The electric vehicle (EV) has advantages and disadvantages like any automobile. As you’re thinking about buying an EV, consider these brief pros and cons of electric cars.
Benefits of Owning an Electric Car
Some benefits might make an EV worth a look for you. Among them:
Cost of Fuel
Electricity costs less than petroleum. Because prices of both fluctuate, it’s hard to pinpoint precisely how much money you’ll save using electricity instead of internal combustion to get back and forth to work and run errands around town. But many drivers can save about three-quarters of their annual fuel budget by switching to an EV. Still, car buyers are wise not to focus on fuel charges alone.
Environmental Benefits
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, transportation emits more carbon than any other economic sector. A century of burning gasoline has damaged the environment, and we can’t slow the impact of climate change without reducing our dependence on the stuff.
EVs aren’t purely good for the environment. Electric cars take a lot of carbon to produce. Processing the minerals used in their batteries is also carbon-intensive. But driving an EV produces less carbon waste than driving a gasoline-powered car. Sometimes it’s much less, depending on the source of the electricity used to charge it.
Studies have shown that buying a new EV becomes better for the environment than buying a new gasoline-powered car after about five years of use.
Maintenance and Repair Costs
EVs operate with fewer moving parts than gasoline-powered cars. Fewer parts mean fewer things that can break and need replacing.
Studies have shown that EVs spend significantly less time in the shop than gasoline-powered cars. However, when EVs do need repairs, those repairs can be expensive. The expense is due to the cost of labor, not parts. Shops and dealerships train few mechanics in EV repair, so labor from a qualified mechanic costs more. These costs should come down as more Americans drive EVs and more repair shops invest in the training needed to repair them.
The most expensive component of an electric car is its propulsion battery pack. Manufacturers provide a battery warranty for at least eight years or 100,000 miles (the federal minimum), but reading the fine print is worth your time. These warranties differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. Not all warranties transfer to a new owner with a used electric car. A typical battery retention guarantee is 70%. Some might specify that battery health must fall below 60% retention during the warranty period before replacement. Others only cover total failure. The good news is that battery failure is uncommon, and replacement costs will likely be much cheaper in a few years.
They’re Fun to Drive
Simply put, EVs are a blast to drive.
Gasoline engines build up their power gradually. Even the fastest gas-powered cars take a few seconds to get up to full power once you step on the gas. Electric motors make 100% of their torque available instantly. That means electric cars accelerate faster off the line than their gasoline-powered counterparts.
The Tesla Model S Plaid gets from 0 to 60 mph in under two seconds — something no gas-powered car outside of Formula 1 racing has ever been able to do. But you don’t have to spend six figures to get extreme performance out of an EV. The 2024 Kia EV6 starts at about $44,000, including the destination charge, and in GT-Line trim, makes up to 320 horsepower and 446 lb-ft of torque, good enough for a 5.1-second run from 0 to 60 mph.
Drawbacks of Buying an EV
As much fun as they are to drive, electric cars might not be the best choice for many car shoppers. Some reasons you might want to look elsewhere:
Range
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the average American drives fewer than 30 miles daily. But you may not be the average driver.
The shortest-range EV on the market, the Mazda MX-30 (available only in California), gets about 100 miles on a single charge. Many Americans drive more than that in a day.
While EV models that can travel 250 miles before recharging are common, range anxiety is real for some potential buyers. If road trips are a regular part of your life, or you drive all day for work, EV technology isn’t ready for you yet.
Charging Infrastructure
Home charging is the norm for most EV owners, but some estimates say 25% cannot recharge where they live. U.S. Department of Energy figures show more than 62,000 public charging stations nationwide. While that number grows almost daily, people living in regions without significant infrastructure might worry they won’t be able to recharge easily away from home. If your everyday driving needs are farther than an EV’s range, you’ll need to be sure you have easy access to chargers in your community. Not all of us do.
Towing and Hauling
Towing a heavy load can cut an electric vehicle’s range in half. What’s more, many places Americans tow things to are not EV-friendly. Hooking up a boat trailer to an electric truck won’t make sense until there’s a charger near most places you’d want to tow a boat.
Cost
EVs can cost thousands of dollars more than comparable gas-powered cars. For example, the gas-powered 2024 Hyundai Kona starts at $25,625. A 2024 Kona Electric? About $34,000. The average price for all EVs is lowering, but it’s still more than $50,000.
Government incentives can help bring the cost down in some cases. Many EVs are still eligible for a federal tax credit of up to $7,500. Some state and local governments offer incentives. For example, California incentives will shave another $7,000 off the cost of some EVs. Finally, some electric utilities have rebate programs to help customers buy electric cars and install home charging stations.
