Cars and all their parts, terms, or repair jargon can be confusing, even if you're mechanically inclined. As electric vehicles continue to gain popularity, we now have a world full of entirely new sayings, acronyms, and more that you'll want to know and understand. Contact online >>
Cars and all their parts, terms, or repair jargon can be confusing, even if you're mechanically inclined. As electric vehicles continue to gain popularity, we now have a world full of entirely new sayings, acronyms, and more that you'll want to know and understand.
Sure, cars come with an owner's manual, but if you're looking for a quick definition for some common terms, an EV glossary, we have you covered. I'm not talking about horsepower, torque, or even watts, as those are all pretty standard. Instead, read on to find out what classifies a vehicle as a PHEV, what EVSP or MPGe means, and what the heck a CHAdeMO is.
For starters, here are multiple standard EV terms of classifications you'll see or hear more frequently, like when you're shopping for a new vehicle at a dealership. These may help you decide between an EV and a hybrid and know the difference between certain features, or choose to explore other options. Then, we'll dig into charging and other acronyms a bit later.
When it comes to charging, things can quickly get very confusing. That's because there are level 1, 2, and 3 chargers; DC fast-charging; multiple charging port types for different brands or countries; and more.
While many of these terms and acronyms are the most common for buying or charging EVs, many others exist. There are countless different systems, control modules, cooling and heating pipes, and more, which combined deliver the experience we know today as electric vehicles. Many of these differ from traditional ICE vehicles. Here are a few others you could come across.
If you''re on the hunt for a new car (or even a used one, come to think of it) for the first time in a blue moon, it won''t have escaped your attention that electric cars are now everywhere.
Virtually every mainstream manufacturer either has a range of electric cars on sale already, or will do in the very near future. Not least because the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles is set to be outlawed in 2030. Even hybrids - which mix engines with electric power - will be banned by 2035. Nope, emissions really aren''t trendy any more.
Anyway, those deadlines mean lots of people are now at the start of what we''ll regrettably refer to as their ''electric car journey'' (ugh), and so will be asking themselves questions like ''What is an electric car, exactly?'' and ''How do electric cars work?''
You may be among them. If so, congratulations! You''re in the right place to have your most pressing electric car questions answered. Keep scrolling and we''ll bring you up to speed with the very basics of this exciting new land on the Planet Car map
Let''s start at the very beginning: an electric car is very simply any car that uses electricity as its primary source of propulsion. Instead of an engine and fuel tank, most electric cars use one or more electric motors to generate propulsion, which are fed by a battery; much like the one you''ll find in your smartphone. Only bigger. Much bigger.
''EV'' stands for ''electric vehicle'', and the shorthand version has become common parlance among car-writing types who easily get fed up of typing out ''electric vehicle'' every time it comes up. Lazy so and so''s, eh?
Ah, BEV is merely an extension of EV meaning ''battery electric vehicle''. This term is usually deployed to differentiate between various types of ''electrified'' vehicle, as in those that have an electric component in the powertrain but aren''t themselves fully electric. Ever heard the phrases ''self-charging hybrid'' or ''plug-in hybrid''? Yup, those are not BEVs.
Not all electric-car set-ups are the same, but generally speaking electric cars work by using energy stored in a battery to feed one or more electric motors to provide drive. Mechanically speaking they are much simpler than internal combustion powertrains as they feature only one moving part, with motors harnessing the force that''s generated by running a current through a magnetic field (yup, electromagnetism, physics fans).
Almost all electric cars make do without a gearbox, which means there''s no clutch pedal; just a brake and an accelerator. So they drive like automatics, even though, technically, they aren''t.
Something you''ll need to get used to is that electric cars are virtually silent, with very little motor noise compared to that of a typical engine. Very weird at first, but you''ll get used to it.
Another side benefit of using electric motors is something called regenerative braking: when you lift off the throttle to slow down, the motors can be reversed to harvest recycled electricity from that forward momentum, which slows you down without using the brake pedal and simultaneously gives you a bit more juice for driving. Neat, huh?
All electric cars have zero tailpipe emissions, because they have, er, no tailpipe. Basically, when you drive around there isn''t a steady stream of CO2 and other harmful gases spewing out the back. And at the very least that''s good for air quality, especially in built-up areas.
But are electric cars truly zero-emission things? That''s where people are divided. Some people (quite fairly) point out that if the electricity has been generated by a coal or gas power station, then there''s still a CO2 cost to factor into EV driving. This is something that will improve over the coming decades as we (hopefully) adopt more green sources of energy.
READ MORETop Gear's top 20 electric cars
Critics also highlight that electric cars tend to be more damaging to manufacture than internal combustion vehicles, due to the precious metals used in current battery technology (think cobalt, lithium etc) and the need to pack them onto shipping containers to feed production lines. Again, it''s a long-term issue that should improve the greener we go and the more advanced the tech gets.
Ah, now that''s the million pound question. We won''t go into a fully-fledged personal assessment here, but you''ll need to weigh up a few things: firstly, the purchasing/lease costs of an EV (because the tech is new, they tend to be more expensive than equivalent petrol and diesel cars) and how much you''d make back from running on electricity (which, if you charge up at home, should be cheaper per mile than if you were using fuel from a pump).
Then you need to factor in what kind of driving you do: lots of short trips to and from home, or long-distance travel from one end of the country to the other? Electric cars are somewhat limited by range, with the longest-range electric cars offering 300+ miles from a single charge. Is that enough for you? And if it isn''t, can you find an ultra-fast charging point on your route to top up as needed? Welcome to the dilemmas of electric-car driving.
Intrigued? Why not read our 10-step guide on how to buy an electric car?
''EV'' generally stands for ''Electric Vehicle'' or ''Electric Vehicles,'' which are vehicles that most commonly run on electric power only, as opposed to gas-powered or internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. In this guide we delve into the world of EVs, and answer some of the most common questions associated with owning and running an electric car.
An electric vehicle, or EV, is any vehicle that uses an electric motor for propulsion. Types of electric vehicles include Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs), Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs), Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs).
Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV or EVs) are the more recognizable electric vehicles on the road today; these include cars like the Tesla Model 3, Hyundai Ioniq 5, and Nissan Leaf. BEVs, often also referred to by the simplified "EV" acronym, are powered exclusively by electricity through large rechargeable battery packs. All BEVs need to be charged by AC or DC electricity — simply plug in your car to add range. Modern BEVs can deliver up to 500 miles of range, with most options offering around 300 miles.
Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV) are the most common electric vehicles for sale; examples include the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight. Hybrids earned their name by combining a conventional internal combustion engine with an electric powertrain. Compared to a regular gas-powered car, the electric powertrain adds power and efficiency, maximizing gas mileage.
Compared to a BEV, a Hybrid never needs to be plugged in. The battery used is much smaller and is charged either by the gasoline engine or through regenerative braking. The full electric range of an HEV is quite small, typically in the 5-to-10-mile range. However, these cars are designed to switch regularly between gas and EV modes to maximize fuel efficiency.
Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) provide a nice balance between HEVs and BEVs. A plug-in hybrid uses a bigger battery and electric motor than a regular hybrid, delivering a larger fully electric range. As the name implies, a PHEV does need to be regularly plugged in and recharged to maximize efficiency.
Because a PHEV uses a larger battery than an HEV, these cars will drive like a BEV on a full charge and like an HEV when the battery depletes. The batteries generally deliver around 30 to 50 miles of full electric range, and once the battery is depleted, you will not be stuck on the side of the road. The gasoline engine will resume its role as the primary form of propulsion, and the vehicle will perform like a regular HEV.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles are quite an interesting, yet novel technology. Behind the wheel, the experience will be similar to a BEV, since both use an electric motor as their primary form of propulsion.
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