An Electric Experience

Last Saturday I had my first chance to drive an electric car albeit only for a couple of miles along a country lane near our home in the Brecon Beacons. But it was an interesting experience. The car in question was a Mega City E (see top photo)supplied by John Lilly who has been developing electric cars and battery technology for many years just up the road (or should I say hill?) from here.

Not having a clutch or gears felt weird as did the total lack of engine noise. Had I even successfully started the motor? The car began moving when I pressed down the accelerator so I had to believe it had. We happily picked up speed to 40mph but again it felt weird the way the car slowed down when encountering the first hill – everything suddenly felt heavy – you become very conscious that hauling any large weight (a car plus two adults in this case) up even a slight incline takes significant energy –something one has long ago stopped noticing when driving a modern car unless you have an mpg gauge, then you certainly notice. Travelling back downhill, I was hoping to coast but the regenerative mechanism makes you too slow for that.

The Mega City itself feels cheap and tinny – it took me back to student car days – that didn’t bother me particularly for the kind of short runs at that this car would provide. However, it sits uncomfortably with the £12,000 price tag.

Manufacturers of these cars seem increasingly keen to make electric cars as much like a regular car as they can. This might be a mistake when, for a while, they will actually be much slower, more clunky and won’t go as far as people’s ordinary car.

From a psychological perspective, I wonder if the golf buggy evolution is a more promising starting point. If people think it’s a buggy, then their expectations are different, the designs are funky and they will perhaps be impressed if it can go as fast as 25mph and tackle a hill. They may even think it’s a quirky novelty that rain can come in the side!