Switching from a petrol car to an EV is less dramatic than the sales patter suggests, and less painless than the forum posts. Below are the practical differences first-time drivers run into in the UK, with no cheerleading.
Charging at home vs out and about
The default pattern for most UK EV owners is slow charging at home overnight and the odd rapid charge on a long run. A home wallbox delivers about 7 kW on a standard single-phase supply, which is roughly 25-30 miles of range per hour. That means a car plugged in at 10 pm is full by morning, even from near empty, on an off-peak tariff.
Public rapid chargers (50 kW and up) are a different world. A modern EV on a 150 kW unit will pick up 150 miles or so in 20 minutes, falling off sharply over 80% state of charge. The cost per mile is also very different: a home overnight tariff is often under 10p/kWh, where a rapid charger on the motorway can be 70-85p/kWh in 2026.
Chargepoints come in several plug types; new cars in the UK use Type 2 for AC charging and CCS for DC rapid charging. Legacy CHAdeMO still exists for older Nissan Leafs. Older Tesla Superchargers used a proprietary connector; newer ones are CCS. If you are buying used, check the connector before you pay.
Range, and why it drops in winter
Battery chemistry does not like cold. A car advertised at 250 miles on a WLTP test may give you 190 in July and 150 in a damp January, and that is before you turn the heater on. Heating a petrol engine is nearly free; heating an EV cabin pulls real current. Pre-heating the car while it is still on the cable fixes most of this.
The planning rule many EV drivers end up with is "80-20-80": leave home at 80% charge, stop at the first rapid with about 20% in the battery, and only take it back up to 80% because the top 20% charges slowly. On a long trip, this is faster than filling right up each time.
Servicing
An EV has no engine oil, no spark plugs, no timing belt, no gearbox fluid in the traditional sense, no exhaust and no fuel system. The service schedule is mostly about brake fluid, coolant for the battery pack, cabin air filter, tyres, wipers and screenwash. Service costs tend to be lower than a petrol equivalent, though tyres wear faster because EVs are heavier and have more torque off the line.
The MOT applies in the same way; the test's three-year rule, the annual renewal and the DVSA fee cap are not affected by fuel type. See our MOT guide for the detail.
Regen braking and one-pedal driving
Lift off the accelerator in an EV and the motor runs backwards as a generator, which slows the car and puts energy back in the battery. Most EVs let you choose how strong this is. "One-pedal driving" means setting it high enough that the car comes to a full stop without touching the brake pedal. It is strange for a day and then normal.
One side effect: brake pads last a very long time because you rarely use the friction brakes hard. On a used EV, light surface corrosion on discs is normal and goes away after a few firmer stops.
Running costs: do the maths with your own pattern
EV "fuel" costs depend almost entirely on where you charge. A rough 2026 picture:
- Home off-peak at about 8p/kWh: around 2-3p per mile.
- Home standard rate: around 7-9p per mile.
- Public rapid at 70-85p/kWh: around 20-25p per mile.
For comparison, a 50 mpg petrol car at £1.45 a litre is about 13p per mile. If your use is "home charge, occasional long trip", an EV wins easily. If you live in a flat with no off-street parking and rely on public charging, the gap closes or vanishes. Do the sum against your own miles before you buy.
What breaks on an EV
The big one owners worry about is battery degradation. In practice, a well-managed modern pack loses on the order of 1-2% of usable capacity per year, less in a mild climate and gentle use. Most UK manufacturer warranties cover the pack for eight years or 100,000 miles to about 70% of original capacity.
Other failure modes are more ordinary; 12V auxiliary batteries (yes, EVs still have a small one for the electronics), air-con compressors, infotainment firmware stuck in loops, and the odd charge-port door motor. There is also the annoyance of a software update bricking a feature for a week; keep an eye on the manufacturer's support forums before any big trip.
Buying used, briefly
The main used-EV check is a battery health report. Many main dealers will run one for free or for a modest fee, and some independents have third-party tools (AVILOO and similar). Walk away from any used EV where the seller will not let you charge it to a known level and measure the indicated range against the official figure.
For a wider used-car checklist, including paperwork, see our under-£5,000 guide.
One EV myth worth retiringEVs do not suddenly run out and strand drivers any more than petrol cars do. The dash shows miles left; the sat-nav knows where chargers are; the apps route you. People run out of charge for the same reason people run out of petrol: inattention, not the technology.
Primary references used above: gov.uk's EV guidance pages at gov.uk/guidance/find-and-use-electric-vehicle-chargepoints and the Energy Saving Trust's EV running-costs explainer at energysavingtrust.org.uk.