With the emphasis on green living becoming progressively more prominent in media and politics across the world, we’re likely to be hearing more and more about hybrid and fully electric cars as time goes on. Like a lot of people, you might be mulling over the decision to get rid of your gas-guzzler and buy something a little greener. Before you rush out to a dealership, stop and think! Here are some of the major drawbacks of driving an electric car.
First of all, you’re going to have to get used to travelling light. There are a lot of electric cars out there, notably the Tesla Model S, which manage to have a decent amount of cargo space and good performance to go with it. Most, however, carry gigantic batteries. To make room for this essential component, the cargo space for the car is compressed down to something pretty minuscule. For example, the Ford Focus Electric only has 14.5 cubic feet of space behind the back seats. This is a huge reduction from the 23.8 that the original Focus has. You might think that this kind of change wouldn’t make much of a difference to you. However, most of us take our boot space for granted, and not having enough room in your car can be incredibly frustrating for obvious reasons.
The next big downside to owning an electric is that it could financially ruin you! The main factor in this is the batteries needed to run electric cars, which cost a massive amount to produce, and even more to sell. Just like the battery in your phone or tablet, the lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles degrade over time. This is where owning an electric car can really be expensive. Cleverly, a lot of automakers are pretty secretive about how much their batteries would cost by themselves. However, Ford gave a ballpark figure in 2011 of 12,000 to 15,000 USD. If you have to replace the battery in your electric car, that could easily ruin your Christmas! Aside from that, the electric car niche hasn’t really taken off, and the cost of buying one in the first place remains incredibly high. While things like auto insurance and maintenance may be cheaper than with some conventional models, electric cars are far from cheap!
Finally, you could stand a higher risk of an accident. This is a slightly darker topic, but it needs to be addressed nonetheless. If you’ve ever driven an electric car in a built-up area, you’ll know that pedestrians and cyclists often rely on the sound of engines rather than sight to judge their distance and speed. If you’re doing 30mph or lower, your electric car will make barely any noise compared to a conventional petrol model. This means that for a lot of people who aren’t looking at your car, you might as well not exist! With people walking into the road in front of you with their eyes firmly on their phones, you’re going to be at a much higher risk of seriously hurting someone.