Electric Car vs. Gas Car
Five main points contribute to buy an electric car or a regular gas engine car. Having a car is essential for most families to resolve their needs. But the main question is, what car should I choose? Vehicles are classifieds into two main categories, electric and gas cars that each one has specific pros and cons.
Comfort
Most families use cars daily, which means they need to maintain their vehicles to work. Cars require a source of energy to function that it can come from a fossil fuel or electric power. Gasoline is one of the available sources of power that one can easily find, although it is more costly versus electricity. On the other hand, while electric power is available almost everywhere, it is not accessible for vehicles in all places. It is vital to have a place to recharge the electric vehicle batteries, as this can be time-consuming. Many areas such as malls, supermarkets, universities, etc. provide electric stations in their parking lots to recharge the electric cars. It can be comfortable for many people to recharging their vehicles in public places, but recharging the car in a private garage is the most convenient option. Having a private garage with easy access to electricity plugs provides a good environment to have a comfortable and affordable position to choose an electric vehicle.
Financial affordability
Financial affordability considers as one of the most important factors to choose a vehicle for the majority of the consumer. While governments allocate several types of grants or financial aids to buy electric cars, still electrical car price tags are more than similar class gas engine cars. Several factors contribute to making a vehicle more affordable. The cost of energy is a significant part of operating a vehicle. Typically, the price of gasoline is more than electricity, but it is more costly to buy or lease electric cars. Therefore, it will be essential to know how much consumers use their vehicles daily as the cost of energy can change the equation. Having an electric car has financial benefit if the consumers drive their vehicles more frequently than just a regular mileage usage. On the other hand, having gas engine vehicles can be a good economical option for many people who use vehicles infrequently. Other factors contribute to the cost of operating a car, such as maintenance.
| Example: Electric Vehicle: Monthly cost of lease/finance after using government grants and aids: $650 USD / $925 CAD Gas engine vehicle: Monthly cost of lease/finance: $400 USD / $575 CAD Cost of electricity: Free Cost of regular gas: $2.50 USD per gallon / $0.90 CAD per litter Millage drive per month: A- 1000 miles / 1600 kilometers B- 3000 miles / 4800 kilometers Cost of gas: assume that car use 10 liters in 100 kilometers A- Cost of gas for 1000 miles / 1600 Kilometers drive is: $101.38 USD / $144 CAD B- Cost of gas for 3000 miles / 4800 kilometers drive is: $304.15 USD / $432 CAD Compare the total prices: Electric vehicle cost per month is: $650 USD / $925 CAD Gas engine cost per month is: A- Total cost for 1000 miles / 1600 kilometer: $400 USD / $575 CAD + $101.38 USD / $144 CAD = $501.38 USD / $719 CAD B- Total cost for 3000 miles / 4800 kilometers: $400 USD / $575 CAD + $304.15 USD / $432 CAD = $704.15 USD / $1007 CAD Result: A- It is more economical to drive gas engine vehicle B- It is more economical to drive electric vehicle *Other cost such as cost of maintenance should be added to have accurate number. |
Maintenance
Maintenance and the cost of maintenance are other points that should put into consideration. Usually, electric cars need lower maintenance than gas engine cars. Maintenance can provide matters for the consumer, such as wasting time to repair the car and the cost of maintenance. Gasoline engine cars need more attention in general, so the consumer should expect to spend more time and money to maintain their vehicle. On the other hand, Electric vehicles need lower maintenance as the electric engine has a smaller number of moving parts such as pistons, gas pumps, timing belts, etc. Reliability is another point that can put into the maintenance section. Several companies manufacture both electric and-or gas engine cars that some of them shown a high degree of reliability from their past productions. The vast use of electric vehicles is relatively newer than gas engine cars; therefore, more inquiries need to implement to understand what cars have better reliability. Lifespan, capacity, and price of batteries are some of the sections that need to work on for electric vehicles.
Environment Friendly
The environment is IMPORTANT. Having an appropriate climate plays an essential role in everyone life; therefore, it is crucial to protect it. Using Eco-friendly vehicles is one of the options to protect the environment. Several zero-emission cars, such as hydrogen or electric vehicles, are manufactured. Zero-emission cars help to reduce the exhaust gas that is a result of the combustion of fossil fuels. Electric car is one of the zero-emission vehicles that make it environmentally friendly. But the substantial question is, is electric vehicles are environmentally friendly? To answer this question, we should know how electricity made. Electricity can produce from using several sources such as fossil fuel, coal, wind, hydropower, etc. It is essential to understand how the power is made in a specific area as electric cars can provide more pollution than people think. In many states, for example, using coal still is the primary source of producing electrical energy that provides a massive amount of pollution. As a result of this, the electricity used by electric vehicles may be made by unfriendly environmental plants. This needs more research and another article to go through all aspects and specific calculations to see all pros and cons. But it is obvious that using electric vehicles can reduce pollution within high-density areas, and this can help people to live in a healthier environment.
Civic benefits
Finding parking is becoming harder and harder in most major cities. Many city by-laws make it mandatory for most public places to allocate additional parking spots for zero-emission cars. This helps the electric vehicle consumer to find a parking in public places easier. Also, a number of electric recharging stations are located in public parking spots to recharge the electric vehicle batteries that make it more convenient for electronic car users to have it. This can be considered as one of the privileges that zero-emission cars have versus regular gas cars.
Conclusion
Electric vehicles have many privileges versus gasoline engine cars. Low cost on energy and maintenance can give the upper hand to electric cars versus combustion engine vehicles. Also, having a zero-emission vehicle helps to have a healthier environment for people, especially in major cities, as well as having comfortable parking spots. On the other hand, the lower price tag for regular gas engine vehicles makes it more affordable for the majority of people to purchase one of them. Moreover, gas engine vehicles don’t require to spend hour/s to be recharged. In the end, affordability is the most critical part of purchasing a product for most people, and it seems the electric car manufacturers should reduce their price tags to make it more affordable for middle-income class people.