Thinking about an EV? Here's what surprised us
Show 6 more photos Show 12 more photos Hide additional photos
When we first thought about getting an EV, we knew almost nothing. We wondered about the basics — would our local mechanic still service it? Where on earth would we charge it? The reality turned out to be easy, just different to running a petrol car. A few of the pleasant surprises along the way:
No more servicing. There's no engine oil to change — there's no engine! No timing chain, no spark plugs. An EV has around 20 moving parts instead of 2000. In years of driving we've only ever replaced tyres and wiper blades, which you can get done just about anywhere. I like to joke that I'm "servicing" the car when I top up the wiper fluid.
No more fuel stops. We don't visit charging stations the way we used to visit petrol stations — we just plug in at home. It's more like charging a phone than filling a tank: the car sits in the garage or driveway and quietly tops itself up. We started with an ordinary power point and the mobile cable that came with the car — about 50% of a "tank" overnight, enough for 200 km of driving the next day. Later we added a dedicated wall charger, three times faster, so we get half a tank in four hours.
And it's far cheaper. The same 100 km that used to cost us around $16 in petrol now runs to about $2 on cheap overnight power — or nothing at all when we charge from our own excess solar.
For a day trip of up to about a 400 km round trip, we just charge at home. On a longer road trip — and we've done plenty — we'll usually need a public charging station along the way. Our first time, near Port Macquarie, felt like a novelty — park, plug in, and the car knows what to do. By the time I'd found the toilet and decided what to order for lunch, it had charged enough to keep going. After that, we aim to only charge while we're stopped anyway.
It feels like how driving was meant to be. Going electric sounds like a strange idea until you try it. Then it's just driving — minus the fumes, the vibration, the noise, the half-second delay. Quiet, smooth and instant.
And the choice has come a long way. When we started there wasn't much on offer; now there are good EVs at every price, new and used, and chargers turning up everywhere.
If you'd like to dig a little deeper, we've linked a few of our related posts below — from how charging really works on a long trip, to what “filling up” an EV really involves.
If you've been on the fence, what's the one thing you'd most want to know before taking the leap?
Related Posts
- How road-trip charging actually feels: Charging an EV is now easier than filling petrol 17 Aug 2024
- The EV 'fuel up' — no engine oil, no fan belt: An EV-style 'fuel up' in Eden 1 Feb 2023
- Our daughter's first EV — a used Model Y: From a diesel van to an EV 17 Jun 2026
- What a petrol car feels like once you've gone electric: Driving an ICE car again, after years of EVs 12 Apr 2025
Charging an EV is now easier than filling petrol:
https://www.facebook.com/111877721758491/posts/5655693297…
An EV-style 'fuel up' — no engine oil, no fan belt:
https://www.facebook.com/111877721758491/posts/1330498229…
From a diesel van to an EV — our daughter's first one:
https://www.facebook.com/111877721758491/posts/1083017997…
Driving an ICE car again, after years of EVs:
https://www.facebook.com/111877721758491/posts/7353678027…
Connect, sit in the car, it showed in the screen how much I needed for my trip, charged enough to be comfortable (air con) and make it home even with a stop somewhere, it advised me when ready. It took a few minutes. It was so quick!!!!!!
I got out of the car and disconnected it. That is it. Drive off. No credit card paying or anything. How wonderful! ⚡️
The model 3 had the original tyres and wipers and required no servicing at all. Unless you count the washer water!!
Such a different experience to my previous BMW that cost $2k plus every service and not for things that broke- just routine maintenance.
I’ll never go back to ICE. I couldn’t justify the huge cost of owning it.
And yes, red launch edition Model Y with white seats. 35,000km so far, zero scheduled servicing.
There was also our earlier post, when we were looking for a used Tesla Model Y (for my daughter). I suggest commenting there if you are also looking for one, since others have also expressed interest there in selling theirs.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1LHp6URpxN/