Hi, I am Mike, a driving instructor in Lincolnshire, and I have been teaching automatic driving lessons in a fully electric car for two and a half years, first in a Renault Zoe and now in a Mini electric.
Move Electric asked me to keep a diary for a week to give some insights into what life is really like driving an EV every day – not just for my commute, but for my work . I have focused on the costs, as well as covering some benefits and concerns.
Here is how my last week working with an electric car went:
Monday, 27 September - overnight charging cost £2.87
There is torrential rain this morning, and this has me wondering how my Mini will be affected. I have three driving lessons booked today, all two hours each.
To preserve range - and for comfort - I set off with my car pre-conditioned; basically, heated and with the windows clear while it is still plugged in, to save the electricity. Once the windows are clear, I leave, although I turn the ventilation fan up a bit.
A fair bit of that work is undone when my first customer jumps in more than a little damp. No matter: it's an opportunity to show how effectively a Mini E will clear its windows. It’s super-fast and doesn’t use much energy really. I return home with 74% charge remaining. The rain did not have that much impact on energy use.
For lesson two, the weather is better and this customer is nearer home and preparing for a driving test this week. We are practising closer to the driving test centre, identifying nearby hazards. After this driving lesson, I arrive home with 48% charge remaining - so, according to the meter, we’ve used the same amount of energy again.
The third lesson of the day is focusing on slip roads and larger roundabouts on our bypass. This uses a little more energy due to faster driving and a few extra miles. I return home having driven another 43 miles and now have 17% remaining.
After a few errandsm I finish the day with 12% charge left and have covered 116 miles.
Tuesday, 28 September - overnight charge cost £4.46
The weather is much better today, and I have three more lessons planned. The pattern of energy use is actually pretty similar to the previous day's and consistent with the type of driving we do: lesson one takes my charge down to 71%, lesson two to 51% and I finish my day on 27%.
