AN EV owner has shared three reasons why he hates his motor after having it for just six months.
Vikas Kakar said that he “totally regrets” switching out his Mercedes S-Class for the EQC electric model earlier this year.
Jon BondVikas Kakar said he ‘totally regrets’ buying an EV[/caption]
Jon BondHe pointed to issues around reliability, infrastructure and range as key problems[/caption]
Sitting at the Moto service station on the M4, Vikas ran through a list of issues he had encountered since he made the change.
He told The Sun Online: “I hate electric cars, man.
“I’ve had it for six months and I absolutely hate it. All sorts of things have gone wrong – nothing right.
“You think it’s going to be better and cheaper, but it’s just a big inconvenience.”
Vikas slammed EVs over a trio of major problems that, he feels, are enough to put anyone off buying one.
First of all, he claimed that the range on his Merc isn’t up to scratch and, even on a full charge, he can only get about 160 miles.
This is despite the car’s infotainment system telling him that he should be able to get 240 miles before running out.
The dad-of-two, from Ealing, West London, has even had to buy a backup car because the EQS can’t get him to and from his company’s head office in Stoke-on-Trent with enough charge to spare.
He then encountered severe issues with reliability, claiming that the battery in his first EQS simply “turned off”, forcing him to give it in and get a courtesy car.
Mercedes apparently gave him two diesel cars before sending out a brand new EQS as a replacement, only for that to fail on the morning The Sun Online spoke to him.
Vikas fumed: “I got the courtesy car brand new four days ago zero miles on it – and it broke down on me this morning.
“The battery was showing 50 miles, so it shouldn’t have let me down like that. The accelerator just stopped working.
“My one has been in the workshop for almost a month now.”
Finally, he complained that owning an EV means that you can’t “just go” like you can in a traditional model.
Long journeys have to be planned to a tee in order to make sure there are enough charging points along the way due to the range issues and lack of infrastructure.
Indeed, the latest figures from the Department for Transport found just 6,000 chargers serving 12 million people in rural areas, while some regions are complete blackspots.
Looking back on the decision to get an EQS, he said it was his “biggest regret” and that he would switch back to petrol or diesel “in a heartbeat”.
The only thing holding him back from doing so is that he would lose out on £23,000 as part of his purchase agreement.
Vikas added: “The E-cars are not for me, or anybody else I know.
“The technology is ready but it’s the different mindset, it’s a lot more to take in than you think.”
It comes after a car insurance expert explained why repair claims for EVs have tripled in the past three years.
Meanwhile, three men were arrested after a fleet of luxury cars worth £500,000 were stolen.
Jon BondHe claimed he’s even had to get a backup car to get to his company’s office in Stoke-on-Trent[/caption]