What I learnt living with an EV for a week

Like many Australians, the idea of owning an electric car seems so futuristic and exciting but you do find yourself with more questions than answers. My partner and I are at a place in our relationship where owning one large car seems more financially and environmentally sustainable than both of us owning small hatchbacks, which then starts the discussion of what car to get instead.

We live in an inner-city suburb of a major capital so naturally, an SUV with no off-road credentials is at the top of the list (don’t judge us) with hybrid or electric a real contender. So, before we make the leap to a new car and potentially a whole new way of refuelling and car ownership, we spent a week living with an electric car to find out for ourselves what the hype was all about and whether the pros and cons often discussed and debated about EVs is warranted.

My EV for the week was a Polestar 2 Long Range Dual Motor which had all the options ticked, including Pilot lite, Plus and Performance packs equaling a drive-away price of over $100k. This article isn't a review on the car, so go here if you want an actual review of it from the team.

With keys in hand and the shock of no actual on/off button to start and end your trip, we hit the road and learnt these lessons about driving and living with an EV for a week.

At first, it is a weird sensation that kind of goes to the opposite of everything you learnt about driving a car but makes total sense. Regenerative braking essentially takes the energy created by braking and uses it to recharge the battery, similar to what you'll find in a hybrid. The difference with an EV is that it will start the braking as soon as you lift your foot off the accelerator.

The car essentially can be fully driven with one pedal and after a bit of practice, nailing the foot pressure and figuring out when and how much to ease off the accelerator to bring the car to a complete stop without under or overshooting the mark, was so rewarding. This driving mode is perfect for peak hour, and bumper-to-bumper traffic, but make sure you turn it off on the freeway otherwise you'll be in for a shock if you forget it's turned on.

I'm not sure whether it is an out-of-sight, out-of-mind thing or not, but the fact that EVs will give you both a range estimate (like most modern day cars do), as well as a battery percentage, really built my initial anxiety. In traditionally powered cars, the fuel gauge points to a guestimate of how much of the total tank you have left, in my Renault Megane the gauge doesn't even break up the quarters in the dial equally. So why was I so nervous about percentages?

To be honest the range distance is the most important element you need to know because it gives you a fairly decent estimate of how far you have left to go, while the battery percentage is just there to taunt you just like your smartphone battery percentage does. After a while, I tried to focus more on the range and used that to help me plan my upcoming day's big trip.

An EV compared to a petrol or diesel car does make you think more about your upcoming journeys and forces you to plan your charge accordingly. Since it isn’t an instant top-up like filling up at the servo and not having a wall charger at home for a more speedy recharge, it does require some planning.

Whether you know and love cars or not, as someone who is driving an EV you instantly become an expert in this field. Everyone will ask you questions, so be prepared to have the answers!

Luckily for me, I do know my stuff when it comes to cars, so I was happy to expel my endless trivial knowledge on the subject. Most questions were about its range and how long it takes to charge, which for me were topics I was learning about as the week went on.

These are the two biggest questions, and barriers to purchase Aussies have with EVs.

My favourite moment was while I was sitting in the car on a Zoom call waiting for the car to charge at my local shopping centre’s Ultra-Fast Charger when all of sudden there was a knock at the window. I wound down the window to find a tradie, cigarette in his mouth, “How much does it cost to charge this thing?”, “Is she good for 400km?”.

For the record, it cost me 60 cents per kWh to charge and the range was around 400km, give or take a few kilometres due to the amount of heater and seat warmers we had pumping.

Be prepared to talk to strangers, especially as you wait for the car to charge at a public charge station. It’s a phenomenon that would never happen at the servo as you fill a car with petrol, other car owners up for a chat about your car.

It was really surprising what a friendly and positively charged community EV owners are, exchanging personal experiences of charging stations, the car they own and how far they’ve gone with it. As I was driving a car that is relatively new to Australia, I was getting lots of questions and was asked about my thoughts on the Polestar, especially from Tesla owners who were baffled to know why I wasn’t driving a Tesla. "You not a fan of Elon?" one asked.

My stress level was rising exponentially on a Saturday afternoon I was going location to location in my attempt to find a useable public fast charger that a) had the correct plug, b) was powerful enough (you learn about the different plugs and charging rates very quickly. What I thought was a ‘fast charger’ was actually just a regular charger and 40 minutes later my battery had only gone up by 2%) and c) was actually operational.

About half of the public chargers within a 10km radius of my home were not available. A real challenge ahead for anyone looking at making a move to an EV who may not have a garage or a wall charger at their home (as was the case for me), finding a public charger that is convenient, safe and working could be a challenge. Charger makers and the companies who maintain them really need to lift their game.

Overall a pretty educational week that really showed off the coolness of electric car technology, a country that still hasn't figured out its infrastructure situation and a driver who realised that there's more to driving a new EV than just the technology it has, but the community and public it's assimilating into.

So will an EV be my next car? If the prices go down and the infrastructure goes up, I think it's in with a good chance.

Related: Nine things that would make electric cars easier to love

Related: Best Australian road trips to do in an EV

Related: Best apps for EV owners

For everything EVs, listen to carsales' Watts Under the Bonnet: The Electric Vehicle Podcast