👋 Meet Gill

“My EV journey dates to 2012 when I first test drove a Nissan LEAF. Now there are three EVs on my cul-de-sac.”

🚙 Drives: Kia E-Niro
📍 Lives: Chester
🔌 Charges: Mostly at home

⚡ I have been an electric driver since late 2018, when I finally decided to get rid of my old diesel and buy an EV.

I looked at the growing second hand EV market and wanted a car that suited my driving needs and budget. I found a 2016 LEAF with a 100-mile range that was perfect for the school run as well as the commute to the local railway station. After 18 months with the LEAF, I bought a new Kia e-Niro.

🧳 Taking the e-Niro on long journeys is not an issue

I get around 260 miles range out of the e-Niro and have not needed to recharge the vehicle in public yet. I have taken my kids to North Wales and not even needed to recharge. They are going to grow up driving an EV – I’m convinced that they will never drive a petrol or diesel car.

🚘 There are many features in the e-Niro that I like. It is like the Tardis!

It is so spacious and feels very safe. The technology in the vehicle is very advanced. My children love the e-Niro. My daughter who is six is thrilled with it especially because it has cup holders everywhere.

Just before lockdown I took the LEAF to the playground at my daughter’s school to show the kids what an EV is and how it works. I did a short presentation with Pod Point, the EV charging company. We talked about how we all need to switch to EVs for the benefit of the environment and for the clean air that it will deliver. The children were very inquisitive and asked loads of questions about EVs.

💷 My e-Niro costs me 1p per mile or less compared to 15p per mile for a diesel!

I get my electricity from Octopus Energy and switched to the supplier after I knew I was buying an EV. What’s cool is that my EV charger communicates with Octopus Energy through my Ohme smart charger and only charges when electricity is at its cheapest and when there are lots of renewables on the system.

For example, when it is a really windy night, I get paid to charge my car because there is a surplus of renewable energy on the system. More often, charging will only happen when energy is at the lowest tariff. Octopus Energy has been brilliant so far and is very responsive. The CEO even responds to issues over Twitter and email.