How Does an Electric Vehicle Compare to a Gasoline Car?

Electric vehicle comparison can help you save on fuel and maintenance costs while helping you reduce your emissions. But when it comes time to choose an EV, there are a lot of factors to consider. Depending on how you’ll use your vehicle, up front purchase price, tax rebates and long term savings can affect which type of electric car is right for you.

The biggest concern many potential buyers have about switching to an EV is how far they can drive on a single charge. But this number can vary widely depending on driving habits, cold or hot weather and where you live. Additionally, battery degradation can impact how long your EV can travel over the course of its life.

Electric Vehicle Compare: Choosing the Right EV

Fortunately, most newer EVs can match or exceed the range of internal combustion engine cars and many can even be more affordable to own in the long run. This is partly due to the simplicity of an EV drivetrain, which only has 17 moving parts as opposed to hundreds in traditional gasoline engines.

Additionally, since most people charge their EVs overnight at home, the cost of charging is often much lower than gas prices. And if you factor in that a typical electric car can be more than 80 percent cheaper to maintain than its gasoline counterpart, the long term savings can add up quickly. You can find a comprehensive tool that can compare the upfront and ongoing costs of several different electric models against comparable gasoline cars by visiting the US Department of Energy’s website. The tool allows you to enter your yearly mileage, loan and financing details as well as EPA data, regional electricity rates and local gas prices to get the most accurate results possible.