A Sunday drive in the country is as perfectly English as cricket matches and cream teas. On a lovely summer’s day, you can pop the top down and feel the breeze as you hit the open road. But where’s best to go if you drive an electric car?
Electric car tourism is gaining ground, with Beijing, Paris, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Oslo, Stockholm, New York and London among the top 20 switched on cities for visitors driving electric vehicles, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation. Unsurprisingly, Greater London has topped Saga’s UK Electric Cities list alongside Newcastle, Glasgow, Coventry, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Portsmouth and Leeds.
EVs driving a sustainable future
The rise of the EV has seen a much-needed increase in places where you can charge up your electric car across the UK. You’ll find plug-in points at the visitor centres in both John O’Groats and Land’s End. Of the London Boroughs, Westminster is way ahead with 1,409, Wandsworth 874 and Barnet 314 with Croydon, Ealing and Greenwich close behind. Meanwhile, the Scottish government is offering a grant to businesses to help cover the cost of installation in sustainable tourist hotspots.
Thankfully, advances in technology mean that EVs can go further and the experience is becoming much less stressful. Range anxiety, which is not having enough juice to reach the next charging point, is on the way out. In fact, the plucky Kia recently travelled from the UK’s lowest road to the highest on a single charge. The 209-mile journey from Fen to Fell took 6 hours and ascended 2,791 feet with an impressive 107-mile range remaining.
Are electric cars really greener?
So how does all this electric vehicle traffic affect the environment you might ask? Research from Cambridge University has shown that electric cars are better for the climate than petrol or diesel cars in 95% of the world. In countries like Sweden and France, where most electricity comes from renewable and nuclear energy, average lifetime emissions from electric cars are up to 70% lower than petrol cars. In the UK, they are around 30% lower.
As the EV revolution continues, we can expect to see ever more creative ways to explore the topic. Might travel photographers soon be flooding their Instagram feed with images of electric vehicles in remote or rugged landscapes?
Scenic tourist destinations such as the Cairngorms, Dartmoor, Exmoor, Bakewell and Loch Lomond are already EV-friendly. According to Jeep, you can charge up your car in far-flung beauty spots in Northumberland, County Fermanagh, Lochinvar and the Llŷn Peninsula. Meanwhile, Toyota has listed 25 fun days out featuring EV charging points. You never know, a snapshot titled Sunset over romantic lake with charging station might one day win the Turner Prize.
Saga Car Insurance includes cover for a range of electric vehicles including battery cover and trip liability cover up to £20 million. Saga EV cover also includes repair or replacement of cable and charging points and over the air (OTA) updates, including software updates and settings wirelessly installed in your vehicle. T&Cs apply.
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Last modified: February 21, 2023
