7 Electric Car Questions, Answered

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Charge in minutes, free: Tesla Superchargers, strategically located across North America, replenish about half the battery of the Model S in as little as 20 minutes. Shown here: a Supercharger station in Columbus, Texas.
Charge in minutes, free: Tesla Superchargers, strategically located across North America, replenish about half the battery of the Model S in as little as 20 minutes. Shown here: a Supercharger station in Columbus, Texas.
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This home solar array in Bellingham, Wash., produces 75 percent of the household’s electricity, including enough to recharge its owners’ 2013 Nissan Leafs.
This home solar array in Bellingham, Wash., produces 75 percent of the household’s electricity, including enough to recharge its owners’ 2013 Nissan Leafs.
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The 107-MPGe Smart ForTwo Electric Drive carries a base price of $25,000, making it one of the more affordable electric cars on the U.S. market.
The 107-MPGe Smart ForTwo Electric Drive carries a base price of $25,000, making it one of the more affordable electric cars on the U.S. market.
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With its battery fully charged, the Toyota Prius Plug-in delivers up to 95 MPGe.
With its battery fully charged, the Toyota Prius Plug-in delivers up to 95 MPGe.
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Plug-in hybrids, such as the Chevrolet Volt, can travel on electricity alone for shorter trips, and seamlessly transition to gasoline power for longer excursions.
Plug-in hybrids, such as the Chevrolet Volt, can travel on electricity alone for shorter trips, and seamlessly transition to gasoline power for longer excursions.

No longer hypothetical vehicles of the future, electric cars are shaking up the market much like hybrids did more than a decade ago. Nine models of rechargeable vehicles — all-electric and plug-in hybrid electric cars — are now widely available in the United States, and nearly every major automaker has at least one electric vehicle (EV) in the works. Here, we answer some of your most frequently asked electric car questions to help you better evaluate whether one of these electrifying rides may be right for you.

1. How much does it cost to drive an electric car?

Electric cars’ efficiency is measured in MPGe, which stands for “miles per gallon equivalent” and is the metric that federal agencies use to compare these vehicles’ energy consumption with that of gasoline-powered vehicles. (Our chart 6 Standout Electric Cars lists the MPGe for six top electric vehicles.) As impressive as 114 MPGe — the rating for the all-electric 2015 Nissan Leaf — may sound, perhaps a more practical way to gauge the money-saving merits of an EV is to look at the cost to drive one.

Consider the cost to fuel 50 miles of driving: With a 30-mpg gasoline car, assuming $3.50 per gallon of gasoline, the expense for a 50-mile trip would be $5.83. Assuming a rate of 12 cents per kilowatt-hour (kwh), the cost to drive the all-electric Leaf 50 miles would be $1.80.

Mile by mile, you’d pay about two-thirds less to charge an electric car versus what you’d pay to fuel a gasoline car. Run our Leaf example against the numbers for a 50-mpg hybrid car, and you’d still arrive at about 50 percent savings per mile. With that in mind, a savvy electric car salesperson could tell you, “The more you have to drive, the more you’ll save.”

  • Published on Nov 7, 2014
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