Top 7 EV driving tips for a successful journey

If you’ve already gone electric with a new electric vehicle or are thinking about joining the EV revolution, you’ll need to read Parco’s top tips to help you win when driving electric.

By following our top tips and hacks, not only could you save money, but you could also save time and stress and do your bit for a cleaner environment too.

Charge smarter to save money

Rapid chargers are becoming more and more available but they can be a more expensive way to charge your vehicle. Use these chargers when you’re out and about, but try and top up at home before you go out. When you are charging at home, set the charge at the cheapest tariff time to help keep costs down.

Plan your journey and charging stops

It’s always best to plan ahead as costs can vary between locations. Use an app or website like InstaVolt’s charge point map before you set off to check locations, charge power options, availability, the cost per kWh and site amenities. You might fancy a coffee or burger whilst you’re charging and with this clever little app you can select your nearest location and your preferred coffee brand whilst your car charges and you refuel!

Only charge at 80%

Charging to 80% of your battery’s capacity usually helps prolong the battery life rather than always giving it a full 100% charge. If you’ve got a long journey planned, charge it to 100% for that extra range. When you're out and about, charging to 80% will also speed up your charge time and free up the charger for someone else.

Keep your tyres properly inflated

Under-inflated tyres can reduce an EV's range, so check your tyre pressure regularly and keep them inflated to the recommended level.

Monitor your speed

High speeds can significantly reduce a vehicle's range, so try to keep your speed within the optimal range for your vehicle (and always within the speed limit).

Fastest route is not always the most efficient

The latest EVs built-in sat nav’s not only show you the fastest route, but their system can communicate with the car’s sensors and software to show you the most efficient route by avoiding traffic or hills. Very smart!

Help your car out!

We all get used to some of the gadgets in modern cars like heated seats. Just remember that they use electric to work, and so the more you can do to help, the more mileage you’ll get back in return. Wear an extra layer if it is cold so the heating is not set to 22 degrees. If it’s just you in the car, just heat your seat. And when there’s ice on the windows, scrape it off with a scraper rather than let your car waste mileage on heating the screen.