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A beginner’s guide to driving an electric car

The electric car driving experience

Tips for driving an electric car

The first thing drivers are often surprised by when getting behind the wheel of an electric car for the first time is just how silent the drive is. With no engine chugging away under the hood, driving an electric car is tranquil. You will hear a bit of wind resistance and tyre friction when you pick up speed, but in the city, a true EV is more or less silent. This can be unnerving for drivers used to the growl of an internal combustion engine, but once you acclimatise yourself, you’ll come to cherish the peace and quiet.

Thanks to regenerative braking, electric cars offer an experience known as "one-pedal driving". When you lift your foot off the accelerator, regenerative brakes slow the car down and transform the kinetic energy of the car into energy that feeds the battery. Depending on the car model, this means you can both accelerate and decelerate with a single pedal. Considering that there is never a clutch, gearshift or transmission to wrestle with, the electric car driving experience is one that puts your focus on the feel of the road - and that's what driving is all about.

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Change your perspective

The biggest challenge when driving an EV for the first time is a mental one. Experienced drivers can sometimes find themselves at odds with their muscle memory. As anyone who has ever driven a right-hand drive car abroad and reached into the door bin for the gearshift will tell you, these instinctive reactions fade relatively quickly as you rewire your brain to your new environment. The process is the same for getting used to regenerative braking, silent motors and having all that torque available at any time. After a few trips, you'll feel right at home.

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Size can be deceptive

As drivers, we’ve become accustomed to judging the human and cargo space or our cars from the outside. Looking for something small to get around the city? A compact three-door hatchback is perfect. Need room for all the family? Better take an SUV.

Electric cars typically feature a flat chassis and drivetrain, meaning you’ll often gain a huge amount of passenger and cargo space on the inside even if the vehicle seems relatively compact from the outside. Looks can be deceiving.

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Consider the weather conditions

Range is often said to be the Achilles heel of electric cars. The best medicine for range anxiety is to learn how the weather and your driving style can affect the batteries in fully electric cars. You can drive up to 260 km on a single full charge in a BMW i3, but knowing how the temperature can impact your range could be the difference between getting caught out and not. Lithium-ion batteries are temperature sensitive, particularly in very cold weather. You may have noticed how your smartphone battery life shortens if you spend long periods outdoors in winter, and electric cars are just the same. Most electric cars have battery thermal management systems that warm or cool the battery to counter this effect, but it’s something worth keeping in mind during the coldest months of the year.

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Embrace driving data

Modern EVs are essentially powerful computers on wheels. Between the dashboard and the infotainment system, a whole host of information is available to drivers. Distances travelled, energy used, kilometres left in the battery and even your driving technique can be analysed and quantified. This data is extremely useful for maximising your efficiency on the road, and it’s worth familiarising yourself with these numbers when you first start driving a fully electric vehicle. Some electric cars even offer useful tutorials for optimising your range and companion apps for providing you with additional driving data, so poke around in the menus before you set off on your journey.

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Enjoy the electric car driving experience

The most important tip for driving an electric car is to enjoy the experience. If you’ve been curious to experience an EV but have reservations about taking the plunge, give it a try. Driving an electric car is not all that different from driving a traditional combustion engine - it’s just a lot more fun!

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Drive an electric car with SHARE NOW

You can easily rent an electric car in Spain with SHARE NOW by using the app. Our electric cars free-float on the streets of major European cities and are ready to be unlocked with just the SHARE NOW app. Our car-sharing rates are all-inclusive and more flexible than traditional car rental – you don't pay extra for parking, charging, GPS, automatic transmission, or insurance. From 1 minute to 30 days, you decide the rental duration you want in the app. Perfect for daily commutes or long trips. In fact, for trips of 1 to 30 days, you can even order a car to the location of your choice for free. That's electric car-sharing.

Fiat 500e ⚡️

Iconic and electric.
from
0,19 €/minute¹
7,99 €/hour²
39,83 €/day²
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Peugeot e-208 ⚡️

Feel the electricity.
from
0,21 €/minute¹
9,99 €/hour²
43,16 €/day²
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EVs Explained

Types of electric car

Electric cars today typically fall into three categories: hybrid, plug-in hybrids (PHEV), and fully electric vehicles (EV).

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Plug-in hybrid (PHEV)

Plug-in hybrids work similarly to hybrids but typically feature bigger batteries and can drive in fully electric mode over further distances. Energy is transferred to the batteries via a charging cable and an external power source, such as a household outlet. The internal combustion engine kicks in once you’ve drained all of your electronic juice. The SHARE NOW BMW Jeep Renegade is an example of a plug-in hybrid.

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Fully electric (EV)

Fully electric cars rely completely on battery power and electric powertrains, ditching the internal combustion engine entirely. As a result, EVs produce zero emissions. With no petrol engine to fall back on, range anxiety was born. Thankfully, modern EVs have enough range for urban driving and even road trips out of the city.

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Hybrid

Hybrid cars, or simply ‘hybrids’, features batteries that are charged via energy produced by internal combustion engines. There is no charging involved with this type of electric car. The electric powertrain is intended to achieve better fuel economy, rather than something that can be relied on to power the vehicle completely. A hybrid-electric produces lower emissions on average than a traditional petrol or diesel engine car.

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Notes

1

The minute rate includes 200km of mileage. A long distance fee of 0,39 € per kilometer will apply for each additional kilometer after the included mileage. Hourly and daily rates do not include mileage and each kilometre driven will be charged between 0,21 € and 0,22 € (depending on car model category).

2

All SHARE NOW cars are covered by third-party liability insurance and your deductible is always automatically reduced to a specific amount in case of an accident. This agreement is waived, however, in cases of gross negligence. To learn more, please check out our terms and conditions.