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How cheaply can I buy a used electric car?

Nissan Leaf

You’ll need at least £3,000 to buy a used electric car, but think twice before reaching for your wallet. Because while some cars grow old gracefully, an ageing electric car could be an unwise investment.

The fact is, electric vehicles are developing at such a rate, even a car registered a decade ago might be completely outmoded – and less financially savvy than it first appears. To highlight this point, let’s consider the cheapest used electric cars you can buy.

Once upon a time, you were limited to just a handful of electric cars, three of which were simply rebadged versions of the same vehicle: the Peugeot Ion, Citroen C-Zero and Mitsubishi i-Miev. At the time of writing, several of these cars are advertised on Auto Trader for around the £3,000 mark.

Ludicrously expensive when new, these cars were actually pretty decent to drive, offered seating for four, and were well suited to city life. However, 80 miles of electric range is woefully inadequate in 2024, when 300 miles+ is now the norm. 

Citroen C-Zero used electric car

The other problem is the cost of a new battery pack. The Honest John website quotes a somewhat alarming figure of €22,610 (£19,391) plus tax. Given these cars were sold between 2011 and 2017, and EV batteries typically last around 10 years, that’s a potentially huge hit.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that batteries suffer from reduced range over time. This means you might struggle to achieve the distances quoted when the electric car was new. The problem may affect earlier Nissan Leafs, for example, although it is possible to replace faulty battery cells.

In fact, the Nissan Leaf would be our choice if you’re buying a used electric car on a budget. It blazed a trail for the industry, so there’s a wide selection of cars to choose from. At the time of writing there are around 1,200 for sale on Auto Trader, with prices from £3,000 to £32,000.

A range of 124 miles is a bit below par in the context of modern electric cars – the latest Leaf delivers up to 239 miles – but if you’re using the car for station runs and trips to the local shops, it should be fine.

Nissan Leaf used electric car

The Leaf came with a five-year or 60,000-mile battery warranty, so take this into account when buying a used example. A new battery will cost around £5,000, but you’ll get some money back in exchange for the old one.

For a few dollars more

Up your budget to £10,000 and the Leaf is still the most numerous car in the classifieds. However, other options include the Renault Zoe, Skoda Citigo and the excellent BMW i3.

Be warned with earlier examples of the Leaf and Zoe, however, that prices are unlikely to include the monthly cost of battery leasing – an unusual ownership model for these specific cars that has now been discontinued. Some owners may also have bought the battery outright.

In truth, you’ll need to spend upwards of £15,000 for the pick of the used electric car crop. At this point, the likes of the Kia Soul EV, Peugeot e-208, Vauxhall Corsa-e and Hyundai Kona Electric become realistic prospects.

However, we’d recommend leasing an electric car, rather than buying one. You could find the monthly cost works out cheaper than the finance payments on a used car. Also, you won’t be left behind by rapid advances in electric car technology.

At the end of your two- or three-year leasing contract, simply return the car and lease a new one. It will almost certainly offer a longer range and take less time to charge, and it will come with the latest safety and connectivity tech.

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How much road tax will I pay for an electric car?

Jaguar I-Pace

For years, road tax – officially Vehicle Excise Duty – was one of the unavoidable costs of motoring. You’d have to fork out for tax, even if your car spent the majority of its time parked on the driveway or locked away in a garage.

Things changed in 2001 when the system was altered to one based on a car’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Today, if your car was registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017, you could pay anything from £0 for a car emitting up to 100g/km of CO2 to £695 for one pumping out more than 255g/km of CO2. This means that, just like an electric vehicle, a diesel car could be exempt from road tax.

Before we go any further, let’s deliver the positive news: right now, drivers of electric cars do not have to pay for road tax. Things will change in 2025, but for now, enjoy the feeling of getting something for free.

Does an electric car need to be taxed?

The road tax might be free, but that doesn’t mean an electric car is exempt from tax. Technically, you still have to tax your EV, even if you don’t pay anything, but the entire process can be completed online. You also need to remember to renew the tax every six or 12 months.

Are all EVs exempt from the Expensive Car Supplement?

Cars with a list price of £40,000 or more incur a road tax surcharge (currently £390), which is charged every year from the second to the sixth year of registration (a total of five years). This is in addition to the flat rate of £180 for petrol and diesel cars, or £170 for alternative fuel vehicles (including hybrids, plug-hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles).

Nissan Leaf

The government introduced the Expensive Car Supplement in April 2017, and although electric cars were exempt from road tax, those with a list price exceeding £40,000 were still liable for the additional rate of £310 a year for a five-year period from the second year.

Fortunately, common sense prevailed, and the Chancellor removed the Expensive Car Supplement for zero-emission cars in April 2020.

What changes will be introduced in April 2025?

From April 2025, the government will, in its words, ‘equalise the Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) treatment of all zero emission and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles’. Crucially, this will apply to both new and existing alternatively fuelled vehicles, including electric cars.

In other words, the days of free road tax for electric cars will be over, with EVs registered on or after 1 April 2017 subject to the lowest first-year rate of VED, which currently applies to vehicles with CO2 emissions of 1g/km to 50g/km. From the second year, electric cars will move to the standard annual rate.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “To make our motoring tax system fairer I’ve decided that electric vehicles will no longer be exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty (VED).”

Based on the current rates, that means a first-year payment of £10 followed by the standard rate of £180 per year. Owners of electric cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March will pay the Band B rate of £20 a year. You’re unlikely to be driving an electric car registered before 1 March 2001, but the payment would be £200 a year if you did.

Renault Zoe

There’s another sting in the tail for electric car owners, with the Expensive Car Supplement exemption due to end in 2025. This means all electric cars with a list price exceeding £40,000 will pay the surcharge, currently £390 a year.

Summary of changes from April 2025

  • New electric cars registered on or after 1 April 2025 to pay the lowest rate of VED, currently £10 a year.
  • From the second year, new electric cars will move to the standard rate, currently £180 a year.
  • If the new electric car has a price exceeding £40,000 it will be subject to the Expensive Car Supplement for five years from the second time the vehicle is taxed. The rate is currently £390 a year.
  • Electric cars registered between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2025 will pay the standard rate.
  • Electric cars registered between 1 March 2001 and 30 March 2017 will pay the second tier rate, currently £20 a year.
  • An electric car registered before 1 March 2001 will pay the standard rate for cars with an engine size not over 1549cc, currently £200 a year.

Is the road tax exemption likely to return?

Given the rise in the number of electric cars on the road, we’re unlikely to see a return of the road tax exemption. If anything, the price of VED is likely to increase.

RAC head of policy Nicholas Lyes said: “After many years of paying no car tax at all, it’s probably fair the Government gets owners of electric vehicles to start contributing to the upkeep of major roads from 2025.

“Vehicle excise duty rates are unlikely to be a defining reason for vehicle choice, so we don’t expect this tax change to have much of an effect on dampening demand for electric vehicles given the many other cost benefits of running one.

“The fact that company car tax increases on EVs will be kept low should also keep giving fleets the confidence to go electric, which is vital for increasing the overall number of EVs on our roads.”

Click here for the current vehicle tax rates.

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Where can I charge an electric car for free?

When electric cars first gained popularity in around 2015, it was easy to find cheap or free places to charge. At worst, you’d pay £10 for a card that gave you access to roadside charging points for a year.

That couldn’t last for long – and it hasn’t. Nobody can afford to give motorists free fuel, even if they are driving efficient electric cars. So now there is a significant cost to use public chargers – and it’s almost always cheaper to charge your EV at home.

Another issue with free public charging stemmed from the increasing numbers of plug-in hybrids on the road. These vehicles – which use a petrol engine and an electric motor – have less need to top up, but drivers may choose to if electricity is free. Introducing a cost frees up charging points for proper EVs.

Council roadside and car park chargers

You will be lucky to plug in without paying in England or Wales in 2024, although there are still a significant number of free chargers in Scotland (operated by ChargePlace) and in Nortrhern Ireland (the ecarNI network). In both cases, you have to pay a small membership fee upfront.

Bear in mind that you may still need to pay parking charges as well, even if charging your car is free.

Filling stations

Sadly, there is no chance of finding free electricity at petrol stations now. However, the number of charging points is growing rapidly in these locations, thanks to new networks such as Shell Recharge and BP Pulse.

In future, some petrol stations are likely to be converted to EV-only charging hubs – following the example of the Shell site in Fulham, London.

Supermarkets

Again, free chargers at supermarkets are now few and far-between, although they can still be found at some Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Lidl stores.

Tesco originally partnered with Volkswagen and Pod Point to provide thousands of free 7kWh charging points across the UK, but this offer has now been withdrawn. Topping up at Tesco now costs between 44p and 69p per kWh, depending on the speed of the charger.

Car dealers

Every car dealer that sells electric cars has at least one charging point and may allow customers to charge for free. In our view, though, that’s far from a realistic as an ongoing solution.

Firstly, car dealers are often in places that are out of your way (although the better ones will offer decent coffee and a waiting lounge). Secondly, the point is usually in use recharging their own demonstration vehicles. And finally, have you seen how packed dealer car parks are? It can be impossible to park anywhere.

Hotels

Many hotels, and even some B&Bs, offer electric charging for their customers – and with a modicum of luck you can do this at no additional cost. According to the latest numbers from ZapMap, 406 hotels in the UK still offer free EV charging.

We can’t think of a nicer place to stop than a country house hotel, where you can imbibe tea and cake while your car is being charged.

Tesla owners

This is complicated. Owners of the early Model S and Model X Teslas received free use of the Supercharger network for the lifetime of their car. You could also pass this on to subsequent owners. Later, you couldn’t pass it on, then you didn’t get it for free.

More recently, Tesla has been trying to phase out free Supercharging by offering special trade-in deals to those owners who benefit from it. Contact Tesla before buying an older (pre-2021) Model S or Model X to check if that particular vehicle comes with free Supercharging. It’s a huge potential benefit if so.

All owners of the smaller Model 3 and Model Y have to pay for charging in the UK. However, there are sometimes offers if you are referred by an existing Tesla owner, such as a recent deal that offered ‘1,000 miles’ of free charging with a new car.

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Why do some electric cars have heat pumps?

Electric car heat pump

Flick through the brochure for a new electric car and you might notice the availability of a heat pump, either as an option or a standard feature. But what is a heat pump and, if it’s an option, should you spend the extra money?

Heat pumps in electric cars are nothing new; in 2013, the Nissan Leaf became the first mass-produced EV to use a heat pump to warm the cabin, with the Kia Soul EV following suit in 2014. The tech has been developed in the subsequent decade, but the principles remain.

What are heat pumps?

In simple terms, a heat pump uses waste heat from an electric car’s powertrain to efficiently warm the cabin. In other words, it harvests energy from the car’s drive motors, on-board chargers, inverters and battery pack. As well as keeping the cabin and battery warm in cold weather, a heat pump can also cool a battery in summer months.

How does a heat pump work?

In a petrol or diesel car, the engine generates enough excess heat to be used to warm the cabin; it’s how a car’s heater has traditionally worked. Because an electric motor is so efficient, there isn’t enough waste heat to warm the cabin, so an EV without a heat pump must rely on direct resistive heating to heat the traction battery and cabin.

Electric car heat pump

This creates extra load on the battery pack in winter months, reducing the range of an electric car by up to a half. Similarly, the range is also reduced in the summer when additional energy is required for cooling the battery pack and cabin.

In cold weather tests, Mahle, which has built a heat pump known as an Integrated Thermal System (ITS), found that an EV with conventional electric heating had a cruising range of 100km (62 miles), but this increased to 116km (70 miles) when equipped with a heat pump. The German company says a heat pump will improve an EV’s range by between seven and 20 percent.

Heat pumps are like household refrigerators, but in reverse. Rather than taking heat from inside and releasing it into the room, a heat pump uses heat generated by the components listed above to vaporise refrigerant from liquid to gas form. High-pressure gas is discharged from the compressor and forced into a condenser to be converted back into a liquid. This additional heat energy is harvested by the heat pump and used to warm the car’s interior.

A heat pump doesn’t replace the car’s HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system – climate control will always be the most effective way of warming and cooling a cabin – but it reduces the load on the battery and cuts energy consumption from the HVAC system.

Electric car heat pump

The benefits of a heat pump

Bosch, another producer of heat pumps, says the tech can increase an EV’s range by up to 25 percent. Its system uses the vehicle’s coolant fluid to distribute warm and cool air, and says a heat pump with a rating of 1,000 watts will generate the heat equivalent of 2,000-3,000 watts.

By increasing the efficiency of the HVAC and putting less strain on the battery, the most obvious benefit of a heat pump is increased range. The knock-on effects are less time spent charging the battery and reduced running costs.

Do all electric cars have a heat pump?

Unfortunately not. Although some electric cars have a heat pump fitted as standard, the tech is still relatively rare and expensive, so you might have to peruse the options list to find one. In many cases, a heat pump isn’t available, even as an option.

In 2020, the Model Y was the first Tesla to be fitted with a heat pump, with the smaller Model 3 gaining the tech from the 2021 model year. Porsche electric cars have a heat pump as standard, but the system isn’t the preserve of high-end EVs; the affordable Peugeot e-208 has one as standard.

Electric car heat pump

If you’re buying a Volkswagen ID.3, Skoda Enyaq or Hyundai Ioniq 5, you’ll need to find an extra £1,000 for a heat pump.

Should you splash out on a heat pump?

There’s no doubt that heat pumps are most beneficial in cold weather, but the improved efficiency will be helpful regardless of the conditions. A 20 percent increase in range will be a boon during the winter months, especially if it means spending less time outside using a public charger.

If it’s an optional extra, you’ll need to decide if it’s worth the extra £1,000 on top of the purchase price. It’s likely to be a worthwhile investment if you do a lot of miles, plus there’s the potential for stronger resale values as the technology matures and becomes more mainstream.

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How to get the maximum range from your electric car

Audi E-Tron GT

The official range figure was probably one of the first things you looked at before deciding to buy your electric car. It’s no surprise; knowing how far your car can go on a full charge will provide some reassurance that you’ll get to your destination without having to rely on the public charging network.

With an increasing number of electric cars able to travel 300+ miles on a single charge, so-called ‘range anxiety’ is becoming a thing of the past, but it makes sense to understand how to preserve – or even boost – the distance your car can travel before its battery runs flat. It’s like ‘hypermiling’ in a petrol or diesel car to squeeze every mile out of a tank of fuel.

We’re assuming you own an electric car, so suggesting you upgrade from a vehicle with 100 miles of range to one with 300 miles wouldn’t be helpful. That’s why we have created a list of ways you can get the maximum range from your electric car without spending an extra penny.

Our list is presented in no particular order, but if you use any or all of the following tips, you will boost the range of your electric car. And save yourself money into the bargain.

Check your speed

Electric cars are most efficient when driven at speeds of between 50mph and 60mph. According to Department for Transport figures, you’ll lose 14 percent less energy if you reduce your motorway speed by 10mph, so it pays to ease off. It’s all about making life easier for your battery, because the faster you go, the harder it has to work to tackle wind resistance.

Avoid motorways

Linked to lowering your speed, it actually pays to avoid motorways. You’ll be able to travel significantly further at 70mph than at 60mph, but the car’s range will plummet if you choose to break the motorway speed limit. If you’re prepared to add a little time to your journey, use a route planning app such as Waze or Google Maps and select ‘avoid motorways’. You’ll be amazed at the difference it can make, and because you’ve lowered your speed, it should mean fewer visits to a public charging points. So your journey may not take longer after all.

Smoothly does it

Electric car range

Late braking and sudden acceleration are two things to avoid when you’re looking to maximise range. Build your speed slowly and scan the road ahead to look for junctions, roundabouts and situations that might require sudden braking. It’s worth remembering that electric cars are heavier than their petrol and diesel equivalents, which means more energy is required to make progress. If you can maintain this forward momentum, you will preserve your battery’s charge and therefore the range of your EV.

Driving mode

Many electric cars feature different driving modes to control parameters such as throttle response and the level of regenerative braking, along with the efficiency of systems like the climate control. Anything you can do to reduce the drain on your battery will maximise the range, so use ‘Eco’ mode where possible.

Regenerative braking

Speaking of regenerative braking, by recapturing energy that would have been lost as heat, you can actually add miles to your car’s projected range. It’s quite simple to use: you simply take your foot off the accelerator and allow the electric motor to harvest energy as it slows. Some cars are better at doing this than others, and many give you the option to select the strength of the regenerative braking, while others even allow you to accelerate, decelerate and stop the car using only one pedal.

Check the tyre pressures

An electric car’s range will be positively or negatively affected by the tyre pressures, so get into the habit of checking them regularly. Invest in a tyre pressure gauge or use one at your local petrol station, because driving with under-inflated tyres will put a dent in your car’s range. Similarly, when it comes to changing your rubber, choose tyres that match the manufacturer’s specification or are designed specifically for electric vehicles,

Get into the habit of preconditioning

Electric car charging

As we pointed out in our guide to preconditioning, this is one of the lesser-known and underappreciated features of electric cars. It allows you to heat or cool the car’s cabin before you start your journey. As well as making you feel more comfortable, you’ll also preserve the predicted range, because the energy required to heat or cool the interior will be drawn from the mains electricity supply and not your car’s battery. What’s more, when you start your journey, your battery can concentrate on powering the car and not altering the cabin temperature.

Use the heated seats

If it’s just you in the car, consider using the heated seats and heated steering wheel instead of hot air. This is a more efficient way of warming you up on a cold morning because the car is essentially heating you and not the entire cabin. When you’re feeling toasty, switch them off again to preserve range. You should also be able to turn on the heated seats and heated steering wheel, if fitted, as part of the preconditioning process.

Use accessories sparingly

Most of us like waking up to a fully charged smartphone, but you know that it doesn’t take long for the battery to run down. Some time spent on social media, the use of a mapping app and streaming a video will soon put a dent in the phone’s charge status. It’s a similar story in an electric car, which means charging your phone, using the climate control, listening to the radio and driving with headlights on will all eat into the projected range. Nobody is suggesting you turn everything off – killing the climate control and driving with steamy windows is a bad idea – but just remember that every accessory will put an additional strain on the battery.

Look after your battery

This is more of a long-term approach, so you won’t see any immediate results, but caring for your battery will pay dividends over time. Charging the battery once it hits 10 percent and recharging to 80 percent is the key to preserving battery life, which means your car’s official range estimate will remain higher for longer. Equally, avoiding the regular use of rapid chargers, running from 100 percent to zero, and leaving the battery on charge when it’s full are all things to avoid. Look after your EV’s battery and it will look after you.

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What is the difference between kW and kWh?

Difference between kW and kWh

Read any electric car review and you will see measurements quoted using kW and kWh. So, what do these values mean and why are they important?

Firstly, you need to know that kW stands for kilowatts, while kWh is short for kilowatt-hours. Crucially, the two units are not compatible, so they cannot be compared. Confused? Bear with us…

Imagine an electric car battery is a swimming pool: kWh is the amount of water the pool can hold, while kW is the rate at which water will flow into the pool. Sure, water and electricity don’t mix, but hopefully the point still stands.

What is kW?

As this video explains, kW is a measure of power. One kilowatt is simply 1,000 watts. Kilowatts (kW) is the measurement of energy used for electric car chargers, typically 7kW, 22kW, 50kW, 350kW and so on.

In other words, it’s the rate at which power is transferred from a charging station into your EV. In theory, then, it makes sense to use a rapid charger, because a 100kW input will to replenish a battery more quickly than a 22kW charger.

However, that might not be the case, because not all electric cars can handle a rapid charge. It’s also worth noting that EV batteries do not respond well to regular rapid charging. At present, only the most powerful EVs, such as the Audi RS E-Tron GT can charge at anything close to 350kW.

In addition, kW can be used as a reference to the output of the electric motor. In a petrol or diesel car, this would probably be measured in horsepower (hp) or brake horsepower (bhp).

We admit, it’s confusing to have two definitions for kW, but put it this way: when kW is used in the context of a charger, it’s the rate at which you can charge your battery. When it’s used in the context of a car, it’s the size of the electric motor.

What is kWh?

Audi RS E-Tron GT

Meanwhile, kWh is the total amount of energy stored in a battery. For example, there are two versions of the Nissan Leaf available: 39kWh and 59kWh. In general, the larger the battery, the further you can travel on a single charge.

Here are examples of various battery sizes, along with their associated range:

  • Nissan Leaf 39kWh: 168 miles
  • Vauxhall Corsa-e 50kWh: 211 miles
  • Nissan Leaf 59kWh: 239 miles
  • Kia e-Niro 64kWh: 285 miles
  • Rolls-Royce Spectre: 103kWh: 329 miles
  • Mercedes-Benz EQS 108.4kWh: 453 miles

To put it another way, a kWh is the amount of energy expended in one hour by a kilowatt of power. You’ll likely be familiar with the measurement, because it’s used by energy providers when billing you for your domestic electricity.

Still not getting it? Well, imagine an electric car with a 80kW electric motor and an 80kWh battery. If you ran the motor continuously at maximum speed, you would drain the battery in exactly one hour.

In summary, kW is either the rate at which your battery will recharge or the size of the electric motor, while kWh is the capacity of the battery. Got that? Good.

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From slow to ultra-rapid: electric car charging speeds explained

Ionity chargers

The latest stats from Zap-Map show the UK had 53,906 public electric car chargers at the end of 2023 – a 45 percent increase over the total for 2022. Of these, nearly 20 percent (10,497) were rapid or ultra-rapid devices.

Recent years have seen increased investment in high-speed public chargers, which should give EV owners more confidence to tackle long journeys. Electric cars accounted for 19.7 percent of the new car market in 2023, with plug-in hybrids making up a further 8.6 percent.

So what is the difference between slow, fast, rapid and ultra-rapid charging? Essentially, they all do the same thing – charge an electric car – but as the names suggest, the speed of charging varies according to the connector type.

Electric cars require a direct current (DC). If you charge using a domestic socket, the alternating current (AC) is converted to DC by the vehicle. Fast chargers do this conversion before the electricity reaches the car, speeding up the charging time. Rapid and ultra-rapid chargers (with one exception) also supply DC current straight to the car.

Slow charging

Charging an electric car at home

In the early days of EV adoption – until around 2012, let’s say – slow chargers dominated the public network. Today, you’re more likely to find them in home or workplace locations, where cars can be left on charge for longer periods.

The majority of slow charging points are rated at 3.6kW and will recharge an electric car in eight to 12 hours. This makes them suited to overnight charging, or when you’re in the office for a full day of work.

Although it’s possible to slow-charge an electric car using a domestic three-pin plug socket, we strongly recommend installing a home wallbox. Not only is this safer, you’ll also see much faster charge times.

Alternatively, some lamp-post installations will charge at 6kW, which could be useful if you don’t have off-street parking at home.

There are four slow charger connector types:

  • Three-pin domestic plug socket (3kW)
  • Type 1 (3-6kW AC)
  • Type 2 (3-6kW AC)
  • Commando (3-6kW AC)

You can expect to pay around £800 for a 3.6kW home charger, although people who live in flats or rented properties can claim back 75 percent of the cost – up to a maximum of £350. Find out more about the government’s EV chargepoint grant here.

Fast charging

Fast chargers are the most common connectors in the UK, accounting for more than half of the charging network. The majority of fast chargers are rated at 7kW, but 22kW chargers are also available.

These tend to be found in locations where vehicles are parked for longer periods of time, such as car parks, supermarkets, leisure centres and retail outlets. A 7kW home charger will deliver charging speeds three times faster than a domestic plug, while a 22kW charger will be 10 times faster.

Charging times vary depending on the unit and electric car in question, but a 7kW charger should deliver a full charge in four to six hours. A 22kW unit will complete the task in between one and two hours. The network features both tethered (cable attached) and untethered (use your own cable, supplied with the car) charging points.

Bank on spending about £1,000 on a home 7kW unit, or £1,500 on a 22kW charger (including installation but excluding any chargepoint grant reduction).

There are three fast charger connector types:

  • Type 1 (7kW AC)
  • Type 2 (7-22kW AC)
  • Commando (7-22kW AC)

Rapid and ultra-rapid charging

Gridserve 360kW EV Charger

Rapid chargers are the fastest way to charge your electric car. You tend to find them at motorway service areas or locations close to major roads. They can deliver up to 80 percent charge in just 20 minutes, but an hour probably is a more realistic figure.

A rapid charger will provide power at between 43kW and 50kW, while an ultra-rapid charger delivers either 100kW, 150kW or 350kW. The most common rapid charger in the UK is the 50kW device.

Car manufacturers often refer to an ‘80 percent’ charge time in sales material. The reason is that rapid chargers have an automatic cut-off at this point to protect the life of the battery.

The cable is tethered to the charging unit and only cars with rapid-charging functionality can use these devices. You cannot have a rapid charger installed at home.

There are four types of rapid charger connector types:

  • Type 2 (43kW AC)
  • CHAdeMO (50kW DC)
  • CCS (50-350kW DC)
  • Tesla Type 2 (150kW DC)

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Glossary

Electric car glossary

If you’ve grown up surrounded by petrol and diesel cars, some of the acronyms, abbreviations and terminology used in the electric car world might be confusing.

Our Motoring Electric glossary should help clear the air.

Table of contents

AC

AC stands for alternating current. Mains electricity from the grid is an AC supply, with around 230 volts entering our homes.

BEV

BEV is often used to describe a battery electric vehicle. Also known as an all-electric vehicle or a fully electric car.

BIK

BIK (benefit in kind) is a tax on company employees who receive fringe benefits or perks on top of their salary. If you drive a company car, you will have to pay a BIK contribution. The amount is calculated using the car’s CO2 emissions and P11D value.

Cell

A battery pack consists of individual cells.

CO2

CO2 is carbon dioxide. In the case of vehicles, CO2 is emitted through the car’s exhaust and measured in grams per kilometre (g/km). While CO2 is important for health and environmental reasons, it’s also used to calculate vehicle excise duty (VED, also known as road tax) and company car tax. With zero tailpipe emissions, electric cars offer significant tax benefits.

DC

DC stands for direct current. Domestic appliances require a DC supply, which is why they have converters built into the plug. Electric cars also rely on a DC supply, so they use an on-board charger to convert power from AC to DC.

Electric glossary

EV

EV is shorthand for an electric vehicle.

Frunk

Front storage compartment or ‘front trunk’ in U.S. parlance, now commonly shortened to ‘frunk’. Uses the space in the nose normally taken up by the engine.

HEV

A hybrid electric vehicle, the most famous of which is the Toyota Prius. These feature a small electric motor and a battery in addition to a petrol or diesel engine. They cannot be plugged in.

kW

A kW is a measure of power – one kilowatt is 1,000 watts. It may be used to describe the energy output for electric car chargers, i.e. 3kW, 22kW and 50kW, etc. It can also reference the output of an electric motor.

kWh

kWh is the total amount of energy stored in a battery. For example, the Kia e-Niro boasts a 64kWh battery, which means it can hold 64 kilowatts of electricity.

Lithium-ion

The type of battery used in the majority of electric cars.

mHEV

mHEV – or MHEV – is short for mild hybrid electric vehicle. A small 48-volt battery supplies energy to support engine stop-starting, coasting and auxiliary functions. In short, it means the engine can be turned off when the car is coasting, braking or stationary.

Motor

An electric car doesn’t have an engine. Instead, power is supplied via an electric motor, which is fed by a battery pack.

Electric car questions

NEDC

From 1992 until 2019, all new cars had their fuel economy and emissions tested under the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC). However, consumers had difficulty achieving the claimed figures, so a new system was introduced in 2019. See WLTP.

NOx

Nitrogen oxide (NOx) is produced by international combustion engines and can cause serious respiratory problems.

PHEV

A plug-in hybrid (PHEV) is a popular ‘halfway house’ between a conventional car and an electric vehicle. Because a PHEV can be plugged in and charged, it’s possible to complete a short journey on electric power only. Currently, the most popular plug-in hybrid vehicle is the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.

Power

Power is the maximum output an engine or electric motor can produce. You will see power quoted as HP, BHP, PS, CV and kW. The higher the number, the faster a car can travel, although other factors also influence performance. These include the vehicle’s weight and aerodynamics.

Range

Range is the total distance you could achieve on a single charge. All new electric cars come with a range quoted by the manufacturer, but there are a number of reasons why you might not go the full distance. These are explored here.

Charging a Nissan Leaf

Range anxiety

Range anxiety is the fear of not reaching your desired destination in an electric car. In the past, when electric cars offered a very limited range, this was a real problem. Thanks to improved battery technology and a more robust charging network, range anxiety is likely to become a thing of the past.

Single-phase

The majority of homes in the UK have a single-phase electricity supply. This means the maximum charging rate for electric cars is 7kW.

Tethered

A tethered cable is fixed at one end, either to the car or to the charging point.

Three-phase

Although much of the UK is served by a three-phase electricity network, most domestic properties use a single-phase connection. By upgrading to a three-phase supply, it’s possible to fit a faster 22kW charging unit.

Torque

Put simply, torque is the amount of force generated by an engine or a motor. In the case of an electric car, this torque is delivered from a standstill, which means impressive acceleration. Torque is quoted in newton metres (Nm) or pounds feet (lb ft).

Untethered

Untethered means you won’t find a cable at an electric charging point. Make sure you carry one in the boot.

Voltage

Voltage is the measure of the power of electricity. In general, the higher the voltage, the more powerful the car.

Honda e charging at home

Wallbox

Although it’s possible to charge an electric car using a domestic three-pin socket, installing a wallbox is a safer and faster option. Grants are available, while some manufacturers will offer to install a wallbox when you buy a new electric car.

Watt

A watt is a measurement of power. One kilowatt (1kW) is 1,000 watts.

WLTP

The Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) is used to measure fuel consumption, electric range and CO2 emissions from passenger cars. The WLTP driving cycle is divided into four parts: low, medium, high and extra high. The combined figure is the best gauge of what to expect in the real world. 

ZEV

A ZEV is a zero emissions vehicle.

EV MPG: what is miles per kWh for electric cars?

Skoda Enyaq

Miles per kilowatt-hour (kWh) is the electric vehicle equivalent of miles per gallon (mpg) in petrol or diesel cars.

In other words, it tells you the distance you can expect your electric car to travel for every kilowatt-hour of energy consumed.

Glossing over the fact that we still use miles per gallon as a measurement for fuel economy, even though we pay per litre of fuel, we know that a higher number is better for your wallet. A 50mpg family hatchback will visit the pumps less frequently than a 20mpg sports car. You’ll spend a similar amount for a tank of petrol or diesel, but travel further per litre of fuel consumed.

In an electric car, the miles per kWh figure indicates how many miles you can go for every unit of electricity. The figure is arguably more important than the car’s official range, which is the figure most buyers look at when deciding which electric car to buy.

Put it this way: a car with a 100kWh battery might offer 300 miles of range, but if it’s heavy and cumbersome, it’s likely to be less efficient than a lightweight electric car with a 50kWh battery and the same 300 miles of range. Both will get you there, but the 50kWh EV will consume less electricity and therefore be cheaper to run.

How to calculate miles per kWh

BMW iX

If the miles per kWh figure isn’t provided by the manufacturer or the car review you are reading, it can be calculated using the following formula:

  • Miles per kWh = distance travelled (in miles) / energy consumed (in kilowatt-hours)

Giving that a real-world slant: if an electric car covered 200 miles and consumed 50kWh of electricity, the calculation would be 200 miles divided by 50kWh, which gives four miles per kWh.

Some examples of miles per kWh

As you’ll see from the following examples, bigger (and more expensive) isn’t necessarily better when it comes to the efficiency of an electric car.

On the contrary, the Vauxhall Corsa Electric, one of the UK’s most affordable electric cars, boasts a figure of 5.0 miles per kWh, making it one of the most efficient cars you can buy. Similarly, the 42kWh version of the Fiat 500 Electric offers 4.8 miles per kWh, while the Renault Megane E-Tech Electric and Volkswagen ID.3 (77kWh) boast figures of 4.6 miles and 4.5 miles per kWh, respectively.

Fancy a family SUV with good efficiency? Take a look at the Skoda Enyaq iV 80, which offers an official 4.0 miles per kWh. For context, the figure for the luxurious BMW iX is 3.41 miles per kWh, while the Jaguar I-Pace fares even worse at 3.24 miles per kWh. You can expect modest efficiency from sporty EVs such as the Porsche Taycan and Audi E-tron GT, too.

How reliable is the miles per kWh figure?

Vauxhall Corsa

Just like the miles per gallon figure, the miles per kWh figure should only be used as a guide. Electric cars use lithium-ion batteries, which rely on a chemical reaction to create electricity. In cold weather, the chemical reaction is slower, making the battery less efficient. This means you can expect fewer miles of range.

As pointed out by Gridserve, studies show that once temperatures hit freezing, the impact on range is around 10 to 20 percent, which means an electric car with an official 200 miles of range is more likely to achieve 160 miles.

Other factors that can influence efficiency include driving behaviour, topography, tyre pressure and the use of regenerative braking.

But the key factor is that the miles per kWh figure is a great comparison tool when you’re buying an electric car. And unlike traditional fuel economy, which can be measured in both miles per gallon (mpg) and litres per 100 kilometre (l/100km), it’s a standard measurement used across the industry.

Above all, understanding a car’s miles per kWh figure will save you money and ensure you buy the right electric car for your needs.

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What happens when an electric car runs out of battery charge?

RAC electric car recovery

Just like running out of fuel in a conventional car, letting your EV’s battery run flat should be avoided if possible. The headache it causes will be major – and could affect the long-term health of the battery.

Indeed, with an electric car, there will be no friendly good Samaritan with a can of kilowatts to pour into your tank. Or give you a quick jump-start. Your vehicle may need to be lifted onto a flat-bed trailer and towed to a charging point.

Electric car running low on battery charge

You will then have another inconvenient delay before the batteries have charged sufficiently to continue your journey.

How likely are EVs to run out of charge?

Frankly, the chance of being left stranded should be slim. The range display or battery gauge on the dashboard will give you plenty of warning, and your sat-nav, Google Maps or the Zap Map app will point you to the nearest charging point when you need it.

The majority of electric cars also have an integrated de-powering system. If the electronics detect you are close to running flat, the power available to drive the car will be decreased and its speed limited. This should give you the best possible chance of reaching a charging point.

Can I tow an electric car?

Many electric cars can’t be towed in the old-fashioned sense, with a rope or bar behind another vehicle. This is because of how the electric motors are connected to the wheels, including the absence of a neutral gear.

Some modern EVs do have a tow mode, but most need to be loaded onto a flatbed trailer. Some can also be towed on a ‘dolly’ where the front wheels are raised and the rears remain on the road. Check your car’s handbook carefully before taking action.

What happens if my EV battery runs flat?

Breakdown recovery companies have responded to the growth of electric cars. RAC patrol vans, for example, are now fitted with a lightweight 5kW electric car chargers that give a 10-mile boost help drivers reach the next charging point.

A spokesman told Motoring Electric the EV Boost service can also be deployed if motorists reach a charger, discover it’s faulty, and don’t have enough charge to reach another charger.

It doesn’t require the vans to lug around heavy batteries, either. Power is generated from a second alternator fitted to the engine. The 10-mile top-up could take just 10 minutes by the roadside.

Vans carry ‘EV Boost’ branding and a bright green logo. This alone, hopes the RAC, might play a part in helping motorists overcome range anxiety, by knowing help is at hand in an emergency.

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