I have to admit that when I went along to our recent talk on
electric cars I was convinced that they were not for me. As
much as I love the idea of a clean, green vehicle, I have to travel
quite a bit and don't fancy spending hours of my life charging up
at motorway service stations or getting stuck in the middle of
nowhere with a flat battery! More to the point they are expensive
and I can't couldn't afford a brand new car even if I wanted one.
.... But I was wrong!
Although the planned speaker had to cancel at the last minute,
two of our own Sustainable Crediton members, Derek & Margaret
Tucker, came along and as it turns out they already have an
electric car and provided us with a wealth of useful
information - much better getting real practical advice from locals
than sales talk!
Here's what I learned:
- Because electric cars have been around a bit now there is a
growing second hand market, so you don't have to buy brand new any
more. If you do buy new then you can get up to £4,500 off
thanks to the government "Plug-in car grants"
- Running costs are a fraction of the cost of petrol cars -
especially if, like me, you have a solar panel roof to charge
from!
- Battery life is improving so most cars will now go 100-150
miles on full charge
- 95% of motorway service stations have "rapid charge" points
which can provide an 80% top-up in just 30 minutes - just time to
stop off for a quick coffee break!
- Topping is up is easy once you have the mobile phone app
installed and if you're an Ecotricity customer then it's completely
free!
Derek gave me a spin around Crediton after the event and after
that I was sold! The ride was so smooth and quiet, yet the
acceleration was much better that my poor old dinosaur sports
car.
I'm obviously not the only one who was impressed since Sam has just
bought a Nissan Leaf Acenta and promises to tell us all about
his experiences in future newsletters. If anyone would like
further details please contact
him - he'll be only too excited to share ;)
Meanwhile, I'm saving up my pennies!
Sarah