The news, social media, friends, and family members are all talking about this new EV revolution. There are a lot of things that are important to think about before purchasing an EV. Let me tell you that my EV experience isn’t smooth sailing and here are a few considerations you should think about before you purchase. Remember, not all Electric Cars are created equal so think about what suits you better.
Overall Design and Brand Credibility
When choosing a electric vehicle, the first thing to always consider is to check out the car’s brand and credibility in the motor industry. With motor vehicles, I always look at the credibility of the vehicle as it always coincide with its resale value.
Tesla is always the first brand that comes into the mind of potential EV buyers. Some of my friends have this mindset.
I cannot afford a Tesla so I will not be purchasing an electric vehicle.
A friend of mine
On the surface, I could see why some have this mindset. Some would consider Tesla as the market leader in electric vehicles and if they are not able to afford it, they would rather not buy an electric car / vehicle. In my opinion, Tesla is a great brand, it’s focus on electronification is above and beyond and that is if you can afford it. However, if you can afford a Tesla, it is highly likely you are able to afford a Mercedes or BMW. I’ll rather look into these brand of vehicles if I could afford it.
With that being said, a Mercedes or BMW do have electric models so why not have a look at those too. Their vehicle credibility is better than Hyundai / Nissan / MG / BYD. Following this thought would be brands like Hyundai and Nissan, with limited models they are great alternative brands to consider.
MG and BYD on the other hand are brands you will definitely look at but have the least resale value in my opinion. If you have decided that you will use the car for 10 years and do not bother about resale value. These brands are good for value and is probably the cheapest electric vehicles on the market.
EV Chargers
First thing about an EV should always be to look at a charger, without a charging station conveniently located for you it will be tough to get your car powered up.
2 things you could do, first is to open the Plugshare APP and look for charging locations that are nearby your home/office/locations you frequently visit. My recommendation is to have 2 chargers located nearby your residence because that is probably the location where your car will sit still most of the time.
Second thing you could look out for is getting a home charger if you have the ability to, this could come in the form of installing a proper EV Charger like those you see at Ikea. However there is an alternative which is to get an electrician to install 16Amp plug near your parking spot, with this plug you could easily get a portable charger to charge your car. The speed of the charger may not be quick but it would be enough for daily usage in Singapore.
Onboard Charging Speed
When looking at electric vehicles, you would not only need to consider the EV charger station’s speed but the onboard charging capability of the vehicle. Not all electric vehicles are design equally. When you plug-in a BYD E6 and a Nissan Leaf into the same 43kW charging station, both vehicles charge at different rates because of its onboard charging capability. Do clarify this before making your purchase, I did not know about that there was a difference before I bought my Nissan Leaf.
Vehicle Range
The next factor is to understand how you are going to use your vehicle, an EV is very predictable in this subject and you can easily calculate the range the car is going to give you. Now is to look for a car that is suitable for you, if you drive 80km a day, you may like to make sure you have enough range to last a few days before a charge is required. Calculate how many KM you drive in 4-7 days, take that number to the spec sheet of the car and get recommended specs of the car is beyond that number. Do check that this number is the physical distance the car is capable of, additional distance is good to have as the battery will degrade overtime.
Unique Features
In this century, you will bound to meet vehicles that are able to be controlled by your mobile phone. With this comes its pros and cons, it is very convenient to unlock or turn on the air-conditioning from your mobile phone before you arrive at your car. Tesla has multiple cameras around the vehicle that is able to notify you if you car is being bumped or scare potential car thieves by flashing its headlamp when you walk by. These features are good however, it does eat up a lot of battery power as the cameras and computer in the car are on standby. Another reason why I went for a “dumb” electric car is also because I would only require my car to take me from point A to point B, the additional cool features do not attract me. The hefty price tag is also another factor I swayed away from the Tesla or vehicles with these cool features.
From a conversation with an EV charger company, its said that the Tesla can drive roughly 250KM+, this car is 54kWh battery! My Nissan Leaf has a 40kWh battery and I frequently use the car driving 270KM. We believe because the battery is always being used by computers and the mobile connectivity it has, the range is greatly affected.
Special Requirements
An electric car needs to suit your lifestyle, having your requirements on hand would be good to check if this car suits you. Do you have children, elderly or would like to frequently going on long drives on a road trip? Use these requirements to evaluate if this kind of vehicle is suitable for you. A Tesla with extended range seem to be a good option for long drives while it is hard to recommend my Nissan Leaf if this is a requirement.
I would like to add that adaptive cruise control, front and rear collision sensors that have the ability to brake in an event of an emergency are mandatory when I purchase a car. These features will help in the long run when owning a vehicle in general.
Additional Thoughts
If you are looking to purchase an EV, note that most vehicles actually have Carplay / AndriodAuto, I would say it would be good to test this to see if it works with your phone. Bring along your cable if it uses a wire to connect and test out the features and compatibility.
