Which electric car is the cheapest to run?

The Driven

From enjoying a guilt-free zero emissions drive, or getting a kick out of instant torque – there are lots of reasons that drivers say they are glad to have made the switch to electric vehicles.

Lower maintenance costs – thanks to vastly fewer moving parts – and the smooth and silent driving experience are other benefits. And so, too, is the joy of not having to visit the petrol pump.

But this doesn’t mean the cost to run an electric vehicle is zero. While many electric car owners couple their EV with a solar system to get free juice from the sun, paying for electricity to charge their car is still a major factor.

It’s already been shown that electric vehicles can be cheaper to own than petrol and diesel vehicles, particularly with leases, but given drivers in Australia already have to pay a premium for their EVs, the cost of charging does matter.

Now the data is in, using details sourced from EV Database including real world range (which will be much less than the NEDC rating used in Australia), energy consumption and battery size, and calculations based on an electricity cost of 27c per kilowatt hour (check the chart out below).

To read the full version of this story – and view the photo gallery – on RenewEconomy’s electric vehicle dedicated site, The Driven, click here…

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