What would drive you to electric cars?
With millions being spent on converting the West Midland automotive industry to low carbon, Anna Blackaby talks to a local author about the reality for consumers of driving an electric car.
Electric cars have long been the butt of jokes for petrolheads – but Michael Boxwell, the Warwickshire-based author of the book Owning An Electric Car, believes the days of Jeremy Clarkson jeering at their clunky design are numbered.
This year sees the launch of G-Wiz-maker Reva’s next model – named NXR – which could be a pivotal moment for electric vehicles, putting them on a par with their petrol counterparts in terms of how much they cost as well as how they look.
“They have had an image problem, but that’s totally understandable with cars like the G-Wiz which looks like something out of a Noddy TV programme,” said Mr Boxwell.
“But that will change – the Mitsubishi i MiEV is a high-tech looking car and the new Reva NXR is again a very modern, good-looking car.
“Then you’ve got the Tesla electric sports car – a £90,000 Porsche competitor that out-accelerates a Ferrari and does 250 miles to the range.”
Having driven an electric car for four years – first a G-Wiz and then a Mistubishi i MiEV – Mr Boxwell is a convert, but he’s not glossing over the challenges that driving one brings – namely their limited range, which with the latest models goes up to around 100 miles.
But it’s just a question of working out how you use your car that will determine whether investing in an electric vehicle is right for you, Mr Boxwell believes.
“Obviously if you are regularly doing 1,800 miles a day, you are not going to buy an electric vehicle
“The people who will buy an electric car to start off with will be two-car families as it is rare that you have two cars in a family that both do long distances.
“Also an awful lot of classic car owners drive electric car. Because they have an electric car to do the humdrum stuff, they can now buy an interesting car for the fun days.”
