The Cost Of Driving An Electric Vehicle

@hippyjoe1955 No, it wouldn't be; though the driving time would probably be similar and the charging time that would push the overall time up.

That would be at least one re-charge, maybe two, so there's the best part of 2 hours gone even if you can drive up and connect to the charger straight away.

I'd not risk putting the heater on either, although I believe some models now use waste heat from the batteries and motors to warm the interior.

I know a couple who bought an electric car, and I don't know if they still have that particular one but they did say they don't risk the heater in Winter except on short, local journeys - and that's in the much milder conditions of Southern England, where distances are shorter and that 0º would still be 0º but C, not F ones!

I find myself sometimes looking at car registrations to gain an idea of electric car take-up in my patch. The obvious give-away is no front grille, but also prominent green squares on the front and rear number-plates. They are still very much in the minority.


When I stopped in a motorway services recently I noticed they'd put two double-sided chargers - so up to 4 cars at once - right in front of the building. To do so they sacrificed four bays in a row originally designated for the disabled - but rather than those at the far end of that row they used the ones closest to the main door. Charming!

@ArishMell Around here -18 C (0 F) is considered warm. A winter or two ago I drove 4.5 hours through -40 weather. No coat required and the winders were all frost free. I didn't see any electrics on the road that day but the winterized ICE vehicles were having no problem. Yes there were some breakdowns but that was most likely to the lack of winterization. Antifreeze was too weak or oil too heavy or simply not kept in winter running condition. BTW the trip was cross country and not city driving. A stall or other failure could have been life threatening to anyone unprepared. The eletics simply could not take that kind of punishment. Their batteries would be dead in a few minutes and be impossible to recharge.

@hippyjoe1955 Yes - I know the Winter conditions in Canada and other Arctic regions must never be taken lightly. Though not as harsh, those in Scotland can be just as dangerous, and with long distances between towns.

Serious blizzards in the South of England are quite rare but we had an exceptionally bad Winter at the start of 1963. I recall two people were caught in their car in the snow on an exposed hill, kept the engine running for heat, and died from the exhaust fumes. The snow drift must have deflected the gases into the car. They were only four miles from the town, as well.

The drive for everything to be all-electric is well-meant, but I don't think it's properly thought through; and brings many problems of its own.

@ArishMell When I was a kid our neighbor had an interesting experience. One day a chinook was blowing and it was beautiful out for mid January. The snow was melting and the water was running off the eaves. Suddenly the wind shifted and a howling blizzard began. Later that night the wind died down and the temperature dropped drastically. The neighbor's dog started to bark and the neighbor went to find out why. The dog would run off to the south east and run back. The neighbor started to follow the dog but found the snow too deep so he got his tractor started and started to follow the dog. About a 1/4 mile later he saw a young woman lying in the snow. He picked her up and got her into the cab of the tractor and the lady mumbled something about her mother. The neighbor took that as a hint and followed the woman's footprints in the snow until he found the mother almost buried in the snow. She was too stiff to get into the cab so he put her on the front end loader and raced back to the house. His wife stripped the women of their wet and frozen clothes and put them in the bathtub full of hot water. Both women survived with some loss of extremities to frost bite. They had set out on a warm day without proper winter survival gear and then hit the ditch when the blizzard hit and they couldn't see the road. They waited out the blizzard in the warm car but when no one came down the road they decided to walk to the neighbor's house because they could see his yard light. They won't make that mistake again.