I made the switch to electric about three weeks ago, and already I can tell it’s a completely different way of thinking about transportation. Driving techniques, comfort, safety, fuel issues, everything is different.
For at least the next while, I’m keeping the Subaru. It’s a great car, sturdy, and good for taking the dogs out for a walk, hauling building materials, etc. When I’m going downhill, though, I’m thinking, “What a waste of gasoline. If I was in the Kia I’d be recharging the batteries right now.”
Then there’s the fuel cost issue. I would not recommend getting an electric car without having a home charger installed. Without that option, I would have the choice of a free recharge that is very slow, or a fast recharge that is mostly, at least for now, in parts of town I don’t frequent. With the charger, I plug in when my batteries are getting low, and in the morning I have a full charge. The cost in electricity is a little over five dollars (for a couple of hundred miles of driving). The last time I filled the Subaru it cost me fifty dollars (for about four hundred miles of driving).
The Kia is quiet, jackrabbit fast, extremely customizable, and with the extended warranty on the electronics, has a ten year warranty on everything but the motors, which are lifetime. It has more safety features than I care to list, and will be pretty roomy for hauling stuff when I can make myself do it. It’s still awfully new.
I’m sure when the new wears off I’ll discover that there are downsides to making the switch. For now, though, I have no regrets at all.