It now seems almost inevitable that most of us will make the switch from combustion power to EV in the next 5-15 years. A combination of governments around the world introducing laws that make it impossible to buy gas and diesel cars and fewer combustion options available from automakers will see to that.
Judging by your comments and rocketing sales figures for battery cars, some of you will have made the jump already, convinced to switch by the lower running costs and vastly improved range of the latest crop of EVs. A modern EV can travel twice as far as its ancestors could a decade ago, and that’s removed a major barrier for many buyers.
The increase in range isn’t the only improvement. New electric cars are quicker, and can charger faster than they could before. And now the technology is being fitted into cars that look like regular cars, such as the Audi Q4 e-tron, you don’t have to drive round in something that looks like a roving billboard for zero emissions technology to get the benefits.
But on the flipside, EVs like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 are some of the most interesting-looking family vehicles on the road – period. And now you can have electric power in everything from commuter sedans to luxury limousines, and even pickups like the Rivian R1T that can haul boats and climb trails, there are increasingly few reasons not to switch.
But we’re interested in hearing from those of you that haven’t yet made that switch. If you’re still not ready to give up your gas machines, what is it that’s holding you back? Do you still feel that the driving range of most EVs, which barring a few expectations, is significantly less than the 350 miles (563 km) you’d get from a gas car, let along the 500 miles (805 km) a diesel offers, is insufficient for your needs?
Or are you the kind of driver prefers his pitstops to be F1-speedy rather than languid affairs that – even with 350 kW charging capability – still means hanging around for 20 minutes eating candy you don’t really want or need while you wait to top a battery up?
Do you live somewhere that makes charging an EV difficult? Do you like to keep your cars for 10 years and are worried about the lifespan of the batteries? Or is it simply a case of cost? Even in countries like the UK and U.S. that offer financial incentives from the government to buy electric, investing in an electric car isn’t that cheap, at least in terms of up-front cost.
Whatever the reasons are, we want to hear them, so leave a comment and let us know what it’s going to take to get you to cross the great divide.
