Get Behind the Wheel – Driving Electric at the Denver Auto Show

The Den­ver Auto Show is the third old­est auto show across the coun­try. Since 1902 it has served as a hub for auto enthu­si­asts to come togeth­er and appre­ci­ate inno­va­tion in the vehi­cle space. Dri­ve Elec­tric Col­orado par­tic­i­pat­ed in the last two years by run­ning the elec­tric vehi­cle (EV) ride-and-dri­ve com­po­nent of the show, edu­cat­ing atten­dees about EVs and charg­ing as inter­est across the state has grown and more EVs have hit the roads. In part­ner­ing with Xcel Ener­gy, Dri­ve Elec­tric Col­orado (DE-CO) has been able to pro­vide an impres­sive ride-and-dri­ve expe­ri­ence for atten­dees to learn about dri­ving elec­tric in an inter­ac­tive way – by get­ting behind the wheel.

Last year, at the 2023 Den­ver Auto Show, DE-CO facil­i­tat­ed 1,160 EV test dri­ves through their ride-and-dri­ve expe­ri­ence. Atten­dees could choose a hands-on dri­ving expe­ri­ence from an elec­tri­fy­ing line­up that includ­ed the Audi Q4, Hyundai IONIQ 5, Volk­swa­gen ID.4, Ford F‑150 Light­ning, Vol­vo C40, Nis­san Ariya, Polestar 2, Kia EV6, and Nis­san LEAF. From sedans to trucks, the line­up was select­ed to show­case the ver­sa­til­i­ty that EVs bring to the auto­mo­tive landscape.

Of the more than 1,000 ride-and-dri­ves tak­en, 44% were made up of first time EV dri­vers like me. While I had been inter­est­ed in the EV land­scape for quite some time, I had nev­er been pre­sent­ed with the oppor­tu­ni­ty to get behind the wheel in a no-pres­sure envi­ron­ment. At the Den­ver Auto Show, I was able to learn first­hand about the unique fea­tures of an elec­tric vehi­cle, such as regen­er­a­tive brak­ing, with­out the oblig­a­tion of buy­ing a vehi­cle I had wor­ried I would feel at a deal­er­ship. The expe­ri­ence was very pos­i­tive. I was joined by a pro­fes­sion­al dri­ver in the vehi­cle who helped me to nav­i­gate the dri­ving route and talked me through the vehi­cle func­tions. After­wards, I was able to speak with the team at Dri­ve Elec­tric Col­orado, who answered my ques­tions and pro­vid­ed me with EV resources on tax cred­its, Xcel Ener­gy rebates, and more.

Oth­er atten­dees had sim­i­lar expe­ri­ences. Par­tic­i­pants were sur­veyed before and after their test dri­ve to gauge their thoughts on and expe­ri­ences with EVs. Before the ride and dri­ve, 34% of dri­vers indi­cat­ed that their next vehi­cle would be elec­tric. After the ride and dri­ve, that num­ber jumped to 47%. Once again, I found myself in this group. Fast for­ward five months lat­er, I need­ed a new vehi­cle. After a lot of research and using the resources pro­vid­ed by Dri­ve Elec­tric Col­orado, I decid­ed to get my own Volk­swa­gen ID.4. Not only was this my first new car pur­chase, but it was an elec­tric one! I was able to uti­lize both the fed­er­al and state tax cred­its off the point of pur­chase price, total­ing a $12,500 savings.

I am so thrilled that I was able to get behind the wheel of an EV at the 2023 Den­ver Auto Show. EV edu­ca­tion goes a long way, but noth­ing beats being able to dri­ve one for your­self and ask ques­tions in a no-pres­sure envi­ron­ment. My sto­ry is just one instance of that. Of the 1,160 oth­ers who drove elec­tric at the auto show, many are now also dri­ving EVs of their own.

This year, the Den­ver Auto Show is tak­ing place April 4th — 7th, at the Col­orado Con­ven­tion Cen­ter. Dri­ve Elec­tric Col­orado will be part­ner­ing with Xcel Ener­gy once again to pro­vide an Elec­tric Vehi­cle Ride-and-Dri­ve Expe­ri­ence. Whether you already dri­ve elec­tric or have nev­er got­ten behind the wheel, there is a space for you to both learn and expe­ri­ence more about the pos­si­bil­i­ties that elec­tric mobil­i­ty has to offer.