With advancements in technology throughout the automotive industry, electric vehicles (EVs) have seen a huge rise in popularity among drivers worldwide.
However, with this increase, one of the most debated questions that many drivers contemplate when looking for their new car has come about:
Which is better, electric or gas cars?
In this article, we’ve put together some key information to shed some light on this popular debate, covering some of the main aspects of driving, and showing how they differ for electric and gas cars.
Read on to learn more.
The insurance
One of the most important components of driving is your car insurance – and this can vary when look for standard gas or electric car insurance.
You’ll often find EV insurance to be more expensive than insurance for your gas car. This is simply due to the fact that EVs are more expensive to repair or find replacement parts for. As well as this, EVs can only be repaired by a specialist mechanic, which is also more costly.
However, there are many perks to EV insurance that gas cars don’t have. For instance, many insurers can offer lowered premiums for EVs, since they’re much safer to drive than gas cars, and have better security. This means you have less chances of being involved in an accident or theft, and therefore could see lower premiums.
Also, some insurers will offer discounted premiums simply because you drive an EV – as a way of encouraging drivers to switch to a cleaner, greener way of driving.
The mechanics
Gas cars and EVs both have a very different mechanical design.
With standard gas cars, there’s a gas engine inside that uses the ignition and combustion of gasoline to propel the car. With EVs, there’s an electric battery that powers electric motors in the car, which moves the car’s wheels.
Depending on the EV you choose, you’ll have a different design:
- Hybrids – These cars use both a gas engine and electric battery. The battery is small, only offering a few miles on the electric charge, which kicks in at lower speeds.
- Plug-in hybrids – These cars also have both a gas engine and electric battery, but the battery is much larger, offering around 30 miles of electric range. They can run on electric charge alone, when empty on gasoline.
- Electric vehicles – These cars run purely on the electric battery and motors, and have no gas engine. They have a range of 250-350 miles, but some models can have over 400 miles.
The price
Standard gas cars are more commonly cheaper than EVs. EV prices can also vary depending on the type you get – with hybrids being the cheapest, then plug-in hybrids being more costly, and pure EVs being the most expensive all-round.
Exact prices will depend on your chosen vehicle, so be sure to research before you purchase one.
In general, however, EVs have significantly lower running costs than gas cars, despite the more expensive upfront cost. This is because they’re more fuel-efficient and have less maintenance issues due to their advanced design.
Carbon footprint
With today’s drivers becoming more conscious of their impact on the environment, it’s also important to look at the differences in your carbon footprint with gas vehicles and EVs.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas that’s released into the atmosphere when gasoline is burned in car. This gas then harms the planet’s ozone layer, contributing to an array of further issues and damages – such as global warming.
Therefore, gas cars have a much larger carbon footprint with the constant consumption of gasoline. On the other hand, EVs have a much smaller carbon footprint, since the electric batteries don’t’ require gas consumption to propel the car.
With hybrids and plug-in hybrids, your fuel consumption is lowered significantly, as with pure EVs, the need for fuel is eradicated entirely.
Therefore, EVs are the greener – as well as more eco-friendly – option.
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With this expert guide to EVs and gas cars, we hope you’ve found the answers you’re looking for, and are ready to find the car that’s right for you.
