Not so long ago, the question was: is a diesel- or petrol-powered car right for me? Then hybrid muscled in on that equation, laggardly followed by plug-in hybrid. Then, of course, electric cars entered the fight, and the biggest question of all became whether or not an electric car was right for you, or me – a question which, more than a decade on from sales of electric models kicking off, still has no straightforward answer.
The vast majority of current electric vehicles use lithium-ion batteries. These batteries come in either cell, prismatic or pouch types. Cell batteries look rather disarmingly similar to domestic AA batteries, but don’t be deceived – pack enough of these together into one big battery stack and you have enough power to run a Tesla. Literally. Pouch cells look more like little tinfoil bags, while prismatic cells look broadly similar to pouch cells but are more expensive to make.
For many of us, the critical question will be how quickly a battery can be recharged and you can get back on the road again. For this, sadly, there is no simple, straightforward answer. The very best charging systems – those deployed by– run on 800-volt energy, and can swallow more than 300kW of direct current rapid charging, potentially allowing fast charges of less than 20 minutes to get to 80 per cent power.