A MAN who swapped his diesel BMW for an electric Volvo has said the running cost numbers don’t add up.
Steven Smith drove his EV on a 350-mile round trip between Cornwall to Bristol, but it cost him more money than using his 19-year-old diesel BMW.
A man swapped his diesel for an electric car but the numbers didn’t add upSteven Smith/Wales Online
He said the trip usually costs him “around £50 at today’s diesel prices, assuming 55mpg and 173.9p a litre, which is the price at my nearest supermarket”.
This time Steven was driving a Volvo C40 and he splashed out £88.07 for the same round trip.
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Speaking to Wales Online, he said: “All in all, I felt relieved to get home, but also like someone had emptied my wallet while I wasn’t looking.”
He also said that the long trip in the EV was just too stressful.
“The whole day had been a bit of a brain melt, in all honesty, constantly working out how far I could travel and where the best places to stop were on both legs of the journey.”
Steven started his journey at 8 am with the vehicle fully charged at home, which cost him around £20.
“Despite the battery showing 100%, when I was ready to set off, I still only had 180 miles showing for actual range, compared to a theoretical 273, according to Volvo’s official claim.
“In theory, I had barely enough for the 175-mile trip.”
Steven took his first charging break at Taunton Dean services on the M5 after travelling for an hour and forty minutes.
He arrived there with a 25% charge and 45 miles still to go.
Steven waited 40 minutes for the battery to charge to 60%, costing £19.62 for another 55 miles.
Unfortunately, he arrived at Bristol 30 minutes later than usual at 11 am, with a 35% charge and a 60-mile range.
The motorist charged his car “very slowly” with a three-pin plug at a relative’s house and added 30 miles in seven hours.
This was cheaper, costing him £5.
At 6:45pm he began heading back to Cornwall on a 52% charge and a 90-mile range.
Steven started to stress about the car’s range as he made plans to stop at Exeter services, which was 75 miles away, to use their super-fast chargers.
He said: “This was going to be tight, but I was determined to make it, rather than potentially having to stop twice on the way home – I knew the super-fast charger would sort me out if I could get there.
“And, man, the next hour or so was stressful. I arrived – just – at Exeter with a 7% charge, 14 miles range showing.
“I have to admit that the 20 minutes or so before arriving there were not a pleasant feeling, as the range seemingly got tighter and tighter.”
Fortunately, he managed to charge his car in 45 minutes, which brought it up to 84% charge and a 140-mile range.
Shockingly, the quick charge cost him £43.45.
After a long and tiring day, he arrived home at 10:20pm – 50 minutes later than usual, with 25 miles remaining and 16% of battery.