Five things the manufactuers don’t tell you about EVs
By: Duncan Anderson
Tags: Electric Car, Electric Vehicles

I’ve been looking into Electric cars (or Electric Vehicles — EVs — as they are generally known). I’ve been trying to work out if one would work for me, what the costs are and what they’re like to drive.

I’m not interested in the top end — cars like Teslas. I’m interested in rather more run-of-the-mill options — Minis, Kias, Hyundais, VWs, etc. Teslas are great, but they’re too expensive to have an impact on the mass market. I’m interested in how we’re all going to move to EVs, not just those with large disposable incomes. That’s how we make an impact on climate change.

But I’ve found the topic very confusing.

So, I did some research. I read the road tests. I watched the YouTube videos. I listened to the podcasts.

In the process, I stumbled across five things that I think are important, but which aren’t at all well explained in any official literature offered by the manufacturers.

Here’s what I found…

1. ↔️ WLTP is not the same as real world range

Manufacturers use the industry standard definition of an EV’s range, in the form of WLTP (Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure). A common standard makes it easy to compare the range of different models. Or does it?

It turns out that EV range can vary from WLTP quite a bit. Also, EVs are less efficient on the motorway and they are less efficient in cold weather — so the conditions you’re driving in can have a significant impact on the range you get.

One of my test scenarios is driving from Southern England to Scotland at Christmas (we have relatives there). The combination of motorway speeds and cold weather mean that I probably shouldn’t rely on WLTP figures when planning such a trip.

In terms of what “real world” range is, it seems that EV Database is the best source. It publishes numbers for both City and Highway in Cold and Mild weather.

To give an example, the Hyundai Kona Electric has a WLTP of 301 miles. However, EV database suggests that real world usage would range from 175 miles highway driving in the cold, to 370 miles of city driving in mild weather — a range that WLTP doesn’t do justice to.

This knowledge suggests that my Christmas Scotland trip would require two stops to charge for the 450 miles in a Kona, rather than the one that I might assume if I looked at the WLTP numbers. As it happens, I’m perfectly OK with two stops, as I’d normally stop at least that many times — and probably more — in my current diesel. Still, it’s helpful to have a realistic understanding of how an EV would work on such journeys — and what real world range is like.

2. ⚡️ MPH is how fast you can charge, not how fast you can drive

If range is important, another factor that goes with it, is the time it takes to charge from 10 to 80% — ie how long I might be supping a coffee in a motorway service station whilst on my trip to Scotland.

It turns out that not all cars are created equal in how quickly they can be charged.

The time taken to charge an EV is a factor of the kW of the charge point, the size of the battery being charged and the rate at which the EV can accept the charge. Some chargers charge faster and some EVs are able to accept charge at faster rates — to get the fastest charge you need to connect a fast charger to car that’s capable of accepting that fast charge.

As context, a home charger will charge an EV at a rate of 3 or 7kW (depending on which installation you have) — which is to say, slowly. Slowly is OK if you’re plugged in overnight and the car charges whilst you sleep.

However, when you’re away from home you’ll likely want something faster. There are now over 35,000 public EV charging points in the UK — checkout ZapMap to see where they all are. Some of these are slow and some are even free. But an increasing number are fast chargers — which generally means 50kW and above. With a 50kW charger, many cars will charge to 80% capacity in under an hour — often well under an hour.

Fast chargers operate at a rate of over 50kW, increasingly at 100kW and occasionally up to 350kW. In other words, much, much faster. As context, Tesla’s much publicised superchargers (which only work with Teslas) provide 150kW in their V2 guise and 250kW in their V3 guise.

Every car I’ve looked at can fast-charge at 50kW. Not all cars can accept a higher charge rate than that — so if your EV tops out at 50kW, that’s how fast you’ll charge, regardless of the charger used.

I really like the way that EV Database has simplified this by creating the mph number to measure charge rate — the number of miles a particular EV is capable of gaining per hour of charging.

To give you an idea of what this means, the upcoming Kia EV6 Long Range accepts charge at 640mph, whereas a base Nissan Leaf manages just 140mph. You’ll be drinking more coffee waiting for the Nissan to charge, but you’ll have a smaller bank balance with the Kia.

3. 💡 Wh/mile is the new MPG

I’ve learnt that some cars are more efficient in their use of energy than others. In other words, for the same amount of charge put into the battery, some cars will go further than others. MPG measures how far an ICE car can go on a gallon of petrol and Wh/mile measures how much power it takes an EV to drive one mile. Confusingly they’re the opposite way around, but they measure the same basic thing.

Again, EV Database provides the numbers that manufactures do not. This shows a Hyundai Kona Electric varies between 170–365 Wh/mile, whereas a Jaguar I-Pace is rated at 260–525 Wh/mile. One is more efficient (and therefore cheaper), the other more fun.

If running costs are a factor in your choice, it might be worth comparing Wh/mile of your shortlisted vehicles to see if there’s a significant difference.

4. 🏎 0–60 times don’t tell the true story

I’ve always used 0–60 mph times as a rough guide of car performance. They are convenient and every manufacturer publishes their numbers. However, it’s clear from driving a few EVs that these figures hide the reality of EV performance.

An EV can have a pretty average 0–60, but actually feel very fast when driven. That’s because EVs typically have much faster 0–30 speeds than their ICE equivalents, which is where acceleration is most noticeable — EVs are a much better option for the traffic light Grand Prix.

All the cheap-ish EVs I’ve tried felt really fast — much more than either my existing petrol or diesel cars. I’m not talking Teslas here, I’m talking entry EVs like Hyundais, VWs, Minis and Kias. If you’re worrying about performance, you should take a test drive — EVs are faster and more fun than their ICE equivalents. It’s a pity that few manufacturers report their 0–30 times, meaning that EVs rarely show their true speed on the spec sheet. The only way I’ve found to discern if an EV is fast enough for my needs is to drive it.

5. 💰 EV running costs are lower

EVs are more expensive to buy, but they are also cheaper to run. If you’re doing the maths, running costs are worth looking into. I reckon I’d save something in the order of £100/month on average — enough to change the business case.

Running costs are lower for a variety of reasons.

Firstly, charging an EV is generally cheaper than filling a tank of petrol. Most people will charge most of the time at home and the average domestic UK electricity cost is £0.14/kWh — cheap.

Where you charge when away from home does make a difference though — with costs at just one supplier (BP Pulse) ranging from £0.12/kWh to £0.42/kWh depending on the nature of the charger and how you choose to pay. Ionity’s super fast chargers cost £0.69/kWh — probably more than the cost of fuelling an ICE car.

But just in the way that most of us don’t often buy petrol at expensive motorway service stations, most of us won’t be charging our EVs at those same expensive chargers very often. Most of my mileage goes nowhere near a motorway.

Maintenance costs of EVs are also lower. There’s no fan belts to wear, no oil or coolant to change, no spark plugs to replace. All the complex moving parts of an internal combustion engine and gearbox that need to be lubricated and maintained are replaced with an electric motor that’s sealed and guaranteed by the manufacturer. And with regenerative braking, there’s less wear on the brake pads and disks.

In fact, servicing demands are so much reduced that it’s more accurate to say that most EVs only need an annual inspection, rather than a full service. That means the bills are lower.

EVs also attract £0 road tax — another saving.

And if you drive in London’s congestion charging zone, you can forget any charges — EVs are exempt.

🔁 Summary

I hope this has been useful. How we measure and compare EVs is different to how we did the same for ICE cars. New metrics and new considerations weigh into the decisions we make.

Ultimately, my investigations brought me one additional realisation. You can tie yourself in knots with all these numbers. I drove one EV that was a top pick on paper, but was not impressed with it in the flesh. In contrast, ones that were so-so on paper really captured my imagination when I drove them. Nothing compares to driving the EV you’re interested in and seeing what you think. But having a good understanding of how your choices compare and of the metrics that are important to EV ownership is a good starting point. I hope this “newbies” guide to EV statistics has helped!