Whether or not to buy an EV or hybrid or stick to petrol or diesel is fast becoming the most confusing factor for a car buyer. Andy Brooke from Maverick diagnostics is here to clear some things up for PMM readers.
This is a hotly debated topic that everyone seems to have an opinion on from the EV ‘fanatical owners’ to die-hard petrolheads and everyone in between. So, let’s start by breaking down the different types of electric and hybrid vehicles available, both new and second-hand. This will also help garages decide if they should be offering EV servicing and to better understand the market.
Plug-in hybrid vehicles
A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is probably the best solution for drivers who stick within their city limits; you will suffer no range anxiety because you’ve already got an engine attached to it. However, when it comes to the winter, all battery electric vehicles, whether hybrid or full electric, have a weakness. As soon you hit the heater or the heated seats button, your range drops dramatically.
Self-charging hybrids
Self-charging hybrids are a different to a PHEV as it doesn’t need to be plugged in and generally contains a very small battery. It uses the petrol engine most of the time, and it cruises and pulls away from a junction with the electric power it charged when braking or slowing down. The range of a hybrid car running on full electric is only around one mile and is why I recommend a full PHEV for local runs on full electric. Overall, the hybrid system gives you a balance of economy that you can never achieve in a normal petrol car. Instead of delivering 30 MPG, a Prius will deliver 45 to 50 MPG on every occasion: from town to motorway.
MHEVs (mild hybrid electric vehicles)
MHEV is what it says it is; unlike a hybrid or self-charging hybrid, it is based on a 48 V rather than a 200 V (or higher) system. VAG group cars have a motor built into the flywheel. Other systems use a type of alternator/starter unit alongside a conventional starter motor which assists a conventional petrol engine for better economy. As with the self-charging hybrid, it also regenerates and charges its own battery when the vehicle is slowing down or braking. In reality, these cars will not be around after 2030 as their main benefit is tax reduction rather than emissions reduction.
Early BEVs
Older BEVs including the Nissan the leaf are very ugly but very functional, and it had a realistic range of about 70-odd miles on a good day in fair weather. The one I had was a very early 2011 24KWH model and it was utterly useless for longer journeys. Users immediately suffer from ‘range anxiety’ and even ‘range-apoplexy’. Eventually, the battery on my Nissan leaf gave up, which was very common in these early vehicles. Many Leaf owners went on to purchase modified larger battery packs, but this has become very expensive (anything up to £14K) and outweighs the cost of the vehicle.
New BEVs
Moving on to modern fully electric vehicles, like from Tesla, BMW, Toyota, Skoda, Audi, VW, Polestar, Kia, and MG. I have been lucky enough to drive them and they are totally different to drive; totally smooth and a bit of a revelation for an old petrolhead like me. It’s just a different experience altogether – you end up not looking at how fast you can go but how much battery you can save; driving does become a pleasure if you adjust your attitude to it. I think Tesla cars are the easiest to live with simply because a Tesla driver has access to lots of charging infrastructure, and if you buy the right model, you get free supercharging but these are getting busier every year.
Battery technology
In terms of battery technology, the difference between early and later BEVs is huge; the battery technology and chemistries are very different. The old Nissan Leaf had air-cooled nickel metal hydride (NMH) batteries with no heating or cooling – basically, the batteries were in a tin box. The modern EV often has an optional heat pump to warm the batteries in the winter and air conditioning or liquid cooling to cool the batteries in the summer. Its chemistry, being lithium polymer, is totally different. This type of battery extends the range massively and has evolved from mobile phone technology. As technology moves on, batteries have become far more efficient, and battery life has been drastically extended. Tesla claims they will have the first million- mile battery soon, and Mercedes are making similar claims with their EQS model.
How far away is electric?
The answer to this will depend on the UK government’s policy. They have set a deadline for pure petrol and diesel vehicles to be replaced with electric or hybrid vehicles by 2030. In my honest opinion, the UK’s already overstretched infrastructure will not be ready. In part due to the average cost of a multiple high kilowatt charging station being over £500,000. Let’s use some simple maths to explain. The average petrol station has approximately eight pumps, services 20 cars per hour and is open for eight hours a day — that’s 1,280 cars refuelled daily. Imagine the size of the field needed to charge all those cars for 40 minutes to 1 hour each.
To combat this, some manufacturers are already working on hot swap batteries, but again, this is pie in the sky at the moment. Others have been talking about installing inductive charging loops in the road — again, this is incredibly costly and could only really work in cities. Some UK cities are installing charging points in lampposts, which seems very good until you realise they can only provide very low kilowatt charging as the wiring infrastructure does not have the capacity for more. Although all these things will make a difference in the long run, the most significant impact will come from whether the government decides to ramp up tax for older diesel and petrol vehicles.
