Ready to Drive

Ready to start driving an EV but not sure where to start? Here are some tips about how to navigate the EV Buying Experience:

Tip 1: Determine your driving needs

How far do you dri­ve on a typ­i­cal day? Are you an adven­tur­ous dri­ver who often likes to nav­i­gate back­roads? Do you need a cer­tain tow­ing capac­i­ty? Do you rely on all-wheel dri­ve? How many seats do you need? How much car­go space is right for you? We rec­om­mend that you cal­cu­late your mileage needs over a 1–2 week peri­od to see how many miles you dri­ve each day. Most Amer­i­cans dri­ve an aver­age of 37 miles a day, but many believe they go far beyond that. All bat­tery elec­tric vehi­cles and most plug-in hybrid vehi­cles have at least a 37-mile bat­tery range and some have ranges as high as 320 miles, eas­i­ly meet­ing your dai­ly needs, what­ev­er they may be! 

Tip 2: Go for a test drive!

Dri­ving an EV is an expe­ri­ence that can­not be replaced—be sure to get behind the wheel of an EV to get a feel for some of the more unique (and fun) fea­tures of these cars. You can find local events that offer ride & dri­ve activ­i­ties, test dri­ve an EV at a deal­er­ship or show­room, or you may even be able to test dri­ve an EV through your local utility! 

Tip 3: Get in touch with local EV drivers

There is no bet­ter way to learn about what it’s like to dri­ve an EV than talk­ing to a local EV dri­ver. Con­tact your local EV Club or reach out to us to be con­nect­ed to a Coach in your region. They can give you tips and tricks for dri­ving EVs in Col­orado far beyond any­thing you will find online. 

Tip 4:  Learn your local charging landscape

Not sure where you will charge when you are out run­ning errands? What about when you are at work? Check out a charg­ing app like PlugShare, EVGo, or Charge­Point to learn more about where charg­ers are placed around your com­mu­ni­ty. You might be sur­prised about how con­ve­nient some of these loca­tions are! If you can’t find a charg­er near your work­place or mul­ti-unit hous­ing build­ing, think about talk­ing to the man­agers of the build­ings to see if they can meet your needs for EV charg­ing or get in touch with a Coach!

Tip 5: Decide on your personal charging needs

You can charge your car by plug­ging into a stan­dard out­let. How­ev­er, after learn­ing more about your range needs, you may deter­mine that you need a high­er-pow­ered charg­er in your home. If you decide that you want to lev­el up, spend some time learn­ing about instal­la­tion costs, elec­tric­i­ty rates, and the dif­fer­ent types of charg­ers avail­able for res­i­den­tial homes. 

Tip 6: Determine your budget and learn about financial incentives for EV purchases

You can save mon­ey on the pur­chase or lease of an EV and/or the instal­la­tion of a Lev­el 2 charg­er in your home through tax cred­its received from the Fed­er­al Gov­ern­ment. Don’t for­get that you get sav­ings from the State of Col­orado as well! And you may also qual­i­fy for sav­ings through your local util­i­ty. Talk to a finan­cial advi­sor or a ReCharge Col­orado coach to learn more about these finan­cial incentives. 

Tip 7: Talk to your Utility Company

Your util­i­ty may offer incen­tives for the pur­chase of an elec­tric vehi­cle or instal­la­tion of Lev­el 2 charg­ers in your res­i­dence. Addi­tion­al­ly, it is impor­tant to under­stand how your elec­tric­i­ty bill will increase when you charge your car at home. We rec­om­mend talk­ing to an expert to under­stand what dif­fer­ent charg­ing rates mean and how they can affect your bill. Check if your local util­i­ty offers rebates here.

Tip 8: Celebrate with Others

After you pur­chase your EV, be sure to take your friends for test dri­ves so they can enjoy the amaz­ing world of EVs along with you!

 

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