Used electric cars for sale

Who are electric cars suitable for?

Electric cars are no longer restricted in their use cases, like they were in the early 2010s when fewer mainstream models existed.

These days, you can pick up a huge selection of used electric cars to suit any type of driver, whether you’re after an affordable city runabout, a long-distance mile-muncher or a high-performance machine.

Electric cars operate by carrying around stored energy in a battery pack, usually beneath the floor and between the front and rear wheels. You can expect ranges from 100 miles up to 400 miles and beyond.

Electric motors offer instant throttle response, so even the slowest models can feel spritely around town compared with petrol and diesel models.

Many EVs appeal to eco-conscious drivers and tech enthusiasts, but you can also get along with an electric car even if you’re not a fan of cars at all – they’re not all super-fast, high-tech spaceships.

Benefits of driving an electric car

There are so many benefits associated with driving an electric car, but the most obvious is the elimination of tailpipe emissions.

Electricity is also significantly cheaper than fossil fuels at the pump, so you could save a small fortune by swapping out for an EV.

We really enjoy plugging an EV in at home after a long trip and waking up the next morning to a full battery, without ever having to stand at the pump in the cold.

Electric cars can also offer a smoother ride, because they’re all automatic. Most only have one forward gear, but some quicker cars have more than one, but either way, power delivery is linear and effortless. Without the sound of an engine, they’re also more relaxing to drive.

Types of electric cars

Whether you’re after a hatchback, saloon, estate, SUV or any other type of vehicle, you should be able to find a range of options for you as a driver.

There are even some coupés and convertibles starting to become available, showing just how mainstream electric power has become.

You don’t have to pay a fortune, either. Sure, there are plenty of high-end and luxury options available costing well over £100,000 new, but there are also brand-new EVs for comfortably under £30,000, and used EVs for half of this.

You’ll notice that many used electric cars for sale are SUVs. This is because the batteries under the floor can reduce headroom, therefore using the tall shape of an SUV eliminates this issue.

As car manufacturers got used to packaging electric cars, more compact hatchback and saloon models started to become available, and they offer equally as spacious interiors.

Pick from BMW electric cars like the i4 Gran Coupé and iX, Audi electric cars like the Q4 e-tron and e-tron SUV, and Mercedes electric cars like the EQA and EQC.

What affects driving range?

The driving range of an electric car – meaning how far it’ll go on one charge – depends on a number of factors, which can make owning an EV slightly daunting for those coming from petrol and diesel power.

Once you understand this, running an electric car becomes second nature and before long, you’ll likely forget to even look at the charge level.

Apart from the usual factors, like driving style (how aggressive you are with acceleration), terrain type (whether you’re driving on the flat or up hills) and how full your car is (with people and luggage), there’s another key factor.

Electric cars are less efficient in the cold weather. Couple this with the fact that heating systems can take a lot of energy, and you might lose some miles of your maximum in the cold winter months.

Manufacturers often fit heat pumps to their cars to improve the efficiency of their heating systems, but sometimes they’re optional extras that people didn’t pay for. If you’re concerned about range, look for a used EV with a heat pump.

You also need to bear in mind the different types of charging. Most commonly at homes and public car parks, you’ll find 7kW connections, which will fill an average electric car in around seven to 11 hours – or overnight.

You can plug one into a standard three-pin domestic socket, but it’ll take over 24 hours for a full charge with most cars, and this isn’t generally recommended unless it’s an emergency.

They both plug into your car’s Type 2 connector (note that a small handful of early EVs used Type 1 connectors).

Another common charger you might come across is the rapid charger, which varies from 50kW to 350kW in most circumstances. It’ll usually charge your battery to 80% in around half an hour to an hour.

It slows down from 80-100% to preserve the health of your battery, because rapid charging can be damaging if done over and over again without using slower home chargers.

Most cars use a CCS connector, which comprises the Type 2 connector and an additional bit that plugs into an adjoining port. Some cars, like the Nissan LEAF, use a separate port altogether, called CHAdeMO.

CHAdeMO rapid chargers are generally less common simply because of the popularity of CCS and the fact that most manufacturers now use this.

Electric car technology

Electric cars are known for their technology, whether that’s the large screens and powerful processors or the clever battery tech that goes on behind the scenes.

There’s a lot that you can’t see, such as regenerative braking systems that recuperate otherwise lost energy under deceleration to prevent wasting energy – maximising your miles per kWh.

Although that will add a tiny amount of juice back into the battery, your main charging will be done when plugged in.

At home and at so-called destination chargers, such as supermarkets and public car parks, you’ll be using an AC connection usually with a Type 2 plug.

The standard speed is 7kW, so in an hour, you’d gain 7kWh of electricity. Some cars, whether optional or standard, will have higher AC charging speeds, like 11kW and even 22kW.

Rapid charging, usually with a CCS plug but sometimes CHAdeMO, uses a DC connection. Speeds vary wildly, from 50kW in some superminis up to 350kW and beyond in higher-end models. The higher the number, the faster it charges.

It’s generally cars with bigger batteries that charge at high speeds, because there’s more to fill. A smaller battery might have slower charging speeds, but because there’s less to fill, the 0-80% charge time will still be around the 25-45 minute mark.

Then there’s the stuff that you can see, in the cabin. Many EV interiors revolve around a large touchscreen, which can control many of the car’s functions and systems.

Because this is essentially an in-car computer, an internet connection is usually required, either via Wi-Fi or a built-in eSIM, which means many manufacturers have been able to support over-the-air (OTA) software updates to fix glitches and add new features.