Range anxiety, to give this concern its official name, is one of the biggest barriers to buying an electric vehicle (EV) for most people. But actually getting stranded is very rare. I don’t know anyone who has, and in five years of driving electric cars, I’ve never run out of charge myself.
It does however remain a big concern in particular for those who do weekly motorway mileages, or live in rural areas and who have to rely on a public charging network that they may not have much confidence in.
I can see why drivers might worry: public charging points have taken years to get off the ground in any meaningful way. In the early days, the chargers were often slow, or out of order, or both.
The good news is that charging availability has improved beyond recognition in recent years, and will continue to do so. There are now more than 50,000 public charging points in the UK, from supermarkets to shopping malls, offices to hotels. An app which maps the entire network, such as Zapmap, is invaluable. In newer EVs, the satnav will show charging points when the car senses the battery is running low.
Most public points at big destinations nowadays are “rapid” chargers, which can charge your battery to 80% in 20 to 40 minutes, depending on your EV model. (“Slow” and “fast” charger speeds are only any good for overnight or all-day charging, while “ultra-rapid” chargers are rare, costly, and not even compatible with many models.) My local supermarket has just put in eight rapid chargers. The 15 to 20 minutes I tend to spend doing the food shop will be enough charging time to significantly boost my car’s range.
Of course, it helps if your car holds a reassuringly full charge in the first place. And here too, EVs have come a long way. The average new electric car’s range, according to recent Auto Trader research, is 272 miles: for most people, that will be enough for the majority of the week’s trips.
You don’t have to buy the most expensive electric cars to get the longest range, either. For example, the Polestar 2, a four-door hatchback/saloon costing less than £50,000, offers a maximum range of 406 miles in its long-range guise, while the joyous Renault Scenic E-Tech, a veritable bargain at about £41,000, is good for a maximum 379 miles.
And when driving, there are a few ways to help extract more miles. I spent six months with a plug-in hybrid Range Rover that had a maximum quoted battery range of 52 miles, and I regularly got 60 miles out of it, by driving gently with no sudden acceleration, and making sure I wasn’t lugging unnecessary weight around, such as roof boxes or heavy stuff in the boot.
Regenerative braking is a technology where the kinetic energy lost in braking is recovered and sent back to the battery, boosting your EV’s charge. Remember to select the maximum level that your car offers (it’s normally a switch, button or paddle near the steering wheel or gear selector) – it can make a noticeable difference.
Heated seats, windscreen wipers and the lights won’t dramatically drain the battery, so don’t make yourself uncomfortable or unsafe in an effort to save miles. Blasting out air conditioning in hot weather, however, can challenge your range, so if you’re running low on power, you can often add an extra 10 miles or so to your range by turning it off.
There’s lots to learn for the novice electric car driver, but it doesn’t take long. Once you know what it’s all about, charging your car will become second nature. And range anxiety will be a speck in your rear-view mirror.
Erin Baker is an experienced motoring journalist and campaigner, and the editorial director at Auto Trader, the UK’s largest automotive marketplace. Learn all about going electric with more real-world advice here
