After spending a week with an electric car as my primary vehicle, the opinions I had formed about them before spending so much time with an electric car have changed – and some quite dramatically.

I learned that although I now know that I could easily live with one, something I wasn’t sure of before, I also discovered that I still wouldn’t, but for a very different reason than when I expected.

Quiet and effortless

The car I drove last week is the Cupra Born VZan aggressively styled sedan with 326 horsepower, some of the best seats I’ve ever sat in, and a fantastic Sennheiser sound system. Even the software was a pleasant surprise, rivaling the best smartphones I revised. All the modern safety features were either easily disabled or surprisingly useful, like the way it could read the road and almost telepathically anticipate my movements and reactions.

After the first day of experiencing its considerable performance, I set about driving the Born VZ sensibly and found it to be its absolute sweet spot. It was so different from what I expected from an electric car. Acceleration figures related to electric vehicles are constantly discussed and highlighted, and I thought that would be the defining aspect of the car, but that is not the case. at all. I found the mid-range acceleration – which is plentiful – much more usable, and it contributed significantly to making the Born VZ so fantastic to drive.

Pulling past slow-moving traffic allowed me to progress smoothly, effortlessly, and extremely comfortably in the Born VZ, and the more I drove it, the smoother and more mature my driving style became as I rode the waves of torque. This suited the electric car’s quietness, light steering, and aforementioned assistance from safety features. I didn’t expect an electric vehicle to have such a dramatic effect on my driving style and how I approach driving in general. As a form of transportation that I would like to use every day, it was almost perfect.

Jump and go

Both of my regular cars are gas-powered, and I’m probably extremely careful not to drive them short distances. Neither car I own is suited for such things, and I worry about excessive engine wear, making trips too far for me to walk, but too short to properly warm up the engine, far to be ideal. I loved not having to worry about that sort of thing in the Born VZ, which was another aspect I hadn’t thought about before living with an electric car.

It may sound silly, but even not having to wait for the cold start process to complete before setting off again was nice, as was having all the power I could want straight away, without any demands for mechanical sympathy. This all added up to the enormous convenience of owning an electric vehicle that I was quickly discovering. Another shock came after I returned the car. I realized that I hadn’t experienced “range anxiety” – another oft-talked about and off-putting electric car problem – during my week with the car.

I only charged the car three times, as it had a substantial range of around 330 miles, and for my personal needs that would prove sufficient. I doubt I would need to charge the car for two or sometimes even three weeks if it was maxed out. As my driving style became more relaxed, I found that after switching to the even more relaxed “Autonomy” driving mode, the available battery life barely seemed to decrease. For reference, and to help you understand what a big change the electric car was for me, I have Never I used the Eco mode available in my gasoline car.

I was wrong about electric vehicles

A little over a year ago, I thought it’s long and difficult to buy an electric carbut I didn’t do it and bought a gasoline sports car instead. I was happy with it then and I’m still happy with my choice today. Even though the Born VZ is a car designed for performance driving, living with it has shown me that it is actually a rival to my other, more “normal” car, because even with all its power, I can never imagine want to drive it enthusiastically on a winding road while making the choice. It’s just too heavy and unsightly.

Instead, I never worried about sitting in traffic or when a car in front of me was procrastinating. The roads I know best became just roads, and I paid more attention to the sound of the Sennheiser speakers than the driving modes. Driving was different in the EV and I was a different driver.

I loved my time with an electric vehicle. This has been one of the easiest, most enjoyable, most convenient and most relaxing driving experiences I have had. Using it every day for these regular, ordinary trips would be wonderful, because I know I would come back on the other side feeling like I had just returned from a weekend retreat in the countryside, with meditation workshops and free massages. If I didn’t return the Born VZ to Cupra, I would make full use of it for some otherwise tedious trips I have planned, happy in the knowledge that it would make them extremely comfortable and enjoyable.

Welcome to my future

So why don’t I trade in my usual car for an electric car?

It’s just too normal. The Born VZ was clinical, precise and completely impeccable. Everything was done without any problems, which is not a negative point, but a good thing. I soon discovered that there was no emotion involved in the ride, but I didn’t care because there was no need for it. There is even faster electric vehicles there, but I’m seriously wondering if I’d just settle into a cruise after playing with the throttle a few times, just like I did with the Born VZ. I’m pretty sure I would immediately do it in a slower EV.

There will come a time when I no longer want the excitement, noise and drama of a sports car or performance sedan, and that’s when an electric vehicle will be all in. top of my shopping list. I’m so glad I didn’t buy one last year, because I now completely understand that it would have been a bad choice, but I’m also very happy to discover that when the time comes, an electric vehicle will be there waiting. for me to enjoy driving in a very different way.

I’m really looking forward to it.