Why our next family car will be an electric car
- Locally emission-free driving, with green electricity always
- Lower energy and running costs
- Less maintenance required
- Higher purchase price
- Charging is more complicated than refueling
- Shorter range than combustion engines
One Wall box we do not have a Schuko socket near the road, and the daily commute is a whopping 90 kilometers long. Can I even think about buying an electric car? I think so, because the technical state of the E-cars and the framework conditions for current electric cars including Charging infrastructure speak for it.
Is an electric car suitable as a family car? If it is big enough, has fast charging capabilities and you can charge it close to home, then absolutely!
Matthias Bruges
Why an electric car is a good choice as a family vehicle
It helps, of course, to ask yourself the most important questions before buying and to get used to handling the electric car. So: How big should the family car be to go on holiday with the kids and their luggage? Five seats would be a must for me and a trunk volume of at least 450 liters (with the back seat up). Station wagon or SUV? I wouldn’t care. But is the car suitable for fast charging? My answer would be: 150 kW charging capacity and above is fine.
What must an electric family car be able to do?
Requirements for range and fast charging
When buying an electric car as a family vehicle, the range and fast charging capability should be right. If you also want to use the electric car on holiday If you want to drive, you should consider a car with a range of at least 450 km and a battery that can be charged with a charging power of 150 kW or more.
Vehicle size and trunk
Families need space, whether for children, friends or even for luggage or hobby equipment. Whether you have a Electric SUV or a electric station wagon The main thing is that the trunk has a loading volume of at least 450 liters and that the car has five seats that even tall children can feel comfortable on.
The latest electric cars with 800-volt electrical system charge faster, but are rather expensive. The length of the daily commute also comes into play (answered above). And: How often would the decreasing battery level force me to go to the next charging station on regular trips, in other words: How often do I have to charge each week? Once that is cleared up, the question then arises as to how far the family car must be able to travel on one battery charge. A large number of current electric cars now have a range of more than 450 km, which I consider to be sufficient.
Where can you charge your electric car regularly?
Finally, the most important thing: Where would I charge the car, and with which Electricity costs What should I expect when charging in public? In our neighborhood, there are eight public charging stations within walking or scooter reach where I can charge for the reasonable price of 0.49 cents/kWh. This means I calculate energy costs of 10 euros per 100 km.
I can now charge for three hours on weekdays at the charging stations, which should be enough. An app tells me when a station becomes free, which is helpful. And there’s a Tesla Supercharger waiting for me at the next shopping center if I need to get going more quickly. In short: I can manage for the time being.
If I now think of the surely rising Petrol and diesel prices think (keyword: rising CO2 emissions), that means for us: Now is the time to switch. I have made up my mind: The next family car should be battery-electric.
