What options should you definitely take on your EV?
What options should you definitely take on your EV?
Getting a new electric vehicle? Then you need to think carefully about the options you take. Compared to a diesel or petrol vehicle, an EV already comes pretty well equipped as standard. Yet there are still a lot of practical extras that significantly increase your driving comfort and especially your driving range.
Because most EV models are brand new, they also tend to have the very latest technological gadgets on the market. Moreover, many carmakers offer the option to further extend that technology at a later date in the form of an option. Think of software and application updates or systems like Apple CarPlay. But what other elements should you definitely consider when configuring and ordering an EV? Below we list some useful options:
Heat pump A vehicle with an internal combustion engine uses the engine's waste heat to heat the vehicle. However, an electric motor generates little heat, so an EV has to compensate with other solutions, such as a heat pump. That is a system that extracts heat from the outside air or uses the residual heat from the battery to bring the passenger compartment to the right temperature. That way, you put less strain on the battery and increase the driving range of the vehicle.
Heated seats and steering wheel A warm seat or a heated steering wheel... often that's all you need to get a pleasant feeling of warmth, so you don't need to run the heater at full blast. What's more, the power your seat and steering wheel heaters use simply comes from the battery and not the battery that powers the engine. This again saves energy and increases your driving range.**
Tinted windows In many vehicles, this is included as standard and if not, it is definitely a good idea to consider it to extend your battery life. After all, tinted windows help to keep the vehicle cool, so your air conditioning doesn't have to work as hard. **
'Driver only' air conditioning Speaking of air conditioning, it is also interesting to choose a system that splits the air conditioning. While a classic solution cools the entire space, with a more advanced system you can choose to provide cooling only to the driver's seat. Especially if you are often alone in the vehicle, it makes no sense to cool the entire room. Again, this saves energy.
Navigation technology Anyone who has already driven an EV knows that you really don't need to worry about driving range. Provided you plan your trip well and stay informed about charging options during the drive, of course. That is why it is useful to have good navigation technology on board, so that you always know where there are charging stations and can easily see if the station in question is available.
Don't focus on driving range The above options will ensure that you get the most out of your EV experience. In any case, do not let driving range dictate your choice of model. Many drivers want a vehicle that allows them to drive as far as possible without recharging. But for a longer driving range, you also need a bigger battery, which translates into a higher purchase price. In practice, we see that the available driving range of an average EV is more than sufficient for our daily use. So the budget you save by doing this is better spent on extra options that in turn increase your energy efficiency.
In time, many options in this blog will be standard on every EV. This is an evolution we have also seen on combustion engine vehicles. For example, did you know that even the right-side mirror was still an option on many vehicles in the early years of LeasePlan (1970s)? In particular, systems that make sure you get more out of the vehicle's battery may soon become a regular feature of equipment. Many brands have already started this movement in the meantime.
