You have never driven an electric car and are wondering what the differences are and what you should know in advance? Our trainees Chris and Lydia have taken an electric car from the fleet and show in their operating instructions what is important when making the switch.
In our instruction video, Chris and Lydia are on the road with the Volkswagen E-Golf. Take a ride with them and learn the most important steps from planning, to starting, to driving, to arriving!
Operating instructions STEP 1: PLAN ROUTE AND CONTROL CHARGE STATUS
The biggest switch from petrol or diesel to a purely electric vehicle is due to today's battery capacities and the density of charging stations in Germany. Small errands or trips as a delivery service are no problem for e-cars. Longer distances, however, require some planning.
The electric car route planner from goingelectric.de or the interactive map in the SachsenEnergie StromTanken app are suitable for this.
GOINGELECTRIC.COM
As with other navigation services, enter your starting point and destination. Now click on "Autoroute". The search determines all available charging stations on the route and automatically calculates the optimal route. Under "Options" you can select the electric car you are using so that the route planner automatically calculates the battery capacity and the average energy consumption per 100 kilometres.
The calculation of the route planner is based on the assumption that the e-car is "fully fuelled" at the start of the journey, i.e. the charge level is as close to 100 percent as possible. It is therefore important, as with the combustion car, to look at the corresponding speedometer before the journey. It is advisable to use every parking space for charging, so that you can always be sure to be on the road with a maximally charged vehicle.
Operating Instructions STEP 2: STARTING THE E-AUTO AND DRIVING AWAY
Those who already drive a diesel or petrol engine with an automatic transmission do not have to get used to the gearshifts in an electric car. Here, too, there is a gear lever with the modes "Park" (P), "Reverse" (R), "Idle" (N for "no-load") and "Drive" (D for "drive").
To start the engine, turn the ignition switch as usual or press the corresponding button. Immediately noticeable: The engine noise is minimal. This should definitely be taken into account when driving, because passers-by, cyclists and other motorists perceive an electric car primarily with their eyes, but not so much with their ears. In order to better protect visually impaired people, for example, the USA and Europe are considering artificial noises from an electric car. Here you can find out what a prescribed acceleration sound for electric cars could sound like according to the "UN Economic Commission for Europe".
Anticipatory driving is therefore particularly important until then in order to protect other road users. To prevent additional charging times, it is also advisable to only switch on energy consumers such as air conditioning, heating or ventilation when it is really necessary.
After a quiet drive without any emissions, it is best to park at a charging station. This way, you can be sure that there will be enough "electricity in the tank" for the next trip.
CONCLUSION: SOME ADAPTATION IS NECESSARY
In our operating instructions, you learned what to expect on your first long drive with an electric car. Users of purely internal combustion cars with manual transmission will have to get used to things. However, if you already drive a vehicle with automatic transmission or a hybrid, some of the functions will already be familiar to you. It is important to plan the routes in advance, but this only takes a few minutes thanks to new online tools. In general, it is advisable to start with shorter city or interurban journeys to familiarise yourself. After that, longer routes with intermediate charges are no longer a problem.
umschalten.de wishes you a lot of fun on your first drive with your electric car!
In our next video, you will learn how charging at charging stations works, what different charging stations there are and what to look out for. We look forward to seeing you again.
