Why I will never buy an electric car after 40 years of driving and 20 motors

Let me make one thing clear from the outset. I’m not anti-EV. Far from it, in fact.

Despite only ever owning a series of 20 petrol-powered cars over the past four decades worth of motoring, alongside brief stints in a variety of internal combustion-powered rental and loan vehicles, I had an absolute hoot behind the wheel of an electric Mini not long after the last-generation version was launched a few years back.

Last summer I was the passenger on an 800-mile road-trip in an even fancier, much more rapid, leccy motor. Thanks to some meticulous planning on the car owner’s part, all of the necessary pit stops to recharge went smoothly, the performance was never short of, ahem, electrifying (this thing has as much power as a supercar from a decade or so ago) and the whole experience was surprisingly relaxing. Or as relaxing as it can be for the world’s most nervous (my holiday companion would say most annoying) passenger.

The choice of electric vehicles (EVs) is becoming greater but prices remain too high for many motorists.

I also acknowledge that these electron-powered personal chariots tick a lot of boxes for a growing number of drivers out there. And you don’t have to be a full-on, banner-waving eco-warrior to jump on board the EV bandwagon, despite the green credentials of some of the more bloated, expensively engineered electric SUVs out there being highly questionable.

Take my aforementioned holiday friend. He undertakes an 80-mile round trip daily commute, has a detached house with a driveway which now sports a home charger allowing cheap off-peak top-ups, and has taken advantage of a workplace salary sacrifice scheme. A lot of ticks, then, and easy seeing how he’s now quids in after switching from a thirsty three-litre BMW.

All the while, EVs are moving forward in terms of range and charging tech. On the former point, 300 miles is becoming pretty typical. Or so the brochure would have you believe. Make that more like 250 in typical conditions, with less than ideal temperatures and a few gadgets activated. Which means you will be searching for a suitable charger at about 200 miles. At least advances in charging mean a top up shouldn't take more than half an hour when you do track one down.

Still, the biggest stumbling block for many, I suspect, is cost. The majority of EVs command a premium over their gasoline equivalent and recent reports would suggest that insurance costs are proving considerably higher too. Just how many of the millions of cash-strapped motorists tootling around in ageing hatches worth a few thousand can afford to stump up 30 to 40k on a brand new electrified replacement, or even spare the cash for the chunky monthly payments?

At some point EV drivers will need to visit a public charge point, which can prove much more expensive than topping up at home.

Britain's cheapest new EV, the Dacia Spring, comes with a sticker price of just £15k and could be a game changer. Just bear in mind the 137-mile official advertised range and those caveats relating to range anxiety. And the fact that many similarly sized petrol or diesel superminis will travel that same distance on a couple of gallons, or about 12 quid, of fuel. I suspect the Spring will do well as a second or even third vehicle in many households.

As things stand, alongside the hefty headline purchase costs, which admittedly are falling, the ability to charge at home is critical. Without that, you become wholly reliant on a public charging network that is growing but also pretty costly, eye-wateringly so at the motorway service station rapid chargers that many will be forced to use on longer jaunts. In some locations, chargers of any description can be few and far between, and frequently unreliable.

We have a government that is presently hell-bent on achieving a 2030 cut-off date for the sale of pure petrol and diesel vehicles. Manufacturers and dealerships are already under pressure as a result of a zero emission vehicle mandate that requires just over a fifth of each carmaker’s sales to be pure battery cars in 2024.

The drive to cut and ultimately eliminate emissions is being done for seemingly sound environmental reasons. Yet the current blinkered approach fails to factor in the full impact on the planet from churning out two-tonne-plus EVs hauling around battery packs full of expensive and rare minerals. What happens when it come to end-of-life recycling? Might it be the greener thing to just stick with your existing, modern, internal combustion-powered runabout that still has at least a decade of service left in it?

Then there’s the hybrid option, which may be the best solution for many people and the road the industry is keen to go down. The electric only range of many plug-in hybrids is now considerable, sufficient indeed for most daily journeying. Yet the hybrid option seems to have become a grey area in the government’s rush to electrification. As have advances in biofuels and e-fuels, which could keep many existing cars on the road with a much reduced environmental impact.

It appears that current, and potentially future, policies favour disincentivising drivers to rid themselves of their internal combustion addiction - something akin to political suicide if pushed too far. What is really required is a greater incentive to make the switch to an EV, possibly by reintroducing a subsidy against the purchase price. Get the motorist on board.

If, a few years from now, I am forced into going electric, it will be a very sad day for another reason. Despite some EV carmakers’ valiant efforts to replicate the noise that a decent petrol engine makes using electronic fakery, the flame-fuelled aural drama from a nice straight-six, V8 or silky V12 is at least half the attraction to being a proper petrolhead.

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