Perth pensioner and EV driver Mike Perry believes electric cars are the future.
“Definitely,” he says from his home in the Fair City. “The government are going to [phase out] diesel and petrol cars [from 2030]. You’ll have no alternative by then. It’s not rocket science.
“You just have to be aware of the limitations and work around them.”
Mike was moved to defend electric vehicles (EVs) after reading about their limitations last week.
We ran an interview with Carnoustie hotel manager Rob Alcock, who was unhappy with the range of his electric vehicle and the drop in value he experienced after making the purchase.
Mike said he was “disappointed” to see someone struggling with their EV.
Mike has owned his Tesla for three and a half years. He chose an electric car as his concerns for the environment have grown in recently.
Electric cars are more eco-friendly as they do not emit carbon dioxide exhaust fumes like petrol or diesel cars, which contribute to air pollution.
“I would encourage people to go ahead and try it,” Mike said, “but I would point out that you have to understand the hurdles.”
One hurdle electric car drivers must face is range “anxiety”.
Electric cars and range ‘anxiety’
“There is one major factor to be aware of about electric car ownership,” Mike explained, “and that is range, the anxiety it causes and the means of managing that.”
A recent group test in car buyer bible What Car found that none of the leading EV models can match their advertised range when driving in the winter cold.
“The really important thing for electric car drivers is that it’s not like petrol. You can’t refill your car quickly almost anywhere.You have to plan your journeys.”
So how do electric car drivers manage?
The 75-year-old has a list of charging tips and tricks for EV drivers struggling with range “anxiety”.
- Charge the battery to 85% rather than 100% so the battery doesn’t suffer.
- If you can, don’t let the battery life fall below 10%.
- Change to a Smart Electricity Meter and pay to install a home charging point.
- Manage and plan charging when away from home – join one or more of the charging networks like Charge Place Scotland.
- If stuck, Mike says, find someone to let you use a 13A plug to charge it – though he warns this will be pretty slow going.
Is EV sceptic Rob convinced?
We asked EV sceptic Rob Alcock if Mike’s arguments had left him feeling more positive towards his own vehicle.
“Range anxiety only happens when you have a distance to travel,” Rob said.
“I do worry about it. Recently I went to Glasgow and I was hunting around for a charging station with just 7% left on my battery.
“I could have ran out of battery before I found a charging station.”
Rob already uses sites like Charge Place Scotland and Zap-Map.
“But I probably do charge my battery up to 100% every time,” he admitted.
“The reason being, I want to get the most I can out of [the battery life].”
Conversation