Welcome to
Regit's Electric Hub
Looking to buy an electric vehicle or need some additional information before making a decision? You're in the right place.
- Compare new and previously owned electric vehicles based on things that matter most to you
- Loads of easy-to-understand reviews with Regit's recommendations
- Find out how you can save on tax, fuel and maintenance
- All there is to know on electric ownership including charging, vehicle management and more
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Popular models
Volkswagen Id.3
Range: 214 - 340 miles
Home Charge: 7.5 - 39 hours
Quick Charge: 0.5 - 12.7 hours
Now is the time to go electric
Although the price of electric cars are still a little higher than petrol and diesel alternatives, the day-to-day running can be much more affordable. A typical full charge for a car with a 200 mile range costs around £15.
Then there’s maintenance cost to consider, but don’t be intimidated by the concept of owning an electric car. In a lot of cases the maintenance can be less stressful and more affordable. With less moving parts, there’s less to look after on an electric car, which lets you spend less time in the garage, and saves you money in the process.
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Frequently asked questions
The world of electric motoring can be intimidating, but we’re here to walk you through it. Don’t worry, it’s not as complicated as you may have been lead to believe, in fact, it’s rather simple. Here are the most commonly asked questions answered for you...
Yes, you can Offset your carbon emissions online today for peace of mind using our Carbon Offset Calculator.
The cost of charging an EV varies based on the size of the battery and the rates provided by the electricity provider.
On average, domestic electricity providers will charge 14p per kWh. So if you have a 60kWh battery, a full charge from empty will cost £8.40. The price of electricity decreases at night as demand decreases, so you can expect the price of a full charge to drop during off-peak hours.
The cost of electricity at domestic charging points will not change significantly irrespective of whether you use a fitted wall-box or a 3-point plug socket.
Public charging stations vary in price also but to give you an idea, a BP Pulse subscription (£7.85 per month) will give you access to Britain's largest network of chargers, some of which are free to use and some will charge a tariff rate of 12p per kWh.
Almost all production electric cars are automatic, meaning they don’t have a clutch, gear stick or gearbox. Typically, these cars will use a simple button or switch to shift between park, drive and reverse.
One of the main differences between driving a "green car" compared to a petrol or diesel car is that when you accelerate the torque is instant and linear, without the need for acceleration to be interrupted by gear changes.
Petrol or diesel cars are most effective within certain rev ranges, and it is ideal for efficiency and acceleration to keep the car within those ranges to ensure a smooth driving experience. Electric cars, however, have 100% of the power available 100% of the time, so there is no need for a gearbox.
Yes, there are a number of ways you can charge an EV at home. A standard 3 pin plug socket is all that is needed to charge an electric car, although this is the slowest possible way of recharging your battery.
A domestic ‘wall box’ is a separate charging point that can be wired into your home’s electricity supply. These are typically installed by the supplier and can allow charging up to 7.4 kW. The charging points can halve the time required to recharge your car when compared to a 3-pin plug, which typically charges at 2.3 kW
Electric cars are most commonly charged at the owners home address or at their workplace. There is a growing network of tens of thousands of public charging points in supermarkets, car parks and petrol stations too.
There are countless apps provided by charging point providers, such as BP Pulse, which can direct you toward the charging points nearest to your home address, your workplace or along the route of your journey.
Around 40% of public charging points are free to use in the UK, however, the charging points along the motorway network will typically charge around 14p per kWh.
The London Congestion Charge was introduced to reduce the number of polluting cars on inner-city streets while also encouraging sustainably-powered car adoption.
Previously, only cars that emit less than 100 grams of CO2 per kilometre were exempt, but as car technology improved and the number of qualifying cars increased, the threshold was reduced to 70 grams per kilometre of CO2.
Right now, all fully electric cars are exempt from the London Congestion Charge until December 2025. Plug-in hybrid cars which emit less than 70g/km of CO2 are also exempt however that is only until October 2021, when the restrictions are set to become tighter.
Once an electric car is three years old it will need to have an MOT test, just like every other petrol or diesel car. The only difference is that there are no emissions or noise tests included when an electric car is MOT’d.
The total maximum range of such a car varies by make, model and battery size, as well as the manner in which the car is being driven and the outside environment. Manufacturers test their car to the World Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure - or WLTP - so this is the standardised measurement buyers should use when deciding which car to buy.
You would expect an entry-level modern EV to travel at least 150 miles on a full charge, with some small hatchbacks now achieving up to 250 miles on one charge.
In 2020, the Renault ZOE was the best selling electric car in Europe, which can return up to 245 miles of range on a full battery when driven to WLTP standards.
One of the most underrated benefits of owning a "green car" is the savings made through ownership. The owner will save a large amount in fuel, but electric cars have fewer moving parts in their motor when compared to an engine.
Electric cars don’t need their oil, spark plugs, fuel filters or drive belts replaced at regular intervals, which drastically reduces the maintenance costs. Brake pads will still need to be looked after, but most electric cars use regenerative braking. Regenerative braking increases the lifetime of brake pads when compared to petrol or diesel cars as the electric motor is used to decelerate the wheels.
Public electric charging points will typically ask you to pay either by contactless card or via their smartphone app.
Some charging networks, such as BP Pulse, use a subscription model, where you pay a monthly fee and then have access to free charging stations.
There is no cash option for charging points in the UK and there is no kiosk to pay, unlike at a petrol station.
Motorists are often surprised to hear that EVs are arguably better suited to towing caravans and trailers than petrol or diesel cars. This is because the best towing cars are those with lots of torque from low speeds, which is what electric cars have in abundance.
In fact, electric cars are able to produce 100% of their torque at any moment, whereas combustion engines rely on power bands within the rev-range to produce their torque.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that all-electric cars are good at towing, however, for example, you cannot expect to tow a caravan with an electric city car, just as you wouldn’t expect to tow a caravan with a petrol or diesel city car.
Another advantage for electric cars is that they tend to be heavier than petrol or diesel cars due to the added weight of a battery. For example, an electric Volkswagen Golf weighs roughly 400 kilograms more than the diesel version. The greater the mass of the towing car, the more capable it becomes when cornering, stopping and accelerating while towing.
The main disadvantage while towing is that the battery range will be reduced depending on the weight being towed.