Electric vehicle (EV) guide

Written by: Rangicars

Date updated: 22^nd August 2026

What are electric cars?

They are exactly the same as conventional cars but instead of being powered by an internal combustion engine (i.e. petrol or diesel), they are powered by an electric motor(s). Electric motors are not engines per se, but they are the EV equivalent of a conventional engine (Custard, 2025; Katsianis, 2020; Kilpatrick, 2022; Wilkinson, 2025).

What are its CO2 emissions?

None. EVs do not emit a single gram of carbon dioxide because they don’t burn fuel. A ‘normal’ car creates CO2 as a by-product of ‘internally-combusting’ fuel and air. EVs do not have this problem (Custard, 2025; Katsianis, 2020; Kilpatrick, 2022; Wilkinson, 2025).

Nevertheless, there is an official car showroom emissions colour chart (see below). In the case of EVs, EV’s colour charts are generally right at the top in Band A (0g of CO2 per km). Please note that the colour-coded part of the chart is the important part. The technical purple part is not relevant to this guide.

Source: VCA (2026). Car showroom emissions colour chart (electric)

Can EVs go as far on a full charge of electricity (real-world range on combined cycle) as its petrol/diesel equivalents can on a full tank of fuel (real-world range on combined cycle)?

No, sadly. According to EV Database, the EV (available in the UK) with the longest range is the 2024 Mercedes-Benz EQS 450+, with a real-world range of 425 miles on the combined cycle. This is a big, premium limousine (saloon) with a very large price of £112,620 when new (not including optional extras). Let’s now compare this to a fuel-powered car. Specifically, the 2014 BMW 520d (190bhp) SE 4d Step Auto (saloon). When new, this car cost £34,715 (not including extras). This particular has a petrol-powered engine, which is usually not as economical as diesel. It also an automatic gearbox, which is usually not as economical as a manual gearbox (in terms of petrol and diesel cars, alike). This car isn’t even in the same class (executive class) as the Mercedes (luxury electric class). Nevertheless, according to CAR Magazine, the BMW has a real-world range (combined) of 630 miles. That’s 205 miles (or 48%) more than the Mercedes (Custard, 2025; EV Database, 2024; Katsianis, 2020; Kilpatrick, 2022; Parkers, 2016; Wilkinson, 2025).

It is true that are there are so many petrol and diesel cars that would actually return lower miles per tank (combined) than the Mercedes and other electric cars with very long ranges (combined). Nevertheless, this does not detract from the fact that there are countless other comparisons that can be made in this way at both ends of the price scale, as well as across the car-class spectrum (e.g. city cars). In most (if not, all) cases, the same result would most-probably occur: the ICE (petrol/diesel) car would almost-certainly end up with the higher range on the combined cycle than the EV (Custard, 2025; Katsianis, 2020; Kilpatrick, 2022; Wilkinson, 2025).

Then there is the issue of infrastructure. If there were as many individual rapid/ultra-chargers in this country as there are individual petrol/diesel pumps, and the prices of these chargers were the same rates as those of domestic EV tariffs, then range would be completely irrelevant, because EVs have exponentially lower ‘filling up’ costs with electricity than virtually any petrol or diesel car ever made (Custard, 2025; Katsianis, 2020; Kilpatrick, 2022; Wilkinson, 2025).

However, this is not the case. Rapid/ultra-rapid chargers and several times more expensive than home chargers with fixed EV tariffs. This means that in actual fact, charging from most (if not, all) public fast-chargers actually return similar ‘fill-up’ costs to petrol and diesel cars! (Custard, 2025; Katsianis, 2020; Kilpatrick, 2022; Wilkinson, 2025).

In short, if you are someone who drives up and down the country on a regular basis, electric cars are out of the question in terms of long-term financial viability. However, if you can afford those similar running costs and are willing choose EVs to ‘save the planet’, then EVs are the only car for you (Custard, 2025; Katsianis, 2020; Kilpatrick, 2022; Wilkinson, 2025).

How do I decide whether or not EVs would fit around my particular lifestyle?

Generally speaking, YouGov (2025) found the following in terms of the UK’s fully-licenced driving population. The largest proportion of UK driving licence holders (41%) drive 10-20 miles per day. Furthermore, 28% drive less than 10 miles per day. So 69% (nearly 7 in 10) of the UK’s fully-licenced drivers drive 20 miles per day or less, equating to a maximum weekly and annual mileage of 140 and 7,280 miles, respectively. If this applies to your lifestyle, then going electric should be feasible for you, provided that you have a home EV-charger installed with a fixed-rate EV tariff. Home EV-chargers vary in price depending on their maximum charging capacity each hour (i.e. how much AC current can be charged per kWh). Alternatively, there are certain energy providers that will install a home EV-charger FOR FREE on the condition that you buy your EV from them (Intelligent EV, 2026; Save up to 40%, 2026; Zwicker et al., 2023).

Of course, every individual is different. The analysis by YouGov is only shown as a guide. Only you as an individual will know whether EVs fit around your lifestyle. In any case, it goes without saying that the world is currently going through a climate crisis which seems to be getting worse each year, particularly in the last 35 years, or so. If you do not see yourself as a petrolhead and are indifferent to whether or not your car makes any engine sounds, then electric is absolutely the way to go for you (Intelligent EV, 2026; Save up to 40%, 2026; Zwicker et al., 2023).

If you are particularly concerned about the environment but can’t make electric work for you, there is no need to worry. There are plug-in hybrid cars available to the UK market that have remarkably-low official CO2 emissions. For instance, the 2023 Honda CR-V SUV 2.0 ePHEV Advance Tech 5dr eCVT has an official WTLP measurement of an astonishing 18g of CO2 per km. That is virtually nothing in the context of car emissions. Yes, you are unlikely to achieve this figure in the real-world, but the same applies to any other car of any other fuel type, electric or otherwise. So whatever the ‘real-world’ emissions of all these different cars are, ultra-low emission plug-in hybrids such as the Honda will still almost-certainly return CO2 emissions that are several times lower than those of even the lowest-polluting petrol cars (e.g. city cars). (Parkers, 2023; Wilkinson, 2025; Wilkinson and Armitage, 2021; Vousden, 2025; Vousden, 2026).