- Switching to an electric car - what’s it really like?
- Our man Matt has sourced his own EV and tells all
- Fears about EVs don’t tally with reality
- Neither flawless utopia nor apocalyptic inconvenience… just different
- But you need to choose one that fits with your lifestyle
- Saved more than £100 in fuel in a month
I’ve tested EVs for years - and here’s why I finally got my own.
For four years, I’ve lived a double life on the road. One week, I’d be climbing into a burbling hot hatch or long-legged diesel SUV; the next, I’d be silently gliding away in the latest electric vehicle, watching the predicted range tick down instead of a fuel gauge.
As a motoring journalist, testing EVs alongside petrol and diesel cars has given me a front-row seat to the biggest shift the automotive world has seen in decades - and somewhere along the way, my own attitude changed too.
Like many drivers, I had my doubts. Range anxiety sounded real. Public charging looked confusing. I wondered whether electric cars would feel soulless compared with the internal combustion machines I’d spent years enjoying. And then there was the practical reality: could an EV genuinely slot into everyday life without compromise?
Years later, I understand why so many motorists still hesitate - but I also know that much of the fear around switching comes from unfamiliarity rather than reality. Living with EVs week after week has shown me where the compromises genuinely exist, where the myths fall apart, and why the experience of going electric is often far less dramatic than people expect.
(Matt's old MINI Paceman)
Did my old car secretly hate me?
I bought a 2014 MINI Paceman Cooper S three years ago for £10k. By 2026, the poor thing had developed the kind of personality quirks usually reserved for haunted household appliances.
The electrical system was riddled with gremlins, it leaked oil with the commitment of an ageing British sports car, and the central locking operated on what I can only assume was a roulette wheel. Some days the driver’s door would open. Other days it was the passenger side. Occasionally, neither would cooperate, leaving my wife and me trapped inside like contestants in a very low-budget escape room. Still, it had soul; it wasn’t exactly the brand’s prettiest car, but the 190bhp turbocharged 1.6 had character.
By this point, I’d already sampled my fair share of EVs desperately trying to convince drivers they were still petrol cars. You know the type: synthetic engine noises pumped through the speakers like a 2006 PlayStation racing game, fake gear changes pretending there’s an actual gearbox somewhere beneath the floor, and acceleration figures so violent they could rearrange your internal organs. All while returning sub-par range.
Like the MINI, our next car probably wouldn’t spend much time with me anyway, thanks to the endless rotation of press cars coming through my driveway. Instead, it would become my wife’s daily companion for her 20-mile commute. Her wishlist was refreshingly straightforward: she didn’t care about the colour, could happily live without heated seats, but one thing mattered above all else - it had to be easier to drive.
For me, I wanted something that stood out from the usual copy and paste SUV. This left two contenders: The Renault 4 and Renault 5. I was left smitten with the 5 after testing it, but it was a bit too small for our life; we have two medium-sized dogs: one has a backseat car bed, while the other must fit in the boot. This rapidly ruled out the 5 for us, leaving the similarly handsome Renault 4.
The Renault 4 - love at first drive
I absolutely loved the 4 when I tested it, and before long I was doomscrolling at midnight in search of deals. There was just one lingering problem: the MINI.
Mechanically, it was hanging on by a thread. Underneath, it looked as though it had spent the last decade resting peacefully beside the Titanic, with enough rust to qualify as an artificial reef. Realistically, it was worth somewhere between £2,000 and £3,000 on a good day and with a very optimistic buyer. Thankfully, because we’d already paid off 50% of the finance agreement, we had another option: hand it back to the finance company and let them catapult it through the trade auctions like a cursed metal baton.
Now, this is where selecting an EV that suits your lifestyle is important. Renault claims our 4 will return 241 miles. In warmer weather, this is closer to 214 miles. When the cold hits, this is closer to 150 miles. We could’ve gone crazy and specced a big-battery EV, but our car won’t cover more than 7,000 miles per year.
Likewise, it’ll suck 100kW from a rapid charger if we need it to. That’s not a ground-breaking figure, but we charge our 4 via our Easee One 7.4kW wallbox.
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I saved more than £100 quid in fuel in March
Compared to our MINI, which was drinking £120-plus per month, our 4 cost £18.28 in March after 18 charges via a 7.5p per kWh overnight tariff, meaning we saved £101.72 in fuel alone that month. This combined with tax and servicing, the latter included in the car’s monthly payments, means we save £1,415 per year in total. Ideal, considering the current fuel prices.
Now there are pitfalls. My wife often forgets to plug the car in, meaning she’s bussing it to and from work if I’m not in. Then there’s the 65-95p public rapid charger rate, which can eat into your fuel savings, and the abysmal winter range. Likewise, the Renault 4 Techno falls into insurance group 26, meaning we’re not saving dramatically on insurance, £281 per year versus the Mini’s £300.
And honestly, that’s the reality of EV ownership in 2026. It’s neither the flawless utopia some enthusiasts would have you believe, nor the apocalyptic inconvenience its critics make it out to be. It’s just… different.
Yes, you must think about charging more than you ever thought about petrol stations. Yes, cold weather still takes a bite out of range. And yes, public charging prices can occasionally make you wince so hard you pull a muscle. But equally, there’s something deeply satisfying about waking up every morning to a “full tank”, silently gliding past fuel stations displaying mortgage-sized prices, and spending less per month charging your car than most people spend on takeaway coffee.
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Stop being so dramatic about EVs
Most importantly, the switch hasn’t dramatically changed our lives, which is probably the biggest compliment I can give it. My wife gets into the Renault 4 every morning, presses a button, and drives to work without thinking about gearboxes, clutches, warm-up times, or whether the car will decide today is the day it traps her inside. Meanwhile, I still get to enjoy cars for what they are, whether they’re powered by petrol, diesel or batteries.
That’s the thing many people miss in the EV debate: for most motorists, cars are appliances first and passion projects second. Not everyone cares about heel-and-toe downshifts or the sound of a turbocharged four-cylinder bouncing off a limiter. Most people want something comfortable, cheap to run and easy to live with.
Ironically, after years of driving EVs pretending to be petrol cars, I’ve realised the best electric cars are the ones that stop trying so hard. The Renault 4 doesn’t fake engine noises or imaginary gearshifts. It simply leans into what an EV does well: quietness, smoothness and simplicity.
And after living with one, I finally understand why so many people make the switch - even if part of me still misses the MINI’s ridiculous personality quirks and its occasional attempts to imprison us.
Read Select's essential guide to living with an EV
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