Types of electric cars
The pros of driving an electric car
The cons of driving an electric car
The best states to own an electric car in
Conclusion
Either way, use the following guide to gain a better understanding of electric vehicles before you take the plunge and buy one.
Types of electric cars
Before we delve into the pros and cons of electric cars, you should read some basic information about the different types of electric vehicles that exist.
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- Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs)
These have been the most common electric vehicles for years. However, the other types are slowly gaining ground in the electric car market.
Hybrids are cars that run on a combination of gasoline and electricity. HEVs, specifically, have two motors, one electric and one gas powered which are controlled by an internal computer which creates the best combination of use based on the driving conditions. The electric engine is recharged through the motion of breaking. This is known as regenerative breaking.
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- Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs)
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are also gas and electric hybrids. The difference between PHEVs and HEVs is that PHEVs charge through both regenerative breaking and plugging into an external outlet whereas HEVs only recharge the electric portion of their engine through regenerative breaking.
The most common of this type of electric vehicle is the Prius.
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- Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs)
Battery electric vehicles are the only purely electric cars out there. This means there is no exhaust pipe or gas tank. They have a battery which charges by being plugged in as well as regenerative breaking.
The most common type of battery electric vehicle is the Tesla.
The pros of driving an electric car
There are several benefits of driving an electric vehicle. Some will affect you more directly than others.
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- The benefits to owning and driving an electric car are:
- They cost less to run
Charging your car with electricity generally saves electric car drivers about two thirds of the cost of filling up with gasoline. An average car, with average fuel efficiency in March 2019 generally cost about eleven or twelve cents in gas to drive a mile. This is compared to your average electric vehicle, which only cost about four cents in electricity per mile driven.
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- They cost less to maintain
You will likely notice a bunch of savings from not having to maintain your vehicle nearly as much as a regular car as well. With an electric vehicle you, you do not need to get service like oil changes or emissions testing. If it’s a pure electric vehicle (not a hybrid) there also won’t be a transmission, so you won’t need to worry about getting nearly as many repairs.
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- There are tax refunds for electric vehicle owners
You can receive up to a federal $7,500 tax credit if you buy an electric vehicle. There are also state incentives which vary based on which state you are in.
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- Electric cars tend to be safer to drive
Electric cars have a lot fewer parts than gas powered vehicles do. Thus, there is a considerably lower chance of something malfunctioning while you are driving. The systems they do have, like the braking system or drive train, are much less complex, thus it is less likely something could go wrong.
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- They are better for the environment
An electric vehicles best benefit is that they do not produce nearly as much environmental damage as gas powered personal cars. An electric car can produce a third less of the harmful emissions as a regular vehicle does.
The cons of driving an electric car
There are also several negative aspects of driving an electric vehicle when compared to a regular car.
The drawbacks of owning and driving an electric vehicle are:
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- You can only drive less than a hundred miles before you need to charge again
There are rare exceptions which can drive two hundred miles or slightly more. However, these electric vehicles are either still in the testing stage and not for sale or they are outrageously expensive. The vast majority of electric cars can only drive between fifty and a hundred miles on a single charge.
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- Long charging times
Unfortunately, it does take a while to get your battery completely charged for most electric vehicles. Generally, it will take about three to five hours to charge your electric car. However, there are add-on devices for some electric cars that can cut this time down pretty significantly.
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- Initial cost
Electric cars are pretty expensive to buy. The cheaper ones will cost at least thirty thousand dollars. Most will cost between forty and sixty thousand dollars. Keep in mind though, you will save considerable money on gas and maintenance well into the future once you buy an EV. You can always search for a deal on an electric car online and have it shipped to your home.
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- Charging stations are not readily available everywhere
Realistically, based on your average electric vehicle’s range you should not plan to drive anywhere far with your electric car. There is also the issue of a general lack of charging stations in many more sparsely populated areas. So, if you do plan on purchasing an electric vehicle, be sure you check to see your area has at least a charging station or two.
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- There still aren’t that many kinds of electric cars to choose from
There are currently a bunch of different electric cars to choose from when you consider how few there were a couple of years back. However, when you compare the number of options you have to regular gas-powered cars, it still doesn’t compare.
The best states to own an electric car in
The states with the lowest number of electric cars per charging station
- Vermont: 3,780 people per charging station (165 total)
- Hawaii: 5,555 people per station (257 total)
- Oregon: 6,939 people per station (597 total)
- Colorado: 7,681 people per station (730 total)
- California: 7,942 people per station (4,978 total)
- South Dakota: 8,263 people per station (105 total)
- Minnesota: 8,424 people per station (662 total)
- Iowa: 8,502 people per station (370 total)
- Washington: 8,923 people per station (830 total)
- Maine: 9,611 people per station (139 total)
The states with the best incentives
Remember, there is a $7,500 FEDERAL tax credit you can get for buying an electric vehicle as long as certain conditions are met.
These are the best STATE tax incentives that you can receive in addition to your federal tax credit for buying an electric car:
- Colorado has a $5,000 tax credit for purchase; $2,500 for lease
- California has a $2,500-$4,500 rebate, depending on income
- Connecticut has a $3,000 rebate
- Maryland has a $3,000 excise tax credit
- Massachusetts offers up to $2,500 rebate
- Delaware offers up to $2,200 rebate
- New York offers up to $2,000 rebate
- Louisiana offers up to $1,500 income tax credit
Conclusion
When you think about everything there is to consider when it comes to electric cars, you can see that it is a tough decision to say the least. There are a lot of great things about them like the benefits for the environment or the money you will save on gas. There are also a few not so great things like the limited range most electric vehicles have as well as the overall cost of buying an EV.
Regardless, the decision is yours. Just remember, by going electric you are benefiting the planet as a whole.
