I drove 300km in an electric vehicle, here’s what I discovered

Clean energy, sustainable travel and affordability have been touted as important issues and electric vehicles could be just the answer, writes Danica Clayton, but what are they like to drive in reality?

Using an EV. Picture: Danica Clayton

I’m always paranoid about running out of petrol. Despite the almost abundant amount of petrol stations in South East Queensland, I will happily ignore pricing in favour of alleviating my fear of being stranded.

I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of being able to “re-fuel” at home. I test drove the MG ZS EV, the first fully electric SUV from MG Motor Australia, with my partner while exploring the Cairns hinterland.

The travel range of the MG ZS EV. Picture: Danica Clayton

With its ability to travel up to 337km on 100 per cent charge, I wanted to put the ZS to the test in rugged terrain.

And the result? Colour me impressed.

Not only is the vehicle visually stunning, it has all the features expected in a modern vehicle such as push-button ignition and an interactive navigation system. What’s new though, is an alert when the power level is low, followed by a list of EV charging stations nearby, which, at the time, were all from the Chargefox network.

In the navigation menu you are given locations of nearby EV charging stations. Picture: Danica Clayton

After arriving at our hotel in Cairns we had a few hours to explore the coast before heading to Port Douglas for a sunset cruise. The first thing I will note is the vehicle itself is extremely quiet. This was both a blessing and a curse because it took about five minutes to realise that yep, we’d turned it on and were good to just … drive.

The MG ZS EV parked in a charging bay. Picture: Danica Clayton

The initial level of charge was 47 per cent, which the interactive dashboard estimated would allow for a travel range of 150km. With a planned stop at Palm Cove beach we were looking at a 140km round trip, giving us only 10 km leeway. It was a humid day and the only way to feel comfortable was pumping the air conditioner. Did that make me nervous? Absolutely.

The drive was smooth. Picture: Danica Clayton

Not too far away from the hotel we received a notification on the smart controls: the power level was low. We were then given the option to dismiss the notification, or we could check the list of locations with EV charging facilities. We decided to risk it and our “gamble” paid off. We made it back to the hotel with an estimated travel range of 25km left, meaning we’d effectively gained an extra 15km just through normal use of the vehicle.

This gave me anxiety. Danica Clayton

When we arrived back at the hotel we were presented with three electric vehicle charging bays to pick from.

So, how to charge it? We were aware there was an instruction manual inside the vehicle, but we wanted to see if we could figure it out for ourselves. That didn’t last too long. We searched for a tutorial on YouTube and discovered the vehicle had to be unlocked to open the plug cover.

The process itself was fairly effortless. We removed the internal covers and plugged in the charger from the bay with ease. The ZS (and the majority of electric vehicles) will automatically lock the charger in place while charging.

We made it back without an issue. Picture: Danica Clayton

On our second day in Cairns we planned to travel 180km exploring Kuranda and the Atherton Tablelands. With the estimated travel range of 337km we were confident we would make it back to the hotel without any issues. What we didn’t expect was non-stop rain for most of the day.

Despite the wet weather, the car handled like a dream. It glided smoothly while it rained, to the point where we didn’t really feel like we were driving on wet roads. The winding turns along Gillies Range Road would have been challenging in my manual car however the ZS was extremely responsive.

Plugging the charger into the vehicle wasn’t an issue, despite the wet weather. Picture: Danica Clayton

Reaching a speed of 60kmh in a matter of seconds while remaining in a state of almost complete silence felt satisfying. Petrol-powered vehicles in adjacent lanes were audibly struggling to achieve similar speeds with the same effortless ease.

Yet again we used less power than was initially estimated. We gained an additional 12km in travel range, ultimately leaving us with 169km after driving for more than three hours. Once we returned to the hotel we charged the car for a little over an hour to gain an extra 47km in travel range.

Hilton Cairns charging station. Picture: Danica Clayton

After our experience in the MG ZS EV, there is definite value in switching to electric-powered vehicles. Despite the initial outlay (the MG ZS EV starting at $47,319 in Queensland), the ability to charge your car overnight in preparation for a roadtrip cannot be overstated.

While a 300km trip in a standard SUV at $2 a litre could cost around $40, charging at a home equipped with solar power could result in a motorist paying next to nothing to recharge their vehicle.

With more hotels such as Hilton Cairns now offering electric vehicle charging stations, sustainable travel is actually possible without the hefty price tag.

This writer was a guest of MG Motors Australia and Hilton Cairns.