These Are the Most Common Mistakes People Make When Choosing Their Electric Car

Once you pick the carmaker and model it’s time to choose the right configuration and the extras. In many cases, you get a one-size-fits-all configuration with not many extras to tinker with, but faced with a more thorough choice, most people are confused. Some things are meaningless for an electric car user and others make or break owning an electric car.

We know most people find it important to choose the right color for their car, even though in most cases this is white or grey, but there is more to it than the paint. You should be thinking about how are you going to charge your car in the first place and choose your home charger accordingly. These come in different flavors, but the most powerful deliver 22 kW of AC juice.

Secondly, as you may want to travel cross-country from time to time, is to consider the fast charging capabilities of your car. Luckily, at least in the U.S., most cars come with fast charging by default, but that is not always the case. Settle for a car that offers the biggest power for the fast-charge capability, this matters when you’re on the road and want to spend as little as possible at the charging station.

Not ordering their electric car with a heat pump when available is a mistake many people do. This helps heat the car interior without putting too much stress on the battery compared to an electric heater. With a heat pump, the waste heat from the drive components is used to heat the interior. A heat pump-equipped car will have a better range, especially in the winter and in cold environments. It’s an expensive feature though, and not all electric vehicles feature one on the options list. Even Tesla only recently started to install a heat pump in its cars but it is well worth it for the road warrior.

Don’t forget to spec your electric car with heated seats and steering wheel if you live in an area with cold winters. These are small details that can make a difference in the winter. Besides, they’re not expensive and don’t consume much battery.

Speaking about the battery, this is like other things, the bigger the better. Of course, it’s not that important how big it is but what you can do with the thing, and some cars are more efficient than others, going further on a smaller battery. But, as a rule of thumb, if you are on a budget, don’t save on the battery, choose the biggest capacity you can afford.

Not only will this allow you to go further in your journeys without worrying about going empty, but will also help with battery longevity. Not to mention it will be difficult to resell a car with a smaller range when all the newer ones on the market will have an ICE-equivalent range.

Last but not least, it’s not such a bad idea to pay attention to the battery warranty. Modern car batteries will offer many years of service without problems, but as with everything man-made, mistakes are common and in some cases, you might end up with a defective battery. When this happens, it's better to have a warranty. Otherwise, battery replacements run in the tens of thousands of dollars.

If you know other good advice for those who want to buy an electric car, we’ll be happy to read it in the comments section below.