Electric vs. Fuel: What should you be driving
After driving a fuel-powered car for many years, switching to an electric car may not be an easy decision to make. There is a night and day difference between electric vehicles and fuel-powered cars.
If you are hesitant about committing to an electric car, take the hassle out of deciding and save with an electric lease. You can better understand electric cars and their costs without vehicle financing or upfront commitment with a lease.
Our quick guide will explain how they differ and how much they cost.
What Is the Difference Between Electric and Fuel-powered Cars?
To best understand how different the cars are, let's look at each categorically.
Power
A fuel-powered car has an internal combustion engine that sends power to the car's wheels through the gearbox. Unlike battery electric vehicles(BEV) that use electricity to power themselves, fuel-powered vehicles turn fuel into usable energy by burning petrol or diesel.
Electric vehicles (EVs) do not have an internal combustion engine but are powered by one or more battery packs. These cars get their power from the onboard batteries that need to be charged.
Moving Parts
Compared to fuel-powered vehicles, electric cars have fewer moving parts. It is estimated that about 30,000 components go into a gasoline-powered vehicle, and the number of components in an electric vehicle will vary depending on the size and technology of the EV.
Their engines do not have radiators, fuel injectors, gas tanks, valvetrains, or exhaust systems. An electric car has four main components: the battery pack, the electric motor, the transmission and the battery charger.
One significant difference is that EVs come with one fixed gear, diesel vehicles have six gears, and most petrol-fueled cars have five. Another difference is that fuel-powered vehicles need to be revved to access their full torque and power, unlike EVs, which get their total capacity and torque instantaneously.
Overall, an electric car will be cheaper to maintain than a fuel-powered vehicle.
The Costs of Electric Cars vs. Fuel-powered Cars
For many, whether an EV or fuel-powered car is better comes down to the costs.
Price
EVs are expensive to buy compared to their fuel-powered counterparts. It is cheaper to lease an electric car than buy one outright. However, the high upfront costs you pay to buy an electric car is diminished if you compare how much you will save in comparison to a fuel-powered car.
Overall, electric cars are far cheaper to service and maintain, there are no costs involved regarding fuel consumption, and the tax benefits of owning an EV are incredible.
Leasing an electric car is far more affordable compared to buying one outright. The high cost will be the initial payment which must be paid upfront; however, browsing through comparison sites can help you find leasing companies offering a low initial payment.
Car Insurance
Electric cars are still more expensive to insure than fuel-powered cars. Due to their higher purchase prices, they tend to be more pricey to insure. Battery packs and electric motors are among the most expensive components of electric vehicles. As a result, insurance is quite costly. Petrol cars have a lower insurance premium than electric cars.
Pollution
Although EVs and fossil fuel cars look identical, EVs have no exhaust pipe, and the environmental impact is significantly lower than their gas-powered counterparts. When fuel-powered cars burn diesel or petrol, they release harmful gases like carbon monoxide (CO2).
Besides carbon monoxide, additional pollutants like sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds are produced by fossil fuel-powered exhausts.
Although electric cars produce zero car emissions, the lithium-ion batteries of EVs produce 1.43 times more carbon monoxide during the vehicle's internal combustion engine manufacturing process. Still, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced is much lower than fuel-powered vehicles.
According to a study conducted by the International Council on Clean Transportation, it has been found that electric cars produce fewer greenhouse gases during their lifetime (including manufacture) than petrol-powered cars. Electric cars are only as green as the energy used to manufacture and charge their batteries.
The bottom line is that electric cars are better for the environment.
Final Thoughts
If you compare the environmental impact, the cost of servicing and maintaining an electric car, and how much you save on fuel, electric cars are better than fuel-powered vehicles. When you lease an electric vehicle, you save on the initial cost of purchasing one while still benefiting from its several advantages.
