THREAD: you overwhelming voted for a Thing on my personal experience (so far) of electric cars and automation... so buckle up (haha see what I did there yes this is as good as it gets)

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I've been an EV owner for a couple of months now, long enough to draw conclusions on what it's like. It's made by a certain notorious Californian company, but I'll deal with that aspect later. This first half is about Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) in the generic sense.

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A couple of caveats before I start: I know cars are not the answer, yes we need to achieve modal shift, more trains, trams, buses, cycling, and walking. But we won't get there overnight, so in the meantime de-combustion of cars is essential.

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Also - there are plenty of ppl on the 'webs who will cover this topic better than me. If you want to know what it's like living with a BEV in more detail, check out @evmanuk 's youtube channel.

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So with that out of the way: what's it like? I'll deal with the standard things ppl worry about - cost, range, convenience - in a minute. But first I want to talk about an aspect that seems to get overlooked; which is how much easier it is to drive a BEV.

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Car drivers are conditioned to think that driving is easy - but it isn't. Cast your mind back to the 1st time you drove a car; it was crazy hard wasn't it? Managing complex machinery at speed through multiple hazards. That mental effort didn't go away, u just got used to it.

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If you drive a stick shift, as well as negotiating all the hazards, road positioning etc, you are operating three pedals while moving a gearbox around. If you have an automatic, you're down to 2 pedals.

With a BEV, you only have one.

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How so? Well most BEVs have one-pedal driving as an option. With this system, pressing the "go" pedal increases speed, while lifting off applies the brakes. The actual brake pedal is now relegated to an emergency pedal, used for heavy braking only.

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Sounds weird doesn't it? But I swear, after a couple of days to shift your muscle memory, you never look back. All that hidden mental effort moving your hands & feet around is gone. Instead, more of your brain is available to focus on the road. Long journeys are less tiring.

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Yesterday I drove Mrs kV's stick shift - my first time in a petrol car in 6 weeks. My god! The effort is crazy, like spinning plates while reciting the Lord's Prayer. Now that I'm (partially) deconditioned, the additional burden in managing a gearbox and brakes is obvious.

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Now lets deal with cost. There's no point glossing it, BEVs are currently expensive. Car makers aren't helping - they are all bringing out £35k+ crossovers, which is a dick move. The electric Polo, Fiesta, Yaris are not available yet (but the Zoe, Leaf, Corsa E etc r close).

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But if are shopping for a car and are lucky enough, like me, to be able to afford one, you should get a BEV. The more of us that do, the more the price drops for everyone else.

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Next up: range. Everyone frets about this one, so did I. But *if* you have off-street parking, then it just isn't an issue. Get a charger installed on your drive and you start every day with a cheap, full charge. /13

Think of it like this: if your petrol car only had 200 miles of range, but you had a petrol pump on your driveway, would you worry?

If you don't have a driveway, then, depending on your usage, BEVs might not be for you. Not until the dire state of public charging improves.

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Finally, convenience. Most ppl think BEVs are less convenient, but my experience has been the opposite. Even on long journeys, plan ahead, plug your car in and go get coffee/food. You stop every 2 hours for fatigue/safety reasons anyway, right?

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TL;DR: in conclusion, if you are shopping for a car, can afford a BEV and have a driveway - just get one. If you still have reservations, go online and try to find a BEV owner who regrets it; you'll have your work cut out.

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Tomorrow I'll cover my admittedly limited experience of EV automation - hoo boy, that's going to be a wild ride, in both the literal and metaphorical sense.

/Ends

ALSO: follow @SarahExploresEV @maddiemoate @bobbyllew and others to see how just-not-an-issue it is to live with a BEV