What do experienced EV drivers think of their electric motoring lives?

Electric motoring is evolving fast. Since the original Nissan Leaf was launched, we’ve gone from EVs having a range of around 160km to cars that can quadruple that figure, or even more. We’ve gone from 50kW being considered a fast charge to seven times that power and further. We’ve gone from a charging network that didn’t exist to one that, mostly, does.

So what do Irish EV drivers actually think? How has their experience changed over time? And are they happy to stick with electric cars?

Mona and Mike Wheatley, from Monaghan, have been at this for a while. Mona got her first Nissan Leaf back in 2016, and she’s had two more since then before switching to a larger, longer-ranged Nissan Ariya a year ago.

“The range was fine back then, but you know the charging network across the country at that time wasn’t very good,” said Mona. “It’s not much better at the moment … Well, it is better at the moment, but unfortunately there are more electric cars queuing to make use of them. That’s the problem.”

“We’ve mostly been able to charge at home,” she continued. “That was a big plus. Across all the years of owning an EV, I’ve never found a major drop-off in performance nor range as the cars aged, other than you’d notice a drop in range in the winter. I would normally have turned the car over every two to three years, though.”

Mona and Mike’s driving takes them regularly from their home to see family in Dublin, and also to Westport and to their holiday home in Ennis. Do they find those longer journeys difficult? Certainly not with the Ariya they don’t.

“I left Monaghan the other day with a 95 per cent battery and a displayed range of 535km” said Mike. “I pulled in to Ennsicrone with 63 per cent and 354km showing, although in fairness I did give it a very quick top-up, an extra 28km worth, in Ballina.”

The secret to keeping electric motoring costs down, reckons Mike, is to be on the ball with your home energy provider. “People who are seriously into electric cars, they need to get streetwise from a point of view of a yearly basis, looking at their provider. I’m with Bord Gáis. I moved there about six months ago, and I have a 25 per cent discount there. So we can charge, you know, from 12 o’clock to eight in the morning, and that’s at 20 cent per kWh.”

Bryan McCoy is from Kildare and is currently on his second car from all-electric Sino-Swedish brand Polestar. “I had a Polestar 2 since 2023 and have just recently changed to a Polestar 4. Overall, my experience of owning an EV has been very positive. Most of my normal driving is relatively local, commuting and shorter journeys, mainly Maynooth to Tallaght for work, but I do plenty of longer trips around the country as well.

For everyday driving, I find an EV incredibly easy to live with. I charge at home, generally overnight, and we recently had solar panels installed, so most mornings the car is ready to go and public charging isn’t something I need to think about very often.”

As well as having his second Polestar, Byran has also managed to convince his partner, Sandy, to switch to electric too, and she now drives a Cupra Born VZ. “Public charging is probably a bit of a mixed bag,” said Bryan.

“There are definitely more chargers and much better high-speed charging options than there were a few years ago, which makes longer journeys easier. At the same time there are a lot more EVs on the road, so busy charging locations can still occasionally be frustrating. For me, though, because the vast majority of charging is done at home, it hasn’t really been a big issue.

“I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that you spend your time worrying about charging. Once you have home charging, you very quickly stop thinking about it. It just becomes part of the routine. I actually find it more convenient than having to stop at a petrol station.”

It certainly doesn’t seem as if Bryan will be dropping electric motoring any time soon. “Moving from the Polestar 2 to the Polestar 4 has also been a fairly big step forward,” he said. “The extra range, space and technology make it feel like EVs are maturing quite quickly. I certainly couldn’t see myself going back to petrol or diesel at this stage.”

Frank Gleeson lives in the midlands, and he’s on his second Volkswagen ID.4. Having started with a small-battery ID.4 52kWh, he’s recently upgraded to the bigger battery version, with 77kWh, for longer journeys such as holidays and trips to see family.

“I generally do a round trip of 70km twice a week to play golf. I drive to local towns a few times a week, round trips of 20km and 40km. I visit family in Dublin, Sligo, Westport and Mullingar on occasions. These journeys range from 240km to 300km round trips. My wife and I travel to the southeast for a number of breaks during the year, a round trip of 400km.

“I did not notice any significant battery degradation in the first ID.4, which I owned for three years. I only have the current car for eight months. I have had no issues with either car. I have observed major improvements in the availability of fast charging on all routes that I use and at all destinations that I travel to. I do not normally need to use these facilities, but the improvement is obvious.”

Frank is another who’s managed to convince a family member to change their car to electric – his wife, Una, now drives a Ford Puma Gen-E.

Moira Hallissey, from Cork, converted herself from a diesel Audi A3 to an electric Nissan Leaf four years ago, largely because, as an accountant, she just couldn’t ignore the benefit-in-kind advantages. “I suppose that was initially my main reason for moving to the EV [even though] that benefit eroded over the years.

“But at this stage I’m converted and there’s no going back. I started with the Leaf four years ago, and now I’ve upgraded to a Nissan Ariya.

“I generally use the ESB’s app when I’m charging away from home, and that has been very positive, as you can see in advance where there are available chargers or how long you’re likely to be waiting. I’ve no issues with that – it’s part of the game, isn’t it? I don’t have the figures to hand, but I would think, along with the solar panels I have on the house, that I’m only paying around 25 per cent for charging compared to what I used to pay in diesel costs.”