I’ve been driving an all-electric VW ID4 now for the last two-plus years and I want to report on what the experience has been owning and driving an EV.

First and perhaps foremost, the driving experience itself is good enough that I would never consider a gas engine car again. Driving an electric car is not a compromise. It is a true upgrade over conventional gas engine cars.

The ride is quieter than that of any of the most expensive gas-powered cars. Music and conversation is far better and the wear and tear of driving with the sound of an internal combustion engines is no longer.

The turning radius on my and other electric cars is far superior as the smaller electric engine allows the front wheels to turn further into the engine compartment. This car, despite being an SUV size, accelerates better than anything I’ve ever driven, sports cars included. Passing other cars is more efficient and the feel that speed, when needed, is always there is comforting. 

As for expense, I leased my car and after both state and federal rebates and with the trade in of my former car, I pay less than $350 per month in the car payments. Additionally, I figure that, when gas at the pump costs something like $3.50 per gallon, I’m saving about $45 per month during normal driving use.  

The unseen but very real additional benefit of an electric car is that as I drive, the electric car produces no tail pipe emissions. That benefit is for all of us.

Lower maintenance costs is an often mentioned positive as well and this has proven to be true. Electric engines have far fewer moving parts than an internal combustion engine (ICE) and the EV engine also has no costly oil changes or the normal aging that other non-regenerative braking systems suffer from. This translates to both time and dollars saved.  

All these benefits have made me an advocate for electric cars but there is also a true downside to owning an electric car today. Two issues are particularly germane here in Maine.

First our cold winters reduce the ability of my electric car batteries to hold as much of a charge compared to the warmth of summer days. This last summer the best full charge mileage I experienced was 305 miles, while last winter a full charge after a cold winter’s night was 100 miles less. This will probably get better over time as battery technology improves.

Also worth noting is that electric car mileage performs better in stop and go travel than on the open highway. This is because the battery gets additional charge off of the engine when breaking or deaccelerating in stop and go driving. 

The other more significant issue is that Maine and a good bit of rural America is not prepared yet for charging electric cars while traveling distances beyond a normal charging range.

There are three levels of chargers for electric cars:

Level one is as if you plugged your car into a normal 120-volt plug in your house. To get a full charge on a level one charger will take the better part of two days.

Level 2 chargers are what most owners install at their home and this generally takes 5-6 hours for a full charge. Perfect for an overnight charge as you sleep. The level 2 charger at my house cost about $750 installed.

Level 3 chargers, which can vary in output, are the quickest charge using DC power and they usually take no more than 45 mins to get a fully charged battery. Obviously, if one is traveling beyond your normal cars full charge range, the level 3 chargers are the only ones that make any sense. This is where the infrastructure has so far failed all EV owners who don’t own a Tesla.

Tesla cars were built in parity with the roll-out of their now 2,000 plus level three charging stations nation-wide. The rest of us EV owners are left with very poorly operated charging systems offered by a few companies that are thinly scattered and often don’t work at all.

According to Efficiency Maine, we currently have a paltry seven locations for level three chargers in our state with not one located along the coastal corridor until you reach Kennebunk. Plans to build more in 2024 are in place but for now it’s risky traveling long distance in Maine with an EV.  

Even our largest city, Portland, is woefully lacking in level three chargers for anything other than a Tesla. This has to change if we are to fully adopt electric vehicles. As it stands now, many new Maine EV users will be hard-pressed to plan long trips and may be turned off by what will be the eventual way we all will drive our cars. 

Des FitzGerald lives in Rockport