Kirsty Thornton: I swapped my V8 for an electric vehicle - and haven't looked back

Kirsty Thornton says charging her electric vehicle is cheap and easy. Photo / Supplied

OPINION:
We've always had fun cars, we've owned race-tuned Europeans and V8s, turbo Toyotas and Subarus, but there's always been a nagging feeling that whenever you press the throttle it will empty your bank account and... was that noise always there?

You could say combustion cars drove me into an electric vehicle (EV) because I once took a base model Nissan Leaf out for a day and found it was more fun and faster in normal use than my V8 Audi.

We have two EVs now. Our Leaf tows a trailer where I need to, we can leave it anywhere because if it got stolen it won't go far, and a Tesla Model 3.

We wanted a Tesla for 10 years but they were properly expensive cars when they launched. While they are not exactly cheap now, when the Model 3 became available in New Zealand my spreadsheet told me the new EV cost less than the fuel and service costs of a 10-year-old Legacy that was nearing retirement, plus the Subaru needed servicing twice a year at the kilometres I was doing.

So what's so good about EVs?

They are video game fast and petrol prices are soaring, which is unlikely to change. Meanwhile, we are locked in a cheap rate at night so our costs are fixed for years, plus every morning we head out with a full tank, more than enough for the day. If energy prices go up I can charge at work or install solar.

EVs are quiet but the noise they make is very sci-fi and makes you feel like you are actually finally living in the future. Driving downhill or braking fills the battery so even stopping and starting in traffic has benefits.

It's nice to know that we are not adding to local air and noise pollution, we can take a nap with the AC on or watch TV while parked and we are not bothering anyone around us.

Road trip charging is cheap and really easy, It's actually nicer to drive a bit, then relax at a charger every so often. It's even more fun to plan a road trip to a distant charger to see the country a bit more.

What's bad? They are a bit expensive upfront because they are new but the fuel savings balance out quickly. Even the cheap ones can road trip - but you do need to plan.

I've never spent this much on a car and it makes me very precious about where I leave it. Having anything nice does seem to upset some people.

New Zealand roads do seem to beat up the range but that can be solved with a coffee stop charge. Oh, and people being eggs and blocking charging stations, that joke is old, so please stop.

I'm no greenie but it seems that a trillion-dollar foreign industry wants us to keep buying oil and they'll say anything to stop us driving EVs. That's because once you do, it's really hard to turn back.