5 Things To Expect From An EV

SP group has committed to 1,000 charging points across the island by 2020. This means that you should be able to charge anywhere pretty soon. It also means that you don’t need to have a wall-box charger, unless the EV retailer you purchase from insists, in which case, too bad for either you or them, depending where you live.

Additionally, don’t fret about charger types and what not. Singapore has standardised the type of charging connector, so all you really need to know is whether the charging station as AC or DC charging, depending on which type your car can accept.

In cars of today, a full charge or at least a charge up to about 80% is made possible in less than two hours, so really the concept is, head to your favourite mall, have a meal or buy your groceries while your car charges up in the carpark, and once you’re done (well, be done in about 2 hours) your car is juiced as well.

That’s a far cry from the past, when you’d have to park your car overnight at home and leave it to charge overnight for something like eight hours. Assuming you stayed in a landed property in the first place.

Yes, charging is getting real convenient real soon, but until then, range anxiety is as real as worrying that your tissue paper might be stolen each time you chope a seat. Most of us don’t think twice about range anxiety here with conventional fuels because anytime the light pops on, we pop into a service station. But until you can simply roll up to a charger in 2020, you’ll still worry. Trust us.

What in the heck is regenerative braking? In simple terms, as the car coasts (i.e. you’re not on the gas go-faster pedal), the wheels’ kinetic energy is used to turn a generator which then charges the battery somewhat.

Clever way to save some of that energy rather than let it go to heat and sound doesn’t it?

Speaking of sounds, there is quite the lack of it. EVs are essentially completely silent, so when you start one up, don’t expect the usual cranking of the engine and the ruckus that it makes. There’s absolutely no aural indication that your motor has started, save dashboard lights.

And as you drive along, you hear mainly tyre and wind noises, depending on the speed that your going at. What you never hear is the rumble of an engine revving.

That’s perhaps one thing that people who often complain budget car engines are noisy will miss once they’ve all gone the way of the dinosaurs.

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