When I first took delivery of my Ford Mustang Mach-E back in February, it cost me £16 to fully charge it. Now, with the present energy crisis, it costs £60 which lasts for 300 miles. If you factor in the higher cost of the vehicle itself, it certainly doesn’t appear cheaper, but there are other benefits to consider.
From a taxation point of view as a company car – the benefit in kind (BIK) - it is a no-brainer. The tax on a petrol/diesel car is 20% or more whereas the tax on an all-electric vehicle currently stands at 1%.
In terms of Vehicle Excise Duty – road tax – EV’s are exempt, and this also applies to congestion charges so there are savings to be made if you are a city driver.
The greatest benefit of all must be to the environment. For me, the debate simply stops there. Norway already has 78% of their road users driving electric and will ban all petrol/ diesel new car sales by 2025. The UK will need to catch up in our bid towards slowing down climate change.
It is essential to have a home-charger and there is no longer a government grant available to help with this. All the original government grants have now gone with a view to the money saved being invested in the UK’s infra-structure.
From an insurance point of view, be aware that some insurance providers request that you a tracker fitted to your EV at an upfront cost of £400-500. This needs a sim card meaning there is a line rental involved.
The new EV’s are tech on wheels. The technology and design are futuristic and rapidly changing. It’s good to have the option to upgrade your vehicle rather like you would your mobile phone so you are not stuck with obsolete technology. Leasing allows you to do this with no worries about depreciation.
First of all, I love the fact that, in the morning, I can prepare my car with no risk to security from the comfort of inside my home using the FordPass app.
Secondly, my radio and heating stays on when the car is idle – it’s not pumping out emissions when I’m stuck in traffic or at red lights, yet I can still listen to the radio and keep the car warm.
Because it has no engine, it does benefit from added storage in the form of the ‘frunk’ – under the bonnet is room for all your charging cables plus a little bit more.
The feature I like the best has to be the cruise control in ‘1 pedal drive’ where you simply take your foot off the pedal and the car will coast to a stop using its camera tech to detect what’s ahead. It does take a little getting used to in this semi-autonomous state but, once you’ve cracked it, you’ll love it and you’re moving towards the autonomous future.
All in all, I’m very thrilled that I made the transition to all-electric – I’ve got a flavour of Ford heritage with an impressively stylish model that has won over both my head and my heart. I love my car and there’s no going back.