Gone are the days when only environmental enthusiasts were into electric cars. Now, even the most devout gasoline heads are considering switching to the electric side. The reason is pretty clear; It’s getting better, cheaper and more convenient to drive electric cars!
Electric cars come with a ton of benefits, and these benefits will keep on increasing as technology gets better. Here are some reasons why electric cars are better than regular cars
1. Freedom from gasoline
Once you get an electric vehicle, you can forget about paying hefty prices for gasoline. You might not realize that, but your regular visits to gas stations pile up big.
An average American spends $2000-$4000 on fuel every year. It costs around 15 cents per mile when you are using gasoline for your cars. If you switch to electric, that cost drops down to 3.5 cents or even less.
The lost cost per mile can be attributed to the cheaper cost of electricity combined with the higher efficiency of electric motors.
2. Better for the environment
Electric vehicles are surely better for the environment. Even if you consider their carbon footprint throughout their lifecycle, from production to running on the roads, they are still much better than regular cars.
3. They are safer than regular cars
Every car you see on the road has to pass safety tests, be it electric or gasoline. Like all tests, safety tests also give scores! Electric cars consistently score higher than gasoline cars. Tesla Model X even achieved the perfect score in the safety test.
Another obvious safety advantage of electric cars is that it is highly unlikely that they will ever explode. The relative lack of combustible materials considerably reduces their risk of explosion. Compared to gasoline-driven cars that experience fire once every 20 million miles driven, electric cars catch fire once in 12o million miles. That means their chance of catching fire is six times lower than regular cars.
4. They are really quiet
I think most of us will agree that regular cars are loud. You can hear a noisy road from miles away. The electric cars, on the contrary, are surprisingly quiet, and I mean very quiet! Most people find it somewhat strange. I remember the first time I drove an electric car, and I kept guessing if it is on or not.
Even when it’s running, the car barely makes any sound. This will also be strange for other people on the road. The only faint noise you will hear will be of the tires hitting the road.
This helps in considerably reducing noise pollution. It’s certainly fun listing to the birds while driving.
5. Very low maintenance
Electric cars don’t have nearly as many moving parts as regular cars. The main moving part is the electric motor which needs much less lubrication, oil changes and maintenance. The only part that needs replacement is the battery. But don’t worry, most cars come with eight years of battery warranty, and with proper use, the batteries can last 15 years.
Leaving your cars to service stations and waiting for days for the work to be finished will soon be a thing of the past. These cars may have a higher initial cost, but the operational and maintenance costs are negligible.
6. The range is getting better every day
When electric cars were first launched, people were skeptical about buying them due to their low range, but this is not the case anymore. The average range of an electric car is now 181 miles (290 Kilometres) on a single charge which is way more than what most people need in their daily lives.
The range mentioned above is just an average; there are cars out there with a much better range. Tesla Model S, for example, can achieve 400 miles in one charge.
There are upcoming cars with even better ranges. Aptera Motors, for instance, claims to achieve 1000 miles on a full charge!
We can certainly conclude that the electric car range is on par with regular cars, and soon they will surpass them in all areas.
7. Incentives
The governments encourage the use of electric vehicles, and that’s why they offer grants, tax credits and rebates so you can conveniently drive towards a sustainable future.
These incentives vary by state and the type of car. The FTA has put down $180 million for FY 2021’s competitive low or no emission program.
Even those people who are installing charging stations can get up to 30% tax credit.
There are many more government programs that can make owning electric vehicles cheaper. It would be best if you inquired your local authorities to see what offers are available for you.
8. Preferential treatment
Well, who doesn’t like some special treatment? If you own an electric vehicle, you are up for a treat. You can expect special parking spots when you visit stores, pass everyone else on a busy highway and even free charging at certain places.
9. Better for your health
Electric cars do not produce any pollutants during their operation and maintain clean surroundings. Even if we add up all the gases generated during electricity production, the electric cars still come out much cleaner.
With the onset of green energy sources like wind and solar power, there is great potential to get zero net running emissions from electric vehicles.
10. Lower carbon footprint
Electric cars, even though better for the environment, are not carbon neutral(Initially). They do produce a carbon footprint during their production.
As their production requires lighter and high-performance materials, a lot of energy is utilized during their manufacturing.
However, when they start running on the road, their carbon footprint is much lower than a regular car, and quickly they offset the emissions during their production.
11. Easy to drive
Electric vehicles don’t possess complicated transmission like petrol-driven vehicles. They possess one long gear, which makes the mechanism relatively simple. This removes the need for clutch and also problems associated with it like stalling.
Unlike the clumsy riding experience of a regular car, the electric car provides a smoother and comfortable driving experience.
Additionally, more and more EVs are joining the ranks of self-driving vehicles. Who knows, maybe in a few years, they might eliminate the need to drive the car yourself.
12. High Performance
I am sure you must have watched videos of regular Tesla cars leaving multimillion-dollar sports cars to dust. If you haven’t, you should definitely check them out!
These vehicles are so good because of their higher torque, better efficiency, and much fewer moving parts.
People who once start driving an electric car seldom go back to the traditional vehicles
13. More desirable for energy security
Not all nations are blessed with huge oil reserves. Most countries have to import oil to fuel their vehicles. Electric vehicles can help in reducing the dependency on liquid fuels.
Unlike petroleum, electricity can be generated in many ways, which gives the option to diversify energy production and enhance the state’s energy security.
14. Popular
As we discussed above that electric vehicles are three times cheaper than regular cars per mile. This makes them a really attractive option for prospective car owners.
Moreover, they are now coming in designs that can easily rival the premium sports cars, which can cost ten times as much to run and maintain
Also, electric cars are the new trend! With a lot of celebrities joining the ranks of EV owners, these vehicles are now mainstream.
15. They are the future
With the constant rise in fossil fuel prices and the awareness of green living, electric cars will soon take over.
The new and exciting developments in EV technology have already widened the gap between them and traditional vehicles, and shortly, they will go far beyond.