Admittedly, cars aren’t really my thing; as long as they get me from A to B safely and cheaply, and they’re a nice colour (I’m not a fan of white cars – sorry owners of white cars), I’m not that concerned with their make and model, how quickly they can reach 60mph and whether they have the latest gadgets, buttons and switches that thrill quite a lot of people.

But I am intrigued with the current movement to electric cars that could be brilliant for the environment.

Electric cars, despite having been around for a little while now, haven’t taken off properly yet, but it seems to me their popularity is definitely growing now, especially as the kinks and drawbacks of electric cars are quickly being ironed out.

Mileage

One of the major concerns people have about electric cars is the number of miles they can do before they run out of charge, and many car manufacturers have put a great deal of effort into extending this number as much as possible. BMW now offer cars in their electric range that can do approximately 80 miles when fully charged, but they also offer a range-extending fuel engine, providing up to 150 miles.

OK, so this might not be ideal if you do a lot of long-distance travelling, but for me travelling 10 minutes down the road for work each day, to the local gym and supermarkets, and running Phoebe to kids’ clubs a couple of times a week, it would be ideal. I could charge it on the weekend and be able to use it without worrying about the mileage for the rest of the week. Recently, I came across sites of various companies (like aardvark-electric.com/electrical-services/electric-vehicle-chargers/) that tend to offer services to install a charging station in our own garages. Now, how cool isn’t it? Taking advantage of such services will eliminate the hassle of going to the charging station every time the vehicle needs to be charged.

Charging

In fact, concerns about charging an electric car is another factor that puts people off, but it needn’t really. If you check out the BMWi electric car range you’ll see that BMW offers a charging installation service to allow you to charge your electric car easily from the comfort of your own home. For me, this would be doubly beneficial as it would put a stop to the need to visit petrol stations and battle the temptation of the all too conveniently placed chocolate I end up buying on every visit. So an electric car in my household would not only help the environment but my diet as well!

Furthermore, (and this is something I didn’t know, so place yourself on the edge of your seats, ladies and gentlemen!) there is a whole network on UK charging station across the country for BMW i customers, so, even if you have your own charging station at home, you can use the public charging stations if you want!

The Verdict

Electric cars are as stylish and comfortable as regular cars but, importantly, much more environmentally-friendly. I believe they’re the future of car technology; after all, why would we continue to use fuel that produces harmful emissions when we could switch to electricity and reduce the damage?

If they can complete with normal cars in every way, and be better for the environment, it seems a no-brainer to me! Sorry, petrol stations, but I do believe you’re heading down the path of becoming obsolete…