A driving instructor has shared her insights after buying her first electric vehicle , revealing several points she wishes she had known before making the purchase. Chloe Miller-Aird took to TikTok to discuss the unexpected aspects of her car’s specification, both positive and negative. She pointed out two key learnings – the first being about how the motors are charged up, and the second addressing how much they cost to get running. “I didn’t get time to do much research before my last car change – and the only one available immediately that was the car I wanted in the spec I wanted was a full EV,” she explained. “I was previously in the identical self charging hybrid. I thought how different can it be and the numbers just made sense. I have no regrets but I wish I knew this before.” In a video recorded at a charging station in a car park, she highlighted that the “up to 300kW” label doesn’t guarantee such power during the charging process. “It does not mean you are going to get 300 kilowatts charging,” Chloe explained, before moving into her car. “Although it says this, sometimes all you will get is 24 kilowatts. The reason being is because once your battery hits 80%, your charge significantly slows down to protect your battery. But even before then, you still don’t get 300 because each individual manufacturer sets a cap on how fast it can accept a charge.” Furthermore, Chloe admitted she was unaware that it’s best to “only really utilise 80% of your battery” to maintain its health over time. “It means if your car is advertised as a range of 280 miles, you can actually expect to realistically utilise 80% of that,” she explained. Chloe concluded her clip by pointing out that home chargers are “super expensive”, costing up to about £1,000 for installation. She noted that without one, drivers are left with public charging stations, which are “quite pricey”. On a more positive note, however, she acknowledged: “However, if you drive nicely, you do actually get way more range than advertised.” The responses to Chloe’s video were varied, with some drivers voicing their support for electric vehicles while others expressed scepticism. “Got a Tesla in January,” commented one TikTok user. “Charger cost £1,000 fitted. I’ve charged 2,665kWh at home, 247kWh at superchargers. Total cost on EV tariff £293 for just over 9000 miles. Zero maintenance. I’ll never buy anything other than electric.” Another person shared their experience: “I’ve had electric cars for four years and I’ve never had to charge at a public station. My daily commute is 80 miles and I pay less than £100 per month charging at home. Also so nice to drive – the instant power is great. I used to be a petrol head but now I’ll only ever drive electric.” In contrast, however, a third individual was adamant: “Never wanted an electric car, they don’t have the same range as petrol or diesel the ones I’ve seen.” And a fourth agreed, sharing their own experience: “Last week I filled my little petrol car, drove hundreds of miles south, got on a ferry and still had 1/3 of a tank. Drove around IOW for 4 days and put £25 in to drive home again. Can’t do that in an EV. I’ll stick to petrol thanks.” Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here . We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice