* Whereas there is no published scientific research published to date, here are the five ways in which those of us who drive electric vehicles are superior in every way.
- Silent speed baby! – We drive cars that can accelerate fast and do so quietly.
You can forget the ‘boy-racers’ in their souped up Corsa’s with fat boy exhausts and LED underbody lighting, they may laugh at your seemingly meek electric vehicle, however you know that beneath your right foot you have a portal to speed city.
While their engine is getting up to speed, pumping and burning fuel and they are mashing their gearbox in a flurry of pedal pushing you have left them standing. Push down your foot and you have instant torque. Even a lowly Nissan Leaf boasts a 4 second head start with a nifty 0-60 speed of under seven seconds compared to the Corsa’s ten second plus. If you have one of the super speedy Tesla’s they will need to send you a postcard from your dust.
Remember also that you have done this feat of automotive acceleration in near silence, you will hear the throbbing roar of their punctured exhaust in the distance as you cruise listening to the radio as you cruise in peace.
- Green is The New Sexy
If you drive electric, you have won the eco-friendly argument against any of your friends who have not yet seen the light. At least 40,000 premature deaths a year are caused by toxic levels of air pollution in the UK and will cost the UK up to £18.6 billion in health and social care costs by 2035 according to the Chief Medical Officer. The largest emitter of air pollution in the UK and one of the most serious issues with carbon emissions is transportation. If you are driving a zero emissions, electric vehicle, you have just won the right to say that you are doing your bit for the planet!
Now, it may be that this was not the main reason you chose to drive electric, you like the cost of motoring, the peace and quiet of not having an engine or just ‘needed’ a Tesla, however, you now have your green wings as well – bravo!
The writing is on the wall and it is written in big, green letters! We need to give up our efficient, fossil fuel driven vehicles and you are a leader in that change.
People will look back at people like you as the innovators, the ones who made the change, making it better for us all. Encouraging others to embrace low emissions motoring. Whereas they may not build a statue in your honour, you have the right to feel that you are doing something good for us all.
- Petrol Prices Make Others Cry!
‘A petrol station?’ You say? Now what is this place? You mean you don’t charge your vehicle for free using grant installed solar energy from your rooftop solar panels using a home charge point you got installed for 75% discount thanks to another grant having bought a car which was Government subsidised?
When other drivers are queuing up to spend £1.50 a litre (and that is going to date this article more than anything because who knows where petrol prices are going to end up?) you are charging using low emissions, renewable energy. One overnight charge per week gives you all the mileage you need to do the daily commute and it costs next to nothing.
Go on, make them more jealous… Tell them you don’t have to pay road tax or that your company car has no benefit in kind tax. Just be ready to hand them a tissue to wipe their tears as they spend way more than you to get about.
You have shown a massive bit of intelligence, you don’t get held ransom to ‘big fuel’ anymore and, as we all know, smart is the new sexy!
- Tesla
If you are a Tesla driver you have already won because you are making us all jealous. Forget that only a couple of years ago nobody knew who Elon Musk was (although it would have been a great name for a Bond villain). Now he is producing cars that we all lust over.
Red, shiny and sporty, they are the sort of vehicle which would otherwise cry ‘mid-life crisis’ but in case of Tesla this is not the case. They are just the natural choice for luxury motoring. They have the latest technology, they look great and, let’s face it, they are the reason that the other manufacturers have had to up their game when it comes to electric cars.
- You Drive The Future
Okay, you are eco-friendly, intelligently saving money and driving a sporty car which doesn’t have to shout about it, but above all you are part of the future.
You took a ballsy step to drive a new technology, not everyone will do that. Sure, there are plenty of drivers out there, however you are one of an elite. You saw the future of motoring and said ‘yes, I want some of that!’
It takes someone pretty special to be a trailblazer, you can tell your grandchildren that you were one of the first. In a time when everyone else was riding a horse, your ancestors were driving a Ford Model T and now your time has come.
We salute you zero emissions maverick… Here’s to a long battery life and a full Costa points card.