Why We Bought an Electric Car (and what it's like in real life)

#modellife

A few months ago, Zach and I returned to St. Louis to realize that our 1993 sedan was super dead. We briefly considered going car-free, but decided on a compromise that we'd been thinking about for ages: buying a fully electric car. We ordered one on Carvana and had one delivered to our house within a week.

When I tell people we've gotten an electric car, most people assume I mean a hybrid, and are amazed when I say that it doesn't have a gas engine at all. There is a notion that electric cars are for the elite, for people who don't drive anywhere, or for people who live on the west coast. But EVs are more accessible and feasible than they've ever been— and it's only going to get better.

The Internet is full of great information about electric cars, but I thought it would be helpful to consolidate some of the facts and figures here, as well as my thoughts about what it's like to drive an EV in real life. Although I've tried to answer all the questions I can think of, if you have any more, please leave a comment below and I'll answer as best I can!

What kind of car is it?

The vehicle we ended up choosing was a 2016 Chevy Spark EV. It is fully electric and has a range of about 80 miles in between charges. 

We chose this vehicle because it seemed most appropriate for our needs. Teslas are far out of our price range, but we also considered a Nissan Leaf and a Fiat. We chose the Chevy because it was overall cheaper than the Leaf and bigger than the Fiat— although still pretty small. It also has a system that, when plugged in, conditions the battery, cooling it in the summer and heating it in the winter, which is handy for our climate.

What factors did you consider before getting an electric car?

We considered a whole lots of pros and cons, listed below, but I think the most important thing we did before springing for an EV was analyzing our driving habits. What did we actually use our car for?

Although both of us love the idea of just throwing a bag in the car and vagabonding around the US for a week or two… in reality, we don't actually like driving that much. Since our old car was in such bad shape, Zach and I never went on road trips, so we're not in the habit of it. Most of the time we'd rather save our money to visit his family, anyway— who live in Oregon, Washington, and California. 

The majority of our driving is around town: to and from work, to visit his mom or our friends in St. Louis city, to our favorite hiking spots, or to buy groceries and supplies. An electric car would work perfectly fine for all these and more. And if we really got a hankering for a road trip? We could always rent a car, using the money we saved from not having to pay for gas.

PROS OF DRIVING AN ELECTRIC CAR

1. Less reliance on fossil fuels

We have no illusions of our car "not causing pollution"— since we're in Missouri, it is still running on coal energy, which is pumping harmful gases into the atmosphere. However, electric cars are still far better for the environment than gas or hybrid because it's more efficient to burn fuel at a refinery and transmit it via electricity than it is to combust gas in an engine. According to some estimates, the "gas mileage," in terms of pollution, for an electric car averages out to 80 mpg, as opposed to 58mpg for a brand-new hybrid, or 24 mpg for a new gasoline car. 

Moreover, as electrical grids continue to move toward renewable energy (such as Missouri Community Solar), electric cars won't need any modifications to keep running on clean energy. We're hoping that in a few years, our car will be fueled by solar and wind. 

There is a common misconception that since electric vehicles require more energy and emissions to manufacture than regular cars, that they are worse for the environment. This is a myth: electric cars "pay themselves back" in terms of emissions/pollution within two years. 

2. Fewer moving parts

Electric vehicles are practically like toy cars. They have a battery and brakes, climate control, a battery conditioner, windshield wiper fluid, some coolant tubes, and miscellaneous electronics. No engine, no transmission, no oil changes, no gas fill-ups. Very few things can go wrong.

This was the biggest reason that we didn't spring for a hybrid (though there are other reasons; see below): hybrids still have gas engines and transmissions, which means regular oil changes, fill-ups at the gas station, and engine/transmission failure points.

3. Cheaper to run

Although a 2016 car of any kind is more expensive than something older, in terms of ongoing costs, our EV earns its keep.

It gets roughly 5 miles per kWh (not taking into account running heating or cooling when we're driving), which means it requires 20 kW to go 100 miles. With current electricity rates, this costs us slightly more than 1¢ per mile.

In contrast, a brand-spanking-new 2020 Prius gets at best 58mpg; so if gas is rock-bottom at $2 per gallon, that's 3¢ per mile (at $3 per gallon, it's 5¢). A car that gets 30mpg would cost 6¢ per mile at the cheapest rate.

Also keep in mind that we don't have to get oil changes, and some maintenance fees are cheaper (for instance, the brakes in an EV last longer due to regenerative braking). 

So it's not exactly free to run, but it's still considerably cheaper than other options.

4. Increased consciousness about driving

When Zach and I are planning a trip to St. Louis city or need to run multiple errands in a day, we first have to stop and think: will the battery last long enough? Will we need to stop and charge somewhere? Should be be trying to do all of this in one day anyway? Are there any other errands or things to do in the area we're looking at, do we don't have to go there twice?

Yes, it makes things a bit more complicated, and many people would consider this a con rather than a pro. However, I like that this car forces us to think about how much we're driving. I like that it makes us stop and think before we hop in the car. 

Everyone drives cars a ton because it's considered normal. But doing something a little abnormal forces us to consider things in light of the bigger picture. Should we be running around this much? Do we really have to drive to some far-flung locale for a day trip, or would something thirty minutes away be just as good? What is there to explore in our local area?

Like having a push mower (which eventually was rendered nearly obsolete by us sheet-mulching our whole yard), having a slightly inconvenient vehicle means that we are conscious about the choices we've made, and will consequently design our lives in tune with these boundaries.

(But, that said, EV infrastructure is getting much better very quickly— so this point will probably be obsolete in just a couple years.)

CONS OF DRIVING AN ELECTRIC CAR

1. Limited range

As a counterpoint to #3 above… as much as consciousness is great, sometimes you want to do something, and it's inconvenient to stop at a charging station or combine trips. Honestly, in the few months since we've had the car, we've only had to get fancy about charging twice, and only had to actually pay a fee for charging one time. But the limitations can be frustrating, especially if you're used to not thinking about distance.

2. Replacing the battery is expensive

Like, as-much-as-a-new-car expensive. However, batteries don't wear out as quickly as you think they will, because you don't drive as many miles in an EV. We are currently saving all the money from not buying gas to save up for that day in the future when we'll have to replace the battery.

3. No backup if battery runs out

Unlike gas, which can be easily transported from the nearest station (and has plentiful stations), electricity is not mobile. If we run out of battery, that's it: the car has to be towed to the nearest charging station. So you really have to be diligent about figuring out trips beforehand, so you don't get caught out! However, with some simple planning (thank you, Plug Share), this hasn't been an issue yet.

A lot of Walmarts have installed EV charging stations. It takes about ten minutes to charge, and costs about as much as buying gas.

FAQ:

How do you charge it? Where do you plug it in? Do you have to have a charger installed at your home?

It came with a charging cable, which can plug into a simple wall outlet (no adapter required), or a 220 outlet (like a dryer outlet), which will charge it faster. We have it plugged into a regular outlet at our house for now and that's working fine. There are also 220 charging stations around the city (often free!), as well as "fast charging" stations that require a fee to use, but can mostly charge your car in five to ten minutes.

Why didn't you buy a hybrid? 

There are several reasons. As mentioned, they have more moving parts and more failure points. Most hybrids still require gas (even plug-in hybrids have smaller batteries than electric cars, so you're still dependent on gas). Plus, hybrids are higher-end cars, so for a comparable manufacturing year, hybrids are much more expensive than EVs. We decided that, in view of our driving habits, an EV made more sense.

What would you do in case of a power outage? Do you have a back-up generator? 

Several years ago, power outages were very common throughout winter and summer storms, but in the past ten years or so, they hardly ever happen. Still, if they did happen, we can walk or take public transit everywhere we need to go except for Zach's work— so if the power outage lasted for more than two days (he can get to work and back twice on one charge) he could either get a ride from someone with a gas car, or simply take a few days off work. 

What happens if you run out of electricity on the road? 

As mentioned above, you have to call a towing service. So we're going to try not to make that happen!

How often do you charge it?

We plug it in every night, just so the battery conditioning can work, and so the battery stays fully charged. 

Are there many charging stations in the area? 

There are a surprising number in the St. Louis Metro area! We rely heavily on a website/app called PlugShare, which has a ton of good information.


CONCLUSION

All in all, we've been very pleased with the car. It runs well, we've been able to keep up our regular driving habits, and we're happy to have the means and privilege to use a lower-impact vehicle. 

If you have any questions that this post didn't cover, leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer!

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