Most EVs have around 350-550km of range on a single charge. They only lose about 10% of their charge when not plugged in on the coldest days. This means you can still drive 300-500km, more than enough for most trips when you can recharge when you get home. Remember, gas and diesel vehicles also lose range in the winter too!

According to CAA-Quebec, a good rule of thumb is to plan your range to be double your daily driving needs in the winter to ensure you arrive with enough charge. To maximize range in the winter, plug in for 20-30 minutes before heading out.

Here’s a great recount of what it’s like to drive an EV in the winter from way back in 2016.

An EV that’s plugged in will start right away, every time, much like a gas car with a block heater. What’s more, they heat up instantly, the same way that electric appliances like hair dryers and toasters do. This means you can drive away on those -25C days without having to wait for your car to heat up. Through “thermal preconditioning” - pulling energy from the grid to heat the car, rather than the battery - this allows the electric vehicle to go further, too.

Electric vehicle owners report over 95% of the time they only need to plug in at home, which makes sense when the total range of an average electric car is over 500km.

Go straight home without stopping at the gas station - that’s what we call convenient!

With network maps like PlugShare, and EVHype, and tools and guides like ChargeHub to plan your route, driving an electric vehicle is getting easier every year. Since electric vehicles are relatively new on the market, in-car technology makes navigating easy. Most EVs combine battery data with their GPS units so that you can predict how much charge you will have at your destination.

While you can install a fast Level 2 charger in your home, lots of people get by just fine by plugging into a regular extension cord - as shown in this video. Canmore and Banff currently have 5 EV charging locations each, if you do need to top up with a faster charger. Plus, there are more and more public electric vehicle charging stations being installed across Canada, including the Peaks to Prairies network across southern Alberta.

It’s worthwhile to do the math on electric vehicle ownership, considering leasing or financing options, rebates, and fuel cost savings.

For example, with an average driving distance of 15,000km per year, driving an electric car can save you between $1,500 - $2,000 annually on fuel and maintenance costs.

Electric vehicles (EVs) have 1/10th of the moving parts of a gas-powered car, which means less maintenance costs. Think of the components you need to maintain in a gas-powered car - those things simply don’t exist in EVs: no oil changes, no spark plugs, no belts, no carburetor, no alternator, no fuel injectors…

Less maintenance means more money in your pocket.

In Alberta, EVs currently produce 2-3 times less CO2 per km driven than gas-powered cars. The electricity that powers an EV can still produce CO2 emissions, but this will only improve as Alberta is quickly transitioning its electrical grid towards a greener mix. You can compare how much CO2 different gas-powered and electric vehicles produce in different parts of Canada using the Alberta Electric Vehicle Association’s website

EV batteries are made from lithium-ion, which is the same battery used in smartphones, laptops and most rechargeable household electronics. Lithium-ion batteries are 90% recyclable and a number of companies are looking at using used EV batteries as second-life energy storage units.

Thanks to features common in most electric vehicles (such as a low centre of gravity and large crumple zone), EVs consistently rank highly in the NHTSA’s annual safety ratings (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).

EVs only have one gear set, which means the ride is completely smooth: there’s no “jerking” between gears or engine vibration like you’d get with an internal combustion engine. Ask an electric vehicle owner how they like their ride, and chances are they’ll say it’s fun, smooth and comfortable to drive.

Due to “instant torque,” electric vehicles can accelerate quickly - so fast, in fact, that you might need to watch your speed! For example, the Tesla Model 3 can accelerate from 0-100km/h in as little as 3.3 seconds (Tesla Canada).

Want to see how an EV feels to drive for yourself? Contact your electric car dealers to see if you can take a test drive today.

Electric vehicles are so quiet that new regulations require them to produce artificial sound for safety reasons - about 40dB, quieter than an average conversation.

Less noise pollution in our communities and a better chance to enjoy music and podcasts on the drive - that’s what we like to hear.