment.’
Most the time, you’ll top up at your house overnight. And step into a pre-heated car (get that, with the Leaf, you can set it to heat up the car before you go out in it and on a timer if you do it the same time every day!), with all the mod cons, reversing cameras, sat nav, radio etc and drive along enjoying the drive.
One question that has come up, so I am adding it in here, is what happens to the batteries after use. I understand that they are highly valuable and have a second life in static storage systems. Someone in the user group said that a petrol car not passing its MOT is worth £100, whereas an electric that might have been written off in an accident, is worth £1k to £2k as so many of the parts can be recycled. Come to think of it, I remember a dealer saying the Leaf seats were made of sugar cane and recyclable.
There are so many more chargers now and some people I have spoken to have said they have rarely had problems with chargers. Charging from home is what a lady up the road from me does all the time. Never needs chargers, as she is always going from home and back, so just keeps it topping up overnight for the next day.
How to charge and having a home charger installed
Please be aware, you only really need this, once you have decided per the above. I am putting in this blog, as you will need it later, but come back to it once you have decided everything else!
My car came with a home charging cable, to a 3 pin plug (referred to as a GRANNY cable and charges at 2.2 kwh from your house, I am told). Some have this other one, but mine didn’t — so I have now bought a chunky monkey cable, so I can charge from my charging pod to the car, plus on some of the lower energy chargers, out and about. For example, Tesco has just started rolling out 7kwh chargers, so you can pop your cable in while you shop and top up for free, as has Sainsbury’s to some of their stores. The 50kwh rapid chargers, which do it in about 40 mins, I understand come ‘tethered’, which means with a super chunky monkey cable.
Home 3 pin plug: You can charge from home — if you have a driveway, on a 3 pin plug at a 2.2kwh speed, which I am doing until my pod can be here. For me, on my 30kwh, I think I go up about 10% every hour, although I think the last 15% probably goes slower. It’s fine, but I confess I’m not loving the cool breeze through the window this time of year, so am looking forward to the home charger. I charged before visiting a friend today and easily did the 50 mile round trip within my this time of year it seems 105 mile range. And my friend did offer for me to charge from her home if I wanted a top up.
Home chargers: Most people get a pod outside their house, which more than doubles the amount of electricity that goes in and therefore halves the time to charge. At the moment, there is a government subsidy for doing this — once you have proof of having ordered one or having bought one and meet certain criteria, such as having a driveway etc. It’s £500 subsidy, so costs ends up around £300-£500 cost to you for the average pod, depending on who you go with. The installers tend to deal with claiming the subsidy and just charge you the remainder. For my Leaf, I reckon it’s about £4 to fill up to 100 miles. Not bad! These home chargers can be 3kwh size, 7kwh or 22. Most people have 7kwh I believe, but ask about the best for you. There are many different companies that sell the chargers. Interestingly, these companies are being bought out by energy and petrol companies… see what that says about the future. As this is the cheapest and most convenient way, most people just charge from home.
Out and about and fast charging: There are public charging stations and they are on the increase. Check out Zap Map if you want to see how many there are around the country — and near you. You’d be surprised. According to a blog by Zap Map, updated 7th March 2020, there are now about 11,000 charging locations in the UK, (compared to about 8,500 petrol stations) and 17,800 devices with 461 new devices having been added in the last 30 days. Admittedly, I believe from the blog, about 2,500 are rapid and the rest are slower — the 7kwh ones.
Often when you look on the map, many are at workplaces, hotels etc, so one does still have to plan well, as I discover when looking for a weekend away. I will probably pick a hotel that has some facility for it and look at local options for charging, but for me it’s only relevant a few times of the year, so it’s getting that into perspective for now. And rapid chargers are set to increase — I saw articles saying both Shell and BP are adding them to their petrol stations. And recently, the first EV station to be ready by the summer, announced by Gridserve. It will use solar energy to charge 24 vehicles and be one of 100 to be built around the country. So my guess it soon it will be less issue. It’s hard to compare numbers, as with petrol you have to go to a station. With electric, you don’t have to go to a public charger, as you can charge at home, which is probably the majority of charging but you need when out of range. The important thing is, more are being added, particularly more rapid chargers.
There are some that are 7kwh which are free or charged — for example in supermarkets or retail centres, so while you shop, your car can be topping up at the same speed as it would at your house. Or for the rapid chargers, there is Ecotricity and Polar and others at service stations and around — as you can see on the map. I haven’t used one of those yet, so that’s for another blog.
I’m aware that’s lots of information. But it was a lot for me to research and discover, so reading this may save you a lot of time already! I can’t claim any expertise. Just sharing my experience and things may change for when you do it, but this is how it has been for me. I’m a week in and still enjoying it, can’t wait for an excuse to go for a drive and people I spoke to, as well as people on the user group seem to love electric driving and those I spoke to wouldn’t go back. It is a big change and lots to learn, but I’m willing and interested to do that to protect the planet. Happy pondering!
